Silently, Ryuk remained, sharing a strand of his consciousness with Molain.
He watched the interaction with Elder Celine, exhaling in relief when things went exactly as he had wanted.
Even though she showed surprise, the two acted convincingly enough, and in a moment she agreed, asking for a couple of hours to prepare for the journey.
"I’ll eventually have to pay her a visit sometime, but for now, there are other things that need to be done."
The first of those was making sure that when she integrated into the Wyvernoid Kingdom, she’d be given no trouble.
To do that, there was only one way:
The hard way.
A silent ripple spread, and the Void seemed suddenly splashed by white ink.
Less than ten seconds later, Ryuk was standing once more above the world of the Wyvernoid Kingdom.
A distance the Old Wyvernoid had spent hours flying was crossed by him in just ten seconds.
He had not spent a minute above the Wyvernoid Kingdom’s airspace when a total of three gates appeared before him.
They were white in color, weirdly covered in white scales, and inscribed with ever-changing ancient runes.
CREAK.
They made an old, creaking noise as they opened, and figures stepped out as the gates disappeared.
There were three of them, one from each gate, and their sight made Ryuk’s brows furrow.
These beings were strange.
It wasn’t only that they were all female, but that they seemed to be the embodiment of runic tattoos.
Across every inch of their exposed, scaly skin, runic markings twisted and shifted, sending ripples of silvery-white aura into the air.
What’s more, although their tattoos looked similar, each of them radiated a distinctly different aura.
One look and Ryuk could tell.
The trio were beings of supreme power.
"Ancients of the Frost Wyverns, huh?" he voiced out, cracking his shoulders and neck.
"It was already getting boring fighting those I knew were dead talkers anyway."
"Maybe you all will be more of a challenge." He voiced out, but a voice echoed faster before he could begin morphing.
"What do you want?"
The tallest among the women spoke; her eyes were wrapped in a blindfold covered in runes as she regarded Ryuk, who paused before replying.
"Did they wake you up and not tell you why? That’s strange."
She continued.
"The Young Ones mentioned you arrived unannounced, with the imprisoned Accursed One in your arms."
"You took over the minds of hundreds of thousands of Lesser Wyverns and stormed the Royal Place, killing one of the Five Orders for failing to answer a question of yours."
She recited, and he helped her finish.
"So to righteously protect themselves, they woke you three Ancients to get rid of this evil tyrannical invader, and now we all engage in combat, the end of it being you die or I do," he completed.
"Their narration, though seemingly true, lacks something important."
One of them, the one to his right, said, her voice softer and younger, most of her facial features hidden behind a mask made of flickering ancient symbols.
"What was your aim with all your tyrannical behavior?"
"If you indeed have a deeper relationship with the Accursed One, it would make sense why you helped her escape imprisonment."
"But why attack the Royal City afterward?"
"Do you fight for revenge? Or is there a much deeper aim you wish to accomplish?"
She asked, staring silently at Ryuk, who paused for a while.
"So, you don’t wish to cross weapons right away? Interesting," he muttered before his brows steeled.
If they were willing to talk, he’d return it in equal measure.
"My aim is two and simple, really," he began.
"The first, you might have heard: a certain group was refused entry due to them bringing in the ’accursed one.’"
"I do not accept that, so I plan on bringing them back and making sure they stay, whether your kingdom likes it or not."
He said as they remained silent.
"But of course, this is easier said than done."
"After all, it isn’t my kingdom, is it?"
"Even if I bring them in, they can just be sent away at the gate once more, or this time even imprisoned like you did to the Accursed One," he added.
"That brings a need."
"A need for me to dissuade you from forcefully sending them away and to convince you to listen to my wish to make this group stay here peacefully like any other Frost Wyvern."
"Hmmm."
"Begging, of course, won’t do anything," Ryuk said in an obviously tone.
"I’ve learned the only thing you Frost Wyverns seem to respond to is fear."
"So I aim to cast fear,"
"So much fear that the thought of even laying a hand upon this group I want to stay here is enough to make any of you faint in horror."
The trio’s eyes furrowed as his lips split into a devilish parting, draconic maws pushing out only to fade back into his cheeks when Ryuk’s hands brushed them away.
"So yes, that’s my aim." He completed.
"And speaking of fear, what better way to send it than by killing the three Ancients that the entire kingdom casts their hopes upon?" he added, fingers crossing slightly.
"We cannot be killed by the likes of you," the last one among them, the one who was significantly different due to a single white wing dangling from behind her even in humanoid form, spoke, and Ryuk’s grin widened brilliantly.
"Every single person that has died at my hands believed they couldn’t in one way or another."
"In fact, that phrase now seems like a sure way to tell me I’ve already won."
Ryuk said this, but before things could escalate, the blindfolded one raised her hands, dispelling the looming pressure, and she uttered,
"You spoke the truth," she told Ryuk, who paused.
"Your aim truly is simple, and it is not to cast fear, but simply to make sure a group you want in the Wyvernoid Kingdom stays in the Wyvernoid Kingdom."
"It’s as simple as that."
"If that is your aim, then a fight is useless."
"Fear itself is not absolute. Eventually, it only turns to hate, and that will destroy the ones you wish to have here..."
[She’s quite intelligent,]
"So, instead of exchanging blows and destroying lives now and in the future, why not have the kingdom give you a Divine Oath instead?" she asked as Ryuk’s eyebrows creased.
"A Divine Oath?"
_____
A/N:
If you’re enjoying the novel, consider voting for the novel with Golden Tickets and Power Stones. It helps I, the author, with visibility on the NovelFire app.
In and Out_SnowySmoos