Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2300: Deeds

"...Charity?" Aro’s expression became that of a man who had just been struck squarely on the head with a hammer, his thoughts coming to a complete halt as he stared blankly at Robin, unable to understand how such a question could possibly appear in the middle of a discussion about Behemoths, karma, and the fate of the universe.

"Yes, charity. What’s so strange about that?" Robin replied with complete seriousness before looking directly into Aro’s eyes. "What do you know about karma?"

"...." Aro glanced toward Glatheon, who appeared just as bewildered as he was, silently hoping that the latter had somehow understood where this conversation was heading. Finding no answers there, he turned back to Robin and replied hesitantly, "A Law that punishes evil people?"

"There is no Law of Karma." Robin simply shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Confusion immediately spread across Aro’s face. "Everything in the universe is governed by Laws."

"Really?" Robin chuckled softly. "Then where is the Law of the soul? And where is the Law of blood, or more accurately, the code that governs the creation of conscious beings?"

"....?"

"Karma is just like those." Robin frowned slightly as he explained. "Things related to the soul and the true secrets of creation have no corresponding Law. You can use the Identity Law to transform one substance into another, or the Creation Law to alter the form of matter itself... but intelligent life is treated separately for some reason. It would be more accurate to call these Concepts that can be observed rather than written Laws, and karma is simply one of those concepts."

He continued, "Call it karma, consequence, deeds, or whatever name you prefer. In the end, it is merely a concept that compels living beings—intelligent beings especially—not to continue walking a certain path of evil." He casually waved his hand. "Its effects may appear as physical punishment, or they may manifest purely on the spiritual side, through depression, emptiness, the loss of purpose, or the gradual destruction of one’s desire to keep living. It is exceedingly rare to find someone who is genuinely wicked while remaining completely healthy in both body and mind at the same time."

"...." Glatheon’s mouth slowly fell open. Even he, despite everything he had experienced throughout his long life, was hearing such a detailed explanation of the concept of karma for the very first time.

"...." Aro lowered his gaze thoughtfully. "Then what about the Cursed Darvion and everything he’s done? Does he give charity too? Is that why he’s still alive?"

"Darvion will die a humiliating death within days." Robin waved dismissively. "Every act of evil he committed throughout his life eventually led him to stand in my path. Isn’t that punishment enough already? Secondly, just look at his face in any image circulating of him. That man’s soul is screaming, desperately begging for release... and I will be the one to grant it." He then chuckled. "Though I honestly doubt he’ll find any release even after he dies."

"What do you mean?" Aro asked quietly, a trace of unease and fear creeping into his voice almost without him noticing.

"I won’t speak about things I’m not certain of." Robin waved his hand before looking seriously at Aro. "What matters now is observing what is happening before us and finding ways to reduce the losses it causes us." He continued, "Whoever established the concept of deeds wanted to prevent the universe—or perhaps all universes—from sliding into an irreversible abyss of evil. Its very existence suggests that its creator desired righteousness for living beings. That is why, if you commit evil but later perform good deeds, you’ve restored a measure of balance before that concept itself, and you won’t continue suffering the same degree of pressure and misfortune that would otherwise keep descending upon you."

"But that’s not fair!" Aro protested immediately, gesturing forcefully with obvious dissatisfaction. "There is no such thing as absolute good or evil. They’re entirely relative. What is evil to one person is good to another!"

Robin simply shook his head before pointing toward Aro’s chest. "Every one of us is born with something inside that instinctively distinguishes right from wrong. Any child from any civilization, in any era, will know that deliberate murder is wrong. It doesn’t matter whether you believe in a god or worship an old shoe—in your heart, you’ll still know that helping an elderly woman is a good thing."

He continued, "That innate nature is proof that there exists an unchanging standard for good and evil in the eyes of whoever established karma. And you, as someone who has barely even heard of this concept, should follow that standard—or at the very least, learn how to avoid the consequences of violating it." Robin extended his hand farther and gently poked Aro over the heart. "I won’t tell you what that standard is because I don’t possess it, but you already have your own heart. Ask it."

"....?" Aro lowered his gaze toward Robin’s finger resting over his chest before slowly raising his head again, his expression becoming considerably more serious than before. "I’m a military general. Do you have any idea how many lives I’ve taken... and how many more I will take? Or are you telling me to abandon everything behind me?"

"Your head really is as thick as a bull’s..." Robin said with a sigh, waving his hand in resignation. "When you conquer a planet, issue strict orders forbidding the destruction of forests and the killing of civilians. If you do end up devastating a planet during war, then send food aid afterward, build cities on another world for those who survived, and help them raise families in a healthier environment. And if you’ve been keeping prisoners for ages with no intention of doing anything with them, then either execute them according to your laws or set them free. Don’t leave people trapped in endless misery simply because you can."

Robin then held both hands out before him and gently rocked them as though balancing a pair of invisible scales. "Maintain balance," he said before lowering them again. "Whoever established the concept of deeds wants you to return to the good within yourself no matter how far you’ve wandered down the path of evil. The doors are never truly closed, and your innate nature will always tell you what the right thing to do is if you’re willing to listen to it."

Then he pointed into the distance with an amused chuckle. "Even someone like Darvion still has a chance to erase all the horrific crimes he’s committed. Granted, he’d probably have to rebuild several sectors from the ground up and spend the rest of his life cleaning old ladies’ toilets before accomplishing that, but you understand the idea. The opportunity itself never disappears."

Afterward, Robin pointed gently toward Aro, his tone becoming noticeably softer. "You’re still standing on the shore. You’re still young. You’re still breathing... You can still restore that balance without much difficulty compared to countless others who have already walked too far."

"....." Aro lowered his head, silently contemplating Robin’s words before slowly nodding several long seconds later, as though finally accepting that there might indeed be another way to look at everything he had done until now.

"Good." Robin clapped his hands once and rose to his feet. "Now think carefully about ways to lighten the burden of your negative karma, and I want you to prepare your army to occupy the galaxy after Zargul dies. Don’t carry out any more operations or take any unnecessary risks from this point onward. Simply prepare for a swift, decisive expansion once the opportunity presents itself."

"...Understood." Aro struggled to his feet and saluted Robin with complete seriousness. No matter how exhausted he was, he simply couldn’t remain seated while Robin was standing before him.

As for the part about Zargul’s death...

After everything he had heard today—the impossible claims, the casual discussion of Behemoths, and Robin’s unwavering confidence—it was probably far wiser not to ask any more questions.

Then Aro suddenly seemed to remember something important.

"By the way, there was a massive assault on the Nihari Galaxy in the Young Sector. Leading the invasion was a Seven-Star Soul Master, backed by fifty Nexus State experts and Soul Masters, along with hundreds of fleets and millions of veteran soldiers from Young Sector 98."

"....?!" Richard finally sprang to his feet, all traces of weakness disappearing from his expression. "What happened? How bad were the losses?!"

Aro frowned. Even he still found the report difficult to believe after reading it several times himself. "According to the report, Prime Minister Kristan Burton wiped out the enemy ground forces using an army of beasts. One hundred Note-4 fleets annihilated the enemy fleets, while the fiends killed every Nexus State cultivator and every Royal Soul Master, suffering only minor casualties themselves despite the enormous disparity in numbers..."

He then looked at Robin with unconcealed astonishment, still unable to understand how the final line of the report could possibly be real.

"...And it also says that Supreme General Amon and his wife, Malgra, hunted and killed the Seventh-Level Soul Master... and ate him."

"........?" Richard and Flora’s eyes widened as far as they possibly could, neither of them saying a single word as they tried to imagine the scene described in the report.

Even Glatheon was stunned. The death of someone possessing the strength of a Law Dominator was always enough to shake an entire region and become the greatest news for years to come... and this had been someone whose cultivation stood on the same level as his own!

He slowly turned his gaze toward Robin.

...Was this Amon the person Robin intended to send to kill Zargul?

"Hehe, good kids." Robin laughed with obvious satisfaction before casually gesturing toward Richard and Glatheon. "Come on. We have other places to visit."