Ryu opened his eyes in the world of red once again. The moment he did, he found a key floating before him. To his surprise, though, this key was identical to the Tri Key that was already in his possession.
Ryu was suddenly intrigued. He had thought that the Tri Key would be ubiquitous. With even the Moon World having four of them, he assumed that others would have similar luck. Could it be that he was wrong about this?
As he thought, Ryu kept a portion of his senses focused on his body. Though he had seemingly tossed it to the back of his mind now, the matter of him losing a year of his life was something Ryu would never forget. Time was too precious to him, every year he lost was like a knife twisting at his heart.
Ryu reached out from Nemesis' back, grasping onto the key. The moment he did, he vanished from the world, appearing in the Keep once more.
The sound of battle caught his attention almost immediately. The clashes were so great that even the Keep quaked, threatening to collapse upon its very foundations.
With narrowed eyes, Ryu nudged Nemesis' side, the sound of metal clashing against marble resounding as the crimson steed charged out of the doorway.
…
Sarriel's katana moved with a striking swiftness, blades of bluish black whipping about and forming the outline of blooming flowers in the air.
"Girl. Get out of my way."
A robust young man with a rippling exposed torso and bald head countered Sarriel's strikes one after another. But, he was quickly becoming frustrated. All the rage he had come storming in with seemed to deflate time and time again.
He had come here ready to tip everything he saw apart, especially after he heard that some bastard had dared to claim his city. He didn't care what reasons this person had, he would tear them apart.
But, before he could even reach the Keep, he found himself being blocked by a woman no weaker than himself. Even though she also seemed to be tired, it had still been enough to stall him for so long. How could he not be pissed off?
Those who had managed to make it into the inner city were spectating this battle along with Niel who couldn't seem to find a way to intervene. Deep inside, he was also aware that if he really did join, this battle would turn into something completely different. At least for now it was one on one, but it could very quickly become dozens versus two if he really did take action.
It was at that moment, when everyone was wondering how this battle would end, that the door to the keep opened.
The first thing everyone saw was the steed. A metallic killing machine, a beast covered from head to toe in a plate armor that exuded a dangerous fog of petrification. It felt as though just being near it would turn someone completely to stone.
It was only after they felt their hearts seize in this way that they noticed that this steed, exuding the majesty of the Nether Realm, had a rider.
He sat with his back pointed straight to the skies. His fluttering white hair made him look almost like a Ghost King, an existence with an ice cold touch that could even freeze over one's soul.
When Sarriel saw this person, her eyes lit up.
"Ryu!"
Ryu nodded faintly. He had truly taken his master's words seriously and he began to observe Sarriel with a more precise eye. However, he could only sigh inwardly when he saw her bright smile. He realized that it had suddenly become difficult for him to do so.
He didn't see her as a romantic partner or a wife, but he most definitely saw her as a friend at the very least. This made things difficult. Was she really potentially untrustworthy?
It was a silly question to ask. Especially since he hadn't trusted her from the very beginning. However, rather than being a subconscious questioning kept for the recesses of his mind, it was now bubbling forth and mixing with the budding goodwill he had toward her.
Ryu's gaze shifted from Sarriel. Things were better this way. He couldn't afford to make a mistake that could cost him either his life or his freedom. There were too many people counting on him.
When Ryu's eyes locked onto the bald young man, his demeanor became decidedly colder.
As though the temperature had dropped, an eerie frost spread through the surroundings.
The battle between Sarriel and the young man had come to a grinding halt the moment Ryu appeared. It was clear and obvious to everyone that the main act had begun. But, Ryu himself didn't see it this way. This was a mere opening gesture, a show of strength, a display of power the likes of which couldn't be refuted.
He could see it all quite well. Zanlis of the Avangard family thought that he had hidden himself quite well amongst the crowd. But, compared to Spiritual Sense, Ryu's [Third Perspective] was on a completely different level. There was nothing that could hide from him.
However, he wasn't angry. Zanlis was clearly a cautious man. Whether it was due to the circumstances he had been thrust into this time, or if it was just his normal disposition, it didn't matter to Ryu.
Clearly, Zanlis didn't want to take the risk to battle Ryu earlier, clearly knowing that this hot headed brute before the latter now would most definitely make a move. Why would he take a risk himself if there was someone else to do it for him.
It was quite smart, objectively. But, Ryu quite frankly didn't care to be tested.
"You have two choices." Ryu spoke coldly. "The first is to lower your weapon and scram. The second is to continue to fight and die. There is no third option, make your choice now."
That bald youth raged almost immediately, the spear in his hand rattling beneath his trembling qi.
"I'm going to enjoy killing you." He growled as dark tattoos began to spread all over him, even covering his face.
Ryu didn't say a word. He simply held a hand out.
He immediately understood the dialect of this young man. He didn't need the soul fluctuations he released to comprehend his intentions in the slightest.
This was once again someone from a seemingly already long lost era. And, judging by how his skin was quickly turning a shade of deep black at this moment, Ryu became even more certain of his origins.
The Orobona Clan.
The ban on Mental Realm cultivation was taken up by Ryu's Shrine World and a few others. One would think that the Zu Clan was the only one responsible, but there were multiple Clans at fault. The Zu Clan just happened to be the most prominent on Ryu's home world, but that didn't mean there weren't other Clans that had committed numerous atrocities.
The Orobona Clan, in a lot of ways, was far worse. Maybe the worst…
They were a Clan that found their expertise in the torturing of souls. They would purge the purity of souls over hundreds to even thousands of years in more frequent cases, while some of their more powerful members might spend millions to even billions of years on the same task…
This would turn the pure white of a soul into a deep black even harsher than ink. These souls would be drowning in animosity, rage and fury, becoming the purest incarnation of wraiths in all of existence.
The Orobona Clan would then use these fallen souls to practice their odd Body Realm cultivation. This cultivation practice, when activated, would turn their skin to the very same ink black.
Not only would this give them bodies stronger than even Spiritual Ores, but the fusion with these souls would allow them an acute control and sensitivity to Spiritual Qi. With their techniques, even someone who was of poor talent, could trade in pain for this very talent they sought.
However, the trade off would be a corrupted mind and a shortened lifespan. Those of the Orobona Clan had a strikingly low chance of crossing the Path Extinction Realm. Ironically, only those that had real talent to begin with could possibly cross through this challenge…
Ryu didn't remember all of this for the sake of chastising this bald young man. Quite frankly, he didn't care what cruel acts others committed. In his opinion, the eradication of the Mental Realm factions all those years ago was simply cost benefit analysis, just like everything else in the world of cultivation.
And, this time… Ryu had made his own cost benefit analysis.
As for his conclusion…?
"You of the Orobona Clan make good corpse puppets." Ryu said faintly.
The young man froze, partly due to being recognized, partly because Ryu had transitioned to his language so easily, and partly… because of the words themselves.
Suddenly the young man began to laugh, revealing a mouth, row of teeth and tongue just as pitch black as the rest of his body. Soon, even the white of his eyes had turned a deep black, leaving nothing but crimson irises floating in their darkness.
However, this laughter didn't continue for long. Because at that moment, Ryu's Death Qi surged, descending the surroundings into chaos.
A whirlpool of darkness appeared between the two.
Slowly, two Lower Skeleton Warriors manifested themselves, their bones rattling as they grasped at the air to form a spear.