Chapter 623: Revealing His Secret
The Half-Fallen One stated, as a faint silence descended upon the room, broken only by Ryuk.
“I’m curious about something,” he said, drawing the Half-Fallen One’s attention.
“And what’s that?”
“The other races leaving for their original worlds. It’s like something agreed upon by every one of the Ten Families, right?”
“That they’ll all be leaving—every single race on Endearth, apart from the humans, of course?” he asked, as the Half-Fallen One tilted her head slightly, trying to discern the deeper intent behind his words, before eventually nodding.
“Yes, every race will be leaving, leaving just the humans behind eventually,” she confirmed, and they watched Ryuk nod his head before continuing to eat.
“You think the humans will come to miss having those races around them?” Old Jack asked, nudging Ryuk hard enough to nearly tilt over the food on his fork
But Ryuk didn’t flinch, almost as if he had expected it, as he took a bite before replying.
“I can bet my life—the humans won’t miss any of you that much. And if there’s anyone they definitely won’t miss, it’ll be you,” he added, grinning broadly at Old Jack, who scoffed.
“I’m not a kid, desiring to be missed in the first place,” the old man defended, as Ryuk rolled his eyes and ignored him.
“So… when are we leaving?” Morgaine asked from the side.
“I’ll give the order at 10 in the morning. The elders have prepared themselves into ten groups, and they will depart in intervals.”
“We will be the last to leave, so I’m guessing we’ll be going tomorrow morning… or perhaps at midnight.”
“The teleportation circle usually cools down afterward, preventing anyone from using it again too soon, and that takes time. Hence the delay,” she explained as Morgaine nodded to herself—her gaze unintentionally drifting toward Ryuk, who was currently looking at Old Jack with furrowed eyebrows while he stared at him with a mocking evil grin.
“Hey, Ryuk?” she called out, and Ryuk finally took his gaze off the troublesome old man and turned toward her.
“Will you be coming with us to the Fallen World?” she asked, barely able to contain her heart, which seemed to want to leap out of her chest.
For she knew—his answer could very well change everything for her.
And that same truth applied to the Half-Fallen One and Old Jack, whose eyes narrowed, focus sharpening.
They knew well, especially Old Jack, that Ryuk had his own path to follow.
He had said it himself: that this place, Endearth, was only a minor crossing on his true journey.
But there was a problem with that.
And that problem was Morgaine, who was deeply in love with him.
They all knew his decision, whether to come with them or stay behind, would also determine whether they could keep their daughter by their side, or if she would follow him.
Old Jack would much rather have Morgaine come with them to the true world.
For he knew, Ryuk’s path—if anything—would be one of blood and death. Something no sane man would wish for his daughter.
Especially after just starting to reconcile with her after fifty years of being absent from her life.
And the same could easily be said for the Half-Fallen One.
So, they all held their breath, waiting for Ryuk, whose brow didn’t twitch in the slightest as he dipped his finger into the tender meat and replied.
“I will be coming with you…” he said, then took a bite, closing his eyes to savor the taste as he gave a mild nod—no doubt enjoying it.
“But Ryuk. What about you—what about your goals?”
“I understand your love for Morgaine, and I agree with it. But if you choose to leave with us, we all know that’ll affect your goals more than anything.”
“I don’t want you to feel burdened and abandon your life mission, just because she’s with you…” Old Jack said, as Ryuk opened his eyes and turned to Morgaine.
“Earlier this morning, Morgaine… you called my name while I was asleep—probably very loudly—and I still didn’t respond until you touched me, right?” he asked, and she nodded, remembering the oddity from this morning.
She had woken up before Ryuk to get dressed and help her mother with breakfast.
But when she had returned and called his name, he had remained completely unresponsive—until she tapped him more than thrice before he finally woke up.
“The truth is… I have a pretty special skill. Kinda like a clone ability, you could say,” he said, and the room’s attention focused on him.
“The skill, which I obtained from defeating the Knull King, allows one to create two bodies with no difference between them. It also allows one’s consciousness to hop from one body to the other.”
“Right now, this is one of my bodies—sitting here with you all—and my second body is in Grade C…” he said as they hummed, but then Old Jack asked.
“And you said it allows your consciousness to move from one body to the next, meaning that…” He said, pausing.
“Yes. Only this body is currently ‘alive.’ The other one is slumbering right now.”
“That was what happened this morning,” he explained, and Morgaine’s eyebrows arched.
“So while it seemed like you were asleep, you were actually in the other body—and only when I tapped you did you feel the call and switch back here?” she asked, and he nodded.
‘While the clone skill is incredibly useful, it could cause problems unless they understand why I occasionally zone out completely. I have to reveal it to them if things are going to work out…’ Ryuk muttered internally.
He would’ve loved to keep his clone skill a secret.
But he knew that if he never revealed it, Old Jack, the Half-Fallen One, and Morgaine would always feel like he had abandoned his own goals just to stay with them.
They would always think of themselves as burdens to him, especially after how he had made it very clear to follow his goals through.
And occasionally, if Morgaine called for him and he didn’t respond because he was in his other body, it would look bizarre—and might even cause emotional strain, especially during times when switching bodies wasn’t an option.
That was why he felt he needed to reveal it—if he wanted to prevent misunderstandings.
And truly, revealing it made Old Jack and the Half-Fallen One subtly exhale in visible relief.