The instant he gave the order, the world responded, and it did so by falling into silence.
BAADUUUUUMP
Through the silence, a faint thump of a beating heart resounded.
An invisible ripple of energy spread through the entirety of the Dominare Family grounds, resulting in the entire world coming to a silent halt.
The spiraling black holes halted in their destructive shape.
The approaching ball of dark lightning paused in its track.
Elder Nogara’s triumphant victory smile froze on his lips.
The various Elders around—some with pitiful expressions, some with uncaring looks—all had their faces frozen in place, and the same for the guards, who were being scorched by the flaming ball, their facial expressions stuck in the process of their pain.
But an outsider to it all might wonder why they stopped. Soon enough, they would get their answer by staring at the place where all attention had previously been focused.
It was none other than the place where Ryuk stood.
A transformation was currently ongoing there.
A phase unlike any other witnessed or recorded in the current world timeline.
A phase into a Beyonder Dragon.
_________
When Ryuk felt the singular thump of his chest, it came with an unbearable feeling.
The feeling of his heart burning within him.
It was as if his heart had contained a sealed core of lava—and now, with the chains shattered, that suppressed force erupted through him.
It spread incredibly rapidly through his entire body, changing it, and the first of its changes was his height.
From his previous 2.5 meters, his skeletal system grew, reaching exactly 3 meters—the height needed for his body to bear this new power without breaking.
There was no muscle burst, nor a dramatic roar.
Just growth.
And after that, they began to form around his skin one by one.
Scales.
White scales, soft at first. Afterward, they sharpened into a polished layer of smooth crystal.
They were neither jagged nor rough—simply flawless, covering every inch of his skin, until they replaced it entirely.
There were neither runes nor symbols on the scales—just pure white, with a surface that caught the light like frosted obsidian glass.
Next came the crown.
Shards of ocean-blue ice rose into the air above his head.
They seemed to phase out of the void, each arranging in a circular formation, forming a total of six that enveloped around his head. The space around them began humming, although it made no sound.
They didn’t glow, nor did they burn. They simply existed, circling him.
And the final change was Ryuk’s eyes.
His previous eyes held a left color of blue and a right of crimson, a representation of his draconic and Knull bloodline.
But then, the blue in his left eye, representing his Draconic bloodline, started to spread into his right, entirely erasing the crimson color of his Knull bloodline.
The blue in both eyes began spinning.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh..." An incredibly deep exhale of frost left Ryuk’s lips, space freezing from its coldness.
He raised his head to the crawling ball of crackling Fallen lightning and black holes.
His left hand held the body in his arms securely, while his right hand stretched outward toward the ball of energy.
Immediately upon doing so, time seemed to resume. The ball appeared right before his scaly white fingers.
Yet, when it reached three inches before his fingers, the entire world witnessed an unbelievable scene.
The black hole, which let loose a horrific consumption force, suddenly began unraveling three inches before his scaly white fingers. Soon enough, they had dissolved altogether, leaving just the flaming ball of Fallen lightning.
When the ball reached three meters before him, its edges started to unravel as well, yet it persisted, coming to a crashing halt, lightning undulating along with the crackling of space.
The sound that echoed was like glass shattering over and over.
In response, Ryuk curled one of his outstretched fingers against his palm before flicking out toward the ball.
When the fingers struck the ball, the entirety of space rippled forward like glass, coating the ball of flame lightning.
Then, before the shocked and disbelieving eyes of the crowd—
The ball of Fallen lightning reversed.
It was a scene never before witnessed by Elder Nogara.
One of the most powerful Arts of the Dominare Family, a family that was one of the three greatest among the Fallen Angels:
The Dominare Fallen Arts.
A name that struck fear into the hearts of even the mighty Angels themselves, for it was filled with a law that seemed specially made to counter their Angelic Essence.
Within this art were about seven other techniques, each stronger than the last, and the third strongest of these was the Dark Angel Sphere.
It was a technique more than difficult to grasp, but ever since he had practiced this art, none of his opponents had ever escaped it without dying or crippled.
Many had lost their lives to it, and those who survived? He received the news of their deaths just a couple of hours later.
It was feared—and could never be challenged.
Unless by an equal technique in power.
Yet what was this scene?
The scene of his own art—his best ally—turning its back on him and racing forward in his direction.
It didn’t move fast. In fact, it somehow seemed agonizingly slow.
But it was all that filled his entire vision.
And when the image of the ball finally left his gaze—
All he heard was—
TICK
TICK
TICK
His eyes were lost, and he couldn’t explain it.
There was no shock, nor surprise, as Elder Nogara inched his right hand toward his left side.
There, in the place where his ribs and stomach ought to be, all he felt was a liquid that streamed down his arm.
He brought it to his face... and saw the dark liquid.
His blood
"How?" was the thought that echoed in his head, but he wasn’t alone.
The last vestige of strength left his body, and then,
THUMP
THUMP
It was the sound of knees collapsing onto the ground.