2384 - Breakthrough
Planet Donara — Beside Robin's Rest Place
"Hooo~" Althera let out a long breath, then opened her large eyes. Instantly, a surprised and astonished expression took over her face. "Amazing..."
Althera sat cross-legged at the very edge of the cliff, facing a majestic battlefield with a terrifying view below. Yet her eyes were fixed straight ahead, watching the clouds, as if none of it concerned her.
From behind her came a voice: "What happened, Sister Althera? Did you achieve a new breakthrough in your understanding of the law?"
"..." Althera glanced back toward the glass rest stop and the person sitting there. "Are you still focused on me?"
"It's hard to focus on anything else when you're the only thing moving around here." Jabba set down his hot cup and chuckled. "Come on, don't be stingy."
"..." Althera turned her gaze forward again. "Hmm... I advanced several steps in the Master Law of Balance all at once." Then she continued speaking in a calm, dreamy voice, "I never had this kind of speed when I was trying to comprehend the Fundamental Repetition Law, but now I'm working with the Master Law of Balance and it feels somehow easier!"
Then she raised her hand to look at it, "The Golden Honor... it truly is an astonishing thing. No wonder all the candidates of the All-seeing God had such high renown and cosmic influence. That's somewhat terrifying."
"Haha, I'm proud of you, sister." Jabba laughed loudly, "Even though according to what you said, you received this Golden Honor by pure luck, you're still part of the master's retinue now. Welcome, even if it was by luck."
"...?" Althera turned with a stern expression, "Are you going to repeat that word 'luck' all day long?"
"...Sorry, I think I've gotten used to Klein's style." Jabba scratched his head, then waved a few times, "But don't worry, even if it was by luck, I welcome you. I'm not jealous of you, really."
Althera smiled, "...I can see your hair smoking."
"Where?!" Jabba patted his long hair a few times.
"Hehe~" Althera smiled, then looked forward again and closed her large eyes, "Don't call me sister; we're not comrades. Even though Lord Robin gave me the Golden Honor and granted me the Master Law of Balance, I am not his disciple. I am a Personal Guard."
"...." Jabba stood up and took a few steps until he was beside Althera, "Doesn't that make me of higher standing than you? Then why don't you get up and prepare me another drink?"
“…Alright, you may call me Sister.” Althera replied after thinking for a few seconds.
“…..”
“…?” Althera opened her eye and looked up when she received no response.
She found Jabba looking down the mountain with his arms crossed and brows furrowed… again.
Of course, Althera immediately knew what he was looking at, but she still took a quick glance down the mountain… specifically near the Gate.
There, the nascent space beasts were still emerging one after another, and the Imperial Guards were handling them with great discipline.
But there was something different there near the Gate… a person wearing a blood-streaked crimson armor, standing right beside the Gate, a single step away from it, silently gazing into the Other Side.
Space beasts of all sizes passed over his head, yet he did not move at all, and the beasts themselves avoided him and fought around him as if he did not exist—in fact, they deliberately tried to stay away from him!
Marshal Sakaar…
Althera had indeed heard about him over the past few days—one of the Three Marshals alongside Caesar and Aru, but he had been away from the spotlight for a long time for some reason.
It is said that while Caesar and Aru fight in the central sectors and build double-century empires from scratch, Marshal Sakaar had the task of unifying the young Sector 101.
Indeed, he unified it according to the reports, but that remains a modest achievement compared to what his peers have done, compared to the power apparent in that dense aura around him...
But also... that does not justify Jabba's glances toward him.
Since Marshal Sakaar arrived, he has been beside the Gate, not moving much or participating in the fighting, but since he arrived, Jabba's eyes have also been hovering around him from a distance. He does not approach him or say a word, but his glances at him are all strange, all complex... his eyes seem to move while he looks at him!
"W-" Althera almost turned to Jabba to ask him about the secret behind those glances.
But she caught sight of something else out of the ordinary beside her eye.
There was a person wearing black and blue armor not far from the Gate, that person looking directly at her, into her eye.
Then he raised his middle finger toward her.
"That filthy peasant!!" Althera shouted when she saw Holak's actions, "Do you see this?!"
"Hmm?" Jabba finally stirred from his deep focus and saw Holak, then laughed, "Hahaha, right, no need to focus on him. He's just expressing his displeasure that you took his exact position."
"Expressing it that way?" Althera pointed downward, "He's been standing there for days, making that ugly gesture every time I open my eyes. I'm starting to suspect he never lowers his hand!"
"Haha, don't worry, that's just the nature of the Ancestor Holak," Jabba waved a few times, "He'll need some time to accept that it's a matter of fate, destiny, and luck—that he wasn't deliberately wronged."
"Did you take his side against me?!" Althera stood up and grabbed Jabba by the collar, then opened her mouth to continue her shouting, "Yo—"
*HOOOOM*
At that moment, a Golden Gate opened and Robin stepped out, one hand placed behind his back.
He advanced quietly with steady steps until he reached where Jabba was sitting, then sat down, placing both palms on his knees.
Then his expression softened when he saw Jabba and Althera, and he showed a gentle, heavy smile, "Hello."
"....?!"
"....?!"
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