"We’ve deciphered Isha’s memory, and it all led to that place, the Beast Tavern Realm."
"It acts as the special residence to all the bestial creatures in the Upper Realms."
"I’m sure if there’s any place that could hold the ancestral home of the Frost Wyverns, it should be there..." Elder Celine said as Ryuk hummed silently under his breath.
Her words echoed in his mind.
"I wonder what the Beast Tavern Realm looks like," she said to Ryuk, whose fingers folded together, swiping and zooming the holographics into a tiny box before sending them back to Elder Celine.
"You know," he replied into the mind of the rainbow girl, "We will be heading to the Beast Tavern Realm, and you’ll get to see what it looks like soon."
He said, smiling, which she returned with an even bigger one.
"But before that, I will be going to a different place. Just as cool as this one."
"Really?" she asked, and Ryuk nodded, rising to his feet.
"So... do you want to stay here with them, or—"
"I’ll come with you," she said before he could even finish, clinging to his legs.
’As expected,’ Ryuk thought silently to himself as he raised her onto his back.
Then he moved his hands to the side, and a dark rift slipped out from the void, revolving.
"I’ll be back soon," he said to the group before stepping into the rift, which immediately disappeared.
They looked silently at the closing rift, but it wasn’t long before they witnessed it bloom once more, and Ryuk stepped out of it.
But this time, it was different, as only he stepped out. The rainbow girl was nowhere to be found.
"You threw her into your Void Rift?" Void asked with a raised eyebrow.
Of course, it had entered Ryuk’s Void Rift more than a couple of times, so it could instantly identify it.
"Yes," Ryuk responded as Void’s eyebrows twitched.
"How long did you plan on her staying in there? How did she even agree to stay in there?"
"Why did you suddenly care so much?" Ryuk replied with a helpless shrug.
"Don’t tell me you placed her and ran back out as fast as you could? Tsk, such lowneess."
"As expected of a goof," Void mocked, running his claws through his tongue as Ryuk’s expression plummeted.
"No, you lechrous bastard. And not like you even got a better idea, anyway..." he said, but the Void Panther shrugged, clearly unaffected.
He wasn’t the one who saved her, so why would getting rid of her be his responsibility?
Ryuk moved back to the sofa and lay on it.
It had been around three days since he had spent time here in his main body.
He had to return to his other body, and who knows, maybe Morgaine was even back already.
PUFF!
A puff of black smoke, and right there on his chest was Void, looking at him with those ever-familiar skeptical eyes.
"Deciding to run off again?" it asked as Ryuk raised an eyebrow.
"Run off?" he asked, feigning ignorance, but Void nodded instead.
"Yes."
"Even an idiot with no brain would be able to sense you’re not just sleeping."
"How?"
"Imagine, the high-energy Ryuk sleeping like a log every chance he gets?"
"Doesn’t make sense, does it?" it asked him.
"You’re not even doing anything to warrant trying to save energy," it said, more than sure of its words.
Ryuk’s eyes turned away from him, to the side, and there, he could see them all looking at him suspiciously.
Isha and Rakshahsa.
Elder Celine was busy working on holographic panels.
With that, he could only sigh helplessly.
"Yes, Void. I’m deciding to run off again," he agreed, as Void snickered in satisfaction.
’I swear I’m too smart for him.’
"I wanna come," it said, raising its head in disdainful pride, but it all ended when Ryuk grabbed it by the back of the neck and dropped it to the ground.
"No!" he said, and a moment later, the chain on his hands lit up with dark abyssal energy that trailed over his tattoos, turning them black.
A moment later, they all could hear his heartbeat slow to a crawl, and soon enough, he turned motionless.
"And like that, he’s gone," Void said with a tired sigh as it stretched its back, but its body chilled up as it turned its head, watching Isha rise from the sofa and walk towards Ryuk.
’And as expected... the over-clingy girl finally regains her sleeping spot,’ Void thought, watching as Isha approached Ryuk just like it expected.
’Wait, what is he?’ He asked, but then, its face changed massively as Void instantly puffed into the air and appeared right above Ryuk’s chest—
BAAAAAAAAAAM!
A mini-shockwave bloomed through the entire room as Isha’s frost claw slammed down straight onto Ryuk’s chest, only to be blocked halfway by Void’s claws.
"What the—!?"
"What do you think you’re doing!?" Void roared out, as its hands wavered, trying to hold back Isha’s strength, but it was failing, as its dark, steely claws were being pushed down.
"Tch."
Void clicked its tongue, and a moment later, a void Vortex spiraled up its claws.
Isha’s claw entered it, and she was sent skidding away to the side all of a sudden.
"Hey, clingy girl, you better watch it. Trynna make a—" It was saying when its speech choked up as Isha turned her eyes towards him.
’Holy—’ it cursed, looking at Isha’s eyes.
They had turned from pure silvery white to narrowed serpentine irises.
That was a bad sign.
Immediately, Void turned back to Ryuk, slapping him hard on the cheeks.
"Hey, wake up!" it screamed, and immediately,
GASSSSSP!
Ryuk gasped as he felt his skill suddenly break.
He opened his eyes, but not to the sight he was expecting.
’It didn’t work? What’s going on?’ he asked confusedly, feeling his head a bit groggy.
But his eyes snapped open as he felt a terrible cold ooze from the side, and he caught the sight of Void quickly puff away from his chest, his presence disappearing completely from the room.
His groggy head instantly cleared, and he sat up to find Isha walking towards him with a fiery expression.
"Ishaaaa... Are... are you...okay?" Ryuk asked, as she moved so close, her serpentine eyes mere inches from his own, forcing him back down to the sofa.
The cold was so intense that Ryuk’s breath turned cold too, his lips icing up with frost.
’When did her cold even become this cold?’ he wondered in disbelief.
But things were only beginning to get worse, and quickly, too.