"...Very well. I accept the first mission."
Robin exhaled a long, slow breath, yet his voice remained firm, cutting through the tension like a blade.
His decision was clear — there was no hesitation left in him.
Even though he bore no personal hatred toward the target he was tasked with confronting, the stakes were simply too high to allow for compassion or rcy.
His very existence, the lives of his sons and daughters, and the towering empire he had painstakingly built — everything was teetering on the brink.
One wrong move, one soft mont of hesitation, could lead to complete ruin.
There was no ti left to sympathize with strangers.
No room for hesitation.
Besides... since the mission was phrased rely as dealing with him, there might, just might, be alternative paths other than simple slaughter.
Still, Robin couldn't afford the luxury of naivety.
"What information do you have about the target?"
Robin's voice was cold now, edged with a steely seriousness that allowed no room for gas.
The Seer, who until now had worn a lazy, almost casual expression, lifted a single eyebrow — a gesture both amused and nonchalant.
"Information?..." he mused aloud. "His na is Sevar, if mory serves right. He wields the Master Law of Causality. That's all you need to know."
Robin's face tightened visibly. His stomach dropped as if a heavy stone had been tossed into it.
"What do you an 'that's all'?!"
His voice rose in disbelief.
"Do you have any idea how vast the universe is? How am I supposed to find a single being with just a na and a law?!"
The All-Seeing god's lips curled into a strange smile, one that sent an involuntary shiver down Robin's spine.
He knew that smile.
It was the smile of a man who had already prepared an answer that he knew Robin would not like.
A chuckle escaped the All-Seeing god's throat — low at first, then growing louder, until he was laughing freely and without restraint.
"You needn't trouble yourself about that," he said finally, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.
"He'll find you first after today's conversation... hehehe~."
"..."
Robin's pupils dilated instantly, his whole body freezing in place.
For a mont, the very world seed to lose color, leaving only a blank, suffocating void.
"Please... just let the incoming attack fall and wipe us all out!! It would be easier!!"
Damn it all!!
Robin cursed internally, a furious storm raging within him.
He had already braced himself for an uphill battle against a sovereign-level being.
He had resigned himself to facing a monster ard with a Master Law, hoping that at least he would have unlimited ti to grow strong enough before the inevitable clash.
But now — even that faint hope had been stripped from him rcilessly!
He'll find ... after today?
What kind of horror story is this?!
In comparison, the dreaded fifty-year countdown before Helen's conflict against Rinara now seed almost rciful, almost kind.
"Don't worry," the All-Seeing god said again in that maddeningly calm voice, as if speaking to a frightened child.
"It will still take him quite so ti to actually find you~."
He continued, speaking slowly and clearly, as if savoring each word:
"At the mont, a new thread of destiny has been created around him — a thread that points toward you. This thread contains only the faintest whiff of hostility, like a whisper carried by a distant wind, barely enough to rouse suspicion.
As long as he knows nothing about your na, appearance, or background, tracing that thread to its source will be a slow, painstaking task. During that ti, you will have the chance to prepare yourself, to ready your mind, body, and soul."
Robin's heart, which had been hamring violently against his ribs, began to slow just a little.
A fragile, flickering ember of hope began to glow in the darkness.
"...Alright," he said cautiously, "how much ti are we talking about, exactly? Weeks? Months? Years?"
The All-Seeing god's expression grew more serious, his voice lowering almost conspiratorially.
"Long enough for you to take so reasonable precautions," he said firmly.
"That is all you need to know.
Besides, you have yet to even hear the second part of your tasks — and already you tremble?
Why fear him so much?
He's rely a candidate, just as you are."
Robin clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth together hard enough that it hurt.
Just a candidate?
Perhaps in so technical sense, that was true.
But Robin knew better than anyone that a hundred years of survival and experience could turn a re candidate into an unstoppable juggernaut.
He himself wouldn't want to face a future version of himself after a century of growth — let alone soone like Sevar, who had likely lived far, far longer.
Taking a long, steadying breath, Robin forced himself to remain calm.
"...I can't spend the rest of my life living in fear, waiting for the blade to fall," he said.
"I need an option — a way to reach him first, on my own terms, if and when I feel ready to act.
Even if I never use it, the knowledge that such a thod exists would grant peace of mind, and a powerful bargaining chip."
The humanoid light said nothing for a few monts, his eyes distant, lost in so unfathomable calculation.
Then he turned his gaze back to Robin, his expression sharp and unreadable.
"I cannot hand you his location directly," he said finally, his voice slow.
"Doing so would cause the thread of fate between you two to tighten dramatically — making it far easier for him to find you. But..."
He allowed the word to hang in the air for a heartbeat,
"...I will give you a hint instead:
When the ti approaches for your son's wedding, buy him a nice gift."
Robin blinked, completely thrown off balance by the unexpected answer.
"One of my crazy sons is getting married?! Who?!" A wide, delighted smile broke across Robin's face.
The humanoid light stared at him, stunned for a long mont, before bursting into helpless laughter once again. "...Is that seriously your first question?!"
He couldn't believe it.
All the fear, all the anxiety Robin had shown just monts earlier — gone in an instant, wiped away by the re ntion of one of his children's happiness.
Was he ever truly worried in the first place?!
"Ahh, you're right, you're right..."
Robin muttered, trying to gather himself again.
He furrowed his brows thoughtfully, gnawed on the tip of his thumb in deep thought, then nodded as if reaching a firm decision. "...Alright, then — what kind of tools or assistance will you give to deal with him?"
"What do you an? What more could you possibly want from ?!"
The All-Seeing god fidgeted theatrically, as if Robin's words were a personal insult.
He then flung his arms wide open, gesturing at the vastness surrounding them — a broken world.
"Saving all of this... isn't enough of a price for to pay just to hand you a second chance? No — your third chance, mind you!
And yet here you are, daring to ask for even more?!"
Robin, feeling the heavy pressure bearing down on his shoulders, spread his hands in a pleading gesture. His voice softened, almost breaking into desperation.
"Please," he implored, "just be reasonable with , that's all I ask.
You said it yourself: he sensed a thread forming the mont we spoke about him.
Isn't that exactly the sa way you weave your patches of fate?
How am I supposed to fight sothing like that?
No matter how I strategize, no matter how many variables I account for, he'll always be several steps ahead of !"
The humanoid light tilted his head, examining Robin as though he were an amusing, hopeless child.
"That's not my concern," he said with an infuriating casualness, shrugging.
"Your struggle is yours alone.
But if you really want the surest way to defeat a wielder of Causality...
You'll have to beat him at his own ga — with Causality itself."
Robin didn't even blink.
Without a mont's hesitation, he stepped forward and extended both hands, palms open, an almost comical eagerness on his face.
"Fine. Then give it to ."
The Seer scoffed and waved a hand lazily, like he was shooing away a persistent insect.
"How disappointing," he muttered.
"And here I thought you were supposed to be so proud wielder of Truth...
Figure it out yourself."
Robin leaned in sharply, almost stumbling forward in his urgency.
"But how?!" he demanded, his voice nearly cracking under the weight of frustration.
"I reached Spaceti after years of mastering both Space and Ti individually to the point I could rge them into a single law!
Beyond that, sure, I've dabbled in understanding Creation, and I have a rough, incomplete grasp on Balance...
But when it cos to Causality, Identity, or even Primordial Chaos — there's just nothing!
My mind draws a blank every ti!"
The All-Seeing god simply laughed, a deep, resonant chuckle that seed to mock Robin's every word.
He shook his head in disbelief, wiping a tear of laughter from the corner of his eye.
"Honestly," he said, voice dripping with amusent, "I can't tell if you're an idiot or a genius.
You keep looking to the farthest stars, chasing grand, distant concepts like Spaceti Balance and Creation — and miraculously, you've made real strides toward understanding them.
But sohow, you completely ignore what's right under your own feet."
Robin's heart pounded in his chest.
A sense of creeping dread began slithering up his spine.
"...What exactly are you trying to say?"
His voice was low, almost a whisper, as if afraid to hear the answer.
The All-Seeing god's grin widened, almost predatory now.
His eyes glead with mischievous glee as he leaned forward.
"Exactly what you suspect," he said, barely restraining his laughter.
"The thing you call your On of Truth."
He jabbed a finger at Robin repeatedly, his motions animated, almost childish.
"You already have what you're desperately searching for, right inside you!"
Robin stumbled back half a step, his mind whirling chaotically.
"You... but you told it was a special talent!
A unique gift because I'm an exceptional wielder of Truth!"
His voice was thick with betrayal, his face contorted in confusion.
The humanoid light waved a hand irritably, as if brushing away a boring conversation.
"Oh, please. Grow up. Stop clinging to every word I ever said as if it were scripture.
What did you expect to tell you back then?
That you tore apart your own main thread of fate and, as a result, developed an innate resonance with Causality itself?!"
He shook his head again, pity lacing his words now.
"Listen closely, Robin, because I won't repeat this.
I'll simplify Causality for you — as simply as a child's fable.
Let create a tiny storyline for you to follow:"
The humanoid light's voice grew low:
"Suppose you choose to dine at a terrible restaurant. Because of that, you get food poisoning— crippling stomach pains force you to rush to the hospital.
On your way there, panicking and speeding, you accidentally hit a child, breaking his leg.
Instead of stopping, you continue to the hospital, leaving the child behind.
Later, you return ho exhausted, drained, missing an important eting you had promised your friends.
anwhile, the father of the injured child tracks you down, furious.
He storms into your ho and breaks both your legs in an act of vengeance.
Panicked, you stab him when he tries to break your arm as well, and he dies in the struggle."
The All-Seeing god paused, then began tapping his fingers lightly in the air, counting invisible points.
"Each event leads naturally to the next — this chain of events is what we call Causality.
Every cause has its effect, and every effect leads to another cause.
And if anything — even a single small detail — had changed,
the entire chain would have crumbled.
No injury, no broken legs, no death.
Simple, right?"
He tilted his head slightly, his grin almost feral.
"Now, the entire sequence — from your decision to eat at that bad restaurant, to the act of killing a man in your ho —
That grand arc is what we call Fate."
Robin stood there, paralyzed.
His mouth opened slightly, but no words ca out.
He had never — not once — imagined he would be sitting through a Master law lesson...
given so casually...
by this man.
User Comments
0 comments from readers