By being tied with the Abyssal chains, they had come in contact with him, and Ryuk’s tattoos instantly adapted to the aura of those chains, temporarily granting him access to Abyssal Energy.
[You only have 30 seconds before it fades,] the system panel flashed right before him, as his eyes gleamed with light.
"Well... see you later," he said, and immediately, a rift opened beneath his legs.
He fell through, disappearing from the space once more.
The instant Ryuk vanished, the assassin’s knees collapsed onto the Void floor, both sickle blades dissolving from his hands.
His lips parted wide, drawing in white, chilling steam, his eyes dilated in fear.
’I... I can’t beat him.’
It was the final realization that crossed his mind.
Standing before that young man gave the same sensation as standing before Death itself.
Except, unlike Death, who would strike swiftly with clear murderous intent, the one before him was so lax—it was terrifying.
It was like standing before a baby, giggling innocently... while holding a loaded gun to your skull.
That creeping terror.
That fear of what is possible... and what is to come.
’How... just how do I get out of this?’
_______________________
When Ryuk reappeared on his bed, his tattoos still bore the dark Abyssal energy.
Without wasting a single second, he lay himself, crawling under the mattress and switching off the lamp.
Once his eyes closed, he focused on recalling that feeling, and once he felt it was locked in, he gave the order.
’True Skill: Abyssal Close – Twin Thrones of the Abyss: Throne Shift.’
The moment he issued the command, his eyes gently fell shut.
His heartbeat slowed... and just moments later, his consciousness was successfully transferred out of his cozy bedroom.
It hadn’t been 10 seconds before the dark motes of light in his tattoos faded, returning to their shimmering purple hue.
__________
’This isn’t the spacecraft...’
That was the first thought Ryuk had when he found himself back in his main body.
What unsettled him most was that—despite his high sensory perception—it was completely silent.
No sound.
No movement.
No breath of life.
The space was so pitch-dark that he doubted if his eyes were even open.
He couldn’t see himself—and worse, he felt bound.
His hands were suspended above his head, his legs folded and chained.
’Seems like something really went wrong...’ he thought, receiving a:
[Told ya,] from the system.
’Okay. I need to get out of here—wherever here is,’ He concluded, while immediately ordering:
’Activate: Beyonder Dragon.’
The second he did, the Hurricane runes on his body flared with shimmering purple energy—but only for a second.
A powerful suction force engulfed them.
He raised his neck against the chain tightening around it, then turned his gaze toward the chain binding his wrists.
It radiated a strange colorless energy.
In an instant, he focused and watched as the purple light of his tattoos began shifting.
Within less than three seconds, the purple runes turned completely colorless, adapting to the energy of the chains.
And the moment they did, the chains lost their suppression, allowing the Beyonder Dragon technique to activate.
When it did, power flooded every inch of him.
Six crystal shards slipped out from the Void and arranged themselves like a floating crown around his head.
White scales covered his skin, and with a forceful yank, he shattered the chains binding his wrists.
His freed hands moved to his neck, crushing the chains holding them, then moved to his legs, yanking those off as well.
And finally, he stood.
WHIIIIIIIIIIR!
WHIIIIIIIIIIR!
A rotating red beam began spinning rapidly across the chamber, followed by a loud, shrieking alarm.
’Looks like they know I’ve broken out,’ Ryuk muttered as he rose to his feet.
CRACK!
CRACK!
The sound of his bones shifting echoed through the silent Void.
It told him everything—he’d likely been held here for a while.
’I hope this isn’t another one of those damned pirate ship,’ he thought, descending onto the cold metallic floor.
There was a clear exit door below.
He glanced around—he was the only one imprisoned here.
Even after a minute passed, no one rushed in.
There was no familiar rushing footsteps or shouting—just the blaring red alarm, and it unnerved Ryuk a bit.
’Maybe they’re waiting for me to step out...’ he thought, as he moved toward the exit.
But the moment he took his third step, Ryuk froze—his foot halting just an inch from the ground.
His body stiffened.
BAADUUUUUMP
BAADUUUUUMP
BAADUUUUUMP
His heart pounded violently as, once again, his body triggered an emergency alert that flooded his mind.
A millisecond later, Ryuk’s neck jerked to the side, cleanly resting on his left shoulder.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!
The sound of space being sliced into nothingness ripped through the air.
A beam—so fast his sight could barely keep up—blitzed past his head and slammed into the wall ahead.
When it did, the area that was once a sealed exit had been cleaved open completely, and most disturbing of all...
Even after three full seconds had passed, space refused to heal.
It had been scarred.
Permanently.
"What the hell...?" Ryuk turned in shock, his gaze instinctively shooting upward, toward where the blade came from.
The entire ceiling above was torn apart by that strike, exposing the outside battlefield.
And what he saw nearly made his jaw drop.
Blades of energy were cross-slicing through the sky.
Skyscrapers were being cleanly sheared off, followed by violent explosions that blew buildings into nothing.
The sheer aura pouring from the battle chilled him to the bone, and he realized something.
’These aren’t Apocrypha-stage cultivators...’
’These are... Exignis Cultivators!’
The sword beam that almost took off his head was nothing more than a stray attack that veered off track, and what’s more, there were 100 of those sword beams veering erratically through the sky.
Instantly, Ryuk dashed through the exit as the realization echoed in his mind
’Void and Isha won’t survive a slash like that...’
He dashed out through the exit, his senses sharpening as he tried to reconnect with their minds.
"Isha!?"
"Isha?"
"Void!?"