Knowing that he couldn't go any further without earning City Lord Loom's rage, Captain grit hit teeth and spit onto the ground of the dirtied dark cell. Hearing the scurrying rats, the rage in his heart was dampened a bit, his lips curling into a sneer.
"Enjoy your stay, these very well might be the last moments of your life."
With a harrumph, he slammed the cell doors shut. Even though the City Lord had already sealed much of Ryu's strength, the Captain had still chosen to throw him into the cell with the sturdiest formations. Even a Divine Vessel Realm expert wouldn't be able to casually leave. Not without alerting the whole of Looming City, that is.
Ryu emotionlessly gazed at the metal bars before him. It was quite easy for him for him to tell that they were made of Black Grade material. It was hard to imagine why this city would have such top-grade prisons, but on second thought, it made sense. With how many experts frequented this place, if Looming City didn't have a way to threaten and lock them away, they would be too useless as a major city.
That said, these matters were the furthest thing from Ryu's mind. What did he care what cell he was thrown into? The fact he was thrown into one at all was something he had never experienced before.
In his first life, no one dared to look down on him. At first, it was because of the Tatsuya Clan at his back, but not long later, that respect became rooted in his own ability.
In his second life, he had faced hardship, but after his memories returned to him, he wiped them away without a second thought. He didn't even consider for a moment that those matters really happened to him. If it was up to Ryu, the youthful him of this life was another person entirely that he happened to take over the body of.
One might think that this bone deep pride was birthed with Ryu due to his upbringing. Maybe he thought too much of himself because of the family he came from. But, Ryu might be the only person who knew that his arrogance had little to do with his Tatsuya Clan… His Clan just allowed him to be more of who he already was.
Ailsa sat quietly on Ryu's shoulder. It wasn't that she was unwilling to speak, but just that she didn't believe anything she said would make an impact.
'In his first life, despite having the love of his life by his side for hundreds of years, he didn't dare to take her for himself. It wasn't until he believed he might never see her again that he finally granted her wish…'
It was a matter that was selfish beyond belief. Ryu knew that maybe a better man wouldn't have made that decision, and maybe, deep down, he didn't believe in his ability to come back as much as he said.
'… The character he projects to the outside one is of cold confidence, but it hides something far weaker and far more fragile… Arrogance has always been his escape, not his dogma…"
Ailsa felt the memories of a young Ryu floating in her mind. That boy with a bright smile that lit up the Tatsuya Clan. After he entered that library… He was never the same again.
His brightness was replaced with a harsh winter, his smile by an expressionless gaze, his true self buried deep within a layer of animosity.
And even through all this, he didn't believe he had the right to feel these emotions.
He was born with two loving parents, four loving grandparents. He had the world's resources at his fingertips and a woman who loved him with all her heart by his side. He felt he didn't have the right to be bitter, to hate the world… So, he buried it.
Seeing so deeply into Ryu's mind for the first time, Ailsa felt her heart shudder.
To think she said those things to him… How could a man with such thoughts not understand how lucky he was? How many things had she said about Fate not being so easy to change? Who was it that understood more about such a thing? Was it her? The girl who ran away from home? Or was it him? The man willing to kill himself for a small sliver of a chance to change his family's destiny?
Ailsa suddenly felt ashamed. Did she really have nine cycle of one hundred million years of experience over Ryu? Hadn't she spent all of that time in the crystal coffin, burying her consciousness into a deep slumber? What 'maturity' did that gain her, exactly?
She knew that she was only capable of seeing so deeply into Ryu's psyche because despite his calm exterior, his emotions were fluctuating wildly. A portion of him wanted to slaughter everything in sight, another wanted to humiliate City Lord Loom until he couldn't raise his head, another wanted to leave this prison and never come back – what did a minor humiliation at the hands of a mere City Lord mean to him? His family was still waiting…
These so-called restrictions on his cultivation? A mere Connecting Heaven Realm expert wanted to restrict four Ancestral Bloodlines? To seal Chaotic Silk Meridians? To cut off a Mental Realm bathed in lightning?
He overestimated himself!
Ryu felt the Rage Flames he had tempered down earlier flaring up once more.
Who was right and who was wrong? It was certain that this City Lord still believed himself to be correct. But…
He set rules for his city that he allowed to be broken simply by virtue of one's status, was such a person worthy of Ryu's respect? He seemed to be an amicable leader, but he treated those weaker than him with a subconscious disdain, was such a person worth of his respect? He couldn't break into the Immortal Ring Realm on his own, so he needed Ryu's help…
'… IS SUCH A PERSON WORTHY OF MY RESPECT?!'
The formations of the cell formlessly shattered. But Ryu didn't move a single inch. He remained seated, his boiling blood slowing to a crawl.
The intent was so powerful that Ailsa felt her mind tremble, her consciousness blackening for a moment before it regained its calm. But even after all that, the beating of her heart refused to.
The Natural Order was split into two main categories, Mortal Endowments and Natural Enlightenments. Though these two were placed side by side, the reality was that someone who had comprehended a Natural Enlightenment, even to the lowest State of Listening Realm, touched upon a strength others couldn't imagine. So… Why was it that Ailsa felt Ryu had grazed a barrier even most World Sea monsters like his grandparents would never touch in their lifetimes?
Unfortunately, the feeling disappeared. Ryu had already sent his mind into the crystalline jade.