Chapter 2545

2545 - Attaining the Goal

"...What do you think?" Robin flashed a wide smile.

But Shaddad couldn't bring himself to return the smile. "This is..." He swallowed, "You want... to gather all the Truth Chosen in the universe, and these engravings will be the achievement rewards? ...All of them?!"

"Achievement rewards, or prizes for competitions held to solve problems—whatever, use them as you like." He continued with a snap of his fingers, "Actually, I encourage you to use the first engraving of the first design as a welcome gift for any Truth Chosen who officially joins us, before they do any work. It'll be a good incentive for them."

"....." Shaddad looked down and began rubbing his forehead. "At present, we have 18 Truth Chosen in the two cities, the Cradle and the Grave, and we have other Truth Chosen belonging to the forces that serve you. We can ask for their opinions in their fields if necessary. However, the Sky Opening Cities consume a massive amount of resources annually."

Then he raised his eyes toward Robin. "Can you imagine the amount of expenses we'll need in order to provide a working environment for every Truth Chosen? Providing the test subjects alone will require a fortune, regardless of the resources that will be burned in those experiments... No, just the drawing boards and empty books will need a private treasure spent on them!"

"That's fine—can you imagine the amount of knowledge and progress we'll gain in return for that investment?" Robin nodded. "They're just resources; you and Jabba will find what you need and more. The universe is vast, and everything is beneath your feet as long as you know the direction I want to go in and you push me toward it... The direction is complete control over the universe and defending it externally."

Then he stared into Shaddad's face seriously. "Resources won't help me when a war begins and I'm the losing side; what the Sky Opening Cities will offer me is what I'll find at my side."

"....." Shaddad nodded a few times. "Understood."

"Good." Robin clapped his hands. "Now, by your own estimate, how long will it take you to become a Fourth Level Truth Chosen? We don't have any Fourth Level Truth Chosen in our ranks other than me. If you become one, your word will be heard among the new joiners instead of vanishing in their midst, and you would be more worthy of the position of City Lord and more worthy of the title of my disciple."

"...." Shaddad looked down again at the glowing tablet in disappointment. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but even if I entered complete seclusion to study these engravings, I might need a few thousand years to take that step..."

Then Shaddad let out a small laugh at what he had said.

He had never even dreamed of reaching the Fourth Level of Truth, and now he was saying with regret that he would reach it in just a few thousand years... a ridiculous reality, but it had truly become reality after he grasped this tablet.

"No, that will take too much time." Robin extended his palm, and a luminous Golden Sun appeared upon it, then he pushed it toward Shaddad's forehead. "Do not resist."

"....?!" Shaddad opened his eyes wide as he saw the sun approaching, then squeezed them shut tightly when it reached his forehead, but he felt no pain—rather... he began to feel a strange mental clarity?!

"This sun I call the Path of Truth—it is neither magic nor pure information from me, but it will illuminate your thoughts and always guide you toward the right choice when you are uncertain, removing the impurities of extraneous thoughts and keeping you focused on your goal, clear-minded and quick-witted. I trust that on the Path of Truth you will reach the Fourth Level in a shorter time... Sorry, I don't have momentum to support the Law of Truth itself, so you must align with the golden one. Use it well—I have charged it to last only ten years."

"Thank you, my teacher!!" Shaddad wanted to kneel again, but he feared being kicked this time, so he stood and bowed deeply, then said hesitantly: "I... I want to try the Sun of the Path of Truth."

"Go ahead and try it at your leisure, and don't delay in arranging what we agreed upon." Robin smiled and nodded, then turned calmly and went back to grasp Seraphim.

"My teacher."

"Hmm?" Robin cast a sidelong glance.

"Dandy..." Shaddad pointed toward the painting still floating in the air. "What will happen to him?"

At this moment, the stick man was sitting at the edge of the painting, hugging his legs. Because time inside the tablet had been accelerated, he would get up to bang his head against something, then try again to shift the positions of his power and use techniques to break the edge of the painting. After that, he would seem as though he were screaming at the sky, before sitting back down again in depression.

"...." Robin looked back toward Dandy in disappointment. "He's confused now. He thought he would reach me the higher he went, but he could never have reached me while he is nothing but ink on paper. So instead of changing his perspective and trying to discover himself, he began to doubt my existence."

"Isn't that natural for anyone in his position?" Shaddad asked.

"Not exactly. He only needed to hold on to the idea that, as a creature, he has a purpose and a value, and he should have searched for that purpose and that value." Robin shrugged slightly. "I drew him with a purpose — to teach you, and to give him a chance to make his own decisions so I could understand more about human nature. That is his purpose. Even if he did not fully understand it, he could have reflected and asked... why do I exist? That would have set his heart at ease, and it would have directed his decisions toward discovering himself, toward a peaceful life. Then I would have drawn more scribbles for him and made his painting better, hehe."

Shaddad sighed. "And now?"

"Now, his goal of teaching you the Laws and cementing the failure of the human mind is finished, and one final test may remain to open your mind further." Robin extended his hand toward Dandy and released a massive amount of Energy toward his head this time.

Tremendous Energy, enough to make the entire glass house glow, and Robin paled slightly.

"...!!"

In that moment, Dandy stopped moving entirely.

Then he began, slowly, to move his eyes toward Shaddad, then toward Robin.