The words echoed across the world. As though the fabric of reality itself was reacting, rippling waves shook it all.
Ryu had thought a lot about what his Title should be, more thought than he had maybe put into anything else.
As a master of linguistics, he had learned countless languages, and even more thods of conveying thought. As a Rune Master, his views on the world were endless compared to the fellow cultivators of his generation.
It could be said that if there was anyone in this world that could pick the perfect Title for themselves, that man was Ryu himself.
But… no matter how he twisted himself and bent himself silly trying to think of the perfect Title to encapsulate all and everything he was, the further he got away from making a decision.
It didn't matter how long he made the Title, how many things he tried to encompass within it, nothing seed to be enough.
So he went the other way, trying to constrain the Title, shorten it, forcing himself to find words that could an many things at once…
And that was when it clicked for him.
A short Title representing everything you were…
What was that if not your na?
All of these people and geniuses were chasing after Titles that could only be shared once, hoping and praying that the Title they chose for themselves, so variation of a Title that had likely existed at so point in the past, were wasting their ti.
Were there people in the past that had the na Ryu? Almost certainly.
Were there others with the last na Tatsuya? There definitely were.
Were there those that had the combination of the two, ford together?
He could already sense them where he stood.
He knew other Ryu Tatsuyas existed. The world was simply too large, too vast. There might even be Ryu Tatsuyas out there that had gained their nas by the accidental choices of syllables of their own unique language but didn't have the sa aning to the characters at all.
But what did that matter to him?
There wasn't a single word in the world that couldn't be found in so other place, representing so other thing. He had already felt that the Title Stele itself was greatly restrained by the sheer number of Titles that it had given out in the past.
But from now on, when the na Ryu Tatsuya was spoken, it would only represent one man, one existence, encompassing the cultivation path of a single powerhouse.
He would force his na, handed down to him by his parents and his grandparents before them, to embody sothing on a plane of existence all its own.
When the na Ryu Tatsuya was echoed, they would understand precisely what that ant and what it represented.
The Title Stele shook and quaked. Pulling on the Faith that was once left by the Naless Immortal God, it wrote Ryu's Title into the annals of history.
This was clear favoritism and there was no getting around it.
Ryu's Title, much like the Naless Immortal God's, wasn't set in stone like another's Title might be. What it represented depended on what they would accomplish, had accomplished, and would continue to accomplish.
This wasn't the Title Stele saying that Ryu's Title was superior, but rather that it finally had the montum it needed to express its distaste for the Naless Immortal God's thods and praise for Ryu's path.
It was the Title Stele. What it wanted to see the most was the birth of new Titles and talents to represent them. That was why it had handed out so many powerful thods.
If the Naless Immortal God had simply written "Naless" on its Title Stele, it would have been accepting of it. But to disrespect it so unnecessarily for doing nothing more than trying to help him…
The Title Stele almost scoffed in displeasure. A treasure that had lived for so long had certainly long birthed its own intelligence.
Now that it finally had a chance to vent, how could it not?
It seed to have completely forgotten that Ryu had only just been trampling all across its rules as well. But as far as it was concerned, Ryu was at least technically following the rules and helping its Titles to spread.
The Naless Immortal God, however… not only did he trample on its rules, but he had denied it the chance to birth maybe the strongest Title to ever exist.
Just how much would the Title "Naless" be worth, how many things would it embody? If that damned Immortal God hadn't been so stubborn, would all the things that happened afterward have been triggered?
Now, he was off on vacation, living up his life, while Existence itself crumbled. Yet he took no responsibility for it at all, as though it had nothing to do with him.
To make matters worse, the Treasures of the world capable of striking the balance and leveling things out once again were all in his possession.
He didn't even need them, but he kept them for no other reason than he didn't like giving up his things.
It was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.
He would likely only step in when the world actually showed signs of impacting his own life. But at that point, how many would die?
The insufferable bastard didn't give a damn.
Ryu could practically feel the frustration of the Title Stele boiling over, and he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Honestly, he wouldn't give a damn either. Maybe the Title Stele was being a bit too eager here.
[Yes, you would].
The ssage was clear and obvious. It was in a mixture of emotions and runes that others wouldn't be able to decipher at all, and yet it only took him a mont to settle into this "language."
Ryu paused. Why was this Title Stele so confident about that?
'Oh, is that why?'
Ryu nodded. That was possible.
This Naless Immortal God seed to already sit perched at the top of the world. He didn't care to rush around proving himself against every challenge and found basically everything to be beneath his notice.
But Ryu… there was still a burning fire in him. He hadn't even beco a Lord yet, let alone an Immortal God… or whatever the hell that was.
Sothing told Ryu by the intent behind the language that the cultivation systems were different, and that fascinated him.
Ryu had been across many worlds, but everyone seed to follow the sa cultivation system. Where had this other one co from? Had he not gone far enough away? Or…
'I see… is that the case?'
asuring cultivation had never been an exact science. What if he had been seeing different cultivation systems all along and just converting them to what he was used to?
More than that, he often had to translate himself when he entered new worlds. The words they used to label their cultivation thods, when translated by him, could easily be slipped into the system that he was used to as well just by reading their intent.
'That's a possible explanation, but that isn't everything. Just like…'
Ryu also didn't feel like the Title Stele's words were so simple either.
What reason could he possibly have to care about the collapse of Existence beyond trying to prove himself as the strongest? What was it implying, exactly? What did it know that he didn't?
There wasn't much ti to consider it all as his Title solidified.
Ryu felt a great amount of power flood into him.
Ryu knew when he chose his Title that it would be up to him to make it powerful. What he maybe hadn't considered enough—because he wasn't used to it—was just how powerful he had made it already.
Just how many powerhouses were watching this battle? How many had witnessed his strength? How many shocking geniuses with Fate that should be much stronger than his own had he crushed already?
While he was still very much ready to build his Title up to the level he wanted it to be at… he had neglected to understand what sort of level he had already reached.
Amongst his generation already… Ryu had maybe the greatest Fate there was.
…
In the Abyssal Plane, a Fate Star that had once been dull and lifeless, unable to spin on its own, was rotating faster and faster, solar flares of gorgeous silver akin to molten steel forming large arcs across millions of miles.
Magnetic pulses radiated outward, and a Fate Star in the distance—a distance that had once been far too far for them to even interact—was suddenly sucked into its orbit.
A whipping power lashed out, devouring it whole before it could do anything.
The collision of two Stars should have been enough to erupt with a blast seen across countless light years. And yet, this second star was snuffed out as though it had never existed at all.
But the Silver Star was still hungry.
A pulse akin to a roar radiated out.
Reviews
All reviews (0)