"Why is battle the cultivation path of Hurricane?"
"This goes back, most importantly, to how Hurricane was formed in the first place," the figure said, and Ryuk’s ears perked up.
"Hurricane is a scar—formed from the collision of energies at the end of a timeline."
"The end of a timeline is the most chaotic moment of that reality, featuring powerful attacks exchanged by billions of powerful races."
"The combined energy is enough to wipe out every single thing in that timeline from existence, signifying the timeline’s end."
"And through this chaos, Hurricane is born—the last thing remaining after a universe-ending storm."
"This makes Hurricane and Chaos inseparable," it explained as Ryuk hummed quietly under his breath.
"You may have also noticed... there’s no Hurricane energy in the air, right?"
"Apex Energy, Abyssal Energy, Aetheris Energy—you can always find them lingering in the surrounding space, since they’re the energies that birthed creation in the first place."
"But Hurricane is the energy that ends creation."
"It doesn’t exist unless chaos begins, and it will not grow if all you do is sit down cultivating all day and meditating all night."
"Besides... if you wish to feel emotion, what better time than in battle?" the figure asked, though Ryuk didn’t quite understand at first.
"You truly see who a man is when he’s a step away from the grave. When life flashes before his eyes... in that moment, his emotions are at their most raw."
"By being placed—or placing someone—under emotional extremes, like life and death... energy imprints become clearer, letting you see the emotions that lie beneath them even more vividly," it explained.
Ryuk heaved a breath, nodding in acknowledgement.
It was a lot to process... but now, many of his earlier questions had been answered.
He understood what he needed to do to grow this new energy of his and the best path to achieve it.
But all of a sudden, the world around them began to burn away into motes of white light.
And when Ryuk turned to the spirit, he saw that even it was beginning to fade.
The last thing it said to him was:
"Esh Therion believed the world was an illusion born from the dreams of a sleeping True God. And that each element is born from an underlying emotion.
"The key is to feel, and to never stop battling..."
Those were the final words Ryuk heard before the world faded into a dream.
’What’s happening?’ he thought.
Then, all at once, his awareness returned.
His gaze was locked on the glowing runes of the stone slab, whose runes had begun to dim.
The light soon faded completely.
When Ryuk lifted his head, he noticed something.
For one, the ship was no longer moving.
Though he could still hear the splashing of waves, he felt no turbulence.
He reined in the chaotic emotions in his heart and quietly stored the stone slab away.
Then he rose to his feet, surprise etched across his face as he looked around.
"...We’ve arrived?"
The floating ship had come to a stop.
And right before Ryuk was another island.
One so large, it was like standing before an entire city.
Tall mountains rose all over the island, and each mountain seemed to have some kind of carved opening—doors or halls—as if ancient races had carved homes right into the mountains themselves.
But what he found most unnerving about it all was that it was dead quiet.
There wasn’t even the slightest sound being made, as if all noise itself was being suppressed.
’There’s something in that place,’ Ryuk murmured beneath his breath.
’Something truly powerful.’
He didn’t have divine sense, so he couldn’t directly perceive it, but every cell in his body trembled faintly in silent horror.
"You’re finally up?"
The words echoed behind him, and Ryuk turned just in time to see a standing figure behind him.
A figure whose appearance took him by surprise.
It was none other than Orrelith, but now, her expression was hidden beneath a glimmering golden mask that covered her entire face.
On her body, she wore full golden armor, etched with thousands upon thousands of runes, running even down to her fingers.
Though the runes were dim, the aura oozing from her gave Ryuk the illusion he was standing before the sun itself, its scorching rays bearing down on him.
In her hands was a massive weapon, nearly five meters in length—a spear, whose very tip flickered with black holes, from the torn open space that occurred with each flicker of the spear’s edge.
Ryuk’s breath paused in his lungs at her form, his eyes squinting from the overwhelming golden light.
"What’s with the shining armor?" he asked, stepping aside as she walked forward.
Orrelith walked to the edge of the ship’s bay, her golden hair flaring behind her in the breeze.
She heaved the colossal spear, turning it toward the distant island with its sky-piercing mountains.
"A Nihility is slumbering within that mountain," she said, and Ryuk froze.
"A... Nihility?" he asked.
"Yes. One of the ancient races that once ruled over the Nihility Realm, thousands of years ago."
’Thousands of years ago!?’ Ryuk thought, unease curling inside him.
"Legend said, they had all gone extinct—wiped out during the great war with the other races."
"But who would’ve guessed there’s still one slumbering here," she said aloud, faint surprise in her voice.
"Grozque mentioned that what the Crimson Demons are doing... is an awakening ritual. A ritual meant to wake a being."
’Could this Nihil be the original target of the Crimson Demons?’
’They’re trying to awaken a thousand-year-old ancient being...’ He realized, but then grew even more confused.
’But why? Do the Crimson Demons bear relations with the Nihil?’ He asked just as Orrelith withdrew her spear and turned back toward him.
"It’s the Lord of this Realm."
"If it dies, the realm crumbles; that’s our only ticket home."
"Are you ready?" she asked, gazing at Ryuk, whose jaw was left hanging.
’I’ve barely had time to organize the mess of information in my head... and now I have to face a thousand-year-old ancient being!?’
He muttered in dumb surprise, but what followed next almost made his heart stop beating.