Chapter 2372

2372 - What's New

A week after the dual invasion began—

"..."

Robin maintained a calm, steady gaze upward, watching the sky, the birds, and the clouds in silence and contentment.

"Please, help yourself." From beside him appeared Glacion, carrying a cold drink and clusters of grapes. "After the breakthrough storm ended, the planet's sky began healing itself and restoring its balance, which makes it breathtakingly beautiful. As for the birds and beasts that lived in hiding for decades, they've started exploring their homeland anew. The sights after a breakthrough never cease to amaze me."

"You see it too?" Robin smiled and tossed a crimson grape into his mouth. "What's happening now makes me sense a certain selfishness in humans, in a way."

"...?" Glacion was puzzled. "You see the same beauty and think of human selfishness, my lord? When do you rejoice, then?"

"Haha, I truly am happy with what I see, but I can't help but think that all of this was suppressed for fifty years. The Planet Spirit and all the creatures tremble in fear, waiting for whatever is happening to end. Even the tiny insects are born, live, and die beneath the soil, not daring to come out... All of this because a single creature decided to become a little stronger."

"..."

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not saying Hedrick's breakthrough is wrong or unjust—I too would do the same one day, without hesitation." Robin then summoned a tablet. "Besides, I'm not trying to be gloomy. I'm just using these moments as an opportunity to understand human nature. Whoever understands those who rule will rule well... and I want to be a good ruler."

"You will be the best ruler of this universe, my lord. I will help you to the best of my ability to make that so." Glacion pledged.

"Thank you, Glaci." Robin tossed another grape into his mouth and returned to gazing at the sky, chewing slowly. "How's the attack going? Has the Syndicate intervened yet?"

"No." Glacion shook his head. "So far, neither Marlik nor any of the Syndicate's known leaders have appeared. And if they don't show themselves, sending ordinary Guardians and Monarchs will be useless—they'll just be training dummies for Lord Hedrick and Lady Renara."

Glacion's laughter froze as he remembered that he himself was an ordinary Guardian.

Then he shook his head and continued, "I can imagine Darvion and Zargul begging the Syndicate to intervene right now, haha."

"Hmm, it's safe to say the Syndicate's leaders are just as abnormal as Helmor's sons, and they might even have a hidden squad among them." Robin spoke, "Renara and Hedrick will be able to hold them off and kill a few if they show up, but if they're too numerous, they'll be forced to retreat... As for Marlik, if he appeared now, Hedrick and Renara would have to fall back after just a brief exchange of blows. He's incredibly strong—they'd need years of getting used to their power and training hard to be able to defeat him."

Then he waved his hand, "Anyway, I'm glad Marlik, Sevar, and the other big names haven't shown up yet. I wouldn't be able to go help if something happened right now."

"Are you still feeling that exhaustion?" Glacion asked with a hint of concern.

It wasn't worry about the exhaustion itself—when he lifted the limits on Renara, he'd spent two weeks recovering before traveling again. This time, he'd removed Hedrick's limits just three weeks ago, and he'd done it shortly after Renara's. He was supposed to be tired; that was normal.

The concern here came from the current situation... If something unforeseen happened and one of the truly powerful ones emerged, Lord Robin and his allies would suffer.

"Fatigue?" Robin shook his head. "No, this went away on its own. I can move between the Sectors again now, I no longer feel tired. I just feel..." Robin furrowed his brow slightly as he looked toward the sky, "...weak."

"Weak?!" Glacion jolted.

"Yes." Robin nodded. "I feel like I've become permanently weaker."

"What—?!" Glacion stood up quickly. "Are you sick, or has some long-range curse fallen upon you?!"

"..." Robin took another grape and gestured for Glacion to sit. "These past days, I've spent them thinking about the matter and searching my body for what lies behind the cause. I'm seeing what changed inside me after the day the All-seeing God's shackle was broken from me and I escaped from being His Candidate. If I knew what changed, I'd know the extent of my power, the reason I broke the All-seeing God's shackle, and I'd know the reason for my current weakness..."

"..." Glacion nodded firmly.

"...To be honest with you, I found something. I don't know if it's what I'm looking for, but I built a few theories on it, and I might be right." Robin scratched his brow with his nails. "But at the same time, it's something very absurd, which increases the chances of it being wrong."

Robin then raised his index finger slightly upward.

*Hum*

A golden light began to form above his finger and shifted until it took on a somewhat familiar hexagonal shape.

Six familiar symbols connected by links of incomprehensible patterns, and in the center lies a symbol of a drowsy eye.

"Oh, it's the array that broke your restrictions and allowed you to make Lady Althera a candidate!" Glacion clapped his fist into his palm, "But something is different?"

"Indeed." Robin nodded, "The first one was pentagonal with the Law of Truth at the center binding them together, but this one has the Symbol of Truth as part of the array, while the eye in the middle doesn't belong to the patterns—it's just a shape whose purpose I haven't yet understood, though I have a feeling it signifies that I am a Truth Chosen."

"I don't understand that point?" Glacion was puzzled.

"This seal you see now, Glacion," Robin pointed toward the small array, "it says I possess these six laws on the edges, but it also says my foundational law is Truth, represented by the central eye—meaning it's a sort of identifying symbol that doesn't affect the seal itself."

"...?" Glacion grew even more confused, "Why do you speak of this seal as if you didn't design and craft it yourself? As if you're analyzing something strange you stumbled upon by chance?"

"...." Robin turned back to look at the small array, "Because that's exactly what I'm doing."