"Everything needed to achieve that goal now is only one step away," Ryu added, gesturing toward Emilia with an open hand. "You've obtained the Keys, didn't you? Did you never find it strange how when you met that kid version of him or Asaru, they ended up disappearing eventually?"
"Eh?" Emilia's mouth parted slightly, Ryu's question lingering in her mind as she replayed all the events that had happened previously. "I…"
"Remember what I said? Everything that happens inside this realm is true. Whether it'd be the kid or Asaru, each of them represents something within Ace, and those keys are proof of that."
Ryu's words were like a knife slowly peeling the skin off the surface of everything Emilia had come to understand, almost as if it was trying to refine it.
"Layer by layer, you've managed to go deeper and deeper into Ace's very being. And now, we've finally reached the last door… Him."
Emilia's gaze drifted towards Ace who kept a blank, uncaring expression on his face.
"So, you used her to reach me, is that it?" bluntly asked Ace. "And now what? What are you going to do now that you've reached me?"
The question hung in the air as all eyes were now on Ryu.
"Me? I ain't doin' anything! Hahaha!" Ryu innocently held up his hands like a surrendering convict. "And neither is Emi by the way."
"What do you―!?" Ace began, the next instant, a sword coming close to his neck, ready to lop it off.
Almost as if time had slowed with Emilia's eyes widening in slow motion, Ace's dark gaze glanced behind him, noticing the incoming sword as his form then blitzed out of the blade's course.
Ace reappeared right behind Ryu as he looked back at the Shadow-faced warrior with an unconcerned look in his eyes.
"Eh? That's…" Emilia's words were left hanging as she couldn't believe her eyes. "But I thought I had frozen him. He shouldn't have been able to escape."
The Shadow-faced warrior's repetitive words continued to come out in a broken, static voice.
"Kill… Kill… Sur… vive… Kill… Survive…. Sur… Kill… vive… Sur… vive… Kill…"
"You're right," Ryu seemed to be completely unbothered and almost expectant of this situation. "If this was a game, then he'd be last boss. And…"
Ryu glanced at Emilia, his mask still covering his face as his head tilted in her direction.
"Now you know what that thing is, right?" Ryu's question simply made Emilia realize a truth that had already been evident.
"Ace…" she tried to call out to him.
"Get the hell out of this place, Emi," Ace said walking away in the opposite direction of the commotion before sitting down with his backs turned towards them. "And don't you dare come back."
Emilia's head shot towards him. "But―!?"
A sudden gust of wind passed beside her, the Shadow-faced warrior's ready to lunge at Ace once again.
"No!" Emilia screamed out, trying to intervene.
But before she could even do anything, a red barrier blocked her path.
[Notice: External interference is prohibited.]
'I can't conjure my spells!'
"Ryu!" her eyes shot towards the fox-masked boy.
"Sorry, Emi. This time, you just can't interfere," Ryu said playfully, shaking his head left and right.
During that time, Ace was evading every slash and thrust the Shadow-faced warrior was throwing at him. But every so often, one could see the bleeding cuts that started to increase on his body, and yet, it didn't seem to bother him all that much. Instead, his empty gaze locked onto Ryu.
With enough distance between him and the threat before him, Ace redirected the incoming downward slash with his right palm, twisting his body into a spin with his right leg while his armed left kick landed on the Shadow-faced warrior, sending it flying back by several meters.
Using that opening, Ace dashed towards Ryu, leaping into the air with a falling kick to the head that was blocked by the same red barrier that restricted Emilia, making him bounce off of it.
"What's your game here?" Ace asked, his expression cold and fixed while Emilia simply gazed at them, also wondering what was happening.
"Hihihi!" Ryu simply giggled in amusement. "Sorry. Can't tell ya. And frankly, I'm not your opponent right now, am I?"
Ace noticed the Shadow-faced warrior who was dashing towards him, the bloodlust in its sword suffocating.
"Better get to it or else you'll really die, you know. Well, whether you live or die, I'll still win in the end."
Silently staring at Ryu as if he was the void itself, Ace continued to evade the sword that was trying to reach him, the battle looking less like a fight and more like a hunt where the hunter was trying to catch its prey.
"Ryu," Emilia walked toward the masked boy, the barrier not seeming to restrain her for that purpose. "Exactly what are you planning to do?"
"Hmm…" Ryu flopped down on the formless, white ground. "You want to save Ace and I want him out of here. It's as simple as that."
"No," Emilia immediately rejected his explanation. "There's more to it than that, isn't it?"
"You really are too perceptive for your own good," Ryu, though his face hidden by the fox mask, then grinned mischievously beneath it. "Okay. Ever heard of this saying then?"
"What?"
"If you stare too long into the abyss, then the abyss will also stare back at you," Ryu raised his finger, circling it around. "Can you guess how it applies to this situation?"
Emilia's eyes slightly widened at the question, her gaze drifting towards Ace who continued to fend off the Shadow-faced warrior, his former white clothing tainting itself in blood.
"If we consider that the purpose of this little journey of ours was to find the True Ace, then in this case, we gotta make him face his own abyss, don't you think?"
Emilia's lips slightly parted as she took in his words.
"Frankly, I don't really care if he lives or dies. If he can't make up his mind, then I'll let him destroy himself. After that, I'll just take possession of his body. It was the original plan anyway. But since he developed an ego and by extension, became the owner of this body, I had to replan everything."
"You were planning to take over his body?" Emilia couldn't believe what she had just heard as Ryu then dismissively continued what he was saying.
"Details, details. The important thing you need to remember is that you were given a choice. Save Ace. How will you save him? That's up to you. You have the Keys and you've also got all the pieces needed to solve this puzzling situation."
Ryu pointed at Emilia before resting his head onto his hand, looking intently at the ongoing conflict in front of them.
"All I'm saying, it's that you need to be more aggressive. After all, to me… it doesn't seem like Ace wants to be saved."