676: Laughter

Laughter

It was the irony of all ironies. Just a few months ago Ryu was thinking about Yaana and how she was in the perfect situation to reaffirm her comprehensions. Not only would she gain the strengthening of relearning what she already knew, but she also wouldn't have the hindrance of her previous memories slowing her down. It could be considered the best of both worlds.2

Somehow, though, Ryu had been in the same exact situation. And yet, rather than benefitting, he was being punished. 

No… It wasn't that he was being punished, but rather that his comprehension had oscillated so many times that what once was 'easy' became decidedly less so. By his calculations, he had broken past the Ruler Realm into the Small Realm level several times already. But, each and every time, not long afterward, his comprehension would regress. 

On top of that, he would also somehow forget that he had had this breakthrough and go about his day as though nothing had happened. 

Eventually, a breakthrough that was as easy as breathing for him became a taller and taller mountain to climb. Ryu had no idea what would happen if he broke through now. Though he had the complete Origin Flame to make his memory truly infallible for the first time, who was to say remembering would be enough? 

"Ryu?"

Ailsa called out again. This time, Ryu blinked and looked back. Seeing the worry in Ailsa's gaze, he could only sigh. 

"I'm not sure what's going on."

Yaana blinked, not quite understanding what was going on either. It was only after Ryu said a few words for her to comprehend that she realized just how big the problem was. 

"…"

Ailsa's brows furrowed. Of course, she didn't need all of this explained to her as she had been with Ryu just now as he went through everything step by step. 

The timing seemed too coincidental. For all of this to occur as Ailsa was in a coma made it seem like there was someone with conscious choice behind this. It made an already convoluted problem even more complicated. 

"… If we have to pick one, I have to believe that it's the Phoenix Sky God." Ailsa finally said. 

Ryu didn't reply immediately, waiting for Ailsa to finish. 

"All this time, what was most impacted were your flames and this just so happened to coincide with the awakening of the *** flame..."

Ailsa pronounced the true name of the flame without much effort. She did so casually and without much thought as Ryu usually thought of it in his mind as well. However, as a Cultus Faerie, it was clear that she was very much adept at speaking many tongues with far more ease than Ryu. 

The result, though, was a sudden freeze on the world. 

The Fire Shrine fell into absolute silence. It wasn't just about noise, but even the qi in the surroundings themselves came to a grinding halt. Even with [Ephemeral Tapestry], Ryu watched as the colors of the world became absolutely still, no longer moving about as freely as they once did. In fact, Ryu felt that if he tried to absorb energy now, it would take ten times the effort. 

Ailsa's gaze narrowed, her eyes angling upward. The momentum of this name was clearly great. It was difficult to tell just how long it had been since someone had spoken it. 

Right then, there was a flicker within Ryu's Spiritual Sea, the cotton-like ball of fire pulsing slightly before resting once more. It's movement seemed to awaken the prayer mat that also trembled for a moment, relieving much of the drain Ryu felt on his mind at that moment. 

"… Your Great Swordstaffs were affected as well, but you should also remember that your Great Swordstaffs are derivatives of our Tatsuya Saintly Weapons. The Tatsuya Saintly Weapons are a weapon style designed around the Rage Flame and its prowess. It could even be said the foundation of it are the flames. 

"Everything about this seemed to make sense, especially since your Wind Inheritance was unaffected, until that is you also mentioned that your Lightning Inheritance suffered as well. 

"But… That was only up until you awakened your Storm Talent. However, before that…"

"My Lightning and my Flames were tied together as one…" Ryu finished. 

"Exactly right. In fact, it might not even be the awakening of your Storm Talent that changed things. During your training these last few months, you gained the ability to separate out your lightning flame into its individual parts again. It's possible that this was what allowed your lightning to break free of those shackles."

"Then does that mean that so long as I have this white flame with me, my Fire Inheritances won't be able to breakthrough and remain above the Ruler Realm?"

Ryu's brows furrowed. This could become a great issue. 

Even if every breakthrough would make his Fire Inheritance exponentially more powerful, there would be a point of diminishing returns. If Ryu relied on the complete Origin Flame to blaze through, there was no telling if it would come to bite him in the future. 

If there came a day where he was stuck in the Ruler Realm and could no longer breakthrough, his combat prowess would suffer permanent damage. Only a breakthrough would allow a qualitative leap in his strength, returning back to the Ruler Realm did nothing for him unless he approached a breakthrough once again. 

Ryu took a deep breath and looked up toward the ceiling of the shrine. To his surprise, there was a swarm of qi above that hadn't stopped moving under the oppression of the white flame's name. It snaked about like a Dragon, flapping its wings and coiling about itself in a deep slumber. 

The qi yawned, sticking out its tongue. It opened a single eye and gazed at Ryu for a moment before releasing billowing steam from its nostrils and closing its eyes once more. 

The pure, unbridled nature of the qi made Ryu smile. 

But only when you want them to… 

Those words reverberated through Ryu's mind once again. He couldn't help but chuckle. 

'If you were so unbridled, why'd you run away when the Heavens descended?'

Ryu continued to look up at the qi as though he expected an answer. But, surprisingly, he actually got one completely out of his expectations. 

'Don't blame your blood for your own cowardice.'

The dragon replied without even opening its eyes. 

After being shocked for just a moment, Ryu burst into a fit of laughter. It was a strong, belly rounding laugh, the kind that made even the Shrine itself tremble.

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