Lord of the Truth

"Hah!" Robin raised an eyebrow before waving his hand casually, causing all the swords to return to his soul domain. "Seems like you have some intelligence left in you after all."

"Some people aren't worth provoking. A simple 'yes' or 'understood' is enough. I learned that lesson the hard way when I met that woman…" Devos spoke in a calm, almost indifferent tone as he curled his long, fluffy tail around himself. "Go ahead, take what you want, and then leave. I won't stop you."

Robin crossed his arms, tilting his head. "That woman... Do you mean the soul shard of King Volb's Overlord?" His interest had been piqued. He had heard of an event in the past—when a white soul shard descended upon this world and had an unusual encounter with the Beast King. Shortly after that, the native inhabitants of this planet acquired the knowledge to construct spatial portals and were given a racial upgrade device. It was an event that reshaped the balance of power on this planet.

"If that's what you call her, then yes," Devos responded flatly, his tone betraying neither admiration nor resentment.

"Oh?" Robin's lips curled into a smirk. "Can I ask you about her, or would that be crossing the line?"

Devos let out a long, drawn-out sigh, his piercing blue eyes narrowing. "Ask whatever you like." He flicked his tail lazily before adding, "If she had wanted to kill me, she would have had to pay a heavy price. A mere soul shard alone held enough force to be the equivalent of forty of those swords you wield. As for you…" Devos glanced at Robin briefly before resting his head on his front paws. "You could probably kill me without too much effort. I may be prideful, but I'm not stupid enough to keep secrets when my life is on the line."

"Hahaha!" Robin burst into laughter, his voice echoing through the cavernous chamber. He was finally starting to understand this so-called Transcendent Beast King a little better.

When Devos first awakened as a Beast King, he did not rise into a world of conquest or war. He found himself ruling over a barren, frozen wasteland. The few remaining beasts on this planet were not his subordinates; they were simply struggling to survive the hostile environment. Unlike other planets, where intelligent creatures sought to slay the Beast King for power or glory, the beings here worshiped him instead.

He had no grand enemy to fight. No great kingdom to rule. No goal to strive for.

The only task he had ever been given was by the Spirit of the Planet, which had pleaded with him to freeze the southern hemisphere to maintain planetary balance.

Decades passed. Then centuries. Then millennia.

Solitude could kill even the mightiest of spirits. It could dull the sharpest of minds and shatter the strongest of wills.

At some point, Devos had stopped caring. He sought conflict or power. His only moments of entertainment were when Sandra —his devoted attendant— groomed his fur and cleaned the remnants of blood sacrifices from his cavern. Not because he was lazy, nor because he was arrogant, but simply because he was bored.

A glowing white radiance descending from the heavens?

A human with an immeasurable soul force?

Why should he fight them?

He had nothing to protect.

"Interesting... Then tell me, Devos, what exactly do you know about that woman?" Robin asked, his smirk widening as he took a step forward.

"Not much," Devos admitted, his deep voice carrying a hint of indifference. "She claimed to be a planetary empress from someplace called the Nine Paths Planetary Empire. She wanted me to become one of her army commanders and said she would wait until I ascended to the Mid-Planetary Belt or something along those lines..."

Devos lazily licked his massive paw before rubbing it over one of his ice-blue eyes. "As a token of goodwill, she offered to provide me with an army of mutants—creatures modified and enhanced by her empire. She asked me to grant them my blood, saying that it would strengthen them. And, in return, she wanted me to train in commanding that army for the remaining two thousand years that I have left in the Young Planetary Belt."

Robin raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Oh? And what did you say to her offer?"

Devos exhaled deeply, his breath forming a mist of frost. "'Understood.' What else was I supposed to say?"

Robin blinked before laughing again, clapping his hands together. "You have a good sense of humor, Devos! You'd get along well with Holak if you ever met him."

The massive beast's ears twitched, and he narrowed his glowing eyes. "What does 'sense of humor' mean? ...I'm being serious. What was I supposed to say? I listened, did as she asked, and then went back to sleep. Every now and then, I fill the Blood Pool so she doesn't come back and bother me again. Simple."

Robin chuckled softly, his fingers brushing against the surface of an ancient, dust-covered artifact as he resumed his search through the third pile of resources. His voice carried an amused yet knowing tone as he spoke, "I have to admit, I like the sound of that title —Commander of Armies— it has a certain ring to it. But let's be real here… do you really think that woman is giving you such a grand role out of kindness? She's not recruiting you just for your presence—she's after your blood. And not in the slow, occasional way you've grown accustomed to. No, no, no… she's going to drain you dry to mass-produce more of those transformed creatures. Your blood holds the key to granting humans an instant affinity for both frost and time. Even if I doubt that woman possesses a law from the Path of Time, just the power of frost alone will be more than enough to forge an army of terrifying warriors under her banner."

He paused for a moment, tapping his fingers against the artifact as his gaze darkened in thought.

Frost. It was a power misunderstood by many. Unlike ice —merely a product of manipulating the Water Path— frost is something far more insidious, far more dangerous. It wasn't just about freezing things solid; it was the act of draining energy and heat, stripping objects of their very vitality until they became nothing but brittle husks. The temperature would drop so low that molecules themselves would slow, condense, and bond together in an unnatural, suffocating stillness.

If an ordinary ice-based attack were to encase a human in a thick, frozen shell, frost would go far beyond that—it would crystallize even the bone marrow within, turning their entire body into a delicate, fragile structure that would collapse into dust at the slightest touch, crumbling apart with the gentlest breath of wind.

That was why the Law of Frost must be feared. It is insidious, absolute, and leaves no room for resistance if recieved dirictly.

Even Robin himself had struggled to classify it. Was it merely a minor law derived from some unknown Path? Or was it something more… something fundamental? A core law belonging to an entirely distinct, unique Path of its own? He still hadn't reached a conclusion, but for now, he leaned toward the former.

"That's what I thought too, but… what does it matter?" Devos finally exhaled, his deep, almost velvety voice reverberating through the cave, both weary and indifferent at the same time. "I just hope she takes what she wants from my blood and handles the whole war business on her own. I have no interest in any of that."

Robin stopped his rummaging and turned toward the massive fox, raising an eyebrow. "My dear, furred friend… what makes you so sure she'll only take a little, as she does now? You don't seem to understand the scale of what's about to happen. Look at Volp and the others—they were directly transformed by your blood, yet their numbers remain incredibly few compared to the time that's passed. Almost a thousand years, and how many of them exist? That woman, on the other hand, isn't looking to create a slow, gradual transformation. No, she wants an instant army. That means she won't be taking your blood drop by drop—she'll be draining an entire decade's worth of it in a single sitting!"

"..."

"And another thing," Robin continued, his smirk deepening as his voice took on a sharper, almost taunting edge. "You say you hope she'll lead the army herself? That's almost cute. Do you honestly believe she's going to let you laze around, eat whenever you want, sleep whenever you please, just like you do now? Heh. Maybe I don't know everything about the Middle Belt, but I do know one thing for certain—the wars there never stop. Those so-called Planetary Empires are constantly locked in battle, always conquering or being conquered. And you… you won't just be a bystander in all of this."

Robin leaned slightly forward, his piercing gaze locked onto Devos. "You think your blood being drained is the worst part? Oh no… my friend, you'll be forced into every single one of those battles. Why? Because your mere presence enhances the warriors who carry your blood. You make them stronger. Faster. More resilient. And once the battle is over? You'll be dragged back to camp, drained of even more blood, and then shoved back onto the battlefield again. Rinse and repeat. Over and over."

"......"

For a long moment, Devos said nothing. He simply lifted his massive paw, scratched the side of his head twice, and then slowly lowered it to cover his eyes.