Lord of the Truth-Chapter 1145: Above the eight?

"…Its properties are unknown, it has never been used, and it has never been named?" Robin muttered in a low voice, his brows furrowing in deep thought. "Then what's the difference between that and it not existing at all? If there's no record of it, no trace of its influence, then why do people even believe it exists? Why didn't you just say there are only seven Master Laws?"

(It is the commonly accepted knowledge in the Mid-Planetary Belt is that there are eight.) Evergreen shrugged her small shoulders nonchalantly. (I'm just passing along what the average person knows— uncovering the truth behind it? That's your job.) She paused, then continued in a more serious tone. (The reason why this belief is so widely accepted is because of a declaration made by the Predecessor of the Master Law of Balance. He stated with absolute certainty that the eighth is a fundamental necessity for the birth of the universe, but he never identified what it was. And years later, a great Truth Chosen followed in his footsteps and reaffirmed the claim.)

"…Fascinating." Robin adjusted his chair and leaned back slightly, resting his fingers against his temple. His eyes, sharp and calculating, stared into the empty air. "Even after all these countless millennia, with so many great figures dedicating their lives to the study of laws, no one has managed to discover this supposed eighth Master Law? Something so fundamental that the universe itself required its presence to come into existence… and yet, it remains a complete mystery?"

(Hey, you said you were thinking about a Master Law, right? Maybe your idea is the missing eighth one, hehe~.) Evergreen giggled playfully, crossing her arms with amusement.

"Hah~ Hah~ Hah~, so funny!" Robin scoffed, waving his hand in exasperation. "If all those towering figures throughout history failed to find it, what makes you think I would succeed just like that? I don't have the experience, the level, or the power to even dream of such a discovery. If anything, the closest match to what I've been researching should be the Master Law of Creation."

(Oh? You've been researching Creation?) Evergreen's eyes sparkled with interest as she tilted her head.

Robin nodded slowly, his expression turning more contemplative. "The idea first entered my mind after I merged Spacetime. Two Fundamental Laws fused to form a Master Law—or more accurately, by fully comprehending them, by finding the precise points of convergence, I was able to grasp the Master Law. That made me wonder… Wouldn't Life and Death be even more worthy of merging?"

He shook his head, exhaling sharply, "I tried, but something was missing. Life and Death are not like Time and Space, which are deeply intertwined—they are opposites. Their relationship is complementary, not harmonious. One begins only when the other ends. There was no way to simply 'merge' them. So I set the idea aside for a while."

"…Then, Pythor and his companions arrived, bringing with them knowledge of the Path of Destruction. That's when a new thought struck me: Isn't Destruction just Death for everything that isn't alive? A spark ignited inside me, urging me to experiment. I decided to introduce the Minor Law of Corrosion between Life and Death, to see what would happen. And to my shock… there was a positive reaction between all three patterns. Of course, there wasn't any true fusion, nor did some grand revelation emerge, but—unlike before—there was no strong repulsion! It was the first sign that there could be a deeper connection."

Robin spread his arms slightly, letting out a light chuckle.

"That's all I managed to accomplish before everything changed. After reaching that point in my research, I barely had time to breathe— we plunged into two years of continuous war, one battle after another, until we arrived here." He tapped his fingers rhythmically against the desk, his expression unreadable. "But even with all that… my research into this Law will not stop. If the Minor Law of Corrison played a role in this equation, then the Major Law of Destruction must be even more significant. And if Destruction has its place, then the element that will complete the equation must be the Law of Construction —or more precisely, the Primary Law of Reconfiguration— the law that governs the reshaping of matter itself."

(Hmm… I'm not entirely sure about all of this. There isn't any widely circulated knowledge in either the Young or Mid-Planetary Belt regarding the method to attain the Master Law of Creation… but I have to admit, it does sound somewhat plausible~.) Evergreen gave a casual shrug, her expression unreadable. (I suppose the knowledge you've gathered about the Law of Creation is equivalent to what the Second Truth Chosen had regarding the Law of Balance?)

Robin shook his head firmly. "No… I am far closer to the Master Law of Creation than he ever was to Balance. I already have a structured path leading to it. Whether I'm right or wrong, I'll know once I successfully merge all four components. But this book about Balance… It contains nothing about how to actually reach the Master Law of Balance. It only talks about its existence, its logical derivation, and how one might theorize its nature…"

His fingers resumed tapping lightly against the desk as his thoughts deepened. "...Eight Laws. Eight Essential Entities. All of them existed before the birth of the physical universe we know today. The puzzle is finally starting to take shape…

Spacetime laid the foundation, opening up the necessary 'space' for the universe to unfold.

Primordial Chaos then emerged, becoming the raw material— the ingredients from which all things would be shaped.

Creation used the Primordial Chaos and formed it into matter, sculpting the fabric of existence.

Then Balance arose, ensuring that all things remained within harmonious limits, preventing unchecked excess.

Causality followed, establishing the flow of sequence, dictating how one event would lead into the next, binding everything in the fabric of cause and effect.

…But despite all this, there are still several critical gaps in my understanding."

(Oh? Like what?) Evergreen tilted her head curiously.

"First… what exactly is the Master Law of Identity?" Robin's brows furrowed slightly. "I have a few working theories, but I can't seem to put my finger on anything definitive…"

Evergreen smirked and raised a single finger, taking on the air of a seasoned instructor. (Identity is what makes you a human male and what makes a rabbit a rabbit. It's what ensures that when you wake up in the morning, you are still yourself, rather than suddenly turning into a rock. It is the force that assigns every entity its unique form, purpose, and properties— and more importantly, it ensures that these traits remain stable until the entity either dies or is destroyed.)

"Oh?" Robin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So, in a sense, it works alongside the Master Law of Creation, acting as a stabilizing force that maintains form and function…"

(Exactly~!) Evergreen nodded, clearly pleased with his reasoning.

Robin's expression darkened slightly as he moved on. "Then what about the Master Law of Truth? Where does it fit into all of this? I can't seem to pinpoint a definitive role for it in the birth of the universe."

(Sorry, but that's your puzzle to solve, hehe~.) Evergreen grinned mischievously, raising her hands playfully. (In the Mid-Planetary Belt, different scholars have different interpretations. Some believe that Truth was created to convert all things into structured patterns, making their interactions more seamless. Others theorize that it exists as an overseer—a guiding force that ensures all other laws function as they should. Some even suggest that the Law of Truth is what allows us, the creation, to perceive or draw closer to something beyond our understanding… The theories are countless, but nothing is certain. Do you have any other burning questions?)

"Yes. The soul." Robin's voice grew sharper, his tone almost demanding. "The Law of Creation can form matter and erase it. It can bestow life force upon bodies and strip it away at will. And perhaps, it can do even more than that…

But it has no connection to true, conscious, living beings. It cannot create a fully sentient, self-aware human. With it, one could construct a flawless human body, pulsating with life energy— but it would remain nothing more than an empty husk. A motionless, comatose vessel that would never awaken, no matter how perfect its structure. That's because it lacks a soul. And the soul cannot be a mere component of the Law of Creation—Creation itself is already too formless to inherently contain something so distinct.

At first, I suspected that the soul might be a Master Law in its own right…

But your words have made me reconsider. And it cannot be the mysterious eighth law—the sages of the past must have debated this and discarded the notion long ago. So then… what is the soul?"

This time, Evergreen hesitated.

Her reply did not come as swiftly as before.

When she finally spoke, her tone carried an unusual weight.

(There's no need for you to concern yourself with something beyond the limits of your capabilities as a mere human. Use only what is available to you. The matters of the soul are out of your reach.)

"…?!" Robin's brows furrowed sharply.

There was something deeply unsettling about her response.

She had answered all his previous questions—about Identity, Balance, and Truth—with ease.

But when it came to the soul, she refused to provide an answer.

Not only that—she warned him.

She had specifically mentioned the limits of his human nature.

Why?

Was it possible…

That there existed something beyond the Eight Sovereign Laws?

Something even the greatest figures in history had overlooked…

Or something they had deliberately concealed?

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