The cultivation technique for his Ice cultivation, Primordial Frost Scripture, was simpler.
And its main aim was simple: to absorb Frost Energy. It was perfectly in sync with the Apex Cultivation stages.
But this Void Asura Grimoire was unlike anything else he had ever seen.
Even right now, as Ryuk finished reading it for the third time in a row, he still didn't even know how this was supposed to rhyme with the cultivation stages.
Just what node will he achieve to reach the Ascension stage, or the Dominion stage, or the Cataclysm Stage? Ryuk had zero idea still.
But then, he knew well that even though he couldn't comprehend this fully, the Void Aura was a technique that was beyond even the Primordial Frost Scripture.
For one, it doesn't just let him absorb Void Energy and call it a day.
It actively mutates him into something else. A new race.
That was like the ultimate peak of his Primordial Frost Scripture that rewarded him with the Frozen Physique.
The Void Aura Grimoire was doing that from the get-go of the first stage, and even bestowing skills right at the beginning—unlike the Frozen Physique, where he had to wait until the end of it, when he had mastered it before he was given two skills.
And to top it all off, when he opened to the next page, he found another notice.
STAGE NOTICE
You have unlocked Stage One: Fangs of the Abyss
Status: Incomplete — Void Nodes: 0/9
Upon completion, user will gain full access to the first two mutations:
Abyssal Claw
Voidstep Legs
Further stages remain locked behind physical compatibility with Void Energy.
Estimated Survivability Rate: 27%
Two more stages remain.
Their contents, requirements, and abilities are sealed until current stage is completed.
"The next evolution cannot be taught. It must be survived."
According to the Grimoire, there were still two more stages that would be revealed, but only after he had managed to cultivate the first stage perfectly and created the Void Core within him.
Right now, even with its complexity, it was still far from done.
One thing he knew was—if he devoted his energy and attention to this, then he would no doubt soon become an expert Void Elementalist… and perhaps even more.
"Now, I'm curious about the mentioned Void Pact..." Ryuk mused to himself, as he soon flipped the page to the side, and all he saw was a single page covered in various runic lines with strange blotches of dark blood splashed over.
In the next instant, the page uprooted out of the book, coming to float before Ryuk before suddenly diving into his forehead, before he could react—and not long after, the golden notification panel bloomed right in front of Ryuk.
[VOID SYSTEM NOTICE]
You have reached the current final page of the Void Asura Physique.
A Royal Contract is embedded within the manual's final glyph.
Would you like to form a permanent contract with the Void Rift Dimension?
Caution: Cultivating this path will alter your body irreversibly. The Black Hole Core is a parasitic seed—once awakened, it cannot be removed.
Expect rapid mutation, unpredictable emotional shifts, and a gradual divergence from baseline humanity.
Reward: A portal to a unique Void Rift, once home to the Void Asuras, will be unlocked. It contains all environments required to practice the technique to perfection and includes potential opportunities for evolution items, dimensional gear, and hidden fragments of the Void Asura Legacy.
Optional Contract: Corporeal Evolution Path
Accepting this path will unlock your body's full potential to evolve into a true Void Aura.
Warning: Once accepted, the transformation cannot be reversed.
Do you wish to accept the contract and begin the oath of the Void Aura?
[YES] — Embrace the Abyss.
[NO] — Return to the Light
Important Note: The Void Aura Physique will be close to impossible to complete without getting the Unique Void Rift.
Host would have to search for unique environments, which might take years to find effective ones.
Chances of cultivating the technique to this peak will be ridiculously low.
Also Host can simply decide to forgo the Void Aura Physique and settle for another physique in the shop.
Time Left to Decide: 30 seconds
Ryuk scanned the notification panel quickly, surveying it through one more time before he made his choice.
"I agree."
[Are you sure, Host? This technique has a lot of chances to undergo mutations unplanned by the Host.]
"Yes, I am sure." He said once again, without the slightest hint of doubt.
Congratulations on Host successfully accepting the contract. New Skill has been awakened.
[Rift of the Void Asura: A portal to a unique Void Rift, once home to the Void Asuras, will be unlocked.
It contains all environments required to practice the technique to perfection and includes potential opportunities for evolution items, dimensional gear, and hidden fragments of the Void Asura Legacy]
Ryuk's reasons for accepting the contract had been simple—even though he had been warned the technique would likely cause a lot of mutations that he can't foresee right now.
Nothing was more scary than an unforeseeable future—but not for Ryuk.
Ever since he had gained the Frozen Physique, he had learned an important truth:
All techniques that tried to change him, will fail.
His nanobody had a unique ability beyond any normal transformation—and that was its ability to adapt, the strongest point of his nanotech body.
The last time when he had wanted to obtain the Frozen Physique, it had rejected him after realizing that Ryuk didn't truly have a body that the physique could alter to begin with.
But just when Ryuk had thought he would lose an important physique, his nanobody had gotten to work and forcefully assimilated the Frozen Physique into its own structure—remodeling it and adapting it until it became Ryuk's.
This Void Aura Physique was not much different.
It sought to change Ryuk's own true body into that of a Void Asura—just like how the Frozen Physique had tried to change his normal body into a Frozen one.
But Ryuk didn't really have a "body."
What he had instead was a humanoid mass of Nanotech—a uniquely adaptable entity that could adapt to anything.
If the Void Aura Physique tried to change him, it would simply be compatible and assimilated into his Nanobody by force.
It wouldn't really change Ryuk at all so why should he even be worried about that?
'Now. Let's check out the new skill.'
"Activate Rift of the Void Asura."