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Althera's eyes widened to their absolute limit, every fiber of her being fixated on the scene unfolding before her.
The wooden tablets spun rapidly around one another, forming a swirling dust vortex in the center. The whirl soon cald, settling into a gentle rotation... but that alone was not what unsettled her.
What was truly strange was that this vortex had been created purely by the rapid chanical rotation of the tablets-not because of the overwhelming energy being infused into them at that very mont, and not because of any unusual phenonon occurring inside the circle.
Althera's gaze darted quickly toward Robin. His face was contorted, clearly showing the effort and strain he was exerting, yet the energy she expected to emanate from the core of his spiritual power-spreading through his body and exiting in the usual manner-was absent. Instead, she sensed an intense, concentrated force emanating from a necklace hidden beneath his garnts. Curious and cautious, Althera sent her soul sense toward Robin's neck to inspect it. There it was-a thick black necklace, heavy and solid, resembling a ship's anchor chain in its design. At its center rested a thin, irregularly-shaped stone, etched with countless strange, incomprehensible runes.
From her perception, an enormous purple soul force was flowing into the chain, then emanating outward as a power comparable to one of the mightiest natural forces. This imnse energy was what had been animating the six wooden tablets, keeping them in constant, precise motion at that very mont.
"What... is happening here?"
Althera murmured, her voice barely audible, trembling slightly. She had no understanding of the necklace's composition, nor did she comprehend the complex chanisms occurring inside it.
Shifting her attention, she focused back on the circle within the spinning tablets.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, she saw space itself bulge outward, bending toward the vast sea as if so unseen giant were trying to burst an enormous invisible balloon.
This was the first ti she had ever witnessed space distortion unfold so slowly and so vividly-a bulge that neither healed nor resisted the force acting upon it. The clarity, the deliberate pace... it was utterly alien.
"Are you sure you want to use Anti-Life here?"
Richard asked, his tone serious, weighted with caution.
"This entire beach... it won't remain as it is afterward."
"Do not destroy this beautiful view!"
Robin replied casually, even as he maintained his concentration, continuing his work. Then, shifting slightly to the side, whooo- his eyes flared with a brilliant golden glow, a shimr of divine energy igniting within them.
"Use it on a rock roughly the size of a fist-that will be more than enough." "Are you certain?"
Richard moved carefully to the side, aligning himself directly in his father's line of sight. He bent slightly, grasped a white stone, and tossed it lightly into the
air.
"The process will occur faster than you might imagine."
"Heh... just do it."
Robin chuckled, a hint of playful mockery in his tone.
"Very well, then."
Richard paused mid-motion, holding the stone in his hand for a brief mont. Fwoooosh
In an instant, the stone transford into a hollow black construct, weightless yet tangible, carried by the winds swirling around them.
"....?!"
Althera's eyes widened even further as she stared at Richard, at the swirling black dust and particles radiating from him.
No wonder he compared his technique to the Black Plague-this was exactly the destructive, transformative force the Plague wielded when unleashed upon planets.
Richard shook his hand, scattering the remaining dust, his movents precise and deliberate.
"Do you want to repeat it so you can see it more clearly?"
"...."
Robin's gaze lingered, focused intently not on the dust, but on Richard himself, his expression a mixture of scrutiny and quiet amusent. Then, with a slow, asured shift, he returned his gaze forward, sharp and commanding.
"Who do you think I am, child?"
"Oh? So you've discovered the components of the martial art?"
Richard's lips curled into a broad, confident grin.
"And what... exactly are they?"
"...." Robin remained silent for several long monts, as if weighing each word before speaking. Finally, he looked at Richard with a steady gaze. "Tell first- what were you thinking when you created this ability? You weren't simply trying to produce sothing that resembled the Black Plague, were you?" "Not exactly..." Richard admitted, scratching the back of his head nervously. "The truth... it's a little embarrassing, actually!"
"Oh?" Robin leaned slightly forward, his tone teasing but sharp. "Get ready to tell about it then-but only after this is finished..." He shifted his focus, directing all his concentration toward the swirling circle. "Hmph!"
Poof
Space itself seed to rupture.
Everything at the very center of the circle created by the six wooden panels turned into absolute blackness, a void so complete it seed to swallow the
surrounding light...
And astonishingly, it remained that way.
"...?!" Althera's eyes darted back and forth between the spinning panels. Nothing around her was damaged. She felt no tremors, no vibrations, not even the slightest distortion. The furious energy Robin had been channeling earlier had completely ceased.
And shoooo... the six panels themselves stopped spinning, hanging motionless
in the air.
After that-after all forms of energy, force, and external influence had stopped -the black rift, with a diater of nearly ten ters, remained in place, completely unhealed. It did not close, nor did it show any signs of collapsing. It simply existed, a gaping scar in the fabric of space itself.
"...." Curiosity overca caution. Althera took a few careful steps forward, raising her hand slowly, tentatively extending it toward the rift.
"I wouldn't do that." Robin's voice ca from behind her, calm but laced with
authority. "Put your hand back at your side if you still want to keep it intact." "Hah?" Althera spun toward him, eyes wide with disbelief. "I am a Monarch!!" "Oh, Mrs Monarch, I'm honored," Robin replied with a small nod, his expression unreadable. Then he pointed toward the rift. "And this... is an incomplete spaceti rift, constructed at the third stage of spaceti. Do you want to try
your luck?"
"...!!" Althera yanked her hand back imdiately, her mind racing. "Th-third-grade spaceti... in your possession?!" She shook her head
frantically, as if trying to reject the reality before her eyes. "This makes no
sense... You already wield Truth, Creation, and Balance-and now you control spaceti as well? How is this even possible?!"
"Hehe, I have a feeling you're going to love the next trick," Robin said with a low, amused chuckle. He seed to delight in watching Althera struggle to grasp
the extent of his abilities.
"What trick?" Althera asked, her voice sharp with curiosity, pointing toward the rift. "And what exactly do you need a spaceti rift for?!"
Robin shrugged slightly, crossing his arms over his chest in a casual gesture, yet his eyes sparkled with anticipation. "How do I explain... I'm soone who values peace of mind, Althera. Oh-may I call you Althera directly?" When he received nothing but a skeptical frown in reply, he laughed lightly. "Anyway... a long ti ago, I once saw sothing extraordinarily convenient, sothing that made life far simpler. Since that day, I've been searching for a way to recreate
it."
Althera's brow furrowed deeply. "What exactly is this... thing that requires spaceti to create?!"
Robin's smile grew dreamy, almost distant, as if recalling a vision from far beyond the present mont. "A massive, stable wormhole, one large enough to allow entire armies-and even whole planets-to pass through it from one sector to another almost instantly. Far faster than Tyrant Interas' greater portals, which take hours to move anything between sectors."
He paused for a mont, letting the weight of his words sink in, then
continued, his eyes glinting with ambition. "With such a passage, I'm conquering Young Sectors 99 and 100 with absolute ease. I could travel between the planets of both sectors in re minutes." Robin's smile widened further, now tinged with wonder and a touch of madness. "And from that, a vision ford-a vision of a dazzling future. Imagine... how extraordinary it would be... if I could create such wormholes between the Mid sectors, connecting them in a way no one has ever dread
of."
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