"Somehow, I feel dumbfounded that you really think so, but on the other hand, I am also proud. It means we, the elders, are doing quite the good job as guardians," the Half-Fallen one said with a hint of prideful mirth, though her face soon regained its focus.
"But now that you'll be leaving soon for the Ascension Academy, perhaps I'll let you in on a few secrets..." she added, the loudness of her voice slightly toning down as Ryuk's ears perked.
"In this world, Ryuk, we're never alone," the Half-Fallen one said, all bits of jest and casualness leaving her face as Ryuk's eyes sank into their depths.
"Have you heard of the Knulls?" she asked, and Ryuk nodded.
"We of the Ten Families have had no choice but to bond together with other races and, along with ourselves, to fight them. And yet, do you know, we are still losing?"
"Right now, as we speak, Ryuk, there are some places in this world where the flames of war are still blowing, and the smoke has yet to recede."
"The Knulls are overwhelming opponents Ryuk. Truly overwhelming, and right now, this facade of peace is only maintained because there is a truce between us and the Knulls."
"A truce which is slowly teetering as years go by, and which will soon be broken. The Knulls, for reasons unknown for the past 50 or so years, suddenly have the strongest of their powerhouses going into slumber..."
"The smaller, less powerful Knulls, due to this, are standing down and refraining from battles. And we Endearth participants are also using this moment to catch our breath and regather our power."
"But if you think the Knulls are the only problem we Endearths are facing, then, oh, how wrong you are..."
"There are Dimensional Gates appearing and appearing again, with new existences and entities descending from them into Endearth, here and there."
"There have been three records where entities rivalling the Knulls themselves have stepped forth into Endearth through those Dimensional Gates..."
"And mind you, the lowest number of casualties in these catastrophic events ranges from millions of deaths and more..."
"But you've never really heard of them, have you?"
"The Dimensional Gates and their Entities?" the Half-Fallen one asked as Ryuk shook his head.
"Then do you know who you should be grateful to for that?" she asked, and Ryuk's eyebrows furrowed before they widened.
"You don't really think the Ascension Academy was just an academy, did you?"
"Just a place for you to go, get strong, and after three years, return back home, strong and respected, with all your wishes fulfilled?"
"You don't really think we of the Ten Families are sending ten of our geniuses just because the Ascension Academy 'invited' us, and we watch with wide eyes as we lose 70% of our young geniuses every year on this 'special invitation,' do you?"
The Half-Fallen one whispered to Ryuk, whose blood flowed faster, his head buzzing with countless possibilities.
"Our geniuses are the ones there, Ryuk. They're the ones dying and risking their lives fighting interdimensional creatures, just to make sure young ones like you never even hear of them."
"We've lost thousands of people to those bloody gates, Ryuk. Every now and then..."
"Yet what choice do we have but to send more?"
"The fallen families aren't getting any invitations, Ryuk. We are being requested for the best of the best of our geniuses to join this war."
"If we send our trashy geniuses, their chances of survival are zero. That'll be us killing ourselves. So we have to send our ten best to them."
"At least as done by the percentile, their chances of surviving will increase even more."
"You're not just going to the Academy to get strong, return home, gain respect, and have all your wishes fulfilled."
"You're going to the Ascension Academy to make sure a little boy named Ryuk in Grade C, or D, or F city never even knows there are things called Knulls and interdimensional beasts, believing it all to be nothing but fantasy."
"That is the true, harsh world that we all try so much to prevent you all from seeing, Ryuk."
"All of this peace that you see, this cozy twilight, this blissful love in the air."
"All of this is being maintained with the lives of others. And now, it will soon be your turn to take on this duty," the Half-Fallen one said, a tinge of sadness and an aura of melancholy shrouding her figure as Ryuk's mouth opened and closed again, finding it hard to muster a few words.
"Many of the geniuses arriving at the Ascension Academy will face their deaths due to their simple disbelief in how the world works."
"I am knocking this into your brain so when you're taken for a simple excursion and you're then faced with the most hellish beasts you've ever seen in your life and asked to survive for a few days..."
"You at least know to call your scythe into your hands and react as fast as possible."
"I... I never really knew that is how it is," Ryuk mused, feeling sorry for his earlier statements about the top Ten Families being childish bickerers.
Only now did he know they were perhaps the people facing the most pressure.
"You were never meant to know. So, it's fine if you're a little bit ignorant," the Half-Fallen one said before she suddenly called his attention to something.
"And speaking of your scythe, Ryuk. There has been a little problem," the Half-Fallen one said as she turned her full attention to Ryuk, her eyes narrowing into slits.
"And what is that about?"
"The meeting I went to was because of you, Ryuk. There is a debate amongst the elders of your battle with Ignatius."
"More of the abilities you have displayed during your battle."
"Your transformation, to be exact."
"The Fallen Elders fear it greatly."
"There is a power mixed in with your transformation. A power that resembles a race that was never meant to be..."
Unconsciously, Ryuk's heartbeat began beating faster and faster as he struggled to keep his calm.
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In and Out_SnowySmoos.