The world inside him began to stretch and expand, an infinite depth revealing itself.
The physical sensations dulled, and he sank deeper, feeling as though he was falling into himself. The silence was no longer an absence of sound but a presence—one vast, comforting, yet utterly alien.
Quickly, his focus narrowed, drawn toward a dim glow within the darkness.
It was faint, pulsing softly, like a star in the void.
As Ryuk slowly shifted toward it, he could feel the glow expanding and expanding until it stood indescribably clear before him. He gazed in awe.
The object before him wasn't a single light but a swirling mass—his soul! Radiant and alive.
The soul's presence was indescribable.
It felt familiar, like a forgotten melody remembered, yet its power was overwhelming.
It felt warm, yet cold simultaneously—calm and chaos intertwined—life and something deeper, something... darker.
As he approached, the glow shifted, revealing a towering structure behind it, ancient and imposing.
It was gigantic, so huge that its height stretched deep into the void, beyond Ryuk's gaze.
Its surface shimmered with patterns that seemed to shift and writhe, alive with the flow of an indescribable energy.
Its colors were two-sided.
Half of the gate to the right was a pitch-black hue, with bubbling shadows that shifted and reappeared like a mirage.
The other side was a vibrant blue, radiating an incredible amount of life energy, almost as if this side of the gate was an entity of its own. An entity possessing an incomprehensible amount of pure, infinite life force.
"The Primordial Gate."
"The Primordial Gate."
"The Primordial Gate."
"The Primordial Gate."
Ryuk's thoughts resonated through the entire space unendingly as he slowly stretched his hand forth toward the gate. Yet, he felt it exuding an enticing pull and, at the same time, an oppressive weight.
Reaching the gate required intense resolve.
Ryuk felt an immense, colossal pressure, like the weight of the cosmos bearing down on his spirit, and little by little, he felt himself fading away, his sight of the entire area around him diminishing.
The closer he came to the gate, the more he felt unworthy.
Every single flaw in his life magnified.
The fact that he was nothing but a boy from the slums of the universe. The fact that he wasn't in a place where nature's concentration was abundant. The certainty that he would undoubtedly fail.
Every single doubt in his head magnified endlessly, and the more Ryuk focused on them, the weaker his consciousness became.
Immediately, a dangerous sensation overwhelmed him.
"My consciousness... I'm being devoured by the Apex Energy!"
Now the words he had read earlier appeared in his head.
"To survive is to become more than a mortal! To fail is to become less than life!"
Ryuk's soul was dispersing, being absorbed by the Apex Energy, which drew power from all his doubts and fears.
It was endlessly magnifying and devouring, and the sensation of death began to overwhelm Ryuk.
It grew more powerful, and he felt his consciousness disappearing amidst unwilling roars in his mind, the fear of death further crowding out everything.
"Is this... is this it?"
"I'm dying... I'm losing myself to the Apex Energy!" Ryuk's mind roared within his body. The more attention he focused on his fears, the faster he began disappearing.
It was a horrifying situation. Ryuk had never felt so much fear in his life. Not even the fear of fighting the Mutated Rat or seeing that Knull could compare to this.
But through the fear and his disappearing consciousness, a part of Ryuk's awareness was situated on the gate.
Somehow, it whispered to him, urging him forward with quiet determination.
In the chaos consuming him, the gate felt like a mother gently stretching out her hands for him to take.
Instantly, Ryuk felt like a drowning man in a storm, only to have a lifeline stretched out to him.
With the last of his consciousness, with his final thought, a roar reverberated through every fiber of Ryuk's being.
"For just once, I will reach for you!"
Nothing mattered to Ryuk anymore. He just wanted to hold the hand stretched out to him. To feel it.
Nothing else mattered—not the fact that he was being devoured, not his flaws that were like insurmountable mountains.
It was just that hand, stretching toward him.
With his attention magnified on that hand, Ryuk felt his fear fading away, losing sight of them entirely.
His soul, which was being consumed rapidly, began to stabilize. Renewed, Ryuk surged forward toward the gate.
With one last roar, his trembling fingers stretched forward, and he felt the sensation of his fingertips against the gate's surface.
DROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWNNN
The sensation was electric—a rush of warmth and cold, energy and life, surging through him.
Ryuk felt himself no longer just a body or a soul; he was connected to something vastly greater—a force that spanned beyond comprehension.
Quickly, the runic lines on the gate began to light up and rotate with fierce speed, as Ryuk felt energy filling him up. Instinctively, he placed both hands on the gate.
And then—
GRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM
It was the sound of the gate itself opening, and Ryuk's eyes snapped open, his heart pumping fiercely.
In the physical world—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
A fiery explosion rocked the entire spaceship as two red eyes instantly snapped open, staring into a particular area of the ship.
It was none other than the gaze of Duke Thalion and Vilora herself.
Their eyes widened in shock.
"Is that..." Vilora asked in disbelief, as Duke Thalion's gleaming eyes reflected his surprise before curling into a sinister smile.
"A Primordial Gate Awakening... seems like I didn't bet wrong."