Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu could remember feeling like an impossible task was before him many times in his life before. Most times, he climbed beyond it, staring arrogantly down at it as though it wasn’t worth much of his time at all.

But he would be lying if he said he had never been broken by a challenge before. He had been, hadn’t he? The day he heard Ailsa’s voice again for the first time since he left Sacrum, that day had truly broken him.

It was truly the most pathetic day of his life.

Today, it felt like he was experiencing that again. Not in his heart, because it remained firm and unwavering. But instead, it was a simple calculation.

It was just as Iam had said. There were certain gaps that simply couldn’t be crossed.

As Primus’ glaive swung down, the bloody painting flagging into a stream of shades of red behind it, Ryu felt like his life was on the line from the mere presence of the attack alone.

His Fate was flagging itself, and every moment that passed, he found that controlling his Fate Soul Nature and his eyes was becoming more and more difficult—a greater burden not just on his Focus Qi, but his Comprehension as well.

He was so used to computing everything he came across with such speed and fervor, and yet right now it was like no amount of brain power was enough to accomplish the task that was laid out before him.

BOOM!

Ryu crashed into the ground, barely managing to tilt his head to the side to avoid his skull being run through down the middle. But that didn’t stop the rest of his body from suffering such a fate.

The Shrine Plane itself was split in two, the world no longer able to manage a battle of this sort of caliber.

Ryu would have coughed up a mouthful of blood again if it was even possible. But right now, with his body laying out in two halves, he couldn’t even manage to breathe. Any blood he would have spit out pooled from the halves of his lungs instead.

Laying on the ground below, his body separated by a trench with the depth of a fathomless abyss, Ryu looked up into the skies to see those three figures standing there and looking down at him.

The moment was just a little bit amusing to him if for no other reason than the fact they were working together so seamlessly, and yet they were separated by so many thousands of kilometers even now.

It was clear they didn’t trust one another, and yet there was still nothing for Ryu to exploit, no holes or chinks in their armor to pluck at.

It seemed that he had run into the very same experience gap that Iam had spoken about. It was no wonder he had slapped that man to death no matter the consequences. He was an annoying prick.

But maybe so was he.

“I can’t,” Ryu said calmly, seemingly speaking to no one in particular. “If I take a step back… it’s all over.”

The skies seemed to blur into a fork in the road. One where he laid down his pride, and one where he didn’t.

What would it even mean to be Ryu Tatsuya if he chose the former?

The answer didn’t really matter, because he knew that his Dao Heart wouldn’t survive that choice.

It was funny. All those years ago, Aika had told him that a Dao Heart that was too brittle was too easily broken.

He thought that by openly embracing his hypocrisy, he could fix that issue. But in the end, there were limits to how far he was willing to push that hypocrisy.

Even killing his master just now left a bad taste in his mouth that seemed to be lingering into a Heart Demon once more.

Two Heart Demons in a single lifetime.

How pathetic.

Killing Fading Star was the easiest way to test just how far he could push himself through hypocrisy. And the result was enough to tell him the answer quite clearly…

Not far enough.

It wasn’t the bandaid he thought it would be, and the answer seemed to be much the same as it always would be.

Turn to time, vanish into the stream, and return what should be moments later with a power-up that could crush them all.

But he could feel it quite clearly… how hard the Heavens were fighting against it… how hard HE was fighting against it.

He must have done this more than once already. Every time he did it, it became harder and harder to succeed.

Bundled into a paradox of his own making, he was trapped in this endless time loop.

Could he step out of it?

Yes, he could.

But he also knew what the sacrifice would have to be.

His son, his wives, his family, Sacrum… he would lose it all in exchange for sitting at that mountain peak.

The only way to balance out all of his Karma was lying in the bed of his own making.

Ryu’s gaze shifted and landed on Primus…

The only way was to become the man he hated the most.

How could he accept that?

How could he ever accept that?

Go back. He should go back again. This time, he would definitely succeed. This time…

Ryu coughed as a palm struck down from above. A series of chains followed suit, and Primus began to gather up another large segment of his blood.

There was no time to think. If he didn’t, then he would die before he could even make one. No, if he lingered too long, he wouldn’t even have the strength to go back in time even if he wanted to.

Once again, he was facing off against that same decision, that very same fork in the road that appeared every time, and he was ready to make the very same decision he always made.

‘I just… need an… anchor… or else… I’ll be late again… I can’t be late to save them… I can’t be late to save them again…’

Ryu began to slowly peel his Perfect Blackbody Soul away from himself, pushing it toward the Death Shrine.

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