Published at 16th of February 2026 7:10 am

Chapter 2004 Determination

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On a certain planet within Sector 101, the Mid Sector-

"...

Richard maintained his meditative posture, seated cross-legged on the ground with his hands resting calmly atop his knees. His eyes were closed, his eyelids perfectly still, his breathing slow and controlled. Even his heartbeat was steady and subdued, so quiet it was almost imperceptible-he looked less like a living being and more like a carefully carved statue, frozen in time.

Then, without warning, his eyes snapped open.

The stillness shattered.

His expression immediately twisted into a smile laced with bitter self-mockery and a faint sense of helplessness. He straightened his back, then slowly leaned it against the thick trunk of a colossal tree behind him. Remaining in that relaxed position, he gazed forward, silently taking in the breathtaking sight of endless yellow meadows stretching to the horizon, their color warm and serene, cruelly at odds with the chaos consuming the sector.

After a moment, he reached into his spatial ring and retrieved an object.

It was pitch-black, shaped like a metal coin, yet far heavier in presence than its size suggested. A dreadful aura seeped from it, thick and oppressive, so intense it could be perceived with the naked eye, warping the air around it ever so slightly. Richard rolled the object between his fingers in silence, the movement slow and habitual, as if grounding himself through its weight.

(Is there anything new in the Soul Society?)

A voice echoed suddenly within Richard's soul domain, resonating directly against his consciousness. It was calm, feminine, and ancient-the voice of the planet's spirit, Juri.

"And does a single day ever pass without new reports from the war in Sector 101?" Richard replied with a faint, weary smile. "The sheer number of lives being wasted for nothing... it's enough to crush the heart."

(Does your heart ache for their deaths... or because you weren't able to absorb their life energy?)

"Why not both?" Richard answered lightly, though there was no humor behind it. He rubbed his forehead with his free hand, exhaling slowly. "I'm not in the right state of mind to talk right now, Juri. I just want to be alone for a bit... clear my head."

(Oh? Did you hear something about Serene?)

Richard said nothing. Yet his eyelids trembled, betraying him.

(From that reaction, she's alive at least. Why do you punish yourself every time you hear news about her?)

"...Because I'm constantly reminded of how small I am," Richard finally said, his voice quiet. "Did you know? Today's reports say Serene forced an Eight-Star Soul Lord to retreat and personally led her galaxy in a counteroffensive. Among all the war updates surrounding the Bright Galaxy, her accomplishments always take center stage-outshining even her elder brother, Orion."

"...It's been confirmed now. She's a Monarch-the strongest existence beneath the Behemoth of Purity herself."

Richard let out a hollow chuckle.

"And me?" He smiled faintly. "I'm someone who still entertains the thought of saving her. I can't even fight a single Nexus State without slaughtering tens of millions of creatures beforehand. And even after carrying that much sin, that much ugliness on my back, I'd still be risking my life just to exchange a handful of blows."

He tilted his head back and stared at the sky above, the vast blue seeming impossibly distant.

"Saving her..." he murmured. "What childish dreams. What absolute foolishness. I wonder how my brother Theo reacted when he heard I abandoned my post in the war and left in anger. He must've sighed deeply, maybe even shaken his head, thinking about how naïve I am."

(Would you have made any real difference if you had stayed with the army?) "No."

The answer came without hesitation.

"The war no longer touches the ground. It's turned into a campaign of indiscriminate annihilation. My presence aboard a warship wouldn't have mattered-no different from being part of a cleanup crew, sweeping up after devastation already set in motion."

Richard smiled as he spoke, but the pain threaded through every single word, impossible to hide.

(Then there's no problem.)

Juri replied gently, her voice softening as she tried to lift her owner's spirits. "Your brother will understand your departure once he sees how much stronger you've become during these few short years devoted entirely to yourself. And secondly-don't look down on your own resolve. If you use that new method of combat you've developed, you'll undoubtedly be able to kill a low-level Nexus State."

"...Do you know how many Nexus States are participating in this war?" Richard sighed, his breath heavy, as if the weight of the entire sector pressed down on his chest.

(There you go again-putting yourself down for no reason.)

"No. I'm simply seeing things as they are," Richard shook his head slowly. "I'm far too weak. My father, my brothers, and all of his followers are weak as well. That's why we resort to tricks, why we rely on Theo and on my father's wealth for everything-schemes, leverage, manipulation. Do you really think our side would care about all these convoluted plans if we actually possessed true power? Power capable of crushing Law Dominants outright... power that could grind Royal Soul Masters into dust?"

"We are weak... that's a fact," Richard muttered, his voice low and bitter. "But while my father found a way to carve out his own glory despite that weakness -despite spending most of his life buried in seclusion and cultivation-here I am, only able to watch Serene from afar. I cheer her on as she clashes head-on with Law Dominants, while I sit here, almost proud of myself for merely being able to fight a Nexus State."

"Tell me, Juri..." His smile widened faintly, tinged with self-mockery. "While she's fighting those colossal, history-shaping battles... do you think I ever cross her mind, even for a moment? Impossible, right? She must have forgotten me the instant we parted."

His fingers tightened slightly around the coin. "And yet here I am... chasing a mirage I know I'll never catch."

(Maybe. But that mirage has made you far stronger than you once were-so don't let go of it.)

"Don't worry. I won't give up now," Richard said quietly, continuing to roll the black coin between his fingers, the dreadful aura rippling with every movement. "For her. For my family. Or for myself. No matter the reason... I have

to become stronger.

His tone sharpened. "Much, much stronger."

Then his expression twisted, hovering between iron resolve and suppressed rage. "..But these damn restrictions."

The limitations imposed on those who came from the Young Sector were far more insidious than most realized. They didn't merely prevent a breakthrough into a World Cataclysm-no. They manifested as invisible chains, coiling tightly around their bodies, their meridians, and the very points where energy converged and circulated.

Robin, who normally needed decades-sometimes entire lifetimes-to climb from level 1 to level 40 every time he reset to zero, could accomplish the same feat i mere months if he returned to the Young Sector and cultivated at full speed, unshackled.

Worse still, these restrictions made even restoring one's optimal condition a grueling process. Energy flowed sluggishly through the veins, recovery slowed to a crawl, and injuries festered longer, leaving scars that should never have

existed.

(Those are the rules. They were created to prevent the children of the Young Sector from being used as expendable tools in Mid Sector wars, and to give them enough time to mature and evolve. Yet even so, that didn't stop your father from establishing all those empires.)

"...And they won't stop me either," Richard muttered, his eyes narrowing into

sharp, unwavering slits.

Kraaak.

He clenched the black coin tightly in his right hand, cracks spider-webbing faintly across its surface as the oppressive aura flared.

"Juri," he said after a pause, his voice steadier now, "are you absolutely certain that my breaking through to a World Cataclysm-and promoting Jura-won't cause trouble for my father? If he officially advances to the Mid Belt with us, the Nihari Galaxy will be dragged along with him... and all the delicate pieces he's spent so long assembling will collapse at once."

(Don't worry. If you succeed, I'll use a method to sever him from me completely and make him no longer bound to my existence. That will place me in a dormant state for some time, but I can recover if you bring me enough primal energy. And I don't believe that will be a problem for you.)

"....." Richard released a long, trembling breath, as if finally letting go of

hesitation.

His gaze hardened with quiet resolve.

"Then let's try."

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