Ryuk had been able to pick up something from what the system had told him and from what he had observed during his preliminary tests.
The first thing Ryuk had noticed was his race.
In the system’s description, it had stated that he was a Knull and an unknown other creature.
While Ryuk didn’t know what the other race was, he at least knew one thing—and that was that there were two varying racial bloodlines flowing through his veins.
He was an hybrid, of a Knull and some other race.
’Perhaps that is why everything about me is in two colors. My eyes are in two colors: crimson-colored right eye, and blue-colored left eye. But somehow, I also don’t have real eyes, so one might be able to call that as not counting. Perhaps it was just Uncle Bob’s own designs.’
"But then my Primordial Gate is in two colours: blue and pitch black. Somehow, I can guess that intense dark is my Knull bloodline. On the contrary, the blue light radiates a beautiful aura of life. I don’t know what race’s aura is so pure, but I can guess that it’s my second bloodline."
"What confirms this to me is that meeting I had in the preliminary test where I met with those strange Ryuks. One of them was covered in pitch-dark scales and radiated an intense vile aura. I can guess that is one of my bloodlines—the Knull bloodline, to be exact."
"The Knulls are said to be the evillest of all races on Endearth. The dark Ryuk radiated that chillingness without any doubt."
"But then there is the chill blue Ryuk."
"I don’t know what power it has or what it is. But he is undoubtedly powerful. Intensely more powerful than the Knull bloodline, even though I still have no idea what he is based on how he looks."
"Yet somehow, the existence of those Ryuks finally confirmed it to me—that I really must be a hybrid."
"But then that also begs the question: If I’m a hybrid, why did I never awaken the abilities or elements tied to my two bloodlines?"
"If I have a Knull bloodline, why did I never awaken a Knull ability?"
"If I have an unknown powerful bloodline, then why did I never awaken another powerful unknown ability?"
"For now, the only power I possess is that of beast-taming, which is integrated from the system."
"Beast-taming is never my true power or element."
"And now this tree is divided into two. Somehow, I feel... deep in my heart, that I should have two Apex Cores."
"One of the Apex Cores should house the mana of my dark Knull bloodline and come out of this branch leaning towards the dark side of the tree, and as for the blue side of the tree, my Apex Core should also be there, housing the mana of that racial existence."
"But right now, there’s only a single branch here, and it is smartly coming out from the place that is at the middle of the blue and dark branches," Ryuk stated to himself as he looked at the Ice branch’s source and found it standing in between.
Not fully on the blue side of the tree, not fully on the dark side either.
It was like a separate entity of its own.
And what was surprising to Ryuk was that even though it had very little space, literally thrown into the middle of both trees, there were more than one single branch emanating from the space.
One of the branches had his Ice Apex Core, but the other branches were present, though they were dead.
"If the Ice Apex Energy only took a single branch," Ryuk muttered, "does that mean from the other branches, there could be a possibility of me awakening them with new attributes one day?"
"What if one day, I contract a fire-element beast? Would that mean another tree branch would light up with a Fire Core that will be one of these dormant branches?"
"If so, then how is that supposed to work?"
"Everyone else can only control a single attribute. But I can control the attributes of my contracted beasts. Then what if I had a hundred contracted beasts? Would that mean I could control 100 abilities?"
"But that isn’t what is important."
"If I form the Apex Realm from the Apex Core, then I would obtain a single domain."
"But what if I manage to light up all the branches on this tree, based on my contracted beasts’ elements? Fire, wind, earth. Does that mean I will eventually be able to form an Earth Apex Realm, a Fire Apex Realm, and in so doing, a Fire Domain, an Earth Domain, and an Ice Domain?"
"Then that means I will possess more than one domain?"
"One domain itself is already overpowering. And now, it seems I have the potential to possess more than one."
Ryuk’s brain worked at full speed as he rumbled on and on, but then he threw the thought to the side.
All of this was nothing but conjecture and time-wasting.
In the future, he would know all about it, but for now, he might as well focus on the purpose of why he was here today.
Looking at the single branch that had the Ice Apex Core, Ryuk slowly stretched out his hands as he gently placed them on the Ice Apex Core.
In the next instant, a different feeling surged through Ryuk.
It was the feeling of being taken somewhere. Somewhere even deeper into himself.
And when he opened his eyes, Ryuk found himself in a blank world of silhouettes.
The world was the size of a mini-hall, and somehow, Ryuk looked beneath him as he found shadows cast onto the ground.
It was the shadow of tall mountains even though there were no mountains, and he could feel cold, frosty air blowing through the area.
"This is my Apex Realm!"
"It is already forming by itself!" Ryuk mused, seeing the frosty wind and mountain silhouettes.
With these two things, he already has a sense of what his realm would at least look like.
"It would be a world of long, endless, lonely mountains, all covered by frost like snowy mountainous landscapes!"
"I can see it. My own domain already..." Ryuk mused decisively, but his face changed into intense tension when everything around him suddenly collapsed into pieces, and Ryuk’s eyes snapped open, revealing the library room.
"I... I got thrown out?"