"Whatever," he said, turning his attention to the Old Wyvern they rode.
"You seem a lot more competent, so I wish to discuss things with you," he added.
"He listens to me, and you cannot talk with him unless I allow it," Nerrise replied, but in the next moment, her face changed as a claw clamped around her neck, lifting her into the air.
’So... fast?’
The realization hit, her eyes widening as the death squeeze tightened around her throat.
Her hands shifted to claws, clawing at Ryuk’s hand, but they did nothing.
He spoke coldly,
"Just because we sit two meters apart doesn’t mean we’re familiar. The only reason you still draw breath is because I have one last use for you."
Droplets of blood rolled across his claw as they dug deeper into her neck.
"Annoy me enough, and I’ll find another way to accomplish my goal... without you," he spat out before releasing her.
She collapsed to her knees, coughing blood from her lips.
Ryuk turned away, moving directly to the Wyvern’s head.
With a pink aura undulating on his right palm, he pressed it against the back of the Wyvern’s head, communicating telepathically.
The exchange lasted nearly twenty minutes before Ryuk withdrew his hand, leaving the Old Wyvern’s brows creased in thought at the end.
Ryuk said nothing more.
They were already approaching a massive world in the distance, and with a quick scan, he found Elder Celine amongst the crowd of different beastly races.
"There she is," he told the Old Wyvern, pointing straight at her.
The Wyvern nodded in understanding, and Ryuk floated off its back as the Frost Wyvern continued on its journey, carrying with it its master.
"What did he talk to you about, Molain?"
Nerrise asked through clenched teeth, her anger sharpening as she noticed Molain pause, then return to his humanoid form despite her giving no permission.
In that form, he turned, locking eyes with her.
"For your sake, and for Wyvernoid, Wyvern Nerrise. I beseech you with my life core to let go of the hate in your heart, and carry out the task we’ve been given to the best of your ability."
His words more than surprised Nerrise.
A Frost Wyvern’s life core was no trivial thing to invoke. It was the highest vow, a Frost Wyvern laying down its pride and dignity.
The anger in her heart faltered as she looked at Molain and whispered,
"Do you say this out of fear of him, even knowing the Ancients will awaken soon?"
He softly shook his head.
"I say this so you do not lose your life. Please, let go of the hate and focus on the mission. Nothing under heaven or earth will stop him if he chooses to rid us both of life."
"I came prepared to die," Nerrise said, but her shoulder was suddenly gripped tightly by Molain.
"A death like this serves no purpose."
"You’ve come too far to meet your end when it can be avoided so easily by you simply dropping your ego," he said.
Her eyes furrowed instead at his hand on her shoulder, making him withdraw them, but right then and there:
A pink halo flashed in Molain’s eyes, his usual subdued expression warping into a bizarre grin.
"I am him, and he is me."
"You!"
Nerrise shouted, stepping back in shock, only to watch the grin fade and the pink halo in Molain’s eyes vanish.
"Is something wrong, Wyvern Nerrise?" Molain asked, eyeing her cautious stance.
She stared at him blankly for a long while,
’Don’t tell me, he...he.’
In the end, she could only sigh silently before asking:
"What’s the plan?"
___________________
[They’re preparing for war against you. Something about awakening the Ancients amongst them.]
The panel flashed before Ryuk’s gaze.
He stood in the dark Void, his eyes spanning the entirety of the Evioulurnian kingdom.
"I know,"
[And you still plan to go back there,] it said.
"Yes, I do."
[I feel this is beyond just fighting for Elder Celine’s justice.]
The system panel blinked as Ryuk almost choked on his breath.
"Me? Fighting for justice!?"
[Then what warrants taking all these risks? I thought it was because you felt Elder Celine was denied entrance wrongfully?]
It pressed him, but Ryuk kept his gaze on the Void, eyes settling on them.
"I don’t fight for justice. I don’t believe in it. If justice existed, I wouldn’t be here at all," he said coldly.
"What I fight for is pain and hardship."
"Elder Celine has come too far just to be refused at the gate.’
"For over two hundred years on Endearth, she spent time and resources planning for this journey."
"And on this journey, she brushed shoulders with death countless times, barely surviving."
"All just to be told no, because of Isha’s existence as the accursed one, whatever that even meant."
"My answer to this was no, and hence why this is happening."
[Why no?]
"Why no? Because there’s been too much pain in this journey to be denied."
"That’s what I fight for," Ryuk explained at length
"I made sure she never knew I was the one behind it."
"If she did, she might not feel comfortable being here, knowing it was only thanks to me that they were allowed in or creating a feeling of indebtedness in her heart."
’That’s why I kept that lousy woman around. With her presence as one of the "they," Celine would feel more at ease."
"And that Old Wyvern seemed wise enough. He’ll at least help them integrate into this place, very well,’ he muttered.
[She will still want to know what happened to Isha, though,] the system remarked, and Ryuk nodded.
"I already told the Old Wyvern to give her the truth."
"She was taken by a man named Ryuk, and they left the Kingdom. I left a cryptic message so she’d know it was true."
[So, Ignorance is bliss, huh?]
"Ignorance is bliss?" Ryuk muttered his brows creasing for a while but then they relaxed.
"Yes...sometimes, I guess."