Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1964 Waves

At the very same moment within a far-off, desolate sector-

“…!!” A pale-skinned old man snapped his narrow eyes open. Slowly, the corners of his lips crept upward into a twisted grin, revealing beneath it rows of rotten, broken teeth. A hoarse chuckle escaped his throat, then grew louder and louder.

“Hehe… haha… hahahahahaaa-!”

The old man rose unsteadily to his feet, spreading his arms wide as if welcoming the world, his laughter swelling until it echoed endlessly through the void. An aura of absolute blackness seeped from every single cell of his body; even the smallest movement made it seem as though he were eternally wrapped in thick, choking smoke, a living shadow given form.

He began to descend from his ivory throne, each step slow and deliberate. “Haha… hehe,” his eyes gradually sharpened, focusing for the first time in ages. “At last… at last, the suffering has ended… the torment is finally over…!”

Crack Crack

With every step the old man took downward, the familiar, nauseating sound of bones snapping reverberated throughout the pitch-black hall. Shards of splintered bone scattered and bounced across the floor, clattering like macabre rain.

With each step, his feet crushed skulls of countless sizes and shapes-ancient skulls that crumbled into dust the instant he touched them, and newer ones still streaked with remnants of flesh and darkened stains of blood.

Only then did the truth become horrifyingly clear: he had been seated atop a small hill made entirely of skulls-tens of thousands of them… no, perhaps even hundreds of thousands, piled together into a grotesque monument of slaughter. “Booo-hoo~” Beneath that grisly mound lay cold prison cells, packed tightly with women and children. Inside were people missing arms and legs, people so starved that their bones were visible beneath their skin… all of them crying, sobbing, and whimpering in despair.

The laughter of that wicked man-the joy of that greedy, monstrous soul-was like a dagger slowly carving into their fragile, emaciated bodies, shredding what little hope they had left.

“Silence!” The pale old man waved his arm violently. A surging wave of dark energy erupted outward, slamming into everyone at once and forcing them to spit blood. All the wailing, all the hateful glares, vanished instantly, replaced by raw screams of agony.

“Hehe… this is much better.”

He then turned his gaze toward the distant horizon, his grin widening. “Hehehe… thanks to the Fate Unbinding Device, I’ll finally be able to create the greatest spell I’ve ever designed without it exploding in my face. At last, I’ll use that spell to heal the injuries I suffered when they destroyed my refined planet, hehe. And after that… after that, this entire solar system will fall under the dominion of the Lord of Curses-Draglaul!!”

He clenched his fists tightly and raised them high, his laughter shaking the darkness itself.

“Thank you, Lord Human! Hahahaha!!”

Somewhere else, within the very same sector-

Step Step

A woman emerged slowly from one of the Soul Society’s facilities. Leaning heavily on a cane, she moved forward with obvious difficulty. A large patch covered her right eye, yet even that could not hide the ominous dark auras pouring from beneath it, spreading like veins of corruption across the rest of her body.

It was painfully clear that whatever those auras were, they were harmful- foreign intrusions that did not belong to her body, and perhaps were even slowly killing her from within.

Crack The woman clenched her left fist with all her strength. Her uncovered eye-an eye that had long shown nothing but pain, exhaustion, and despair- suddenly sparked with fierce intensity, glowing with renewed hope.

“At last… the Second Chance Array. At last, I can heal the energy gathering center and continue my destined path toward a World Cataclysm-the path that hateful bastard stole from me. I knew it… I knew fate would never allow me to die before I claimed my revenge”

At that very moment, two shadows stepped forward from behind her-two girls as well, one older and one younger than the woman with the cane.

“Your dream has finally come true-no, our dream,” said the older one as she placed a firm hand on her sister’s shoulder. “I’ll be the sacrificial party. Take my useless cultivation and continue forward. Walk the path. Complete the revenge… and I’ll catch up to you later, my sister.”

“…I can’t refuse. I’m sorry.” The eye-patched woman’s voice trembled. “I’ll do it -for the three of us… for everyone.” Tears welled up, spilling down her cheek. With great effort, she lifted her head and looked upward. Her hopeful smile and eager expression hardened, transforming into pure defiance-into resentment, into blazing hatred.

“At last… at last, I’ll snap your neck, Curses Chief Draglaul. I’ll avenge what you did to my village. I’ll avenge what you did to me. I’ll cleanse the entire universe

of your existence!!”

Then she raised her voice, shouting into the void itself,

“Thank you, Lord Human!!”

In a nearby planet-

Bang

Someone’s eyes flew open, wide and alert, and in the very next instant he burst

out of his room. He sprinted down a long hall packed with individuals clad in dark garments, each of them carrying a small dagger strapped tightly to their side. None dared stop him.

He blew past all of them and slammed through the largest door in the hall without hesitation.

“My lord! I’ve found the solution! I’ve found the solution!!”

“What is the meaning of this?” A fat, red-skinned man standing at the head of

the table roared in fury. He swept his arm around the room in an angry gesture. “Can’t you see I’m in a closed meeting? At the very least, you could have asked permission and entered quietly!”

“My lord, there’s no longer any need for a meeting at all!” The man hurried forward, barely able to contain himself.

“What nonsense are you spouting?” the red-skinned man snapped. “We’ve been trying to reconstruct Lord Farquaad’s castle for years without any success. I can’t obtain the palace blueprints, and we haven’t even managed to determine the exact location of the treasury.” He slammed his fist onto the table, causing the exterior schematic of the castle to shake. “If things continue like this-if we fail to reclaim what is rightfully ours by our own methods-we may be forced to pay an outrageous fortune to that Syndicate just to lend us their assistance.” “As I said before, my lord-there’s no need for that anymore!” The man pushed deeper into the room, his eyes burning with excitement. “Lord Human has just sold an additional component for the Youth Restoration Device-one capable of completely changing a person’s external appearance. A true transformation, not some cheap illusion-and it even alters one’s aura!” He clapped his hands loudly, the sound echoing through the chamber. “We won’t need any plans, any blueprints, or any secret routes. We’ll walk straight in through the main gate as

if we belong there!”

“..?!”

“Hahaha! The heavens themselves are on our side!”

“Lord Human to the rescue, haha!!”

Elsewhere, within that starfield-

Thunk

A massive gate slowly swung open, its heavy echo resounding through the area,

and a knight clad in gleaming, polished armor stepped inside. Long hair flowed down his back as he advanced. After what felt like an endless march, the knight finally stopped, bowed deeply, then lowered himself onto one knee. “Lord Farquaad,” he announced, his voice steady and formal, “the Soul Society’s latest announcement concerns a special section associated with Lord Human- one that features several newly released products.”

“Oh?” A short individual with an oversized face raised his eyebrows slightly, mild curiosity flashing across his features. “Is there anything among them that holds particular value for us?”

“All of the products have their uses,” the knight replied respectfully, “but I would strongly advise the immediate purchase of a Blood Inspection Gate, as well as no fewer than ninety banners to encircle the palace. Though the total cost will reach tens of millions of Pearls, these measures will provide an additional layer of defense against anyone who dares covet your immense wealth-especially those filthy thugs from the Red Donkey Guild.”

“Hm?” Lord Farquaad’s lips curved into a rare, satisfied smile. “Then it seems I owe Lord Human my thanks for further safeguarding both my fortune-and my beauty.” He waved his hand twice, dismissing the knight. “You may withdraw. I’ll enter the Soul Society myself after a thorough skin-cleansing session and conduct my shopping personally.”