On Earth, after the great explosion, Ryu stood in the sky, panting heavily.
While he was still catching his breath, his vision darkened. Ryu lost consciousness and plummeted toward the ground—
but at the last second, Rin caught him.
"Ryu! Are you alright!?" Rin shouted in panic.
Infernos rushed over immediately.
"What happened!?"
Rin didn't answer.
Without a word, he flew straight toward the palace, carrying Ryu in his arms. He laid him gently on a bed inside one of the chambers.
---
A full day passed.
When Ryu finally opened his eyes, his appearance had completely changed.
His hair had grown longer, now covering one of his eyes, darker than midnight itself.
His eyes had turned into a mix of steel-grey and ashen silver.
Ryu muttered in confusion,
"What… happened? Where am I?"
The System's voice echoed in his mind:
[Graveyard detected. You are now in the Realm of Spirits.]
Ryu's eyes widened in terror.
"What?! Don't tell me… I died?!"
Rin burst into the room in a panic.
"What's happening!?"
Seeing Ryu awake, Rin couldn't stop his tears. He hugged him tightly and refused to let go for a whole hour.
"Rin…" Ryu whispered softly. "Can you let me go now?"
But Rin didn't respond—he had fallen asleep in his arms.
Infernos entered the room quietly.
"Let him rest. He hasn't slept all day."
Then his gaze shifted to Ryu. His expression hardened.
After a long silence, Infernos suddenly shouted:
"Who are you?! Where's Ryu?!"
Ryu frowned.
"Infernos, this isn't funny."
"Are you really… Ryu?" Infernos asked in disbelief.
"What do you think?" Ryu smirked.
"No… You've changed too much."
Ryu shrugged it off, but Infernos wasn't convinced. He handed him a mirror.
Ryu stared at his reflection for a long time before blurting out,
"…Who's that handsome guy?"
"That's YOU, idiot!" Infernos snapped.
"I didn't know I was this good-looking!" Ryu grinned, admiring himself far too long.
Eventually, he tore himself away from the mirror and headed for the training grounds.
---
"System."
A glowing blue screen appeared before him, displaying his stats:
---
Name: Ryu Valerius
Origin: Second Prince of the Great Kingdom of Valorie (Exiled)
Intelligence: 200
World System Level: Celestial Rank 10
Inner Path (Secondary System): Fusion with Magic
Core Abilities
Magic
Sub-elements: All existing sub-elements
Main element: The Lost Element — Sun
Skills
Eternal Eye
Stage 1: Eye of Spirits — Regan
Stage 2: Eye of Time — Sychron
Hazuki's Eye
Pulse I: Gravity
Pulse II: Space
Pulse III: Chaos
Oath of the Continent
Will of the Continent
Domain of Eternity
Equipment
Sword — Kagutsuchi
Evolves with the wielder.
20 verses of its sealed power unlocked.
Spear — Azo
Possesses its own will, adapts to the user.
Former wielder: Yui
---
Ryu frowned.
"Hm… I don't remember taking this spear. Where did Azo come from?"
Suddenly, a crimson light burst open before him.
A tall young man with blazing red hair and eyes like the sun emerged.
He looked about seventeen—
it was Azo himself.
"I chose you as my master," Azo declared. "You never 'took' me."
"Where were you hiding all this time?" Ryu demanded.
Azo smirked.
"I was always with you… disguised as a strand of your hair."
Ryu froze. "What?! …Forget it. Doesn't matter now. Let's train."
"As you wish."
Azo's right arm transformed into a blazing sword.
Ryu drew Kagutsuchi and smirked confidently.
"Ready to lose?"
"Come at me with everything you've got," Azo replied.
"I won't hold back."
In the next instant, both vanished.
Their swords clashed violently, shockwaves ripping through the training field.
Ryu raised his hand, and thunderclouds swirled above Azo.
Purple lightning rained down relentlessly.
But Azo dashed effortlessly between the strikes, cutting them apart one by one.
He launched upward, slicing the storm cloud in half with a single blow.
Then his arm shifted into a flaming bow, conjuring an arrow of Hellfire shaped like a phoenix.
He fired—its black-and-blue flames tearing across the sky toward Ryu.
Ryu only smirked.
"That won't work on me."
He caught the arrow with his bare hand.
The projectile shrank before detonating, unleashing a devastating blast that scorched everything in its path.
A thick veil of steam swallowed the sky.
As it cleared—
Azo was already there, fist flying toward Ryu's face.
Ryu countered with his own punch, their fists colliding with a thunderous impact.
He seized Azo's arm, pulled back his own fist, and let flames coil around it—
dark fire, Hellfire, engulfing his entire arm.
"Take this!"
He drove his punch into Azo's gut.
A blinding beam erupted, piercing the heavens.
It tore through the atmosphere and into space, burning several distant planets in its path.
At that moment, Infernos intervened—
forcing his way into the battle.
To be continued…