Lord of the Truth

After an Hour – Somewhere Near the Lava Sea

Krshhh! Space tore open as Robin emerged from the rift. His blood-red eyes shut tightly for a moment as he stretched his spiritual sense to its absolute limit. When he opened them again, his teeth clenched in frustration, "Not here either…"

As those words left his mouth, Robin raised his hand and made a slicing motion once more. Krrsh! A new spatial rift formed before him—though this time, it was barely the size of a clenched fist. Before he could force it any wider, his body suddenly plummeted from the sky!

"Argh...!!"

Without an energy shield to protect him, his battered body was assaulted by the sheer force of freefall. The air resistance alone was torture in his current state. Then, with a faint green glow flickering at the center of his chest—Woosh!—he managed to stabilize himself midair.

(What the hell do you think you're doing?! Stop burning your life force every time I replenish even a fraction of it! Your body is deteriorating—it's weakening at an alarming rate! Just rest for a moment and absorb energy naturally from a pearl!!) Evergreen's voice rang sharply in his mind, filled with concern.

"Shut up!!" Robin snapped back at her, his voice hoarse with strain. Then—Krshhh!— he tore another rift in space and leaped through it successfully this time.

Once again, he closed his eyes, extending his soul sense outward, searching, scanning. But after a few moments, his lips moved in an agonized whisper, "Not here either... Not here either..."

(You won't find him like this! Your search range has become ridiculously small because of your injured soul. On top of that, you barely have more than 700 soul units left! If you keep scanning the eastern sector like this, you'll never be done!)

Evergreen's worried voice echoed through his thoughts. She was terrified that he would once again resort to using his life force. (Who even told you he'd be here in the first place?)

She didn't need to hear his answer. She already knew— he was here searching for Jabba.

As soon as Robin heard Sakaar's words, he had left immediately, heading straight to this place— the battlefield. He had tracked the direction in which Jabba had last been seen leaving and followed it. With every bit of progress he made, he would use his soul sense to sweep the area, desperately searching for any trace of him.

His throat felt dry as he finally spoke, his voice barely more than a rasp.

"...The battle lasted about an hour and a half. That's not nearly enough time for him to have gotten too far from the battlefield. Besides, he intervened at the last critical moment— right before we would've lost completely. That means he was watching us the whole time. If he had been watching, that means he wasn't running away the entire hour and a half. That means…"

Robin's crimson eyes flickered with certainty.

"That means he's still closer to the battlefield than we thought."

(And what if he just used an instant spatial portal? Have you forgotten that those exist?) Evergreen folded her arms, her tone exasperated.

(Or better yet—what if he deliberately took this path as a ruse and then simply turned in a different direction? You're wasting your time and energy!)

Robin shook his head, his gaze sharpening.

"Back during the Safe City battle at the start of the war, I destroyed one of his direct surveillance arrays with ease— from an immense distance, no less. Knowing that, do you think he'd risk using an instant spatial portal right after hearing Sakaar scream for me not to kill him? No… he's smarter than that. He wouldn't use something that could put him in danger."

Robin clenched his fists, his voice filled with conviction.

"That's why, until he disappeared from sight, he didn't use a teleportation array."

He exhaled sharply, his expression darkening.

"I'm certain he's still somewhere around here."

Robin pointed ahead of him before muttering under his breath, his voice so faint it was barely audible.

"...At least, that's what he'd do if he wanted me to find him."

(What? Why would he want you to find him? If he wanted to meet you, he would've just come back himself!)

Evergreen's confusion was evident.

"You wouldn't understand…" Robin gritted his teeth. His gaze swept his surroundings once more before he sighed, shaking his head.

"...I really can't keep this up at this pace. If I continue like this, I'll need a whole day just to cover the necessary area."

Whoosh!

Robin descended swiftly and landed atop one of the tallest trees, folding his legs beneath him as he sat down.

Then, he closed his eyes.

------------------------

Within His Soul Domain

"...!" Robin's eyes snapped open, revealing the vast silver world before him—a world teeming with chaos, a world brimming with life!

The soul hunting he had done before Richard's arrival had yielded tremendous results. His domain was overflowing with playful white orbs—more of them than there were blades of grass on the ground!

But something was off. Unlike their usual carefree nature, these initial souls lay scattered, as if parched and exhausted. The air felt dry, and the earth beneath them cracked. All of this was a clear sign— the soul domain was suffering from an extreme depletion of soul energy.

Having only 700 soul units within a domain that could house 137,000 was akin to a drought of catastrophic proportions.

Robin's emotions were caught between reassurance and dread. But regardless of his worries, he had to act. Without hesitation, he stretched out his hand to grasp one of the initial souls—

Paa!

Evergreen leaped forward and slapped his hand away, "What do you think you're doing?!" she snapped.

Robin frowned and took a step back. "What does it look like I'm doing?" He ignored her and lunged forward again, reaching for another one. "I need to replenish my soul units quickly so I can expand my search range."

"Wait!!" Evergreen seized his wrist once more, stopping him in his tracks.

"700 units already give you a good enough search range! The reason you can't use even a quarter of it is because of your new and old soul injuries!"

She pointed ahead.

Robin followed her gaze— and his breath hitched.

There, at the far end of his domain, lay the scar he had carved out for the shard. That entire region had faded to a dull, sickly hue as if one of the very walls of his soul domain was on the verge of collapse. It was an expected outcome… but now that he was seeing it for himself, it sent chills down his spine.

That wasn't all. The silver ground, which once stretched endlessly in a pristine, polished state, now felt hollow—fragile.

The newly expanded territory stretched endlessly before him, yet it was utterly desolate. Not even a single blade of grass had managed to sprout, and there was no sign of life in sight. The once fertile and vibrant landscape had been replaced with nothing but lifeless black patches and a seemingly infinite number of deep, jagged craters as if the very foundation of this world had been torn apart by some unseen force. The air was eerily still, devoid of the faint whispers of energy that used to dance through his domain.

Even the sky above, once a vast, shimmering silver expanse, now bore ugly fractures running across its surface, like the webbed cracks of shattered glass. Those dark blemishes were unnatural, like the stains of a creeping infection, spreading inch by inch with every passing moment. It was as if the very essence of his domain was on the verge of crumbling apart.

And then there was the Greenland Sun—his anchor, his source of stability. Once, it had radiated an unwavering green brilliance, casting a steady warmth over his domain. But now… it was dim, dull, and sickly, reduced to a mere ghost of what it once was. Its light flickered weakly, struggling to hold its form, as if it, too, was being swallowed by the growing decay.

Robin clenched his teeth so hard that his jaw ached. His fists tightened at his sides as a sense of foreboding settled deep within him.

"…Is this because I expanded my domain too quickly?" His voice was low, almost a whisper, yet laced with frustration and self-reproach.

At first glance, his vast soul domain still seemed grand, still seemed powerful—but now, with a closer look, the truth became painfully clear. It was breaking apart. Cracking. Dying.

"Of course it is! And you haven't even seen the worst of it," Evergreen huffed, crossing her arms as she shot him a glare. "At this rate, Heart Spectors will start appearing soon!"

Robin's expression darkened instantly.

"You ignored my warnings," she continued, her tone sharp with reprimand. "You left your domain in a miserable state—worse than miserable! If it weren't for the Greenland Sun, this entire place would have already collapsed! And even now, it's hanging by a thread! That sun is barely keeping everything together, and tell me—how much longer do you think that will last?"

She let out a heavy sigh, relief flickering across her features when she noticed that Robin had finally stopped moving.

"Instead of taking a moment to fix what you broke… instead of stabilizing yourself and your domain, you want to push it even further toward destruction? You want to make things even worse?"

Robin exhaled sharply, his gaze clouded with emotion. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, then slowly opened them, the weight of her words sinking in.

"…You're right," he admitted, his voice strained. "I've been neglecting my body and my soul… I should have been more careful."

He inhaled deeply, trying to steady himself.

Then—in a blur—his hand shot forward, seizing one of the passing initial souls. Without a second thought, his fingers closed tightly around it—

And crushed it in his fist.

"But I have to find him!!" His voice rang out, filled with unwavering determination.