This was an even greater shock than his regression had been. Even back when he was a cripple, he could always vividly feel all four Bloodlines. Now it felt as though one of his limbs had suddenly been chopped off.
Little did Ryu know that this wouldn't be his only shock in just as many seconds. Somehow, he could only feel his Dragon and Qilin Bloodlines. Both of his Phoenix Bloodlines were nowhere to be found.
Ryu was left at an absolute loss for words. What the hell had happened to his body? Had that black blood expunged two of his Bloodlines to replace them? But hadn't that Blood just been Dark Phoenix Blood Essence? How the hell could a Dark Phoenix trump an Emperor Phoenix Bloodline?! It didn't make any sense!
'This…'
Ryu's brows tightened into a frown, suddenly realizing that the memories of his Phoenix Bloodlines were very much still there. But, he couldn't quite understand how that could be possible if he didn't feel them individually.
One by one, Ryu went through his abilities. He tried using his Heavenly Phoenix Patterns, and they all seemed to work fine, even to the point they even felt several times more powerful now than they had in the past. A small part of that was because of his grandmother's lesson, but Ryu knew well enough that he hadn't reflected on the truth of her words enough to show this level of improvement.
He went on to test his Talents and he found that his Rebirth Flame and Ice Flame were both still able to be controlled by him without the slightest issue.
'What is going on? Huh?'
Ryu's eyes furrowed before a flame of dense black suddenly erupted from his hand.
He sat in silence for a very long while, staring at it and not quite knowing what to say. This flame, he was absolutely certain that it was the Dark Flame of the Dark Phoenixes. But… how did he suddenly have control over it? Could it really be the Dark Phoenix Blood Essence?
It had to be understood that though Ryu could use Dark Heavenly Patterns, that was a product of the control his Emperor Phoenix Bloodline gave him over the laws of all three Phoenix branches. This was the same reason why his grandmother could use both Dark and Ice Phoenix Heavenly Patterns. However, this control didn't give Ryu access to the Dark Phoenix Bloodline.
Ryu's eyes suddenly widened, his other palm opening up to reveal a dense white flame that looked far more like fluffy cotton than a raging fire.
The white flame… it actually began to listen to his commands?
One confusing matter after another seemed to be piling up on him. What exactly had happened to him? This felt like something he could only ask Ailsa about, but his wife wasn't an all knowing being. Ryu knew that even if he asked her, there was almost no chance that she would understand either.
Ryu's balled up a fist and released it. The white flames acted like a fine mist for a moment, squeezing through his fingers. It didn't act like a normal flame at all.
'What use do you have…?'
Ryu had thought with how finicky this flame had always been, when he finally gained control of it, his abilities would skyrocket. But, he had never expected the result to actually be so lackluster. It felt like this flame was harmless. He couldn't use it for offense, defense, it didn't even seem to have an auxiliary ability.
The only difference Ryu could spot was that this flame was neither hot nor cold, a lot like his Rebirth Flame or Origin Flame. In addition, it seemed to have a stricter form. Although it felt cotton like, that just went to show that it had a more rigid form than more flames did, even though the Origin Flame wasn't nearly as structured.
If Ryu wanted to give a flame rigidity, he would need to use his Heavenly Patterns. But, in doing so, the flame would lose any sort of flexibility it had once had. It was completely unlike this white flame which seemed to have the best of both worlds.
Then there was the Dark Flame. Or was it the Death Flame? It felt like it could rival Ryu's Rage Flame in heat, at least when Ryu was in a calm state like this. But, it also had an extra kick to it, something that went beyond just heat and scorching things.
It felt like death and decay would, like a ball of chaos ready to ruin the structural integrity of anything it touched.
However, for now, whether it was the Death Flame or the white flame, both were just in their infancy stages. Ryu hadn't even begun to comprehend either one of them, so it was no wonder he couldn't bring out any of their real strengths.
It likely wouldn't take Ryu much effort to begin comprehending, but he didn't have enough time to make either one useful.
Ryu knew that the largest change was likely to his soul. But, at this point, when he couldn't even begin to understand the simpler of his changes, he had no hope in understanding this more complex change.
How was a piece of his soul here? Who put it here? Why did it seem to be waiting for him? What did having a Blackbody soul really mean? He really had no idea.
However, Ryu knew that this wasn't good. He had spent months with Ailsa, just coming to an understanding about the limits of his abilities and where his strengths lay. But now it felt like everything had been turned on its head and he was once again a stranger in his own body.
With the battle of a lift time on the horizon, this was the worst situation for him to be in. He would almost rather trade back down to his weaker self purely so that he could have a greater grasp of his strength.
There were only two days left…
If he entered one of his time dilation Immortal Abodes, he could stretch that time to years if need be, but it would require blowing through a huge reserve of his Cosmic Qi Stones.
Ryu shook his head, it didn't matter. He could make his own Qi Stones now. But as things were, he couldn't enter a battle like this.
He wouldn't be able to comprehend Inheritances or strengthen his Dao in this time dilation, but he would hopefully be able to understand just what changes had occurred to his soul…