The Title Stele shuddered and Solara was forced to take a step back. But the sneer on her face was just the sa.
So what if it was stronger than her now? Wasn't that just because she had suppressed her cultivation for so long?
If it wanted to fight, she would gladly return when she had stepped into the Dao God Realm and see if she couldn't scratch that na that had pissed her off for so long off.
Staring at it filled her with nothing more than fury.
Solara took a breath and exhaled. Then, she closed her eyes, ignoring the rest of the world.
Now wasn't the ti yet. Once Ryu died, she would etch her na above the Heavens themselves.
…
Ailsa continued rushing through the darkness, cursing herself for having gone so far. She had already searched everywhere with life in the first place; now she was just aimlessly searching in the vast void in hopes there was so world that she had missed, so Existence that existed beyond Existence.
Because of that, she was impossibly far away. And unfortunately, she didn't have Little Rock's speed.
It would take her ti to get there, and she could only hope that because it would take her that ti, that Ryu would take that into account and not push too hard.
"Please… Please… Please…"
Droplets of tears—with the faintest hint of golden runes in them—fell from her cheeks, fluttering into the darkness and blooming.
In a far-off future, these tears would almost certainly form treasures or worlds… and no one would know that they ca from a wife's grief.
…
Ryu tried to grip at the ground, but there was nothing at all to grip. He scratched against an impenetrable surface, his nails bending back.
And yet that pain was far better than the one roaring through his mind right this mont. There was nothing he wanted more than to forget, but he wanted to press forward.
He couldn't bury it again.
It had worked once, but it wouldn't work again. He could trick everyone in the world but himself. This was the one thing that he could never make up for, the one thing that he could never explain away.
Soone had done sothing he couldn't.
And that ate at him, again, and again, and again.
No, it wasn't just that they had done sothing he couldn't, but it was in a path that he took a great amount of pride in.
He never once felt that he was inferior to any other in Dao Heart. He had even had it shattered before in the past and simply continued as though nothing at all had happened.
But now…
Now…
'I'm weak…'
The words were becoming harder and harder to ignore.
Those lives—every ti he did sothing foolish, sothing cowardly, sothing that would fill him with disdain right this mont—it was like another knife was twisting into his heart.
"You are kinda weak."
A voice of a man, gruff and deep, arrogant and aloof, echoed in Ryu's ears.
Ryu grinned, blood flowing from his orifices but his pride kicking in again.
"Go fuck yourself."
"Hohoho, tough words. What, you want to do what I did? There's only one , kid. Oh, and I feel like I should tell you, but the first iteration on that little Stele you're seeing right now… I was 16 years old."
Ryu's pupils trembled.
He didn't need to think about it. He knew it wasn't a lie. A man like this would have too much pride to lie.
Then ca an uproarious laughter.
"There's only one in this world. I guess I could take you as a disciple if you choose to be obedient."
"Don't… let … figure out… where you are…"
Ryu could practically feel the grin falling down on him.
"You're lucky I'm in a good mood. I just set my daughter off and I'm having a good ti watching her grow right now. Otherwise, I might smite you for saying sothing like that."
"I—."
"Ah, ah, ah. I would be careful making comnts about my daughter, if I was you. As much suffering as the Title I left as a teenager can give you, I assure you I can make you suffer far worse."
Ryu hacked up a mouthful of blood.
The intentions of the man might have been unclear to anyone but Ryu. He didn't co here to make sure he didn't gain any competition, he didn't co here out of curiosity, he ca here out of sheer boredom.
Maybe he was projecting his mind from a distance that was impossible to find.
"If you…" Ryu continued as though he hadn't heard the man. "… can find my wife for … I will…"
"Hm?"
The man seed confused for a mont before he understood. Then, he began to laugh uproariously.
"You want to use my strength to help you find your wife in exchange for what? For you to beco my disciple?"
He laughed so hard that Ryu could practically hear the tears flowing out of his eyes.
"—Listen, kid." The voice bood. "You might be very used to using that tactic already, and I admit that it's kind of cute that you can lay down your pride for your little woman. I can give you a tick up in the win column for that alone.
"But let make one thing clear. I'm not like the little so-called Immortals you follow around like a lapdog. I don't need your Fate, I don't need your talent, and quite frankly, I don't care enough about your woman to help you find her.
"You are weak, a pitiful little ant, you hold no value to and you never will.
"In this world, there is only one Naless Immortal God. I encompass all, so much so that I can't even be bothered to na myself, let alone let a pitiful little treasure do it."
The sound of patting echoed. "Alright, I think I'm bored of this right now. Oo, it looks like my little girl is doing sothing interesting again. Kick his ass, honey!"
The voice faded away.
Ryu looked down toward the rainbow swirling clouds in silence. His skin darkened and his body seed like it might crumble to ash at any mont.
His cracked lips suddenly parted.
"… Follow your Path…? How arrogant… I have every intention… of writing my Title… on this Stele… I can't wait… to lop your head… off your shoulders…"
Ryu's head lowered to the ground, roaring into the nothing as he gave it a last push of everything he had.
CRACK.
His Dao Heart gave way.
Crumbling.
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