"Yo~" Raising his only left hand, the cosmic elder Zolan displayed a smile so grotesque it seemed to distort the air around him.

"…Is he… alive?" Jabba muttered, bending down to examine the newly arrived figure—or rather, what remained of him.

"By the heavens…" Shaddad averted his gaze; his mind and heart, both obsessed with the idea of bodily perfection, recoiled violently at the sight. He could practically see the man's spine although he was standing face to face, and yet he was still there, breathing, smiling even.

"Yo~" Robin, on the other hand, waved back with that same casual carelessness that defined him. "Were you on a fishing trip, or did the current just sweep you away this time?"

"Heh, heh~" the old man chuckled as Althera helped him put his frail arm around her neck to support him. "To be honest… the current did sweep me away. I didn't have anything better to do, so I just let it carry me wherever it pleased…"

"….." Althera's heart nearly tore itself apart. The state of the cosmic elder was far worse than when she last visited this place. His life force had dropped drastically—so much that his aura barely shimmered anymore.

When she had first rushed in the direction Robin pointed, only to find the old man lying half-dead atop that small drifting boat, she almost screamed with joy. But the moment she examined him closely, that joy turned to dread. It felt as though finding him—or losing him—made no difference at all.

Still, this was better than nothing. At least she could ask for his guidance… even if his body was failing, his wisdom might still burn bright.

Meanwhile, Robin smiled faintly, his tone as teasing as ever. "The world's falling apart out there, and here you are drifting on the sea like a fallen leaf in autumn, old man. Don't you think you're being a little lazy?"

"Robin Burton!!" Altheira flinched as if stung by a scorpion, quickly straightening her back. "Show some respect when addressing the Cosmic Elder!"

Robin ignored her completely—as if she was talking to empty air. "I've got big dreams, old man. My ambitions can't just end because you decided to take a sudden vacation."

"You—!!" Altheira took half a step forward, ready to strike him across the face and force him to kneel before the elder.

But the old man gently patted her shoulder, stopping her in place. Then he let out a frail laugh. "Heh, heh~ I know of your dreams, Robin. I know your missions… you have so, so much. But me? I have… very, very little~"

With Althera's help, he began hopping slowly toward a nearby palm tree. "And all of that, isn't it because of you, you little troublemaker?"

"…?!" Altheira furrowed her brows, confusion flashing in her eyes. Because of him? What did Robin have to do with the elder's condition?!

"Don't play with a serpent and then complain when it bites you." Robin shook his head with an amused smirk. "I didn't even do anything. Your own Law punished you—because you were about to waste a talent as magnificent as mine."

The old man leaned his back gently against the palm trunk, his breath trembling. "Hah~ Don't remind me, Mr. Great Talent. Neither of us truly knows what happened that day… and to be honest, I'd rather not know."

"..." Altheira's eyes moved between the two men, utterly baffled. How were they speaking like old friends? The age difference between them was absurd—Robin's entire lifetime was nothing more than a blink to the Cosmic Elder!

"As I see it…" Robin's golden eyes began to glow faintly, and a pulse of divine light rippled through the air as he examined the elder carefully. "You still have roughly a thousand years left—maybe a little less. That's still plenty, if you ask me. You could still appear before the world and make a difference, instead of fading away in silence."

"…?!" Altheira's owl-like eyes widened to their limits the moment she saw that golden radiance. It reminded her of an ancient legend… a legend that spoke of the Candidates of that one being—

"Show myself to do what, exactly? I—"

Suddenly the old man fell silent mid-sentence, his mouth hanging open as if the words had been stolen from him.

"…?!" Althera—and even Jabba and Shaddad—knitted their brows, bracing themselves for some tremendous declaration or a frightening revelation to follow. They waited, tense and expectant.

But Robin simply took a couple of deliberate steps forward and snapped his fingers right beside the elder's ear. "Wake up, nap time didn't come yet!" he snapped, sharp and impatient.

"Eh? Oh… aha…" The elder blinked as if roused from a fog, looking around slowly with a puzzled, half-dazed expression. "What was I saying…? Ah, right—there's nothing left in me to do anything anymore."

"Ugh…" Althera ground her teeth and turned her face away; even she, a Monarch used to holding composure, felt the strain press at her nerves. This scene was almost too much.

"What are you talking about?" Robin's brow furrowed. "Your energy core is intact, and your soul domain is still functioning—mostly." He lowered himself into a seat opposite the elder and studied him closely. "You're a sixth-rank wielder of the Master Law of Balance. With a single flick of your hand, you could erase that mature space beast from existence—wipe it out entirely."

"..." Shaddad and Jabba exchanged stunned looks. Sixth-rank of the Master Law of Balance? The words felt heavy and dangerous. Instinctively both of them edged backward; the implication chilled them—the earlier 'let's go' clearly hadn't included them. This was not a matter for bystanders.

"Have you forgotten, oh great prodigy?!" The elder lifted a trembling hand and patted Robin's neck twice in a weary, almost affectionate gesture. "The Master Law of Balanced Exchange functions by exchange. What do I have left to trade to slay a mature space beast? My heart? My spleen? …Oh, thinking back, I already traded a spleen once."

"Heh~ A spleen?" Robin chuckled lightly, amusement dancing across his features. "Couldn't you just sacrifice a couple of islands or even a planet like you did with me?" His laugh was teasing but edged with incredulity.

"...." The elder rested his head against the trunk of a nearby tree and turned his face toward the sky, as if searching the heavens for an answer. "Killing those enormous things is exhausting—exhausting beyond words. I can't simply throw away a planet or two to stop them; they consume such offerings. Imagine trying to kill you by sacrificing two sandwiches—nonsensical. No… to slay one of them, I'd have to pay with what little life remains to me. Perhaps a vital organ." He closed his eyes briefly, pain flickering across his features.

"I can't even describe it properly; conversing with you physically hurts me." Robin smiled, shaking his head as if to clear some wild thought. "So what now? Have you decided to surrender? To live quietly until you die peacefully in your sleep after one last lavish fish meal?"

"…I wish." The elder muttered in a low voice, then shook his head with a shadow of resignation. "But I know that won't be the fate I'll have…" He sighed, the sound hollow. "I will remain here until I sense my hour approaching—until those wicked creatures grow bold and move outward. Then I will rise and take my final task against the most evil and powerful among them."

He turned his gaze toward Althera, voice steady despite frailty. "Afterward, I will entrust everything to the new generation."

"No!" Althera lashed out, waving her hand emphatically. "Right now, those creatures are probing—feeling the pulse of the universe. They remain uncertain whether the rumors of your death are true. If you reveal yourself and kill one openly, you would confirm your survival to everyone—and that will unleash the true catastrophe!" Her words trembled with dread and urgency.

"I'll remain here as a scarecrow, then," the elder nodded with a tired calm.

"But we cannot act without you!" Althera's panic rose. "Two space beasts have officially appeared and their numbers are growing. The academies cannot mobilize without a direct command from a higher authority. Without your signal, we will be reduced to warnings and condemnations; we will never unite to move as one!" Her voice cracked with the weight of the possible collapse.

"I will go out and kill one last time—for your sake, for all of you," the elder conceded, voice firm despite the frailty that surrounded it.

"But what if you fail? What if the attempt is exposed or backfires? What if—"

"What do you want from me, woman?!" the elder suddenly bellowed, cutting Althera off in a burst of unexpected anger. "We are talking about the day of my death here— can you show a sliver of empathy?"

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