Oooooooommmmm~

".....?!" The cosmic elder rose unsteadily, each movement deliberate, almost trembling. He turned his withered frame toward the ring, that silent, glowing loop floating in the air before Robin — and his mouth opened ever so slightly, but not a single word dared to emerge. His eyes, ancient and tired, reflected nothing but awe and disbelief.

"What... is that?" Jabba staggered forward, taking two slow, heavy steps. His emerald eyes glowed faintly, locked on the object hovering above Robin's open palm. The faint hum it produced seemed to resonate through the entire room, as though it was alive — breathing, pulsing. Jabba glanced over his shoulder at Shaddad with sudden urgency. "Do you see this?! You have a third-stage truth eyes! Tell me, can you see what this is?!"

"....." Shaddad didn't answer. Sweat streamed down his temples, rolling through the fur of his mane until it was drenched — soaked completely, as if he had been swimming in the ocean for hours. His breath grew shallow, his heart racing.

What... what was this thing? His third-stage sight should have allowed him to perceive the layers of any existence, but no matter how he focused, this symbol was beyond comprehension. It wasn't simply powerful — it was absolute. The moment he looked deeper, his consciousness seemed to crumble before it. Compared to that symbol, he felt like a handful of dust, a mere flicker within the void.

"I've seen this mark before," Althera murmured, her voice low but resonant with recognition. She took slow steps toward Robin, her enormous, crystalline eyes sweeping carefully across the floating ring. "...The Ouroboros — the serpent that devours its own tail. With every piece it consumes, it grows larger, and as it grows, it hungers more. A being that represents eternity, rebirth, and the unity of beginning and end — the endless cycle that defines existence itself." Her gaze hardened, her tone tightening. "I can feel a strange, boundless force inside that ring. But what exactly is it?"

"The cosmic elder knows." Robin's lips curved slightly, and he tilted his head toward the old man. "Don't you?"

"...That's impossible," the elder replied almost instantly, his tone trembling beneath forced steadiness. He swallowed audibly, once, twice, then again. "It's beyond reason — beyond all recorded theory. This shouldn't exist. It's unexplainable, unreal. Even the oldest of myths hold no mention of such a construct."

Robin chuckled softly, the ring's faint glow dancing across his golden tattoos. "Even myths need a beginning, don't they? And if a legend like this one isn't born through me... then tell me, who else could possibly birth it?" He tossed the ring upward twice, catching it effortlessly, his grin widening with a spark of playfulness. "You've regained your sight — now look. Will you doubt your eyes, or will you doubt your own intuition?"

Gulp. The cosmic elder's eyes darted between Robin and the ring. He stared at it for a long, suspended moment, then back into Robin's unwavering gaze — gulp — and then again toward the floating circle. "W-What... stage... is that?"

"Second," Robin replied, his smile calm yet carrying a quiet pride.

"Im... impossible!" The elder's voice cracked, his entire body convulsing as if struck by lightning. "How can you use that power?!"

"These golden runes all over my body," Robin said, stretching his arms out slowly, his skin shimmering as faint golden runes lit up across his flesh, "they're my ability. Through them, I can channel and embody any law at any stage I desire — with complete mastery. A full hundred percent of its potential strength. Beautiful, isn't it?"

Althera furrowed her brow deeply, her patience visibly wearing thin. The mystery, the cryptic talk — it was driving her insane. "What are you two even talking about? What stages, and what—"

"Shhh!!" The elder raised a trembling finger to his lips, his voice barely a whisper. "...How... how did you obtain it? No—more importantly—how did you reach the second stage of it?"

"I obtained the first stage centuries ago," Robin said nonchalantly, "by merging Death and Destruction — symbols of consumption — with Life and Reshaping — symbols of expansion. Together, they formed the Ouroboros, the emblem of eternal creation. Honestly, it was the easiest Master Law I ever claimed." He began tossing the glowing ring lightly between his hands.

".....!!!" The three standing at the side froze, eyes widening to their limits as the realization sank in.

"As for the second stage," Robin continued, his tone calm yet filled with the weight of centuries, "it came naturally after constant use. I've relied almost entirely on this law in recent years — it became an extension of my existence. After decades of mastering its rhythm, its hunger, its pulse... reaching the second stage was simply a matter of time."

"Decades?!" The cosmic elder's voice echoed like thunder through the chamber. He staggered a step back, gripping his staff tightly. "You mean to tell me that a few mere decades were enough for you to advance an entire stage in a Master Law?!"

"…Lord Robin," Althera's voice wavered slightly as she pointed toward the gleaming ring that floated serenely above his hand, its golden radiance pulsing with power that made the air itself vibrate. "Is that… what I think it is?"

"The second stage of the Master Law of Creation," Robin replied with a soft laugh, his tone half-mocking, half-proud. His golden aura shimmered around him like sunlight rippling on molten metal. "I know, I know — it's a little shameful, isn't it? I haven't reached the third stage yet. I guess even I have limits."

"You…" Althera whispered, her voice trembling. Her knees weakened; she nearly lost her balance as the sheer weight of realization sank in.

"Hehehe~ Master is truly unbelievable," Jabba broke the silence with a nervous, high-pitched laugh. Though he didn't yet understand the full significance of Master Laws within the Middle Belt, the stunned faces of everyone around him said enough.

Poff!

"Huh?" Jabba turned around and gasped — Shaddad lay sprawled flat on his back, foam and pale essence spilling from his mouth. "Ah! Little brother!! Wake up, you can't faint at a time like this!"

"Come now, old man…" Robin spoke with that familiar teasing calm as he continued tossing the golden ring between his palms, the Ouroboros gleaming with every rotation. "You know exactly what this means — and I know that you know."

Gulp Gulp Gulp

The cosmic elder's throat worked as though he were swallowing stones. His wrinkled hands trembled slightly, and his ancient eyes — eyes that had seen the rise and fall of countless ages — darted rapidly between Robin's golden irises and the ring that spun above his hand, radiating eternity.

"Can you… can you truly do it?" he muttered, his voice unsteady. "Can you really restore me?"

"The door is open~" Robin shrugged, his tone light, almost playful. " If my Master Law of Creation transcends the level of the Master Seal of Balance within you. It can rewrite what was thought immutable. However," he raised a single finger, "I've only reached the second stage. I can't wave my hand and make you young again — not yet."

"Understood, understood…" The elder nodded rapidly, almost desperately, as he rose onto his knees. His every motion betrayed the mixture of exhaustion and flickering hope burning in his chest.

There is some kind of hope at least!

"But you," Robin continued, his tone deepening, "you weren't born a sixth-grade wielder. You started from nothing — you clawed your way to greatness through endless sacrifices. Since the day you first touched the first stage of balance, you've been offering up parts of yourself piece by piece. I can restore every sacrifice you've made within the first and second stages of Balance — completely." His lips curved into a calm, confident smile. "Tell me, old man — how does that sound?"

"...?!" Althera's eyes darted between them in disbelief. Her heartbeat thundered in her chest, her entire body tense with awe and dread.

"..." The elder's lips trembled as if he were struggling to hold back tears. He turned his gaze away, his breath shaky, before finally meeting Robin's eyes again — eyes burning with certainty. "No jokes, boy… Don't play with me like this. Don't give false hope to a soul that has already accepted its doom."

"….." Robin exhaled softly, the weight of the moment pressing on him. For a heartbeat, even his golden glow dimmed. He wasn't immune to the sorrow in the old man's voice; it stirred something deep — something human.

When the cosmic elder had once been young, wielding only the first and second stages of Balance, he had been unstoppable — bold, daring, and full of reckless ambition. Those were his brightest years, his golden era of discovery and battle. But they were also the years he paid the greatest price, the years of loss and sacrifice that had eventually hollowed him into the shell he now was.

To erase those sacrifices — even partially — would restore not just his power and life, but a fragment of his spirit, of the person he once was.

"Come now, old man," Robin said again, this time gently, his tone carrying both confidence and empathy. The Ouroboros coiled and shimmered around his finger, whispering eternity with each turn. "You've seen the results of my execution of the Exchange Technique on my disciple. So why not trust me? You've got nothing to lose by trying, right?"

"…" The cosmic elder swallowed once more, the sound loud in the silence. His old eyes glistened faintly as he rasped, "What do you want… in return?"

Robin's expression hardened, then steadied. "I want safety and peace for my backyard," he said simply. "I can't carry out my missions while surrounded by chaos and threats. And when the time comes for me to face my destiny — to rise and stand as the Sovereign above all — I don't want your interference." He paused, then tilted his head with a sly grin. "…And perhaps," he added playfully, "a small gift from that vast treasure hoard of yours that you bragged about."

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