Lord of the Truth

Buying a World Cataclysm as a slave may take a few years... but it's doable.

Securing a Nexus Being, though? That's an entirely different nightmare.

Decades of Theo's covert work in the underworld—using shadow swords and hidden agents—had yielded just one rental. A rental.

And every major syndicate or hidden order that possessed a Nexus Being as a slave had the same response to offers of purchase: absolute refusal.

Theo's anger at their reactions burned in his chest, but... deep down, he understood.

A Nexus Being—this kind of existence—might have once been a planetary emperor, or a general serving a Millennial Emperor, or even a formidable nomadic warlord whose very name once sent systems trembling.

These people don't go quietly.

They kill themselves rather than be captured.

And if one does get captured? Finding a ritual or enchantment to keep them obedient is near impossible.

So if someone actually managed to enslave one… there's no way in hell they'd sell them. Ever.

The mounting frustration—and the crushing, constant pressure on the First Army—was grinding Theo down day by day.

Caesar was now on the verge of launching a major campaign against the Iron Boar Empire, but they lacked the strength to dethrone the planetary emperor ruling it.

And worse… there were whispers—rumors—that this emperor may not be standing alone. That allies, hidden in the folds of space, could appear at the worst possible moment.

And on the other front?

Renara and her sister had begun suffocating the campaign with chains of bureaucracy.

They insisted every planet the army intended to conquer be reviewed, inspected, and assigned supervisors, slowing the engine of war to a crawl.

It got so maddening that Caesar himself told Theo in private,

"I'd rather strike the Nine Paths Empire before we're done with the Iron Boar fools!"

It was all too much.

The pressure kept building.

So Theo returned to his search again—desperate to find another Nexus Being, or two, even if just for short-term contracts.

And then...

He found one. For sale. Finally.

The slave was held by a branch of that infamous syndicate.

But… there was a problem.

They wanted seven billion energy crystals.

Theo laughed bitterly when he heard the number.

He even asked if they'd misunderstood—were they offering him a Crowned Monarch, not a Nexus Being?

Their answer?

"You're not too far off."

That line hit him like thunder.

He immediately demanded details—lifespan, cultivation level, the Law he practiced—but the syndicate remained silent.

They only said:

"Bring the pearls. We won't waste time otherwise.

...You'll love what you find, that, I will tell you."

From that moment on, Theo became obsessed.

He returned every few years, trying to bargain, trying to negotiate.

His father had once given him five billion to buy World Cataclysms. Every coin of it was spent.

Then, he gave him five billion more, this time specifically to purchase Linked Beings—plural.

Theo had told his father that some could be acquired for just 1.2 billion, and the average ones ranged around 3 billion, meaning five billion should've been enough for three full contracts.

But none were available.

And the only one he found for rent cost 300 million, leaving him with just 4.7 billion…

So he had to negotiate.

And strangely enough, the syndicate engaged with him—more than he expected.

They actually dropped the price—to 6.2 billion!

Still… that was out of his reach.

Regretfully, Theo stopped visiting them and resumed his search elsewhere, hoping for a miracle.

And then—he received his father's gift.

A gift that made him feel the full weight of their failure…

The weight of his own limitations…

The gap between what the empire needed and what it could afford.

But more than anything—

It made him realize again just how far his father was willing to go for him.

Another five billion.

His total reserves now? 9.7 billion.

Now… it was possible.

Now, he could buy that man.

"…"

The man in the bright yellow cloak kept his eyes locked on Theo for a few silent seconds.

Then, without a word, he set his fishing rod aside and stood up.

"Well then," he said with a calm, almost amused tone, "shall we go check out the goods together? Ready?"

Theo nodded twice, firmly.

"I've cleared all other business. We can depart immediately to the sector where the prisoner is being held."

"No need," the dark-skinned man replied with a subtle smile.

"You've spent enough time asking, enough time bargaining—I knew you'd eventually cave in and buy him, especially with that strange funding source of yours…

So, I already brought him to Mid-Sector 100."

He began walking forward.

"In fact," he added, glancing at Theo,

"He's already on this very planet."

The man walked past Theo and gave him a light pat on the shoulder.

"Follow me."

Theo's eyes widened.

"You brought him here already?! That's—"

SHHHHT

Suddenly, the fishing rod snapped violently and was dragged deep into the lake in a flash.

"…Oh."

The dark-skinned man looked back with a sigh full of regret.

"That was a big one…"

He turned his back on the water and continued walking.

"The price just went up by fifty million pearls...

Because you came at the wrong time."

"…"

------------------

One hour later—

"Come, come now… you're not a stranger here,"

The man leading Theo stepped leisurely into a vast, sunlit facility—

A structure so pristine it could have passed for a noble's estate or a royal retreat.

The large crystal-clear windows allowed golden beams of sunlight to flood the halls, and everywhere Theo looked, attendants moved gracefully, tending to both the grand interior and the sprawling, perfectly manicured gardens outside.

Everything about the place screamed elegance... peace... and complete control.

"…"

Theo couldn't suppress the flicker of disbelief in his eyes.

Ever since he got involved with this strange, outrageous syndicate, he'd been getting blindsided—day after day—by just how far their arrogance stretched.

This wasn't just any criminal organization.

These were the people who bled the universe dry,

Who dealt in slavery, extortion, forbidden weapons, and even entire planetary coups.

They were the shadow kings of every black market, the undisputed rulers of the underworld's information networks.

They taxed other syndicates. They dictated terms.

And yet—they walked among ordinary people in broad daylight…

As if they were strolling through their private garden.

As if the most powerful factions in the Mid Planetary Belt were blind—or worse, submissive.

And for some unfathomable reason…

No one dared to stop them.

Not the ancient tyrants.

Not the high academies.

Not even the elite planetary councils.

It was as if they were wrapped in some invisible cloak of immunity.

Of course, their power wasn't a rumor.

It was a brutal, suffocating reality.

Theo had heard more than enough whispers to believe it.

The man walking beside him now—calm, smiling, wrapped in a yellow cloak—wasn't just some regional handler.

He was the syndicate's chief enforcer in Mid-Sector 100.

And his strength? It was said to exceed even Nexus Beings.

But that only raised more questions…

Why hadn't the Behemoths moved against them?

Why had no one, not even the alliances of Stellar Academies, dared to tighten the leash on this monster syndicate?

Who was shielding them… and why?

Theo's boots echoed across the polished floor as he followed, his eyes drinking in every detail—columns of living stone, the quiet murmurs of distant water fountains, the strange stillness that hung in the air like a spell.

And then… a voice came from up ahead:

"There he is. Congratulations!"

"Hmm?"

Theo blinked in surprise.

That… wasn't what he was expecting to hear.

He had assumed the prisoner would be buried in the lowest levels of some fortified vault, restrained behind energy walls and enchanted barriers.

Surely someone valued at 6.25 billion energy pearlswould be locked away like a nuclear core...

But they were still in a main corridor of the building—still surrounded by gardeners, cleaners, quiet servers with downcast eyes and silk uniforms.

No chains. No guards. No dramatic entrances.

Just sunlight… flowers… and soft floors.

Still stunned, Theo took two measured steps past the man in the yellow cloak.

And there—seated calmly on the ground, without shackles, without a cell—

Was the man.

The one for whom Theo had spent more than most Millennial Empires could gather in a million years.

The one every whisper had warned him not to underestimate.

The one who could change the tide of wars.

The one who, according to the syndicate...

"Wasn't too far from a Monarch."

And he was just… sitting there.

Calm. Silent.

Waiting.