Blood burst out of Ryuk’s lips like a broken tap, as he felt the intense force rippling through his body.
But the sound of the rippling airwave above his head jolted him awake.
Instantly, he bounded off the ground with his own body, the floor where his head had previously laid cracking to pieces as a foot smashed into it, sending shards of the floor flying around.
"So, if the will is truly all that defines a person, to our own race, do you know what this means?" The blue-scaled Ryuk said as he slowly turned his gaze to the side where Ryuk stood, his body bent in exhaustion with blood oozing out from both severed arms.
"It means..." the scaled Ryuk said as he slowly raised his palm and stretched it towards Ryuk, who instantly tried sprinting away.
But he had barely taken the third step when his entire body hung in the air, unable to move a muscle.
’My movement is restricted. I can’t move a muscle!’ Ryuk thought in shock, but the true horror came when the blue-scaled Ryuk raised his outstretched arm.
Instantly, Ryuk felt a force lifting him from his feet and then...
His body crashed into the upper ceiling of the golden hall, sending cracks across its surface as blood rained down from above like a rain.
Its source was none other than Ryuk, whose eyes bulged from the pain—but it was only the beginning.
Remaining in his stance was the blue-scaled Ryuk, whose fingers simply moved around, and the entire area shook violently.
Ryuk’s body followed every single finger movement, smashing through the wall before finally, with a simple press of a finger, Ryuk was sent crashing headfirst onto the ground. #
Half of his body buried within the golden floor, with both legs dangling in the air.
In less than 10 seconds, red blood filled up the pothole where Ryuk’s head had crashed into as the blue-scaled Ryuk calmly walked forward, appearing just a few inches before him. But then...
The air shook as Ryuk’s hanging leg suddenly slammed forward with speed towards the blue-scaled Ryuk.
But mere inches before it could reach his face—
Lines appeared all over Ryuk’s feet and then his legs burst into pieces, sending fragments of nanobots and blood splashing through the area.
Ryuk crawled out of the pothole, his cunning smirk still lingering on his face—until he saw his own bloody leg.
The pain of losing the leg was even more intense than losing his arms, being the first time.
The pain assaulted his mind as he barely tried moving backward, but the blue-scaled Ryuk swung his hand towards his other leg, and then...
Like a knife through butter, Ryuk’s other leg fell to the ground.
Ryuk himself jumped back, but with no legs, he landed on his back, sending splashes of blood around.
"Ahhh... Ahhh... Ahhh..."
Turbid white air escaped his lips as he looked up at the ceiling, finding the golden-white expanse above.
But then, his gaze was covered by the sole of a foot, and then—
A kick smashed straight into his face, sending splashes of blood around the area.
But it was only the beginning, as the foot continued raining down, each strike sending even more blood around.
After what seemed like an eternity, it finally stopped, revealing the picture of Ryuk—all of his arms and limbs having been ripped off, and his face completely bashed in.
Yet, even through all the pain and battering, it was clear to Ryuk—a fact his body couldn’t yet come to terms with...
’I can’t activate Nanobody abilities, and my skills aren’t responding. I don’t have Mana either, and the system isn’t responding...’ he thought to himself, his remaining eyes dulling.
’Is this it?’ He thought, as he watched the blue-scaled Ryuk slowly crouch down before sitting on the ground beside Ryuk’s head, his disdainful expression now morphing back to his indifferent one.
"There’s a power in this world, young one. It’s referred to as Aetheris," he said quietly, just enough for Ryuk to pick up with his hearing.
The second the word was uttered, it echoed through his entire essence as his bloody lips tried to move and whisper it.
"Many races believe in the body, and they cultivate the body. They make it bigger; they make it stronger, they make it more durable. They make it more resistant. They search for the limits that the body can hold."
"Some races are born with weak bodies that can’t hold much energy, and what they do is try to make up for this inadequacy in their body."
"Some of them are like you, with your Nanobody."
"Because you have no body, you decided to mesh the Nanobody with yourself."
"Every day you cultivate, trying to reach the limits of your Nanobody."
"You’re not special."
"There are thousands of ways out there for those with low body potential, and to gain strength, they fuse with things just to increase their bodies’ potential."
"Although most of these races are labeled as inferior because their true bodies lack potential. Mixing with other things can only take you so far."
"But everyone forgets an energy that wouldn’t pale even to the power of the body."
"Everyone forgets Aetheris. The Power of Will."
"The body can be destroyed, can be ripped apart, can be bathed in blood, and eliminated!" The blue-scaled Ryuk continued, looking at Ryuk’s own severed and mutilated body with indifferent eyes.
"But to those who understand the power of Aetheris, they understand well—the body is useless. A person’s only death happens when their will fades away."
"Aetheris," he continued, "you could even say is the power of immortality."
"The true key to remaining undying."
"Mana is powerful, Apex Energy is powerful."
"But all of these energies are nothing but derivatives from Aetheris. The sole true power..."
"And do you know something, young one?" he asked, turning his gaze to look into Ryuk’s worn eyes.
"In this universe where countless new races exist, there’s no race in the world that cultivates Aetheris better than our Royal Race does."
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In and Out_SnowySmoos