Lord of the Truth

Whoooosh

Wade tore open a jagged rift in the fabric of space, stepping gracefully out onto the other side. His boots touched the ground with a muted thud, a wide, triumphant grin stretching across his face. In one hand, he dangled the struggling form of a decayed female specter, its body trembling violently in his grip.

"Your Majesty," Wade declared with an excited tone , "I've managed to collect a few more soul emeralds… but before anything else, please examine this one."

"Hmm?" Robin stirred lazily, his eyes sliding open with deliberate slowness. At first, they were calm and dim, but within seconds a faint gleam of light flickered in their depths, "…This specter… it just fed on a soul domain recently, didn't it?"

"Correct," Wade confirmed at once. "I allowed it to feast on the head of one of the prisoners, so that you could observe the result for yourself, Your Majesty." His grip tightened slightly as the specter hissed, and the silver aura blazing from his pupils flared brighter. That aura alone was enough to destabilize a specter's essence, disrupting its foul balance and making it possible to restrain it with sheer force.

"Hm. That is fine, I suppose. After all, today marks the final day of the hunt…" Robin's tone shifted into thoughtful musing, the faintest edge of curiosity tugging at his words. "But I cannot help but wonder… is this truly the most fitting way for them to perish? More than half of their number has already fallen to the herds anyway…"

He leaned forward slightly, studying the wretched thing with an intensity that made even Wade's grin falter. Then Robin slowly shook his head. "Yes… the fragments of the soul domain have begun lashing back, but the pace is laughably weak, barely noticeable."

Leaning back into his throne-like wheal chair with calm poise, he continued, "Most likely, these fragments will end up nothing more than raw fuel—consumed for movement, for the instinctive act of pursuit and combat. The creature may scour the entire planet in its hunt for another victim… but it will not evolve in any significant way. At most, its steady strength will rise by a paltry ten percent of what it devoured. Ten percent… insignificant. The question is, is this phenomenon universal among specters?"

His gaze wandered skyward, his thoughts turning far from the present moment. He recalled that colossal abomination—the titanic specter that had devoured thirty-three thousand units in one terrifying sweep. Would such consumption empower it, make it into something unthinkably dangerous? Or… would even that be reduced to nothing more than fuel, expended and gone, leaving the specter's strength almost unchanged?

"So then…" Wade tilted his head ever so slightly, his silver-lit eyes narrowing with intrigue. "Do you wish me to finish off the rest of the prisoners in this manner, or shall we return to the original plan?"

"…Wait a minute here," Robin's voice grew quieter, "I want to test something."

He turned back toward the restrained specter, and with the barest flick of his hand, a small soul gate materialized beside him, shimmering with radiant force.

Claaang Claaang

From within it, golden-white chains surged outward like living serpents of judgment. They coiled, struck, and wrapped around the specter in a storm of metallic thunder.

"Shaaaah~~" The female specter shrieked in despair, its screeches piercing the air. "Shaaaaakhhh!" it screamed again, voice cracking with agony, as the chains dragged it mercilessly through the narrow soul gate, ripping its resistance apart. A heartbeat later—it was gone.

Inside Robin's Soul Domain—

"Shaaaaaakh—!!"

The specter erupted into frantic cries the instant it appeared, spinning its head from side to side in disbelief. Panic distorted its features. Just moments ago it had prowled its own cursed realm—the shadowy Valley of Specters, thick with malignant haze and steeped in endless decay.

Now, in the blink of an eye, it found itself hurled into a radiant sanctuary, a world blindingly foreign to its essence. Above loomed not one but two radiant suns, their brilliance drowning every corner in light. The very air shimmered with purity, and the land teemed with countless soul creatures, pristine and untainted.

Clang!

The sacred chains binding the specter dug deeper. They pulled the specter downward, slamming it to its knees, arms twisted painfully behind its back like a condemned criminal awaiting execution at the gallows.

Then, something unnatural began to occur. Something so vile that the myriad soul creatures nearby froze, their bodies trembling before they instinctively recoiled in dread.

Hooooom~

The ground beneath the specter blackened. From the very spot where its body touched, corruption began to seep forth. Darkness bled outward like a living plague, spreading in rippling waves. It resembled a drop of black ink blooming through an untouched cup of milk—silent, inexorable, unstoppable.

"Ah!" Evergreen gasped, stumbling backward to avoid even a speck of the creeping stain.

Neri, however, stood her ground, her brows knitting sharply together. Her voice, low and edged with fury, cut the air. "Who allowed such a vile abomination to enter the soul domain?"

Whoooosh

Robin's soul avatar emerged beside them, His presence alone seemed to soften the air. He reached out calmly, patting both of their heads with a gentle smile that carried quiet authority.

"Calm yourselves girls. This is but a simple matter."

Then he moved forward, step by step, toward the bound specter. His hands and feet shone with a brilliant silver soul force.

Step

Each time Robin's avatar foot touched the ground, the corruption recoiled. The black stains that had poisoned the soil were purified instantly. The further he advanced, the more the domain itself seemed to brighten, as though relieved of a great burden.

At last, he stood directly before the chained specter.

Then he slowly raised both hands, one hand pressed firmly onto the specter's head, while the forefinger of his other hand pointed to its trembling forehead. His voice dropped to a gentle murmur:

"The time has come. You will be cleansed and granted a new life of peace within my soul domain. Relax… accept the light… and prepare yourself."

"GRAAAHHH//" The specter howled in rage, lunging forward with open jaws, desperate to bite into him. But the sacred chains snapped taut and denied it even a fraction of movement.

At that instant Robin pressed. Oooooom!

A tidal wave of silver radiance exploded outward from his touch, flooding the specter. Light gushed from its eyes, from its gaping mouth, from every crack in its broken body. The brilliance was overwhelming, spilling across the entire soul domain. From every corner, soul creatures turned their heads, mesmerized by the blinding miracle blazing before them.

The spectacle lasted for nearly half a minute, the light so bright it seemed to erase shadow itself. When the glow finally dimmed, Robin released his hands, a rare smile playing across his lips.

The corruption was gone. The black stains that had threatened to spread were erased, leaving not a trace. And most astonishing of all—the specter had vanished. In its place hovered a radiant white sphere, pulsing softly. It had been reborn into its initial soul form.

Robin tapped the glowing orb gently, his tone soft, almost fatherly:

"Go now. Play for a while before the domain begins to absorb you. Soon enough, you'll be reborn as a soul creature, like the others of your kind who dwell here."

Hiiieeh~! The initial soul gave a joyous cry, then darted upward into the sky, spiraling in playful circles. Curious and free, it flitted about to explore the domain. Several smaller soul creatures, filled with excitement, broke into a chase, running after it with laughter echoing through the luminous space.

"What… what was that?" Neri approached slowly, disbelief etched into her face as she watched the happy white sphere dance among the others.

"It is a soul technique, an easy one actually!" Robin explained, his smile widening. "Inspired by the Path of Purity. The thought struck me when I heard the Behemoth of Purity could cleanse even negative karma. It seems… the idea is not without merit." His eyes softened as he watched the orb swirl in joy. Surely, its existence as a specter had been unbearable torment; now it tasted peace, if only for a moment.

Robin's gaze then fell back to the ground. Scattered across the surface were faint, glimmering shards of white—remnants of the boy's soul domain, devoured earlier by the specter yet not fully digested.

To his surprise, they required no intervention. Within moments they sank into the ground, dissolving seamlessly into pure soul force. The total condensed into roughly five hundred units.

It was far from enough to recover the precious loss of the dagger he had sacrificed against the colossal specter, but still—better than nothing. A steady return, modest yet worthwhile.

Robin gave a measured nod of approval, then let his manifestation fade, returning to the outer world.

-----------

Robin's eyes opened once more in the physical realm. He inclined his head toward Wade.

"My initial plan was to destroy their soul domains personally, once the hunt had concluded. But since we stand at its end already… and this method proves far less troublesome for me… it shall suffice. Dispose of the remaining ones in the same way."

"Keh keh keh! At once, Your Majesty!" Wade bowed with glee, then sliced a narrow rift in the air and slipped through, vanishing into the void.

Hooom

A tremor echoed as space rippled again. This time, it was Malik who emerged. He too carried something in his grasp—but unlike Wade, it was no specter.

Bam! He hurled a body to the ground, letting it land heavily before Robin's feet.

"Your Majesty," Malik declared with grim formality, "this one is a World Cataclysms. He claims he wishes to surrender. What judgment shall we pass?"