Right now, standing in the green garden, was a figure that cast long shadows over a young man sitting in the centre, his jaw hanging and eyes bulging in shock.
In Ryuk's gaze was Void, but this time, it wasn't the Void he knew.
The Void before him now towered exactly 5 meters above Ryuk's own head, standing at a full 6 meters in height—but it didn't end there.
He watched as Void continued winding up, growing until it reached a full, jaw-dropping 10 meters in size.
A ginormous creature with eyes of pitch black, mixed with splashes of blue.
He watched as the ground sank beneath it, huge, enormous claws tearing through the earth and cleaving it like batter, while two gigantic fangs erupted out from Void's upper mouth, hanging by the side and brimming with intense darkness.
This was followed by a bizarre rune that Ryuk could sense contained ultimate destruction etched on her surface.
His whiskers grew longer, and its eyes held an incredibly deadly, predatory light, shocking Ryuk into a stupor.
[Void has transformed into its Current True Form]
The system said, shocking Ryuk even more.
'A cat!? This isn't a fucking cat! This is a fucking sabertooth tiger!' Ryuk shouted as he watched Void stretch out its claw toward one of his fingers, gently picking up his cloth—and in the next moment, Ryuk felt himself being weaved into the air as he was thrown upward, only to land on the back of the furs.
And then…
VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The green grass behind them blew backward as Void rushed forward with speed, the entire world turning to a blur—and just before Ryuk could settle his gaze again, a gigantic dark portal appeared, and Void entered into it.
The world turned completely pitch black before another vortex opened up and Void exited.
When Ryuk came to his senses, he found himself exactly 500 meters in the air. One moment ago, they were on the ground—barely 3 seconds past.
It didn't stop there, as various vortexes began appearing in midair, and Void would hop into one, the world darkening for Ryuk before it would once more lighten up—only for him to return to the dark again as Void easily weaved through vortex after vortex, before it finally returned to the real world.
Void then appeared on the ground and gently laid Ryuk down while wearing a prideful expression on its face.
"Oh, come here, you!" Ryuk said as he jumped onto its face, giving it those pats underneath its jaw that led it to begin purring loudly—soon turning on its huge belly for Ryuk to rub on as its purrs increased in volume.
"Um? What's going on?" a voice resounded behind them.
They both turned their gazes to the side, where they found Asterlaiaxia standing with a bizarre eyebrow raised as she looked at the gigantic cat rolling and purring with Ryuk on its stomach.
"GRROOOOWWWWLLLL!"A growl instantly settled on Void's face as it turned upright in an instant, a ferocious light flashing in its eyes as it stared at Asterlaiaxia—whose eyebrow raised in slight surprise at the sight of it.
But then, a rub from Ryuk, and Void settled its aggression.
"A pet of mine. Name's Void," Ryuk introduced as he got down from Void, while Aster walked forward toward it, scanning it up and down before she scoffed.
"A pet of yours? Isn't this one of those sadistically prideful Void Cats?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Ryuk.
"Sadistically prideful? What do you mean by that?" he asked her as Aster turned her attention to him.
"Void Cats can't be tamed."
"They are very rare and therefore too prideful for their own good."
"They even ignore killing people. You'd think it's because they're kind—but it's not that. It's because they can't be bothered by people who are too weak."
"If you're strong, they'll fight you—but not kill you."
"Instead, they'll turn you into a toy to play around with. The same way a cat plays with a weak mouse instead of eating it."
"They live in the Void and sometimes destroy ships that are passing by, just for fun."
"And to top it all off, they do all this in the most deviously evil way you can imagine—like sneaking into a ship and removing its engine only to run off."
"There's a rule in the upper world that all flying ships navigating the Void must have at least five engines in them—and it was specifically created because of the thieving Void Cats."
"They're too good at controlling Void, so they can't be caught too."
"If you come by a Void Cat, that's more usually a sign of bad omen than a good one."
She said, drawing a narrowed gaze from Void as Ryuk shrugged his shoulders.
"This one is mine, and therefore different. And a little bit of naughtiness doesn't kill, does it?" Ryuk asked as he shook Void's jaw, causing it to release another purr—and he watched as its size soon began reducing, until it was just a few centimeters tall, sitting down cutely on Ryuk's palm.
"Anyone who underestimates you due to your small, cute size will pay with ultimate regret," Ryuk mused to himself with a wry smile as he watched Void roll around in his palm and soft tussle for a second before jumping off his hand and carrying its butt into the distant grass plains.
Ryuk didn't stop it, allowing it to explore around.
Void was always stuck in the Pet Space, and this place seemed safe.
He could allow it to venture out a bit—and he could summon it back to the other world in a blink if he wished.
"Now, to cultivating..." he said, as he sat down on the ground and turned his attention to the Grimoire in his hands—before focusing on the one who had her eyebrows raised at the book in his hand.
"A Void Manual. You can control Void Apex energy? I thought you were an Ice Cultivator?" she asked him, as Ryuk shrugged.
"I control both. And anyway, I'm planning to go on a long seclusion, and I would love not to get disturbed," he said, as Aster shrugged her shoulders.
"Fine by me. I'm also planning to cultivate anyway," she said before walking into the distance, giving Ryuk the much-needed space.
With a deep inhale, Ryuk turned to the book in his hands, his head brushing the surface before bringing the edge and opening it up.
It was time to begin Void Cultivation!