Chapter 1613: Next!
After fifty long years— Year 490 After the Coronation
Woooo~
Robin slowly raised his hands from Jabba’s head, moving with deliberate care as though afraid to disturb the fragile balance he had just maintained. His palms were still wrapped in a faint, shimmering violet mist that clung to his skin like threads of living light. Only after a moment did he finally open his eyes, letting out a long, weary breath as he wiped the sweat glistening on his forehead. "Phew~ well, that’s as far as I can go for today."
"The results are far better than we expected," came a calm and steady voice from behind Robin, carrying with it a note of reassurance. "Two more sessions like this, perhaps three at most, and your endeavor will reach completion."
Robin gave Jabba’s face two gentle pats, the kind one gives to a dear comrade, before rising to his feet. He turned around, his gaze falling upon a particular soul creature—one whose massive body rippled with muscle, a towering presence exuding both strength and dignity. Robin grinned faintly. "Heh~ I honestly don’t know how I could ever repay you, Arkalon. You’re nothing short of astounding."
The damage Jabba had suffered from activating the Blood Destruction Array was catastrophic. His soul domain had been ravaged—torn apart, punctured in places, and stripped of vast amounts of soul force. Whole fragments of information had been erased, delicate pieces of the internal structure broken away as if devoured by unseen jaws. Without intervention, Jabba’s essence would have unraveled entirely. By sheer fortune, Robin had been present at the critical moment, weaving the Reality Seal spell onto Jabba to freeze the destruction in place, halting the collapse before it could spread further.
Yet even then, Robin had been at a loss. He had no idea what more he could do! Soul wounds were unlike any physical scar—such injuries were meant to be handled only by their owner, through painstaking effort and recovery. And injuries of this severity? They bordered on the impossible.
That was why, once his own final royal star had stabilized, Robin turned to Arkalon for aid.
Arkalon—who had gained immeasurable benefits from the mysterious purple substance, whose awareness had deepened and sharpened beyond what most could imagine. He did not hesitate to collaborate with Robin, and together they forged a method to heal Jabba’s soul domain.
Now, the largest and most threatening hole in the domain had been closed. Robin no longer needed to keep the Reality Seal active every moment. With just two or three more healing sessions, the very foundation of Jabba’s soul domain would be restored as though born anew—rebuilt stronger and sturdier than before, strengthened by the violet substance woven into the very fabric of his recovery.
And so, with the seal lifted and the healing power of the purple substance flowing steadily, Jabba’s return to consciousness was only a matter of time.
"Soul creatures do not require rewards, Owner," Arkalon said, pride flickering across his features. His smile was faint but resolute, the kind born of unshakable conviction. With a respectful step backward, his enormous figure shimmered, then dissolved into the swirling light of the Soul Gate until not even a trace remained.
"....." Robin remained where he was, eyes fixed on the place where Arkalon had vanished, his thoughts lingering for long, silent seconds.
The truth struck him suddenly and with weight—when he thought of the cheat-like gift he had acquired in the matters of souls, he realized that the torment he had endured at the hands of the specters and the purgatory flames of purgatory had not been meaningless suffering.
The agony, the despair, the near-death—it had all been worth it. If time were rewound, he would choose the same path again, without a flicker of doubt, if it meant gaining Arkalon once more.
A deep sigh escaped his chest, and Robin slowly turned, making his way to the mouth of the cavern. He pressed his back against the cool mountain rock, the rugged surface grounding him as his gaze stretched outward across the endless horizon.
For hours he remained there, letting the silence of the natural world seep into him, lost in the meditative calm that only solitude before the vastness of nature could bring. At last, in a quiet, bitter murmur, he voiced his thought:
"...Why in the hell is my fate always tied to caves?!"
His brooding was soon broken. Robin straightened slightly and cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting down toward the base of the mountain, his voice carrying a sharp edge of irritation:
"Hey! You down there—what’s for dinner tonight?!"
But the scene awaiting him below was far from the ordinary. This time, there were no bands of soul creatures simply roasting meat over open flames as was their custom. Instead, an entirely new spectacle had been conjured.
An elaborate kitchen, crafted entirely from the essence of soul force, stood gleaming beneath the mountain. Inside, no fewer than ten soul creatures bustled about, each wearing a neatly tied cooking apron. Every one of them was fully immersed in a task—chopping, stirring, arranging, or preparing dishes with practiced precision—as though a grand feast was about to be unveiled.
After Robin’s voice echoed across the mountain, the head chef stepped forward with calm dignity, placing his hands neatly behind his back as though presenting a formal report. His tone carried both respect and pride as he announced:
"Tonight, we have roasted liver, rice served with the seasonal lily sauce, and thin slices of mountain duck glazed with orange."
"Hmmm," Robin tilted his head a few degrees, his expression unreadable for a moment. "Alright, carry on." With that, he leaned his back once more against the rough mountain wall, letting the cool stone support him.
He drew out a large number of blank treant bark boards, each covered with markings and notes. His lips curved faintly as he muttered, "The purple substance... it truly brought out the hidden talents buried deep within so many of my soul creatures. Whoever had fragments of memories locked away began to focus on them, nurture them, and refine them. And now, what do I find? I even have a capable head chef among them!"
(So then, what will you begin with today?) Neri’s voice, clear yet relentless, sounded directly inside his mind. (Will it be the method of reshaping Jabba’s body into a younger form? The technique to repair his shattered energy gathering center? The strengthening of Monarch Althera? Or perhaps the healing of Morgana’s broken soul domain? What about the gift you promised the Soul Society, the offering meant to stop them from bleeding you dry with taxes? Maybe you should return to meditation and dive once more into the mysteries of causality, balance, and identity. Or should you keep pressing forward with the Fifth cultivation Path? Or—perhaps the simplest option—you’ll go back to carving Truth Runes, destroying pens and shattering boards one after another?)
"..." Robin exhaled sharply, his head almost beginning to smoke from the flood of suggestions. He narrowed his eyes at the scene below the mountain and shouted again with sudden authority: "Fuck it! Double the number of dishes, you there—and you as well!!"
(Do you realize what will aid you in every single one of these paths? Soul force!) Neri’s voice struck while the iron was hot, echoing with conviction.
"Heh~ I’ve made progress in every one of them," Robin muttered as he rubbed his head gently, attempting to calm the storm inside his thoughts. "And secondly... I wouldn’t call it something as shallow as a way to make Jabba younger. You really underestimate my work when you phrase it like that!"
Then his lips twisted into a chuckle. "What I’m trying to accomplish is to replicate the same extraordinary technique the All-Seeing god used, the one that reverted both my body and Caesar’s entirely to childhood. At that time, it wasn’t just my appearance that changed. My bone age, my blood, even the aura surrounding me—all of it reset and transformed completely. Every fiber of me was altered at the core. If I can truly complete this, then Jabba won’t be the only one to benefit. I’ll be holding a treasure that could overturn entire markets. Imagine it: pills, cosmetics, restoration tools, all those fragile and temporary methods of chasing youth—they’ll vanish the moment my technique appears!"
Robin’s hands rubbed together greedily, and his grin widened. "Of course, this miracle will only be for those who can pay the price, hehe. The True Beginning Empire consumes an unimaginable amount of Pearls and resources of every variety. Only with such constant flow of wealth can we rise swiftly. Only then can we provide unwavering support for the Cradle Empire and the Grave Empire, raising them to their current level of power in such a short span of years."
For Robin, this type of invention—something that didn’t make his enemies stronger but remained in overwhelming demand across countless lands—was the ideal weapon. It was wealth, pure and unassailable, wealth that would keep pouring into his hands without limit.
"...You know what?" Robin said after a pause, his eyes shining with both mischief and determination. "You’ve opened my appetite. I’ll continue working on that technique!"
(And don’t you see? The stronger your soul becomes, the faster your mind can unravel solutions. The quicker your hand will inscribe runes. The greater your ability to run multiple projects in parallel without losing focus.) Neri’s voice was persistent, an endless echo in his thoughts. (All of that could be yours. Don’t you want it?)
"Tsk~ Stop this nonsense, it won’t work on me," Robin clicked his tongue in irritation, though there was a trace of humor in his voice. "I won’t start forming my fourth star until I finish everything on my plate first!"