Exactly how much time had passed, Ryuk couldn’t really say, because he never bothered to consider.
But what he considered were the words spoken by King Ourumunda.
The Kraken recounted to him how and why his clan had ultimately been sealed away by the other Krakens.
"So, you wished to sow fear into the minds of all, making sure no race would ever dare to mess with you."
"But your wish went overboard, even by the standards of the other clans."
"According to them, you had become too destructive, and in the end, needed to all be locked away."
That was the complete summary of what had happened with the Abyssal Krakens.
They were a violent clan that lusted for destruction, but that very destruction made the Kraken race feared creatures, and it was true.
When the name Kraken was mentioned, everyone could imagine the giant octopus that pulled down entire ships to the bottom of the sea, leaving but one survivor to narrate the horror.
The name itself sent fear into hearts upon its mention, and it seemed the Abyssal Kraken Clan was the one responsible for that legacy.
They sank any ship that entered their territory, eliminating entire races.
They were greatly feared, but the cost of this fear wasn’t just the world’s hatred.
The other Kraken races began to see them as too evil, and so, they joined hands to lock them away.
"What do you think, Ryuk?" King Ourumunda asked.
"Most would call it karma, for the millions of innocent souls our race dragged to the depths and drowned."
"But I want to know what you, in particular, think of it." King Ourumunda asked again, curiosity echoing in his tone as Ryuk’s brow creased slightly.
"The fear you created is what the Kraken race is still surviving with now," he began, as King Ourumunda listened silently.
"Races are destroyed every day in the upper realms, and nowhere is truly safe."
"To survive, one must possess a fearful status and reputation, and you Abyssal Krakens were the ones who created that fearful status and reputation."
"Even though the world might not know you’ve all been locked away, they still fear the Krakens. They still fear you."
"And because of that, the Krakenoid kingdom remains untouched."
"This is the advantage of your evils," he analyzed, as King Ourumunda’s deep rumble echoed through the waters.
"But you pulling down innocents and drowning them in the depths could never be excused," Ryuk continued.
"You killed men, women, and children, all for the sake of creating a halo of protection for your kind."
"Even though it seemed noble, it was still an extreme evil."
"To have taken that so far that even your own race deemed it necessary to stop you, then I can only imagine the pain of those whose families were dragged to their deaths by your kind."
"If I had lost a family to the Krakens, I would have gone on a revengeful journey, hunting each of you one by one until your entire kind was wiped out of existence."
He said this with a lazy shrug, his hands folded behind his head.
"But if you had allowed just any ship to perch upon your waters and sail as they pleased with no danger, it would only be a matter of time before some other race set their gaze upon your waters and sought to infiltrate and possess them."
"In the end, it would be your own race that suffered."
"So, who could exactly say what is right or wrong?" Ryuk mumbled under his breath.
"It indeed is complicated." King Ourumunda’s deep voice rumbled through the dark waters.
"But even through the complication, the rules of the world are simple, Ryuk," he said.
"The rules?" Ryuk asked.
"Survive!" King Ourumunda replied.
"Simply survive. Nothing else matters but survival."
"When a man is faced with a choice between his life and another’s, his instinct will always push him to save himself first."
"I believe that was what we Krakens did."
"But having spent a century here, my bloodlust has been worn out, and I’ve realized the error of my actions," he said, his tone quieter now.
"You know, it’s almost angelic in its own way..." Ryuk suddenly said as King Ourumunda turned to him.
"Angelic? How?" He asked
"You Abyssal Krakens are the ones responsible for creating the protective halo that kept our race from being invaded by others, or from having our own slaughtered."
"Yet, at the same time, you are now also paying the karma that should have followed every Kraken for the destruction you sowed to protect them."
"You created the fear, and now you also bear the karma of it."
"The sacrifice seems almost angelic, doesn’t it?" Ryuk said, as King Oumounda’s eyes glinted with light.
"But as much as I say that, I also do not wish to side with evil," Ryuk mused under his breath, and boisterous laughter erupted from King Ourumunda.
"Believe it or not, Ryuk, the truth of reality is bitter."
"Sooner or later, you’ll face it, and when you do, you’ll either crumble under it or accept it with pride and survive."
"Hmmm, I don’t know," He muttered doubtfully.
The silence reigned supreme for a whole before the word broke through,
"Races invade other races, destroy other races, in an eternal battle for resources and power," Ryuk said, calling out,
"Tell me, King Ourumunda, could this ever come to an end?"
"Come to an end?" King Ourumunda repeated.
"Could there ever be a world where every race coexists?"
"Where there are no Krakens, no Angels, no Dragons, no Knulls, just...people?"
"A... peaceful world, so to say."
"I understand how you feel," King Ourumunda said.
"The desire for peace is something that finds its way to men who have seen enough war."
"Imagine if it all came to an end, Ryuk." King Ourumunda said, looking out to sea.
"Imagine if there were no war."
"Imagine if an ant could ride upon the back of a lion without being crushed."
"Incredulous, doesn’t it seem?" He said, turning back to Ryuk.
"If the world could end, I think that would be the most fitting death for it," Ryuk replied, and King Ourumunda hummed deeply.
"It’s a beautiful fantasy," he said, and Ryuk paused before chuckling to himself.
"A fantasy, huh?"