Lord of the Truth

"Keri… what's wrong?" Queen Tao finally spoke, her deep, raspy voice sounding as if it had risen from the depths of the earth itself. Her presence was heavy, almost suffocating, as if her very words carried the weight of ancient, forgotten sorrows.

"Marshal Xanox… it seems that he has… really died?!" Keri muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. She herself didn't believe it yet.

"...….?!?!" If Queen Tao's eyes were still intact, they might have fallen out of their sockets from sheer disbelief.

Xanox… the heartless tyrant…

Xanox… the one who had nearly wiped out her entire race—twice…

Xanox… the monster who had defiled her, the father of her only daughter…

Is dead?

Just like that?

From nothing more than a mere report from a stranger?

A powerful silence settled over the room, thick and suffocating. It was the kind of silence that only followed a revelation so devastating that the mind refused to process it.

"Oh, so this is the infamous Xanox?" Aro finally broke the silence, his voice laced with mild amusement. He cast a glance at the projection before shaking his head with a chuckle. "Do you see that man with the green flames? That's Richard, the son of the madman Robin Burton. He inherited his father's insanity—perhaps something even worse. The guy has some messed up issues, I heard he has multiple personalities even, you know? In that battle, he didn't just destroy your beloved Xanox—he killed another Marshal at the same time. Look…"

With a flick of his fingers, Aro changed the image.

This time, Richard's eyes were bleeding, his veins bulging unnaturally across his entire body, making him look more like a demon than a human. But the most horrifying detail wasn't his grotesque state —it was his hand.

His fingers were clenched tightly around someone's skull— no, crushing it like it was nothing more than a fragile fruit.

The armor the person wore was unmistakable.

A Marshal's armor, identecal to Xanox's armor.

Keri's entire body tensed as if ice had been poured down her spine.

"N-No… no, this is fake. These images are fabricated, illusions!" she screamed, her voice shrill with desperation. One person? Killing two Marshals?! Impossible!

Aro merely shrugged, unfazed by her outburst. "Believe them or not—it makes no difference to me," he said, his tone devoid of emotion. With a flick of his wrist, he put the disk away. "I'm just doing you all a favor. Letting you know what happened to the man who oppressed you for thousands of years." He leaned back in his chair, a smirk tugging at his lips. "At the very least, you can die without regrets, knowing that the person you hated most has already descended to the underworld before you."

"...?!"

Keri's eyes widened to their limits, her small mouth slightly agape as if she had forgotten how to close it. Her gaze dropped to the floor, her vision blurring slightly.

"...This isn't fair… This isn't fair!!"

Her scream tore through the silence, her voice cracking under the weight of emotions she couldn't name. A few stray tears welled in her eyes, though she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

Marshal Xanox's death should have been the greatest news in the history of the Night Cat race. A day of celebration—no, an eternal festival, one that should be honored every year, every single day!

And yet…

She didn't feel joy.

She felt despair.

Because up until this moment, she had believed —even if just a little— that the war between the two planetary empires was still ongoing. That somehow, some way, they were still a part of this conflict, that new developments could arise at any moment.

Who knew? Maybe Xanox would make a miraculous comeback, launching a counterattack and creating a window for them to escape. Maybe the war would turn disastrous, forcing General Elizabeth to withdraw her forces and abandon this occupation.

As long as the war continued, there was always a sliver of hope.

But now?

The war was over. There was no hope. No escape. Nothing.

A heavy sigh escaped Aro's lips as he leaned forward, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I understand what you're going through…" he muttered, his voice laced with exhaustion. "The same thing happened to us. Back on my planet, we were given the same choice—obedience or extinction. The True Beginning Empire doesn't play games…"

Keri slowly lifted her head, her golden eyes burning with a fury so intense it could have set the room ablaze.

"...Your choice is very clear now, coward."

Aro's expression darkened in an instant, "I'm not sorry for choosing to save my people!!" he roared, slamming his hand against the table with such force that the wood groaned in protest. "What the hell was I supposed to do, huh?! Throw myself into certain death?! Stand against the flood and let my entire planet's population be wiped out?! Who would gain from that? That bastard Robin Burton would just bring in a fresh batch of humans to settle in our homes and plow our lands, and within a few years, our blood would dry, and the planet would be his anyway! Who would even remember the bravery of the Thunder Bull Tribe then?! No one! We'd just be fertilizer for the land— just like you will be!"

"You know nothing about us or our great history!!" Keri shouted back, her voice shaking with rage, her claws unsheathing slightly from her fingertips.

Aro let out a humorless chuckle, his gaze locking onto hers with an intensity that sent shivers down her spine.

"Oh, I know your history, little warrior," he murmured, his tone dangerously soft. "I know your people fought for centuries. I know you resisted. I know you bled, suffered, and endured."

He leaned in closer, his eyes dark and unreadable.

"But tell me this, Keri…" His voice dropped into a whisper, yet it carried the weight of a thousand storms.

"How much did all of that truly change?"

Then his face darkened once more, "And you know what? After I get out of this room, no one will remember anything about you. After Robin Burton announces the erasure of this planet, what will be left to remember?" Aro slammed his fist against the table once more, his voice laced with frustration. "Do you really think he cares about you, your people, or your precious history? Everything around you—your cities, your monuments, your entire civilization—will be wiped away in an instant. Your strength, your pride, your unwavering determination... all of it will become nothing more than dust, feeding the very ground you stand on, forgotten by the universe itself!"

Queen Tao narrowed her eyes, her expression darkening as she folded her arms. "You seem... quite agitated... for someone simply following orders from his master." Her voice was steady, but there was a flicker of unease beneath her composed demeanor. She couldn't help but picture the horrifying reality Aro was describing.

Aro exhaled sharply, his fingers tightening around the armrests of his chair before he forced himself to relax. "...I got agitated because of your daughter's words, that's all." His tone had softened, but there was still a weight behind it. He leaned back, resting against the chair, then cast his gaze downward, as if burdened by an invisible weight. "That decision… it was already hard enough to make… Do you think I don't understand what it meant? I— I buried my head in the mud so that my people could survive. I know exactly what I did. But even if I could turn back time, I would still make the same choice. I cannot—no, I will not—lose my woman, my family. If keeping my head buried in the dirt is the price I must pay for that, then so be it." His voice dropped to a whisper, almost as if he were speaking to himself rather than those in the room. "As for you… do as you see fit. No matter what you decide, I will understand."

A heavy silence filled the chamber.

Kiri, who had been listening intently, found herself staring at Aro, her eyes lingering on the deep sorrow reflected in his own. She hesitated for a moment before lowering her gaze, her hands curling into fists in her lap. "…I apologize for my rashness earlier," she murmured, her voice quieter than before. "You did what you had to do to protect your people. I should not have judged you so quickly."

Aro let out a tired sigh, waving his right hand in dismissal. "There's no need to apologize. If anything… I envy you." His lips curled into a small, bitter smile. "You are stronger than I ever could be. You can watch your kin perish before your eyes, face the looming specter of extinction, and still stand firm. You don't waver. You don't break. That kind of resilience… that kind of unshakable determination… I will never understand it."

The room fell into a tense, suffocating silence.

"....."

"....."

After a few moments, Aro finally broke the silence. "In any case," he said, his voice regaining its steadiness, "I was sent here as a last resort. That madman, Robin Burton, wants to maintain the illusion that he possesses some semblance of mercy. He wants his followers to believe that he gave you a chance, that he extended a hand before resorting to destruction. I was instructed to come here, to inform you of the so-called 'blessings' that the True Beginning Empire has to offer, and then leave. After that, Elizabeth will not attempt to negotiate with you ever again. The moment I walk out of this chamber, the invasion will commence. And with it, Burton will have his perfect excuse—he will tell his people that he exhausted every diplomatic avenue, that he tried to reason with you, but you refused. And then... the slaughter will begin."

"....."

"....."

Aao closed his eyes, tilting his head back against the chair. His expression was unreadable, his voice devoid of emotion as he spoke once more. "But I won't try to convince you of anything. I believe I've made the situation as clear as possible, and that should be enough. If the impending extinction of your people does not stir you, then surely no empty promises from an invading empire will. I'll grant you ten minutes of peace—ten minutes free from the insufferable noise of that ruthless conqueror, Elizabeth. After that, I will leave. If you have no intention of reconsidering your stance, then at least use this time wisely. Say your goodbyes… hug each other… prepare yourselves for the inevitable. Because make no mistake—this is likely your final meeting."

Aro exhaled deeply, his lips parting slightly as if he wanted to say more. But in the end, he simply let out a dry chuckle and shook his head. "I would love to help you in some way, but—heh~" He trailed off, his voice filled with a mixture of exhaustion and resignation.

Then, without another word, he allowed himself to fall into silence, his expression unreadable.

"........"

"........"