Lord of the Truth

"I was overpowered with ease after just a few short exchanges... yet she didn't strike the final blow. She didn't even lift her hand to finish me off.

Instead, she simply looked at me and asked—calmly, almost curiously—why a prince, someone of my status and bloodline, would choose to behave in such a reckless, self-destructive manner.

And right then… I crumbled.

Something inside me gave way."

"I thought it was the last time I would ever be allowed to speak… the final moment in which my voice could carry the weight of my suffering.

I felt as though the universe had finally allowed me a listener, someone who would hear the pain no one else saw.

So I told her everything.

I confessed it all.

The things I did.

The things he did to me.

The betrayal. The destruction. The rage."

A faint, ironic smile spread across Hedrick's lips.

"I must have sounded pitiful, or maybe just honest enough, because she didn't kill me.

Instead, she offered something I never thought possible.

She offered... to purify me."

"Purify you, from that situation?" Robin raised an eyebrow, suspicion and curiosity mingling in his expression.

"How does that work?"

"Remember when I told you about Kaylis' vast connections?" Hedrick asked gently.

"About how many favors she had accumulated, and how unbelievably smooth her path of conquest had been?

Much of that comes from the sessions of purification she and her bloodline offer."

He placed a hand over his chest.

"You see… once someone reaches a certain realm of power, practitioners who possess mastery over a particular minor path of the Fundamental Law of Purity gain the ability to cleanse the mind, to purge the heart of hatred, bitterness, and malice.

More importantly… they can erase the karmic aura—the dark, damning force that wraps itself around you like a curse, like a brand.

It's one of the most sought-after abilities in the known cosmos.

That power alone has made Kaylis and several of her descendants some of the most respected and revered beings in any sector they visit.

Who wouldn't want to erase the burden of their past sins?

To turn back the clock and start fresh?"

"Of course," he added with a grim chuckle, "it comes at a terrifying cost.

It's so expensive that the Radiant Galaxy relies on it as their main source of income.

And yet… those who can afford it are guaranteed a second chance.

A real one.

No tricks. No empty promises."

Then his voice shifted—softer now, heavy with memory.

"At that time… I didn't have anything left.

Not a single credit.

My storage rings were empty.

My weapons long gone.

Everything I had was lost along the path of destruction I carved."

"But Kaylis still made the offer.

She said it plainly: either I die here… or I submit to purification—on her terms.

Those were my options."

A strange look passed over his face—an odd blend of shame and faint amusement.

"Until that moment, I believed my will was unmatched.

That if I ever set foot on the Path of Death, I would walk it to its bitter end, dragging armies and empires down into the abyss with me.

But when faced with death… when given the smallest sliver of hope… I hesitated.

I chose life. I broke.

I disappointed her."

"....!?"

"Kaylis purified me," Hedrick continued, voice low.

"The karmic rot clinging to me like tar was burned away.

It wasn't gone completely… but it was reduced—diminished—until it could no longer weigh down someone of my level.

And then… she spoke her conditions."

"She said she had given me a new life, and in return, she expected me to dedicate that life to her.

To build power in Mid-Sector 101 under her name, using my expertise in the Path of Destruction.

To raise a force capable of supporting her in the event of a cosmic war.

That was the pact."

"At that point, I had nothing left—no pride, no purpose.

I had already looked down on myself for choosing survival in that final moment.

So I agreed… not out of loyalty, but as punishment.

Because for someone like me, there is no greater torment than living in service to another.

And I knew… I deserved it."

Hedrick exhaled slowly.

"Years passed.

I lost count of how many times I started over—gathering followers, training them one by one, building from nothing.

I created an empire.

Then expanded until it became a multi-planetary empire, then a Centennial Empire… and eventually, I stood atop a Millennial Empire."

"At that point—when it finally hit me that I had already fulfilled Kaylis' condition, that even the punishment I had clung to so desperately, the punishment I had convinced myself was the very reason I continued to breathe, had lost its meaning—I withdrew completely.

I didn't just step back; I vanished.

I exiled myself to that random, insignificant planet I had once proclaimed the capital of my empire, and there, in the crushing stillness of solitude, I allowed myself to disappear—for hundreds of thousands of years, or maybe millions? I don't know...

There were days when I cultivated just to keep the rust from settling in, moments when I toyed with the illusion that power for its own sake could fill the void.

But for the most part, I just sat under the endless sky, staring upward into the stars that had once felt so close and now seemed infinitely distant.

I thought about my life.

About everything I had done—for that man—and how, in return for my loyalty, my sacrifice, he rewarded me with betrayal.

He dragged me down to that point of utter emptiness and abandonment."

"Then... that day came."

"The day my brothers arrived at my doorstep, weary and broken, seeking nothing but shelter.

And without hesitation—without asking for loyalty or explanation—I took them in.

No terms. No demands. Just readiness.

Ready for the battle I knew, deep down, would bring the curtain down on this absurd tragedy I called life.

And after them... he came.

He came not with words or apologies, but with destruction in his heart, blazing like a dying star."

"..."

Robin couldn't help but notice it—the powerful shift in Hedrick's presence, as though something ancient and wild had stirred to life.

The hollow, defeated smile that had previously haunted his face twisted into something else—something bold, fierce.

His concealed eyes shimmered with a fire that hadn't been there moments ago, eyes that suddenly dared the stars to strike.

It was the first time Robin had seen him like this.

And oddly enough, despite the tragic tale being told… this didn't feel tragic at all.

The answer, unspoken but clear, came quickly:

"...It was the happiest day of my entire life," Hedrick said with surprising warmth, tilting his head back toward the sky, his voice tinged with laughter.

"That day, I unleashed the so-called 'useless army' I had allowed to stagnate for so long—and they held the line against the Father's elites.

And me? I stood tall. I didn't run. I used all the strength I had amassed idly over the years, and I stood toe to toe with him."

"And not only that—I actually injured him!"

There was no shame, no hesitation in his tone—just proud defiance.

He waved a hand as if to soften the statement, trying to act modest.

"I know, I know... He withdrew afterward—probably for some absurd reason tangled up in that labyrinth he calls a mind.

But the fact remains: I landed a hit. I hurt him."

Then, as though remembering Robin was there, Hedrick turned his head and raised a brow.

"Ah. Forgive me. Did I sound... deranged?"

"...Just a little," Robin said flatly, motioning for him to continue, even as his internal monologue screamed:

This lunatic is genuinely proud he landed a punch on his own father.

Yet... he found himself weirdly understanding.

Whatever had passed between them, it wasn't all that shocking.

Fathers and eldest sons often carried ancient, simmering tensions.

Honestly, Robin wouldn't have minded throwing a punch or two at his old man either.

The warmth returned to Hedrick's smile—a rare kind of peace.

"...After that, everything changed. I looked at my army—and at my own power—with new eyes.

They weren't just burdens anymore.

They weren't chains or reminders of failure.

They had a purpose.

They were tools for something far greater than survival or punishment.

Revenge.

The revenge I once thought was nothing more than a bitter fantasy, a fool's comfort, suddenly became... real. It became tangible."

He turned toward the fiery red clouds of sunset, his tone steady and clear now, like a man reciting a vow.

"So I issued the orders.

I told my forces to expand—spread farther than before.

To conquer more worlds.

To double and triple our output.

I called for the brightest minds, funded teams of researchers, and pushed them to develop stronger fleets, more refined weapons.

I dispatched star-scout ships all across the Young Sector, combing every inch for anything that might give us an edge, anything we could bend to our cause..."

He paused—then said with finality:

"...and that's when I found the Seed."