Grand Ancestral Bloodlines Chapter 2274

[ … words ]

Ryu sat in silence on the back of a steed with a mane of crimson, flowing almost like the flares of a red sun in the depths of the night.

Across from him, a majestic bird with a long, pride-filled neck stood. Its feathers were almost akin to metal-plated scales, shimmering beneath the moonlight.

“Hey, buddy,” Ryu said with a smile. There seemed to be an age to his eyes now that had never been there before.

Little Rock opened his wings wide, sparks of silvery-gold lightning dancing across its body and its eyes.

Ryu hopped off of Nemesis’ back, his gaze calm and unhurried.

“Honestly, it would have been unfair for me to fight you before. That’s why I’ve helped until this point. But I think it’s about time we have another battle for old time’s sake, hm?”

Little Rock’s maw opened wide, and a cry to rival that of a phoenix’s pierced across the skies. His chest opened wide, his scale-like feathers fluttering up and down like the panels of a revving engine.

“Good,” Ryu said calmly.

He took a step forward, his heart thrumming with life. Familiar mountains of obsidian were layered all around them.

BOOM!

The two moved at once, a fist of lightning meeting a beak wreathed in the very same.

**

Ryu felt an odd weight as he moved across his life. He could feel the unhappiness of the Heavens as he trudged forward, pushing and pulling on things as he pleased. The more he moved forward, the more difficult it was to take the next step.

Every person he saved, every life he rearranged, every shift and change he made in the plans of the Heavens was like another mark on his life.

That weight, he took it onto his shoulders. It was his responsibility, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Did he care to save the Heavens? Not even the slightest bit.

But he would take whatever punishment it had in store for him with a grin on his face and an indifferent look in his eyes.

There was nothing that would stop his momentum.

Standing high in the skies above, watching his grandparents continue to be the loving people they had always been, he felt a great sense of calm. This was how things were meant to be.

He had never considered bringing them back to life before. But now, standing here… he just wondered why not?

His Grandpa Kunan deserved a chance to become the strongest Archer in all of existence, no longer burdened by the weight of his failure as a much younger man.

His Grandpa Tatsuya deserved the chance to shed the weakness in his Dao Heart his very own father had left.

His Grandma Kunan deserved to find her peace, to live a life without knowing her husband had been taken advantage of and could never give him his full heart.

His Grandma Tatsuya deserved to rest her arrogant heart at ease, knowing that there was no longer a darkness shrouded over her own husband as well.

Why did they deserve such things?

Simply because Ryu said so. And that was all that ever mattered to him.

‘It seems that I’ll have a little sister soon. It’s good. I put my parents through so much, it’s about time they have the chance to raise a child in earnest.’

Ryu smiled. Back then, he became an adult overnight, closing himself off at seven years old and ignoring the rest of the world as he chased after a dream he thought he would never be able to grasp.

No… he was far weaker than that. He wasn’t chasing after that dream but was instead trying to cover for it, ignoring it as though it could be forgotten just by replacing it with other accolades.

He was no longer that man. He wasn’t any of those other men either.

He would rewrite his own history.

Ryu vanished, and for the first time in this life, he set foot into the True Martial World.

Walking forward, he crossed through the planes, reaching the location of the Frost Clan’s Inheritance.

“You helped me a great deal. So I will do something for you. My son will only carry my own Bloodline. Instead… I will give you something you cannot fathom right now.”

Ryu hardly let Flowing Frost speak as he waved a hand, taking everything away.

He moved forward, soaring through the Incomplete Heavenly Path until he landed beneath a familiar staircase.

The Dao Heart challenging steps of the Dream Asura Clan.

A light smile pulled at the corner of Ryu’s lips as he took his first step, and then his second.

Cracks began to pool across what should have been the unfazed step.

The Dream Asuras sensed the change and began to scramble, their violence coming down in full force.

A familiar father-in-law came out with a vengeance, wielding a halberd as black as night that slammed down toward Ryu’s head.

Yet, Ryu only reached out, lightly grabbing it and stopping it completely in its tracks. His head tilted to the side, a smile tugging much harder at his lips as he looked toward the mature woman behind him.

This time… he had waited for Mae to grow much more. He had always felt that she needed time to become her own woman without him. When he found her in the Fiend World, he realized that she had done a great deal of growing, but even so, he had stunted her growth.

Now… things were very different.

He could already sense the aura of the Dream Wraiths on her. She had successfully become a disciple of that woman all on her own, beating out Empana without his help.

Well… that wasn’t entirely true. But she didn’t need to know that just yet.

“Who are you?” she asked with a cold tone.

“How about we have a battle?” Ryu asked. “If you can beat me, I’ll answer your question.”

“And if I lose?” Mae asked coldly.

“Well, you’ve already experienced so much life and yet you haven’t fallen for a man yet. How about I show you exactly what that’s like.”

Mae’s blood began to boil, not in lust, but in battle intent.