Chapter 2382

2382 - Placing the Pieces in Their Positions

"...What happened in the Northern Region?"

"..." Neri stared into Robin's eyes with a meaningful look, "Can I not answer?"

"No, that option doesn't exist." Robin returned her gaze, but his carried folds of anger, "What happened?"

"...Please, nothing good will come of this." Neri lowered her gaze.

"..." Robin raised his head slightly, his expression freezing, "...I've received the answer and the matter is settled." Then he continued with a strange calm, "There's only one thing that would make you hesitate like this—it's him, isn't it?" Then he raised his voice, "The All-seeing God?"

"..." The Planet Spirit opened her mouth slightly and closed it, her eye trembling.

"So that's how it is..." Robin nodded a few times, "What was the All-seeing God doing in the Northern Region, Neri?"

"Please..."

"Silence!" Robin raised his voice, "Enough fear of him and enough ambiguity. I know very well what he is now—he's someone from outside the Universe, isn't he? All that talk about the Pantheon and the Transcendents and his ability to summon the Court as he claims—is he one of them?"

"..."

"What's the secret of your fear of him, Neri?" Robin raised his voice, "I am your master now, and if my guess is correct, I'm in the midst of transforming into one of them. How can you fear him and insist on rejecting me?!"

"I-I—I–" Neri took a step back, her body beginning to tremble.

Robin took a step forward, "What did the All-seeing God do in the Northern Region?!" Then he raised his voice, "Before I came, he did nothing, there was nothing for him to do, the planet was already in its worst state and I found nothing to help me."

Then his eyes turned extremely cold, "There was one event that occurred in the Northern Region during that time period, an event significant enough for him to intervene, an event that changed the course of my life and drove me to build everything I am today, an event I will never rule out his involvement in..."

"So..." Then he stood and looked toward Neri with a cold smile, "Did he have a hand in it?" Then his smile widened, "What did he do? Did he use Spacetime to change where they landed? Perhaps a touch of Causality to draw out the sequence of events? Maybe some Balance here and there to cement the fait accompli, huh? Tell me, I'm all ears."

"A-a—dada-da" Neri stopped, raised her hand wanting to say something, but her hand froze in the air and her head began to move strangely, the life also fading from her eyes, "A-a—ayy—aaaaa—"

"....?" Robin's angry expression instantly turned to surprise, for Neri at this moment looked like a child's toy with broken gears!

"A-a—a..."

Soon, Neri completely stopped trying to speak, then froze in place like a statue, her mouth partially open and her eye half-lidded as if she were dead.

"Well, this isn't something we see every day..." Helen lifted her head from her knees.

"This...?" Glacion and Caesar were astonished—nothing like this had ever been recorded about the Planet Spirits!

"..." As for Robin, he kept his gaze fixed on Neri's body for a few seconds, analyzing her condition, checking whether she was putting on an act or if something had truly happened.

Then, after a moment, he sighed, "Heh~" and waved toward his side.

*Hummm* The Soul Gate opened again, and a young girl emerged from it. "Ah, what did you do to the big sister, you brute?!"

Evergreen ran to Neri's side and hugged her leg, then began staring at Robin with tense, reproachful looks. "Are you satisfied now?!"

"What will happen to her now?" Robin asked in a voice devoid of emotion.

"...She nearly crossed into the forbidden," Evergreen looked up at Neri's pale face, "She'll remain in a state of slumber for a few years, perhaps a few decades."

"The forbidden, I..." Robin looked away and began nodding, then waved toward the Soul Gate. "Take her and get out of my sight."

"..." Evergreen puffed out her cheeks and her eyes began to well with tears, but she didn't say a word—she was well aware of the gravity of the situation.

She focused on quickly lifting Neri onto her shoulder and hurried toward the Gate, which closed behind them instantly.

"My Lord," Glacion stepped forward a few paces, "it's clear there's a certain restriction on the Planet Spirits that makes them—"

"Shhh—" Robin raised a finger in Glacion's face, "shh, shh, shh," then repeated it a few more times before lowering his hand, "not a word... not a word."

"..." Caesar stepped forward and pulled Glacion back behind him, signaling him to hold his breath, while he himself stood as still as if a bird were perched on his head.

The two of them, from the side, stood there staring at the ground in tension, stealing glances at Robin every moment.

Glacion, because he didn't understand what was happening—Lord Robin hadn't reached this level of pressure and stern fury even while fighting Marlik and threatening the Archon.

Fury? No, that word was far too simple. He could feel the space itself melting around him.

His eyes looked like two pits of hell pouring molten lava of eternal indignation—those half-open eyes seemed to be watching the Universe burn before them... watching in silence, doing nothing to stop it.

Earlier, Glacion had fallen silent out of obedience to Robin's command, but now, even if he wanted to speak, his tongue wouldn't move.

As for Caesar... he knew very well what was happening.

He himself was angry and felt betrayed, but this meant too much to his father, far too much, for him to have any say... He would simply stand there, waiting for orders.

Only after an unknown amount of time did Robin raise his left hand and begin rubbing between his nostrils very slowly, his hands trembling visibly, but he continued anyway for a few minutes.

Then, in a faltering voice with irregular breaths, he finally spoke, "Take Glacion... with you... and go do what you must do... He is my advisor... the diplomat now..."

"...." Caesar stared at his father's face for a moment, then gathered his courage and asked, "Do you want me to do something specific?"

"What can you do?" Robin lowered his hand and stared at Caesar with his furious eyes, then raised his voice, "Perhaps you should get rid of that trivial soul lurking around you first, and then talk about helping me with a matter of this magnitude!"

"....?!" Caesar opened his eyes wide in shock, then looked down and bowed slightly, "Sorry." Afterward, he pulled Glacion toward the exit in silence.