When Ryuk opened his eyes after disappearing into the Vortex, he was lucky enough to find himself standing—his feet anchored firmly to the ground.
But as he looked around, he realized he was in a dark alleyway.
A familiar smell filled the air.
The smell of smoking.
And when he turned his head, he caught sight of a group of hairy-looking Fallens.
Golden eyes mixed with red, flashing in the deep darkness, cigarette butts glowing between their fingers.
Their hazy eyes locked onto Ryuk, pupils dilated—clearly high out of their minds.
Ryuk instinctively took three steps backward.
"Hey... stop right there—" one of them began, but before they could finish, a Void Vortex materialized behind Ryuk, and he disappeared into it.
When he reappeared this time, he was high in the sky and began plummeting.
Luckily, he landed on a rooftop.
’Finally got the location right,’ he thought to himself, exhaling in relief, the glow of his tattoos anchoring him securely atop the roof.
But then he looked forward—and the relief on his face vanished.
He was standing on the wrong roof.
Not his house, but the one beside it.
Not willing to waste any more time, Ryuk stepped forward, slipped through the glass window, and landed back on the bed.
[It worked?] The system notification flashed before Ryuk, who rolled his eyes at its outsider tone.
"I tried to create a Void Vortex, and it did what it was supposed to do—get me out of the room."
[Oh really? Then why were you sneaking in through the window in the dead of night?]
"Okay fine. It isn’t working 100% perfectly, but I’m guessing I just need to flesh things out. I mean, the first time I got the skill from Void, I wasn’t an expert at it."
"I’m guessing this is the same."
"A couple more attempts, and I’ll get it right," Ryuk said with more than enough confidence as the grimoire faded from his grasp, returning to his Soul Star.
It would’ve been the perfect time to check out the Frost Grimoire, but he didn’t think that was necessary anymore.
He had gotten what he needed—proof that the Echo Library functioned similarly to the Primordial Gate.
If he could feel what he wanted clearly enough, then he could imitate it.
But getting that feeling right wouldn’t be easy.
He would need to train, to meditate, to resonate deeply with memory. And that, he was perfectly fine with.
"I’ll be going to the Ammamoran Service Center tomorrow, and I’m not sure yet what I’ll be facing."
"Will they place me in service straight away? Or will I have to go through another test?"
"I don’t know... but probably best to go there feeling alive rather than exhausted," he murmured, deciding to call it a night.
Quietly, he slipped under the mattress, clicked off the lamp, and the room fell into a quiet calm.
The breeze still faintly rushed in through the slits of the window, but through the quiet silence, a pair of purple eyes remained open.
One of his fingers traced down the purplish tattoo on his right arm, his thoughts drifting.
Mostly, they drifted back to his last conversation with the manifestations of his previous bloodlines.
’I’m not nothing without you both, and I’ll carve a path.’
’My path—away from the names and titles your presence forced on me.’
’I’ll be Ryuk. Ryuk Knull.’
’Not the son of Theth’Vorgath, nor one who shared a line with the daughter of Vel’Zhryaka.’
’But Ryuk Knull,’ he swore silently.
"I’ll make you both realize that when next we meet. I swear it."
___________
"Awwwn, look who’s looking refined this morning—even got a pair of glasses on?"
"Don’t you think he looks cute, Ryuk?" the bubbly, feminine voice teased, laughter laced beneath her words.
Ryuk turned to the man sitting across from him, a "leave me alone" look in his eyes—though a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
"He... he looks like a true civilized man!" He exclaimed.
Old Jack scoffed at the hypocrisy.
"You just—"
NEEEEIIIIGGHHHHH
The familiar, ear-grating noise of a horse rang out from outside as a sturdy animal cautiously trotted toward the window, revealing a carriage standing outside.
"Seems like your ride is here, honey," Mrs. Lynia alerted, just as Old Jack took the last slice of food left on his plate and rose to his feet.
"Wait, let me—" He paused as she wiped his oily lips with a tissue before kissing him.
"Don’t be late, and don’t cause trouble."
"You know I’m not a troublemaker, Lynia," Old Jack said with a sleek smile, but his wife’s doubtful expression made him sigh.
A faint sound of mocking laughter echoed from the side—none other than Ryuk, with his big purple eyes sparkling mischievously.
"Seems like my reputation ain’t the best."
NEEEEIIIIGHHHH
The horse neighed again, prompting Old Jack to wave.
"I’ll be back in the evening. Early, of course. I promise," he said, quickly heading out the door.
"Bye, Big-Eyes Mutt. Don’t die on your first service," he called out before Ryuk shouted after him:
"Break a leg, Oldie!"
"For the last time, I’m not old!" Jack yelled back just before jumping into the carriage.
HYAAAAH
HYAAAAH
The sound of heavy hooves hitting the ground rang out as the carriage disappeared into the distance.
A beam of golden light glinted in Mrs. Lynia’s eyes as she stared at the panel for a while.
"Your ride is coming soon, too, Ryuk. It’ll be here in a couple of minutes."
"I got a little bit of info about your service. Stored it all on this..." she said, taking a seat by his side and extending her thumb toward Ryuk.
On the surface was something that looked like an iris cover, shaped like a pair of glasses.
"Wait, is that—"
"Yeah. The Ammamoran Communication Device. Just place it over your eyeballs and you should be good to go," she said.
"I’ll help you," she added, turning Ryuk’s face to hers, making sure it was in place before she extended the covering forward.
"Um... are you sure it’s safe and doesn’t blind people eventually—"
"Shhh, shhh. Just hold still...anddd...Done!"
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