Ryu stood frozen, not knowing what to do. His mind churned, looking for a solution. But, every avenue he thought of was instantly cut off by himself. Each seemed more impossible to execute than the last and would only result in Ailsa speeding toward her death even quicker.
Ryu managed to maintain his calm. Despite the turmoil his emotions were currently under, he knew well that they would only hinder him. What good were they if they only made his situation worse?
Ryu took deep breaths. There was less than 5% of the seal remaining, yet somehow this last small bit had closed itself off completely. No matter what angle Ryu used to approach it, he would be killing her.
To have such expertise, such a great level of understanding, yet to not be able to use it to help the people you most care about... what a terrible feeling, indeed.
The memories of that night Ryu took his own life seemed to want to play in his mind at this very moment. Wasn't this exactly how he had felt back then?
He was so powerless that he knew that he would be of no use if he stayed alive. In fact, he didn't tell anyone what he was doing, only leaving vague clues behind for Elena, because he was so weak he knew that it would be far too easy to stop him.
Yet, here he was again.
Ryu almost laughed at himself. Every time he hit such a great roadblock, he would be transported back to the worst times of his life. His Origin Flame made certain that every emotion was painted as clearly for him as it had been on that day, ensuring that he would never forget.
'There is a way out of this. I'm certain.'
Ryu stood over Ailsa's naked body, his brows clenched in thought.
A Faerie's body was simply far too different from a human's. He was already dancing on a knife's edge choosing to do things this way. But now, he was teetering.
Ailsa looked so peaceful, not like her life was in any danger at all. But, Ryu could clearly see the slight mark of death hanging above her forehead. Even if he wanted to ignore it, he couldn't. It was the only imperfection on a visage that was otherwise flawless. It was like the Heavens wanted to leave its mark on this beauty, forcing Ryu to remember that even a Faerie Princess wasn't eternal.
'I'll find a way… There is a way… Even if there isn't one, I'll make it. Breath of World.'
Ryu's gaze sharpened.
He was a fool. As much nonsense as he said about not letting his emotions rule him, he had still allowed it to cloud his judgment. This should have been one of the very first things that he considered.
There were indeed many differences between humans and Faeries. This wasn't the first time Ryu had thought this since he began. But, there was a massive difference that he hadn't even thought about until this very moment. Compared to this, the differences between their meridians were almost negligible.
The Faeries took the Ethereal Plane as their home while humans took the Real Plane. Yet, at this very moment, Ryu was in the Real Plane, trying to undo a Seal that was likely laid in the Ethereal Plane. When it was put like this, it almost made Ryu look like a bumbling fool.
For anyone else, finding a path to the Ethereal Plane would almost be impossible. Even now, Ryu had no way of personally entering this Plane and it was unknown what method the Cultus Clan planned to use to get him to enter their lands. But, that was a matter Ryu couldn't be bothered to care about right now.
While it might have been impossible for others, this wasn't the case for Ryu.
With a thought, a swirl of spatial qi manifested, causing a crystalline jade to appear in Ryu's hand. This was the first time in years that he had even bothered to take it out of his Inner World. But, at this moment, it was necessary.
Taking a deep breath, Ryu pressed the crystalline jade to Ailsa's forehead.
Ryu had no way of forcing Ailsa to slip out of the Real Plane and into the Ethereal. But, what he did know was that the universe always functioned on the law of least resistance. Whatever was easier to happen would likely almost always happen. It was the probability of the world.
Likewise, Ailsa needed to use her connection to Ryu to maintain her state in the Real Plane. But, her subconscious state would always be in the Ethereal Realm. While she needed to use energy to stay in her current form, she conserved energy by entering her natural state.
This was all to say that just how gases flowed from areas of high concentration to low, Ailsa tended toward the Ethereal Realm. As long as there was an outlet present, in her unconscious state, Ryu was sure that her body would take it the chance.
As expected, no more than a few second later, Ailsa's body began to flicker in and out. Soon, she flickered out but didn't come back, making it obvious that he body had entered the crystalline jade.
Ryu absorbed the jade back into his Inner World and hurried after her. But, what he saw left him speechless.
The world within the crystalline jade was quite small as worlds went. Even Ryu's Incubator was far larger than it. The four story structure at its middle was practically the entirety of the world.
But, at that moment, there was something strikingly different from the last time Ryu had entered, so different and so unexpected that Ryu was at a loss for a moment.
What once was an expansive sky was covered in a massive shadow. Floating amidst the clouds above, still in a deep sleep, was Ailsa.
The trouble was that Ailsa was now several kilometers tall. In fact, just one of her breasts dwarfed the legacy castle of the Zu Clan in size.