And truly, Ryuk had not much choice in the matter.
To leave Isha in the hands of a True Being, someone he didn't really have any bond with, nor even liked, was unthinkable.
Ryuk didn't like Elder Celine one bit.
He didn't like her uncaring aura, nor her air of supremacy over him.
At first, she saw him as an unimportant object she could get rid of for being in the way of her goals.
If not for getting Isha back under his control, things would have likely gone south, and chances were he might have lost Isha or worse, his life.
He didn't want Isha to go with her at all, but this case was a matter of no choice and deciding to follow the safest path.
He didn't want Isha to go with her, but he also knew she wouldn't just tell him to get out for refusing her deal.
Most likely, she would chase him down after, and a huge battle would erupt. Ryuk might be confident in his running skills, but the truth was, he had never faced anyone at the Eternal Stage before.
He had no idea how much disparity there was, except that her shadow seemed to loom over him like an insurmountable mountain that would shatter all forms of resistance from him.
All through the scene, all he had done was ignore that mountain and pretend as if he couldn't feel it.
But truly, Ryuk felt it deep in his heart.
His chances of surviving a battle with her were null, and his chances of escaping from her was too low.
And what if she was just as fast as he was? Or if she held power over the void, just as he did?
What other hidden cards did she have? Could he really have escaped with Isha while ensuring his safety?
That way, Ryuk was limited to two choices.
Let Isha go with her, whether he liked it or not, or say no and roll a dice on his and Isha's survival against a being who seemed like an insurmountable mountain.
In the end, he had been forced to make a choice. The situation was never in his control.
But he also knew he wasn't the only one who had no choice.
Frost Wyverns were prideful and arrogant, and Elder Celine was definitely no exception.
For the time and time again, her hands had been tied, and she had been forced to make a deal with Ryuk instead of outright killing him or forcing him down and subduing him.
She itched to step on his face and blast him to depth of the earth, but she also had a risk.
She could flaunt her power as she stepped on his face and crushed him to fulfill her ego, giving herself the respect she deserved.
But what was it to risk?
She risked missing her goal that has been harboured for so long a time.
It had been 300 years, after all, that she had been trying to get back to the True Haven—all in failure.
She had searched both high and low, and in the end, she had eventually agreed to fate, with no longer any choices.
But now, the hope she thought was gone was before her.
She could have crushed Ryuk and taken Isha by force, but if Isha ended up growing to the Eternality Stage, then there was no doubt she would seek revenge.
In the end, she would have been raising the very one who would end her before she even realized her dreams.
And to forgo her dreams? She couldn't.
After all, it had already been three centuries.
For that reason, Elder Celine's hands had been tied too.
Forced to choose between her pride or her goals, and in the end, she had chosen to bite her lips and follow the logical path.
In the end, this was a negotiation deal that neither of them were truly satisfied with, but they had no choice but to bite their lips and take the bullet.
[The choice has already been made, Host. Unless the Host considers going back on his word, then dwelling over it is useless.]
The system's words appeared as Ryuk took a deep inhale before he turned back to Queen Snowrado, who was sipping her coffee, never having interrupted his train of thought.
"I'll be leaving. A week from now, or sooner. The meeting will take place..." he said before rising from his seat and heading out of the throne room.
"We'll be waiting then..."
Queen Snowrado's words rang out behind Ryuk, his back soon fading away from her view until he completely disappeared from the throne room.
Then, her spiritual sense picked him up in the sky over the Naga's Plain, soon fading away.
The next instant Ryuk was gone, Queen Snowrado's cup dropped to the ground, shattering into pieces as her hand gripped the edge of her throne.
She took a deep breath, a line of sweat dripping from her face and racing down her cheek before a hand suddenly reached out, swiping away the sweat before it could reach her jaw.
"Elder Celine!?"
Queen Snowrado watched the presence that appeared behind her throne, wiping away the sweat from her face with a smirk.
"Were you afraid, little Snow?" Elder Celine asked in amusement, looking up at the sky.
It seemed even now she could still see Ryuk blazing through the skies.
"I was afraid, Elder Celine, but not because of him...."
Queen Snowrado's voice was steady, but there was something beneath her words that made Elder Celine turn her gaze to her.
"Then what were you so afraid of?"
"I was afraid, but for him. If even one of the tales Mother used to say about you was real, Elder Celine... the devastation. Not only would he have died, but a Blizzard Sovereign Frost Wyvern would have been lost too, and up to 30% of my Nagas would have been wiped out from that single attack of yours."
"So many lives lost in less than a split second!? I was scared. Really scared."
Queen Snowrado said, her voice faintly trembling.
Only she knew what would have happened if the conversation had gone wrong.
Only she knew who this creature beside her was.
She was a walking apocalypse; one that couldn't be held back unless the strongest of the Endearth decided to rise from slumber and stop her.
And even then, the lives that would be lost...!?
"You're just like your mother, little Snow. Always so afraid for the people."
"You know she would be proud, Snow."
"She would?"
"Verily, she would."