The surface of the sea beneath his feet began bubbling like water being warmed, and then a thin glass-like barrier began shifting out from beneath.
It raised the water into the air, higher and higher, until it touched Ryuk’s feet.
Then, like a void vortex, he found himself easily sinking into it.
Soon enough, both of them were swallowed by the barrier, which dipped back into the ocean and completely disappeared from view, the sea returning to its calm waves.
______
"It’s dark." The words echoed straight into Ryuk’s head as he stepped forward through the blackness.
Iris’s voice made him pause mid-step.
With his current power level, there wasn’t much difference between day or night, but Iris was an exception.
"I’ll get the light on," he replied, turning to the side and walking up to the wall.
He reached for a switch and flicked it on.
Bright white light flickered across the entire space.
It was blinding at first, but soon enough, they both adapted, and the scene came into focus.
It was an enormous hall, its vertical height soaring up to fifty meters.
Stretching to those dizzying heights were iron structures layered upward in stacked stairs and walkways, each of them bolted into the curved wall of the chamber.
The width was narrow, about ten meters between the opposing walls.
The length stretched impossibly far into the darker corners, where faulty lights provided no illumination, though Ryuk could see just fine.
His hand reached to the side, fingers brushing against the wall.
They were of bare metal, marked with streaks of rust and old welds.
BAAANG
BAAANG
He struck twice, the echo blooming through the hall. The wall held firm, and Ryuk gave a stiff nod.
His feet rose from the ground, floating upward until he landed lightly upon a railing.
GROOOAAAN
Each step made the iron groan faintly, though it still held his weight.
BUUUUZZZZZ.
The bunker was silent, ghostly silent.
The only sounds were the faint buzzing of the lights, the tightening of Iris’s arms around his neck, and the soft rhythm of her breathing.
It was clearly an abandoned place, and by the looks of it, abandoned for quite a long time. Something that made sense, judging from its low price.
His hand reached forward, placing Iris on a platform jutting from the wall.
"Where...?" she muttered, but he replied faster,
"Just stay here for a while. I need to clean this place up," he explained, ruffling her hair.
She nodded coquettishly.
Immediately, Ryuk began.
Glitching away from his spot, he appeared on one of the top railings. His hands reached downward, gripping its edges where it was fixed into the wall.
With a forceful yank, the entire railing came free, flying down as Ryuk tore it clean from the wall.
The iron crashed in a heap, chaos momentarily filling the space.
But Ryuk wasted no time, moving across the hall, uprooting every single stair and railing.
Soon, all of them were removed, stacked together into a growing hill of iron.
[Did you forget you’re underwater?]
The system notification flashed as Ryuk turned.
Where he had ripped away the iron, water was rushing in through the gaps.
His left hand reached out, and a silvery-white grimoire appeared in his hands.
Flipping open its pages, he stretched forth his right.
Cold poured from his fingertips, and within moments, frost spread across the gushing water, freezing it solid.
In less than five seconds, the leaks were sealed.
The grimoire disappeared, followed by golden dots of light appearing over the entirety of space around him.
With his Sovereign Rewriting skills, he smoothed out the jagged edges of the walls until they were polished as porcelain.
With that done, he brought out one of the supplies he had bought earlier from the market.
Soft wall foam.
He flickered from spot to spot, applying it across the walls until the entire bunker was lined with it.
It was initially meant for house ceilings or so, but Ryuk didn’t care.
He plastered it everywhere, transforming the bunker’s sterile menace into something oddly cozy, almost like a spoiled cat’s den.
Then, with a clap
GLITTTTTEEEERRRR.
Various lights flared across the foams, shimmering mostly in soft blues and faint purples, immediately changing the atmosphere.
"Waaaaaah!"
"So beautifuuuuul!"
Her words rang inside his head, and when he glanced up, Iris was staring wide-eyed, mouth open.
He chuckled, but was not done yet.
Flying up to the ceiling, he took out another purchase: futuristic 3D foam panels.
He fixed them into place, then switched on the light.
A galaxy of stars lit up above, glowing with purple shimmer.
Drifting down, he spread a soft, dark purple rug across the floor, then swooped back up to lift Iris from the platform and place her gently on the ground.
She bounced around, trying to climb the walls or cling to the ceiling, to touch the starlight effects of the ceilings, but failed as she couldn’t fly or stick to the surfaces.
Ryuk chuckled softly.
He hadn’t gotten much in the way of sofas, but he had bought a large bed, which was made to be converted into a single, large, cozy couch, rainbow-colored.
Three hours passed before he was finally done.
The once desolate bunker had become a haven, part cozy bedroom and part vibrant living room, where a purple shimmer mingled with rainbow hues.
Half cozy bedroom, half vibrant living room.
But that was only one side of the bunker.
A glass divider split the space, and beyond it was something entirely different.
Something that looked more like...
[Wait, is that a Lab you’re constructing!?] The system panel flashed, finally picking up on his plan.
[Are you planning on experimenting on something?]
"Kinda," Ryuk admitted.
[Experimenting on? Didn’t know Ryuk is now a scientist now] The system robbed in, with mockery, but Ryuk shrugged it off.
’Not experimenting per se. But more like designing new beings."
[Designing?]
"Yes." Ryuk said as he stepped into the lab area of the bunker, shutting the glass divider tight with a fingerprint confirmation.
Now, he could start one of the things he planned for his relaxation plan.