"I know, Ryuk."
"Me and Void — we’re what you have. And truly, I know it is enough for you, as I have never seen you desperate to fuse more beasts."
"I know you want to be powerful, but when it comes to contracting more beasts to do so, you’d rather find another way."
"I previously thought it was such an obvious path, and the fact that you’re not doing it is because you can’t, but something tells me I’m very wrong."
"And the reason why you never went down the path of strength by contracting as many beasts as possible must have something to do with me and Void."
"Isn’t that true, Ryuk?" she asked him with a smile, as he remained seated in silence.
Could he get more beasts?
Of course, he could.
Even when he only had her, he already had the space to contract up to eleven beasts.
And now that he was a Beast Sovereign, with King’s Aura having been upgraded to its maximum, the number of beasts he could contract was partially unknown.
He never even cared to know the exact number, because it was definitely more than he would ever be able to finish using.
Ironically, contracting beasts was also definitely one of the fastest ways he could grow.
But he knew he needed to regulate that, to ensure balance and familiarity with every beast he contracted.
He preferred deep bonding and loyalty over simply gathering them, as he saw them more as a family than as a collection of power cards he could just pull out anytime he got in a pinch.
It was a sensible belief, but also a very limiting one.
So in a way, yes, he truly was doing it not just for himself, but also for the convenience and well-being of the beasts he already had.
"I want you to fuse with more beasts..." she said, this time even more firmly.
"What changed?" he couldn’t help but ask.
The way Isha wanted him to contract new beasts was so unlike her.
The usually jealous and clingy frost wyvern, who never appreciated others being around him at all.
Contracting more beasts was a risk to her. And somehow, she was the one urging him to do it.
So what really changed in her?
What happened to make her like this?
"Many things changed back on that ship," she whispered aloud.
Her gaze was on him, but her eyes seemed lost in the past.
Truly, Isha had changed since her abduction. Being trapped and dissected by the organization had given her a glimpse of a reality that existed beyond Ryuk’s side.
She had seen creatures experimented on until they couldn’t take it anymore, reduced to nothing but a puddle of blood.
And what was worse was how the scientists laughed at their deaths, not even batting an eye while they watched beasts get killed in the most excruciating pain, one by one.
She had thought she would suffer the same fate, but she had been saved.
Still, being saved never erased the memories of what she had seen.
She could see them playing out vividly every night.
She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt his hands grab her wrist and pull her forward, as she fell into his embrace once more.
"Tell me how you truly feel, Isha..." he said softly to her, and she remained silent.
A silence that lasted so long before she finally spoke.
"I get jealous, Ryuk," she whispered, something that didn’t really surprise him.
He knew that was one of her weaknesses.
"I think that’s okay..." he responded, but she shook her head.
"No. You only say that because you don’t know how jealous I really get."
"You sure?" he asked, tauntingly, and she responded,
"I got jealous when I saw Void’s egg and learned you planned to fuse with him. So jealous that I even welcomed the thought of taking the egg away and hiding it," she said, making Ryuk’s eyebrows crease in surprise.
"I get jealous when Morgaine touches you, or even when you speak with her. Sometimes, I wish I could sink my claws into her throat and rip out her lungs," she said, so softly, each word brushing close to Ryuk’s ear that his heartbeat unconsciously quickened.
’That’s really bad.’
"But back there in that lab, I learned that it was really...petty."
"The beasts were losing their lives to experiments left and right. Their lives weighed less than nothing."
"I didn’t even know if you were alive or dead, and my death was only a matter of time."
"My jealousy, my desire to be the only one, it was all so inconsequential the second I got exposed to a power far stronger than I was."
"And when, in the end, I only got out of there alive because of you, I learned even more. You were the good guy, and the only one that I have."
"And now, the stronger you get, Ryuk, the safer I will feel."
"My jealousy won’t help either me or you when we face danger. It’s petty."
"So I’m not only trying to grow stronger, but also making sure you are stronger too, so if there ever comes a day when we’re in a hard pinch, we’ll both be there for each other."
"And if one day, we fail... at least it’ll be only after trying our best."
"I hated Void before he was even born, but now, I don’t even understand why I hate him anymore."
"It just makes it feel even more petty when I think of my worries and jealousy of him.
"But I’ve also come to realize that, with just me and Void, you’re not even half close to trying your best at all, Ryuk."
At this time, she pulled away from his shoulder, looking into his eyes.
"I know you’re only at this level of strength because you consider me and Void in your decisions, but I fear that might be just like my jealousy when a bad situation arises,"
"I don’t wish you to realize one day that your decision to not grow stronger as fast as you could, despite all the options available to you, was just as petty as my jealousy in the end."
"So... do your best to grow stronger, Ryuk," she said with a smile.
"Do it for me and Void..."