"...Arenât
you
the one who knows more about that thing...
Oh, golden eyed one?"
Step. Step. Step.
Robin stumbled backward, panic overtaking reason. His breath hitched. His heart pounded in his chest like a war drum.
He took several quick steps back, until his spine struck the rough bark of a lone palm tree.
His eyes were wide open, trembling, darting.
He looked like a man who had just seen death with a smile.
"Whatâs the matter?" the blind old man asked with venomous amusement.
"Is it
really
that shocking that I know where your Eye comes from?
Did you truly believe you were walking through the universe alone?"
He let out a dry, cruel laugh that crackled with scorn.
"The worst kind of arrogance is the belief that you know something no one else does."
"I-itâs not like that. I just..."
Robin tried to speak, tried to sound like himself againâthe composed emperor, the stoic cultivator, the brilliant researcher who had sold a martial art for billions...
But the words collapsed before reaching his lips.
He couldnât find his voice. Not here. Not in front of this old man.
Because the old man hadnât just acknowledged the golden Eye.
He had hinted at the
origin
.
And more than that... heâd all but declared that he knew the true nature of the danger behind it.
That
thing
Robin had only dared to whisper about in the corners of his thoughts.
Did he mean
him
?
Did he mean
The All-Seeing god
?
"It looks like your buddy didnât share very much with you."
The old manâs smile twistedâugly, knowing.
"But thatâs to be expected.
He didnât share much with his
other victims
, either."
"Victims...? You mean the candidaâ"
Robinâs throat locked.
He froze mid-word.
He had almost said it.
Almost called them by the name they sharedâthe ones who came before. The ones who had worn the golden marks and followed the missions, just as he had.
But he couldnât say it.
He
physically
couldnât.
The All-Seeing god âs warning came back like a cold blade at his throat.
Never say a word about him. Do not draw attention. Do not invoke me.
It wasnât just fear anymoreâit was
conditioned
. It had rooted itself into his soul, into his instincts.
Even saying
candidate
now felt like setting fire to his own lungs.
"Hmm?"
The blind old man furrowed his brow, intrigued.
"You
know
about the candidates... but you canât bring yourself to say the word?
So he told you
some
things... and then
threatened
you afterward, huh?"
He took a slow breath, something between wonder and disgust in his voice.
"Fascinating. Truly fascinating. Iâve never seen a case like yours before."
Step by step, he walked forward again, his presence heavyâlike gravity itself.
Until he was standing less than a foot away from Robin.
"So... what makes
you
so different?"
Robin swallowed hard. His throat felt like it had turned to dust.
"...What do
you
know about him?"
His voice was barely a whisper.
The old man let out a breath.
"
So
the threat reached deep, did it?"
He chuckled again, turning away and walking a few steps, almost leisurely now.
"Very well. I wonât push. Iâve no intention of breaking my new disciple on day one."
Then, just before stopping, he spoke againâmore sharply.
"Letâs start with the basics.
What name did he give you?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"Let me guess...
The All-Seeing
, wasnât it?"
"..."
Robin didnât respond.
But his silence
was
a response.
His breath quickened. His pupils dilated.
His eyes trembled like the leaves in a storm.
And in that stillness, the old man
saw
everything.
"Iâll take that as confirmation."
He smiled againâbut now, the smile was more... curious. Like a man turning over a long-forgotten puzzle piece.
"Youâre not the first, you know.
There have been others before youâfake Chosen of Truth with golden eyes who also mentioned
The All-Seeing
.
Thatâs the name he gave
them
."
He raised a hand and counted with his fingers as he spoke.
"To the candidates of
Causality
, he called himself
The All-Capable
.
To the chosen of
Identity
, he became
The All-Knowing
.
To those aligned with
Balance
, he was
The Harmonizer
... and so on."
His voice turned bitter.
"He made every single one of them believe he was the absolute peakâthe perfect embodimentâof their Law.
That he alone held the truths they were meant to seek.
He promised them guidance. Purpose.
And in the end...?
He used them."
"...Then whatâs the truth?"
Robinâs voice trembledâquiet, hesitant, but desperate.
"What
is
he?"
The old man waved a hand, almost dismissively.
"The truth?"
He sighed.
"They were all correct.
He
is
The All-Seeing, to the Truth-bearers.
He
is
The
All-Capable
, to the candidates of Causality.
He
is
the peakâ
of everything.
"
He turned slowly, his face now hollow and solemn.
"He holds the keys to
every
Master Law.
He sits just beyond the summit of each path, waiting.
Watching.
Calling.
Recruiting."
Then he lowered his voice.
"You remember when I told you... that
unlike
Truth, all the other Master Laws had more than five wielders?"
He looked directly into Robinâs golden eyes.
"More than
half
of them came from the golden-limbed.
From those marked by him.
Candidatesâsent by
him
âto carry out his will."
"Only
two
of the Master Laws," the old man said quietly, his voice thin as the wind, "have
never
managed to send out candidates for."
"A Chosen of Truthâa real oneâ
They cannot be taught, or handed the Law like a weapon.
They must
earn
it. as you probably know."
He paused, then gave a heavy exhaleâone that carried decades, maybe centuries, of observation.
"And of course... no one was ever sent from the
Eighth Master Law
."
Then his tone grew bitter, almost mournful.
"But when I saw your abilities...
when I saw your golden eyes shimmer like molten truth...
I
knew
.
He found a way to seal a loophole.
I knew that the coming sixth Chosen of Truth has become one of his candidates."
He shook his head with disappointment.
"What a tragedy. What a waste."
Robin stood silent, though his heart thundered in his chest.
"...Who is he, exactly?"
The words escaped Robin almost involuntarily.
It wasnât a revelation, not an admission of guilt or allegiance.
Just a simple question.
But one that had devoured him inside for as long as he could remember.
The old man raised his head slightly, as if listening to the universe itself.
"He is... who he
claims
to be," he answered at last.
"Nearly every force of significance in this universeâany power with a history that spans millenniaâhas scraps about him.
Clues.
Fragmented records.
Shadows of shadows... scattered across the last
hundred million years
."
His expression darkened.
"But all they truly know about him... comes from his
candidates
.
Their lips... were never entirely sealed.
Not all of them made it to the end.
Some died.
Some broke.
Some... whispered."
"Pieces of his image filtered through the ages.
And he even allowed itâtold them things, gave them names. Seven names, all
fabricated
.
But never his real one.
Never his
purpose
."
Robin lowered his head, lost in thought.
He had spoken of The All-Seeing to his generals in the aftermath of the Greenland Warâunfiltered.
He had revealed almost everything to Jabba.
Mila had even seen him with her own eyes.
And The All-Seeing? He never seemed to mind.
He had only ever spoken of his name.
Of the mission in Nihari.
Nothing more.
And it
fit
.
It all
fit
what the old man was saying.
"...Maybe heâs more than one," Robin muttered, half to himself.
"Maybe The All-Seeing isnât The All-Knowing. Maybe theyâre different... competing... forces."
The old man simply raised an eyebrow and shook his head.
"I doubt that.
I may never have seen him personally, but everyone who
matters
âall the great powersâagree itâs the same entity."
His voice was firm now, like steel.
"His goals are consistent.
His selection process is always the same.
Everything matchesâacross
eons
.
Thereâs no room left for chance."
He narrowed his eyes.
"And even
if
you were right...
then theyâre not enemies.
Theyâre alliesâparts of a greater design.
Because never once in recorded history have they interfered with each other.
No sabotage. No contradiction.
Only perfect harmony."
He took a deep breath.
"Every mission they discoveredâall of themâultimately served the same cause.
And the candidates?
They are separated by
hundreds of thousands
âeven
millions
âof years.
Yet the script never changes.
Not even slightly."
Robin felt something leave him.
As if a breath heâd been holding for a century had finally exhaled.
The tension in his body broke like glass under pressure.
His knees almost gave out, and he leaned heavily against the tree behind him, hands limp at his sides.
He had known most of this.
He had
felt
it in his bones.
But hearing it aloudâfrom someone with no golden eyes, no divine title, no missionâ
hearing it as a
human being
...
It broke something inside him.
And thenâ
A sudden spark in his thoughts.
A connection.
"...Wait."
Robin lifted his head sharply.
Eyes locked onto the old man.
"You keep saying
they say
,
they believe
,
they discovered
.
Youâre speaking in the tongue of millennial empiresâlike youâre
quoting
them.
But what about
you
?
Whatâs
your
place in all this?"
The old man grinned.
Not kindly.
Not mockingly.
But knowingly.
"Heh heh heh..."
He chuckled with the tired laughter of someone whoâd already outlived a dozen wars.
He slowly turned his head to the sea, letting the wind kiss his blind face.
"Maybe..."
He said softly.
"Maybe I know a thing or two... more than I should."
He raised his chin slightly.
"Everyone who knows about the
Ancient Belt
...
has at least
some idea
of what that being is trying to do."