Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2243: The mysterious man

"...I am his vision and his voice."

"..." Blokan simply remained silent, his expression serious as he watched Robin laugh after uttering words that, by any reasonable standard, had crossed every imaginable line. Yet despite the absurdity of the statement, despite how outrageous it sounded when stripped of all context, he found himself unable to argue against it as easily as he once would have.

The voice and vision of the Cosmic Elder?

Before the incident with the Executioner, if he had heard Robin say something like that, he would have immediately told him to show some respect and watch his words. It would have sounded like arrogance, vanity, and self-importance on a level that was completely inappropriate, even if the Cosmic Elder himself had once called Robin a friend. Blokan would have viewed it as the sort of statement made by a talented individual who had begun overestimating his own importance after receiving recognition from a legendary figure.

But now...

Now it felt different.

Very different.

Too many things had happened.

Too many impossible events had unfolded before his eyes.

Lord Robin almost seemed to be diminishing his own accomplishments by describing himself as merely the representative, voice, or messenger of another person.

What Lord Robin had done placed him alongside the Cosmic Elder in terms of what they had contributed to the universe.

The Cosmic Elder had corrected Athena’s mistake and preserved what remained after disaster had already struck.

Lord Robin had prevented the mistake from happening in the first place and stopped a catastrophe before it was allowed to fully unfold.

One had repaired the wound after it appeared.

The other had prevented the blade from reaching the flesh at all.

The distinction was not small.

At least not in Blokan’s eyes.

"If you have no issue remaining in the Cosmic Elder’s shadow, then I will respect your wishes." Blokan nodded. "With this funding, and with a few methods at my disposal, I’ll make certain that every new academy receives a Master and at least one deputy. You have my word. Even if I have to personally travel between sectors and drag suitable candidates out of hiding, I’ll fill every important position."

"But..." Blokan stared directly into Robin’s eyes. "Throne Master Qarun will not like this."

"...." The eyes of nearly everyone standing atop the cliff trembled slightly or shifted toward Robin.

Throne Master Qarun...

One of the most mysterious figures in the entire universe.

His rise to power had been a miracle.

His ability to remain there had been an even greater one.

No one truly knew the extent of his strength because he had never been forced into a serious battle, never cornered, never placed in a situation where revealing his full capabilities was necessary.

Yet no one doubted his intelligence.

And no one doubted the precision of his schemes.

The simplest and closest example stood right before them.

The Cosmic Elder had openly revealed himself, publicly threatened Qarun, and established the Cosmic Academies in front of the entire universe.

And despite all of that...

Nearly ninety percent of the Star Academies had remained under Qarun’s influence in the end.

That was the measure of his cunning.

His position.

His understanding of human nature.

He understood greed.

Fear.

Ambition.

Pride.

He understood them so well that he could often predict the decisions of entire organizations before they were even made, steering people toward choices they believed were their own while benefiting from the outcome regardless of what happened.

If he could maintain his position and composure under pressure from the Cosmic Elder himself, and arguably emerge victorious from that confrontation, then who exactly could threaten him?

But this situation was completely different.

"Every Academy Master who has joined us speaks about how much they hate that man. They don’t want to see him or deal with him ever again because they always end up being the losing side in every arrangement involving him." Morgana studied Robin’s face from the side. "These steps will anger him without a doubt. Even the people who benefited from him often speak about him with resentment once they are far enough away from his influence."

"It will go far beyond anger." Blokan continued for her. "Within a few decades, the Cosmic Academies will possess enormous influence, whether through expansion, through the appointment of new Masters and deputies, or through attracting Star Academies into our ranks. The foundation of influence Qarun uses to gather his enormous wealth will gradually disappear, and the network he spent countless years building will begin slipping through his fingers piece by piece."

Then he frowned slightly.

"For the first time, we’ll see the Throne Master truly angry. He may tolerate many things, but he will never tolerate threats to the source of his wealth. He might ignore insults, overlook provocations, and even forgive certain losses, but money is different. Money is the root of his influence, and influence is the root of his power."

"...." Robin released a slow breath.

"We’re discussing how to stop an Executioner Legion when it arrives. We’re discussing a Court, a Pantheon, and whatever those things might be. We’re discussing a universe that may collapse within a few thousand years." He looked at both of them. "And the two of you are worried about someone’s source of income?"

Then he shook his head.

"If we can’t stand against the ambitions of a local figure like Qarun, then what right do we have to talk about anything else? If a problem on this scale is enough to make us hesitate, then all our discussions about the future, about the Executioners, about the survival of the universe, are meaningless."

There was no anger in his voice.

Only conviction.

The kind that came from someone whose perspective had already moved far beyond local politics and rivalries.

Afterward he waved his hand firmly.

"Do it. Build for me the army that will defend Universe B-14, and don’t concern yourselves with anyone else."

"Understood." Blokan and Morgana bowed.

"And don’t worry about Qarun. We can simply treat him like another Syndicate and remain cautious of him." Then he snapped his fingers. "I’ll send the money through Soul Society transfers. Don’t withdraw all of it at once. I don’t want unnecessary problems with the dreamer galaxy, not right now. Use the funds to purchase raw materials through them, and if you need to pay anyone, transfer the payment through the Society as well. Let the money remain inside their circulation system as much as possible instead of suddenly converting it into physical wealth and creating attention where we don’t need it."

"..." Blokan glanced toward Morgana before returning his gaze to Robin. "Isn’t that somewhat contradictory, Lord Robin? You seem to dismiss the Throne Council, yet you’re being this considerate toward another local power that isn’t nearly as widespread as they are and isn’t even as powerful as the Council. If anything, the Soul Society should be the side adapting to us, not the other way around."

"Our relationship with the Council is openly hostile, so going in circles won’t help us. It would only restrict us. We need to do what needs to be done." Robin replied calmly. "As for the Soul Society, our relationship with them is good. Better than good, actually. I consider myself an unofficial partner of theirs because of the amount of money that ends up in their vaults because of me. Every major project we’ve launched, every expansion, every large-scale transaction eventually passes through their hands in one form or another, and that naturally creates mutual interests."

Robin continued looking into Blokan’s eyes with a gentle expression. "No matter how tolerant the Soul Society may be, you’re going to see plenty of furrowed brows and unhappy faces if you suddenly request the withdrawal of ten trillion pearls. That’s not a normal transaction even by the standards of super powers, and it would naturally attract questions. However, if the money remains circulating through their system and is spent through trade and purchases conducted within their network, then our relationship with them will only become stronger and more beneficial for both sides. They’ll earn from the movement of those funds, we’ll obtain everything we need, and nobody will feel that we’re trying to disrupt the balance they spent millions of years building."

Then he smiled.

"And don’t forget that the Dreamer’s Galaxy is rumored to be the only force that has discovered the secret of the Eleventh Star." A few seconds later his expression became serious again. "That rumor alone is terrifying. That rumor doesn’t merely place them on the same level as the Tyrant Galaxy and the Throne Council. It places them above them. Even if only a portion of the rumor is true, it would imply access to knowledge and possibilities that most major powers have spent millions of years searching for without success."

"In the end, it’s only a rumor." Blokan frowned slightly. "If they truly possessed that secret and that level of power, they wouldn’t be satisfied with remaining an economic power. The shape of the universe itself would be different. Powerful people rarely sit still when they possess the means to dominate everything around them."

"And why would they need to change anything?" Robin asked. "The Soul Society already controls the economy of the entire universe and influences the decisions of virtually every major power. Military domination isn’t everything. I pursue it because it’s the safest and fastest route, but there are other methods, methods that spread farther and more easily than armies ever could, methods like the ones Morpheus follows. When every transaction passes through your hands and every major force depends on your systems, influence comes naturally without the need to raise a single army."

Then he looked toward the horizon for several moments, as though recalling every fragment of information he had encountered concerning that mysterious individual.

"...Blokan, have you ever seen Morpheus before? Shadow Swords couldn’t find a single old image of him from any meeting, announcement, or historical archive. There are only reports of him appearing at certain moments, such as the rumor that he acted as a mediator during the incident involving Helmor Distra’s rampage, yet even that remains a questionable rumor. Every report concerning his appearance places him as an assistant, a mediator, or some secondary figure standing at the edge of a major historical event, and every one of those reports can be denied or dismissed. It’s as though someone deliberately ensured that his name would remain known while his presence remained impossible to verify."

"....." Blokan’s brows tightened noticeably. "No. During my twelve million years of life, I’ve never seen him. And to be honest, I’ve never examined the reports surrounding his appearances from this angle before. Now that you mention it, it really is strange. There are many powerful figures I’ve never met personally, but there are always records, images, testimonies, or undeniable traces left behind. In Morpheus’s case, everything feels strangely vague."

"..." Robin nodded several times before a peculiar smile appeared on his face. "Well, we’ll treat him as an ally for the time being. There’s no need to overthink it. We have enough problems already without chasing mysteries that haven’t shown hostility toward us. You may leave and begin."

"Understood. I’ll start immediately." Blokan nodded before turning toward Morgana. "Please remain here near the gate until I can find replacements for us. Until then, I would rather not leave such an important position unattended, especially with everything that’s happening around Donara right now."

Then whoosh, he vanished.