Just like Ryuk had guessed, the instant Isha landed on the ground, filling up the runic lines on the surface, all of her scales lit up with bright lights.
Just as he had previously been a source of energy for the entire domain, silvery light emanated from Isha, flooding the runic lines in the area and rapidly spreading through the entirety of the domain.
Ryuk watched as everything underwent a monumental transformation.
Just like in the outside world, every single snowflake in the space began possessing a runic image, etchings dancing within them. The massively rushing snow slowly lost its speed, the countless snowflakes merging into each other as runic lines appeared on them.
From within, Ryuk could sense a great deal of power as he floated down from the air. With every inch of his descent, he felt control returning to him.
Previously, since Isha’s entrance, he had felt himself losing half of his control over the domain. But now, he realized he could absolutely control it perfectly. Yet, it didn’t seem like he was the only one growing into something else.
As he touched Isha and looked into her opened eyes, he saw runic lines he had never seen before appearing within them—snowflakes dancing within the depths of her gaze.
When Ryuk looked into her eyes, it was as if he was staring into a copy of his own Apex Realm, and then—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A powerful pulse emanated from Isha, sending Ryuk’s clothes flapping wildly as his eyes widened in shock.
Isha’s eyes had transformed into runic symbols.
An aura of power rippled out from her as the runic lines on the ground disappeared. Isha rose back up, now bearing two extra wings, making the total number of wings on her a striking four.
"Isha… you’ve broken through!" Ryuk mused in shock, staring at Isha, who now radiated the same aura as a Cataclysm-stage beast.
There was no doubt about it—Isha had broken through.
From a Grade B beast, she had now fully stepped into the realm of Grade A.
A transformation that stunned Ryuk—but he was quickly pulled out of his thoughts as a notification appeared.
[Congratulations! The Host has finally completed their Domain!]
[Congratulations! The Host has reached the Plane of Dominion!]
The system’s voice echoed in his mind, and Ryuk’s eyes flashed with even more shock.
He suddenly felt himself losing control of his right hand as it rose to his face.
His middle finger wrapped against his ring finger, and instantly, he felt his consciousness magnify.
His mind snapped back into his real body.
He found himself among the trees, his hand raised in the same position, and a word instinctively formed on his lips.
"Domain Expansion…"
"Winter’s Solace!"
The instant those words were uttered, it was as if all of creation had been silenced into nothingness.
The entire area fractured into pieces, reality itself seeming like an illusion. What was revealed was a snow-white endless plain with grim, surreal hills manifesting from thin air.
Snowflakes rained from the sky, an aura of peace and tranquility flooding the entire world. A sensation of stillness settled over everything. The trees halted in their steps, even rivers caught in the Winterland stopped their motions, frozen in time.
At the center of this transformation, standing on a high hill, was none other than Ryuk.
Behind him stood a phantom—a dark yet ethereal figure—both of their eyes holding the symbol of runic lines.
Ryuk felt his power multiply tenfold, his mana surging wildly, breaking through previous limits and rapidly magnifying endlessly until it finally came to a stop. He felt himself in complete control of his body once more.
His gaze lowered to the snow-white world beneath him, a bit of surprise still lingering in his expression before it faded away. Looking at his hands, he slowly clenched them into fists.
"Winter’s Solace, huh?" Ryuk mused with a chuckle, surprised by the name his domain had taken.
And with his will, the domain suddenly disappeared into thin air, vanishing like a mirage.
The only evidence of its existence was the fact that snow was now beginning to fall across the entire forest area.
Ryuk, watching the falling snow, stretched his hand outward, feeling the coldness against his skin.
"This… this feels real," he muttered.
But then, he began to notice something—rustling among the trees.
His eyes narrowed as he saw a flock of birds flying forth from the distance. The ground trembled, and the rush of movement became louder.
"What is happening?" Ryuk wondered.
But his question was answered almost instantly—beasts suddenly appeared.
And they weren’t alone.
First, they came in the hundreds.
Then the thousands.
Then the tens of thousands.
All of them gathered around Ryuk.
But this time, they held not the slightest bit of ferocity in their eyes.
Ryuk looked at them and noticed something he had almost never seen in a beast before.
Reverence. Yes, reverence and respect.
He thought in shock as all of the birds gathered in the branches, all of the different forest creatures assembled around his body, their eyes flaming with the same emotion.
Slowly, they all bent to the ground.
The birds bowed their necks.
The four-legged beasts fell to their stomachs.
The serpentine creatures withdrew their tongues and lowered their heads.
Every creature—even the fiercest among the beasts—bowed their heads as if recognizing him.
And as they did, Ryuk’s eyes flashed when another notification appeared.
[Congratulations! The Host has achieved the First True Awakening of Their Beast Sovereign Will!]
"Beast Sovereign Will…" Ryuk mused to himself, looking at the various bowing beasts.
And that was when the truth dawned on him.
"I… I am the Beast Sovereign. The King of Beasts!"
"We pay our respect to the Beast Sovereign!"
The thoughts of the beasts suddenly echoed in Ryuk’s head.
It sounded like the roaring of thousands of creatures speaking as one.
Ryuk looked in shock at each of them, realizing that he could understand their words—even the tiniest of them.
"Now… now, I understand. I… I truly might have just begun achieving power now!"