Published at 12th of September 2026 7:16 am

Chapter 2381: The buried past

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"...Or were you receiving help even before our war began?" Helen revealed a faint smile, one carrying neither mockery nor triumph, but the quiet relief of someone who had finally pieced together an answer she had searched for over countless lonely years.

Losing Nihari to someone as young as Robin had shattered her confidence completely. Yet learning that an existence of such an unimaginable level might have been quietly supporting her enemy brought her a small measure of peace. Of course, none of it mattered anymore—not after everything that had happened—but it was still enough to let her lift her head ever so slightly when facing Robin again, convincing herself that perhaps her defeat had not been as absolute as she had once believed.

"...?!"

Robin stood there in complete silence, his eyes moving incessantly as disbelief and confusion chased one another across his face.

"...You said the Master Laws were used in the Northern Region decades before the war even began?" he asked at last, his voice noticeably lower than before. "How do you know that?"

"From the rate at which the fracture healed," Helen answered as though explaining a simple fact. "The size of the fracture left behind by the Universe’s Rejection, the speed at which it heals, and the complexity of the damage together reveal a great deal about what happened at a particular point in history. Once you learn how to read those traces, they become no different from records engraved into the universe itself."

She continued, "Calculating those variables there allowed me to conclude that more than one Master Law had been used several decades earlier. I can’t determine the exact date, but it certainly happened no less than ten years before the war and no more than a century. That much was unmistakable."

"That’s impossible." Robin waved his hand with a broad smile, though the certainty behind it was beginning to waver. "A century before the war? I didn’t even arrive on Nihari until fifty years before it began. Then I spent the first thirty years in the Eastern Region, knowing nothing except the Master Law of Truth, and the ten years after that I returned to Jura to establish the True Beginning Empire and conquer Greenland and Orphan Blood."

Then his brows gradually furrowed.

"...Although..." He paused to think. "...now that I think about it, I did visit the Northern Region once during that period and used the Master Law of Truth to examine my son. Could that have been what you sensed?"

"The Law of Truth doesn’t produce the Universe’s Rejection." Helen shook her head without hesitation. "Activating it doesn’t disturb the Heavenly Laws in any way. Since they aren’t affected, they have nothing to reject, and no damage occurs between them, leaving nothing for people like us to perceive. That’s also why Truth Chosen are far more numerous than the Chosen of any other Master Law. The great powers tolerate their existence precisely because they don’t interfere with the structure of the universe."

"Do they tolerate them because they cause no harm..." Robin began rubbing the bridge between his brows in obvious irritation, "...or because they’re impossible to track?"

Then something suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"...What about Will?" he asked immediately. "Could that have been what you detected?"

"Will?" Helen frowned deeply, clearly not expecting that answer.

"I know you consider it mysterious and all that, but it’s the Eighth Master Law." Robin waved his hand several times as he organized his thoughts. "Let’s assume it was used there. Would it also produce the Universe’s Rejection?"

Richard might not possess the Master Law of Will itself, but he did possess that cursed Manifestation Trait connected to it.

Perhaps...

That was the missing piece.

"...."

Helen hesitated for a brief moment before slowly shrugging.

"I don’t know. We’ve never traced it before." Then she fixed Robin with an unusually firm gaze. "But even if we assume it does leave behind traces, what difference would that make? I already told you it wasn’t the residue of a single Master Law. It was unmistakably the residue of several. Remove the Master Law of Truth from the equation if you wish... then tell me, What else happened in the Northern Region besides Will?"

"....." Robin slowly drew his brows together until they nearly touched, every possibility he had considered collapsing one after another as he replayed every memory from that period in his mind. "I’ll go see it for myself."

Helen slowly shook her head.

"You’re far too late." Her voice remained calm, almost matter-of-fact, as though she had already accepted that nothing could be done about it anymore. "More than seven hundred years have already passed. By now, every fracture that existed there has certainly healed completely." After a brief pause, she continued, "When I discovered them, they were already fading away, with only the faintest remnants still lingering behind. That’s why I couldn’t determine either the levels or even the specific Master Laws involved. Even that little brat mocked me for not knowing what had happened."

"That little brat?" Robin’s eyes widened immediately. "Neri? She knows about this?!"

"Most likely." Helen nodded slowly. "She made a deal with me. In exchange for keeping my entire visit a secret—including my meeting with your disciple, Jabba—I agreed never to reveal to anyone that someone had once used several Master Laws on her surface." A strange smile slowly appeared on her lips. "Though I suppose you don’t count as anyone, considering you’re the owner of the planet."

Glatheon had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Everything he had heard during the past several minutes was completely new to him, and every new revelation only made the situation more confusing from his perspective.

Unable to connect even half the pieces together, he simply remained quietly at the side, silently observing the increasingly strange conversation without interrupting or attempting to draw conclusions of his own.

"...?"

Caesar, on the other hand, reacted entirely differently.

The instant he heard Helen mention a secret agreement involving Jabba’s betrayal, his expression changed almost imperceptibly.

He knew better than almost anyone how deeply that particular wound had affected Robin.

That single betrayal had cost him far too much, both personally and strategically, leaving scars that had never truly disappeared.

"...?!!"

Sure enough...

Robin’s expression changed almost instantly.

Without another word, he waved a hand beside himself.

Hummm

A golden-white Soul Gate materialized in midair.

"Come out."

Robin’s voice echoed sharply through the room, carrying an unmistakable tone that left no room for refusal.

"....."

No response came from the other side.

"Tch."

He flicked his hand again.

The Soul Gate immediately recoiled backward as though something inside had been forcibly dragged forward instead.

A young woman in her twenties suddenly stumbled into the chamber.

"Ahh!"

Neri cried out as the scenery around her abruptly changed before she could even react or understand what had happened.

Robin looked at her with a cold smile that reached neither his eyes nor his expression.

"Perhaps all that constant eavesdropping you’ve been doing on everything happening around me will finally prove useful."

Then he pointed toward Helen.

"What do you think about what she just said, Neri?" His smile remained on his face, yet every word carried unmistakable pressure. "And remember... don’t hurt yourself."

"The Planet Spirits may conceal information... but they cannot lie to their master when asked a direct question."

He slowly spread one hand toward her.

"Come now... My dear. Tell me exactly what happened."

"....."

The wheat-skinned young woman, whose body was covered in delicate Pearls, silently grasped the edge of her clothes and stared at the floor for several long seconds without uttering a single word, seemingly struggling to force herself to answer.

Then...

She suddenly turned toward Helen.

Without warning, she strode several quick steps forward, raised her hand—

BAAM!

—and slapped Helen across the face with a thunderous crack that echoed throughout the chamber.

"You loudmouthed bitch!!"

Pff!

Helen nearly toppled out of her crystal coffin from the sheer force of the blow.

Only by barely catching herself did she avoid falling completely.

She calmly wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth before lifting her eyes back toward Neri.

A smug smile slowly spread across her face.

"...Looks like someone’s in trouble."

Naturally...

There had never been any affection between the two of them.

If that troublesome girl hadn’t restrained her and used the planet’s own defenses to shatter her Soul Fragment during the final battle, Helen would never have lost Nihari.

And if Nihari had never fallen...

The entire chain of events that eventually brought her to this point might have unfolded completely differently from the path history had ultimately taken.

"Neri!"

Robin’s stern voice shook the entire palace.

The walls themselves seemed to vibrate beneath the weight of the command.

"....." With agonizing slowness, Neri turned to face him.

Every movement looked forced, as though invisible chains bound every limb of her body, making even the simple act of turning around seem incredibly difficult.

Even then...

She still kept her eyes lowered toward the ground.

"Neri..."

Robin’s voice suddenly became quiet.

A gentle smile appeared on his face.

One so artificial that everyone present immediately recognized it for what it truly was.

"I already have a few guesses. They’re unpleasant guesses."

"But I don’t want to jump straight to conclusions until I hear it from you."

His smile gradually disappeared.

His eyes slowly opened wider, becoming frighteningly cold.

"What exactly happened in the Northern Region?"

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