It reminded me of MadWhite's dining room. The large view before me.
Except, instead of everything being golden, it was silvery white instead. Everything down to the colour of the dishes on the table, and even the utensils placed by the side.
She sat at the lead, a fork and knife in hand, and I sat to the side, separated from Morgaine by the table in front.
The gift she had claimed to reward me with was actually a dinner after all.
[A/N: How do you like Ryuk's First Point of View? Haha, Just Experimenting.]
And to Morgaine, it truly was nothing but an ordinary dinner set.
But when Ryuk looked at each and every object on the table, his eyes softened with delight and gratefulness.
For he could see that everything in the room had a golden aura, wisps weaving around them, dancing along their edges. And it was none other than the Golden Aura of the Half-Fallen One.
It revealed that this entire setup had been done by her, even the dishes. And while Ryuk had no idea how she had been able to guess his arrival and still ensure the dishes were hot enough when he arrived, he knew well that every single thing here had been done by her.
One had to know there were maids—every inch of the castle had them—who could have done this. But she had done it herself with her own hands.
And she was the Half-Fallen One.
In this time when the Knulls' war had been declared, she was probably one of the busiest individuals that existed right now, most likely under monumental pressure.
-Yet even during this time, she could take some time off to make a dinner possible, just for him.
It was heartwarming.
"Thank you..." Ryuk mused under his breath as the Half-Fallen One's eyes flashed before she smiled in response.
For one, she had never thought he would be able to see the faint aura that still hung around the objects by which he must have been able to tell.
She might have left her aura splashes on everything she touched, but that shouldn't be something an ordinary cultivator could see or even notice.
For him to do so gave a hint to his power.
And that had always been something she could never wrap her head around.
When he had appeared before her, he was but a little kid, with an aura that showed he had just started his cultivation a few hours ago.
Yet now, a little more than two years later, he was sitting before her with a strength that even she couldn't just ignore like it was nothing.
Such incredibly fast growth was beyond puzzling, and deep in the Half-Fallen One's heart, she was proud—not only of him but of herself.
Because she knew well that she had been a major determinant of his strength.
The young man before her had stemmed from her decision to believe in him when she could have shrugged her shoulders.
And now, that choice to uphold justice and honesty and to honour the card which he had possessed mysteriously—even if it was partly to get back another very talented genius of her race—had been worth it in the end.
But still, there was something worrying about him, and it was really simple.
How?
How had he grown so fast?
Could a human—a race known for its poor cultivation potential—really have not only grown this strong but this fast!?
Was he even what he seemed? Just a human boy?
What had changed, or had nothing ever changed? Was this just how he had always been, and she was too blind to see it?
"I'm guessing the pressure must be monumental right now. Being the Half-Fallen One, with the Knulls' war finally being revealed to the world, and their unusualness compared to the last?"
"How you've been able to keep the Enclosed Citadel so peaceful in these hard times... I can only wonder." Ryuk's question resounded through the room when he felt it awkwardly fall silent, and he decided to be the one to speak first.
"It's not much of a problem, to be honest. Only the Ultimate Matter—capable of causing very devastating amounts of destruction to the Fallens—are brought to me, as the Queen..."
"I don't have to worry about the other things. We Fallen have official staff that are put in place for that..." The Half-Fallen One said with a shrug, and Ryuk couldn't help but nod his head.
He had truly been able to sense that the Half-Fallen One was never revealed, even though the leaders that appeared on the screen previously had seemed like the Fallen.
If the Half-Fallen One was to lead the Fallen, then wasn't she supposed to be appearing on the Leader Holographics instead?
That must have meant she was probably not responsible for such.
"But the Knulls' strange appearance is truly worrying. Three Knull Wanderers appearing only at the Second Invasion? That is beyond abnormal. It means I might have to get to work sooner than I expected..."
"Good for me, though. I already have a brilliant someone who will be in my position soon." The Half-Fallen One flashed a chuckle at Morgaine, who rolled her eyes, drawing a giggle from the Half-Fallen One as she watched one of her cheeks sticking out because of how much was pressed into them.
"And then maybe, I'll get the chance to perform one very courageous act before I'll be allowed to retire and become a grandmother..." she teased.
BAAANG!
The dishes on the table jumped up by a few centimetres as Morgaine slammed her hands on the table, almost spitting out all she had just tried swallowing, forcing them down with all her power before she turned to the Half-Fallen One, who had her taunting smirk.
"MOM!" Morgaine said with an embarrassed sheen on her face, but the Half-Fallen One only winked slyly at her.
"Tch, maybe in your dreams! He's still underage, for Fallen's sake!" she shot back with a loud huff before resuming stuffing her mouth.
But the Half-Fallen One's eyes flickered with surprise as she turned to Ryuk and asked,
"What age are you, Ryuk?"
"Seventeen."
"Seventeen!? But it's been more than two years, and if I remember correctly, you were sixteen when we first met..." The Half-Fallen One said. Ryuk nodded, and he quickly summarized the trial to her, to which her eyes flashed, and she nodded.
"Oh, so it was like that? Sounds right."