Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends

Chapter 480: Ryun

Heading Home

Ryun stood on the edge of the cliff alone for a while. His thoughts were calm for once, he felt as if he had finally reached a state where his mind was clear of the intrusive thoughts he had been having for a while.

He understood so much more now. He could feel True Death within himself, or at least one half of it. It was his Soul, for all intents and purposes Ryun was the embodiment of the Twin Aspect of True Death, he was one half of the plane of True Death.

It was a strange thing to know, to be.

Through his Core he could feel the other Aspect, the Plane of Oblivion. He understood it on a much deeper level now. He knew that it was the first, the oldest of the Essences, the one part of two. Nonexistence and Existence, Oblivion and the Three.

The Three had created all else, or at least they had given pieces of themselves to manifest Existence in different ways. Oblivion had always been there, and what he used was just a fraction of what it was capable of. He couldn't destroy existence with Oblivion, he could only change it, in the same way that the Three changed themselves and pushed Oblivion away to make room for their bubble of reality.

There were still things that he didn't quite grasp. Like what the plane of Oblivion was in reality. Did the Three take a piece of the Oblivion around them and put it in their creation, or was Ryun actually tapping into the Oblivion that was outside of reality, surrounding it. Was he touching the place that the old Aspect of True Death walked into to talk with the Three?

He didn't think that he could survive in a place like that, what he remembered from the dreams held a weight that would've crushed the person he currently was.

He needed to explore what he had achieved, learn and grasp it in his hand. He had come to the Afterlife to gain power, and he had achieved his goal.

He turned around and stepped into the forest, heading back to the forest. He had to find Nayra, she still had a few days left on her limit to stay in the Afterlife, but there wasn't much more that he could gain here.

The forest shifted around him, and instead of the battlefield he found himself in front of the white mist they had arrived through, and the bridge they had crossed.

The warrior guardian stood in front of it, a figure dressed in heavy black and gold armor. He held a two-handed axe in one hand, with a long wooden handle carved with elaborate lines and an axe head that looked as if it was made out of diamond and gold, the gold seemingly weaving itself together to form a solid metal edge. The warrior wasn't any race that Ryun had seen before, he had a marble white skin streaked with gold lines and eyes of deepest silver. He could smell a scent of earth and metal clinging to the warrior.

The guardian gazed at Ryun, a wave of anger roiling away from him.

"Final Witness," the warrior started. "You have not heeded my warning; you've killed in my domain."

Ryun raised his head; he had done no such thing. "You warned that I should not rob anyone here of their chance to be chosen by the great Wheel," Ryun answered. "Hashk was never going to be chosen."

The warrior's gray eyes shone like steel in the pale light, his grip tightened around his axe, and his face twitched with fury. Ryun could feel the air surrounding him charge with energy as every muscle in the warrior's body tensed.

"That is not for you to decide," the warrior said. "Not in this place."

Ryun's perceptions, both his skill and his Soul, gave him a deeper sense of the warrior. For a moment, Ryun paused, and then he realized something that should've been obvious from the start. The guardian wasn't a Soul, not how everybody else in this place was.

He was the Warrior, he was the Aspect of what's meant to be a Warrior. An old Aspect, just like True Death, but one who had accepted the deal and found a new purpose.

The realization told him just how much he really didn't know about the world.

Ryun met the Warrior's gaze and pulled the Aspect of True Death up from the deepest parts of himself. He activated his perk, the Presence of the Eternal Hunters, but kept it close to himself, just underneath his skin. And then he responded with his head raised high. "It is my decision, it is only my place. I have looked in his eyes and I had seen the defeat, his time had ended."

The Warrior's expression hardened, his gaze pierced into Ryun's eyes, looking deep. And then he grimaced.

"There you are," the Warrior said, and Ryun frowned. "I see you, Reaper."

Before Ryun could respond, the Warrior's eyes went blank, a moment later he took a step back, his expression changed completely, and he spoke.

"Leave, Last Death, you are no longer welcome in my Afterlife."

Ryun tilted his head, and then responded. "I'm not leaving without my companion."

"An age of a universe, and you haven't changed," he nearly growled, then he gestured with his free hand.

A moment later, Ryun heard steps behind him and perceived Nayra stepping out of the forest.

"Uh, Ryun? What--" she started, but the Warrior interrupted.

"Your stay has ended, you are to leave, now," the Warrior said, his eyes looking over Ryun's shoulder at Nayra. "If you return, do so alone."

The Warrior stepped aside, clearing the way to the bridge.

"What did you do?" Nayra whispered as she stepped closer.

"What I was meant to," Ryun answered. "We can talk once we are out. I am sorry for shortening your trip."

He started walking toward the bridge, Nayra glanced at the Warrior before hurrying up to catch up with him.

"It's fine," she sighed. "Nathan is gone, and... I've achieved what I wanted to."

Ryun glanced at her as they crossed the bridge. "Really?"

Nayra nodded. "I've met the requirements for another Eternal Class."

"Congratulations, I hope?" Ryun asked. He knew that she had a class available to her from before, a Dome related one. But she hadn't wanted to pick it, she wanted something that married her two previous choices, since she had switched Class trees during her last level up.

"Thank you. It does look powerful, it is what I have been looking for. Here, take a look," she touched his hand and made the window visible to him.

CLASS

DESCRIPTION

POWERS

Chooser of the Slain; Herald of Death on the Field

A Valkyrie that chooses who dies. A Herald that announces the coming of Death. You are the guide between Life and what comes after. You are the one that chooses.

Chooser of the Slain; Herald of Death on the Field is a class focused on dealing with Souls. Able to cause Death with ease, it is the guide that chooses when and how one arrives in the Afterlife, if the guide believes them worthy or worth it enough for them. It is the most powerful on the battlefield filled with Death. It shines in war and is kin to the souls of warriors, and gains power the more Souls are under the guides mantle.

Death Dealer: Perk Improvement, Attunement Improvement, Ability Improvement. You are unaffected by Death related damaging aspects. Possession of Souls or contracts with the Souls grant you bonus to all base stats.

!Gain the following:

-Insight and Might: Gain plus 20% to base wisdom and 20% to base strength.

Ryun scanned through the Class quickly as they reached the gate leading out of the Afterlife.

"It looks like it is what you've been looking for," he told her.

"It is," Nayra said.

"What is it?" He asked, her tone didn't seem that excited.

"I... I don't know. I've been on the path toward this moment for so long and now I just don't know what to do really."

"What brought this on?" Ryun asked.

Nayra hesitated, and then spoke as they came to stop in front of the gate. "That fight with the warriors," she started. "They were so much weaker than us, and we lost."

"Ah," Ryun said slowly. "You can't compare it that way. They were masters of their power, they had fought for longer than the Real Realm existed."

"But we are in the highest tiers of power," Nayra said.

"And they were too, in their own way. Perhaps we could've won, if the stage was different, if a thousand different factors were shuffled around. You've always known that victory doesn't come to those who are always the strongest. Even the most powerful can fall to someone far below them. You've seen it before, we had done it."

Nayra met his eyes, and then nodded. "You're right, I was being foolish. I have to gain what they had," she closed her eyes and extended her hand palm upward and grasping. "To master my Aspect to that level."

"In time, I have no doubt you will," he told her then pushed open the gate. "Come, let us return home."