With the threats of the beasts gone, Ryuk felt more at ease, having somehow completed the trial. He could now focus entirely on cultivation.
Settling in a quiet area of the forest, he slowly sat on the bare ground and inhaled deeply, clearing his mind.
His heart was still beating hard from his victory, but he forced himself to calm down, focusing deeply on his body’s state.
Somehow, the deeper he delved into himself, the harder it became to perceive his human body.
His hands no longer felt like arms, nor did his legs seem to belong to him. Instead, he felt completely different, as if he had no physical form—constantly shifting, adapting, dissolving into his surroundings.
It was a strange sensation, a reminder of how his body had truly evolved into something else.
Even now, Ryuk couldn’t say he fully understood himself or his strength, though he had certainly learned a great deal of it.
With his heart finally steady, he shut his eyes. The entire world faded into silence.
And when he opened them once more—
He found himself on a small snowy plain, with greenery stretching into the far distance.
"And what are you doing, Isha?" Ryuk suddenly called out, turning his gaze to the side.
There, Isha stood, her claws tapping against the incubator where Ryuk had placed the egg within the Pet World. The very egg that held the Void entity.
’Huh?’
’Ryuk!? You’re here?’ Isha flinched, clearly startled by his sudden appearance.
Ryuk narrowed his eyes at the Frost Wyvern, who seemed to be trying to hide something from him.
’What was I doing?’ Isha echoed, her voice slightly nervous.
’Oh, I was just, um, checking the state of the egg... I mean, the machine! I’ve never seen one like that before in my life, you know. Haha...’ she laughed nervously, shifting under Ryuk’s sharp gaze. A bead of sweat rolled down her neck.
But suddenly, Ryuk smiled.
"Good, then," he said simply before turning away. His figure gradually faded, drifting deeper into the Pet World.
"PHHHHEWWW!" Isha exhaled loudly, relieved as Ryuk disappeared into the distance. She had been about to return her focus to the egg when she suddenly froze.
Her head snapped in the direction Ryuk had gone.
’Wait... where is he going?’ she mused, furrowing her brows.
Isha had never really explored the Pet World before. All she had ever seen was the endless grassy plain. She had assumed there was no end to it, that it was just an infinite, empty space.
But now, seeing Ryuk disappear into a particular direction, her curiosity was piqued.
After five minutes of debating whether to stay or sneak after him, she chuckled evilly.
Grinning mischievously, she silently took off, gliding along the path Ryuk had taken.
---
A little over an hour later, Ryuk finally arrived at the edge of the Pet World, where a massive tree stood.
Looking at it, he recalled the notification he had received earlier after his awakening.
---
[Congratulations, Host has awakened a part of his Primordial Tree, which belongs to his Half-Jade Dragon lineage.]
---
"So this is what it means, huh..." Ryuk mused to himself as he gazed at the Primordial Tree.
Previously, the tree had looked absolutely dead, with only a small patch in the middle hiding its frosty white core—an indication of his Ice Apex Realm.
But now, the blue side of the tree had strange runic lines glowing across its surface. The blue light pulsating over it radiated an unusual energy.
The energy of Aetheris.
It was proof that he had truly awakened a part of his Jade Dragon bloodline.
He moved toward the tree, placing a hand against the soft blue glow emanating from it.
Closing his eyes and dipping his consciousness in, Ryuk couldn’t see anything—only a vast sense of power.
It felt like being caught in the middle of an endless ocean or standing at the peak of an impossibly high mountain.
The sensation sent his heart trembling with both shock and reverence.
Yet, somehow, he could also sense that almost all of this power was locked—completely inaccessible to him.
’Soon,’ Ryuk thought to himself, withdrawing his gaze from the glowing runes and turning toward the other half of the tree.
The Obsidian Dark side.
This signified his Knull bloodline. But unlike the other half, there wasn’t much activity here—because Ryuk had not yet awakened his Knull bloodline.
Even so, just looking at it made him recall the words of the Dark Knull.
---
"Right now, your actions are like the tantrums of a spoiled child. Once you awaken the Knull bloodline, you’ll realize how foolish you are... WEAKEST ONE!"
---
"I wonder just what kind of power the Knull bloodline holds... It would no doubt be something dark and evil," Ryuk mused, feeling a slight distaste in his mouth as he looked at the dormant bloodline.
Shaking off his disgusted expression, he turned to the Ice Core resting in the middle of both halves.
His hand stretched out.
His consciousness reached toward the core.
And in the next instant—
He faded into thin air.
---
When Ryuk opened his eyes, he found himself in a world eternally covered in winter.
Snow blanketed the land.
Massive hills loomed in the distance.
The ground itself was engraved with runic lines, their intricate patterns stretching far beyond sight.
This was his Apex Realm.
With a thought, Ryuk moved—
In an instant, he appeared at the highest peak of the mountain.
Sitting cross-legged, his figure blended seamlessly with the icy world.
Then, in the next moment—
Powerful frost energy burst forth beneath his feet, spreading into the surrounding runes on the mountain. The entire peak lit up in a brilliant blue glow.
At that moment, Ryuk looked like the very source of this energy.
’Now, now... Let’s fully flesh this out—and also implant the Domain Skill while at it...’
Ryuk mused to himself as he shut his eyes once more.
His spiritual vision expanded.
His physical body raised both hands skyward.
And as the frost energy condensed around him—
The very temperature of the realm plummeted.
The mountaintop was instantly swallowed in a world of ice.
The runic lines across the land burned brighter.
The hills, the snow, the very air—solidified even further, shifting into a Reality Phase.
Silently, Ryuk continued.
Pushing through the Core Stage—
Into the Peak Stage—
And finally—
To Perfection.
The Apex Realm crystallized.
And as it did, the power within it solidified into something even greater...
----
A/N:
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In and Out_SnowySmoos