Abyss Draconis

If there was one thing Ryuk had confidence in, it was—

"I will choose strength as a source of value," he declared.

Yet her expression remained unchanged.

"Many people choose strength as a source of value, but it's the hardest to gain an identification with. I would advise you to choose something else you're good at, other than strength..." she said, but Ryuk shook his head.

Anything else?

He didn't know any other craft.

Runic creation, Artifact crafting, Blacksmithing—he wasn't skilled in any of these.

Besides, according to her, a craft would only allow him a one to two-year stay in Ammamora, while being a Combatant would grant him up to five or more years.

If he was serious about Ammamora, then being a Combatant was his best option.

"I'll be going for strength as a source of value," he replied, and noticed her hmmmm hen replied.

"Just so you know, the strength test has two possible outcomes."

"One: you get crippled during the process, with your confidence and cultivation crushed."

"This is done intentionally by us to ensure nobody wastes our time."

"Two: Once you sign up to be a combatant, there are no second chances."

"If you fail the lowest test, you'll be permanently banned."

"And it doesn't matter to us if you came from a world that can't be returned to."

"You'll still be thrown out, and never again will you be allowed any form of identification except a Visitor's Mark, which will only last you one to three months, and your visits to Ammamora will be limited to once a year," she explained, then continued.

"On the contrary, if you wish to be tested through craft, you have three attempts to perfect and retry the tests until you succeed."

"That, as you can see, is safer."

"So...what is your final say?" she asked, as Ryuk watched a grin tug slightly at the edge of her lips.

Silence lingered, but not for long, as three seconds later the words rang out.

"I'll be going for strength as a source of value," he repeated. His answer made the grin at the corner of her lips vanish, her gaze sharpening with new intensity.

"You're a stubborn one... but finally, a subject of interest for me," she said, raising her hands into the air.

Ryuk watched as golden light coalesced in her palm, forming quickly into something solid.

A golden card.

It floated gently toward Ryuk, hovering above him until his hands reached out beneath it.

It lingered for a moment before dropping softly into his palms.

"Take this to the guards outside."

"They'll escort you to the Outliers Identification Prism. This card allows you to skip the queue and get tested directly without hours of waiting."

"If you fail..." she began, drawing his attention away from the card to her nonchalant smile.

"Then maybe you just don't deserve to be here with your family in the end. Leave now," she said without any shift in her nonchalant expression.

It was clear she never even thought whether her words were respectful or disrespectful, and truly, she doesn't.

Ryuk's fingers wrapped around the card before he turned his back and silently walked out of the throne room.

CLAAAAAMP

The sound of the heavy door shutting echoed as the Seraphim Initiate quietly stared at the now-closed entrance.

A golden shimmer crossed her eyes.

"Finally, a mild subject of interest..." she murmured, a small smile tugging at her lips. Her eyes slowly closed, and soon enough, the golden halo above her head and the outstretched wings behind her began faintly flapping.

A radiant ripple of golden light filled the room, blinding everything within.

________________

VROOOOOOOOOOM

And once again, Ryuk found himself on the back of one of the large golden birds.

Amuns; he eventually discovered they were called by the Fallens.

Right now, he was sitting cross-legged on the creature's back.

In front of him sat a Fallen Guard, whose hand rested on the Amun's back.

A glowing ripple of runes beneath the hand seemed to serve as controls for the beast.

His eyes flicked behind him, where two other Fallens were seated.

Their eyes locked on his back, watching his every movement.

'One more held in a triangular hold again…' Ryuk silently thought as he moved his gaze forward, only for the notification to appear.

[Why are you keeping up with all their bullshit?]

The system notification blinked.

[You could reduce all of this to ashes in minutes, and you never needed to follow their words.]

[Even that Seraphim Initiate is only at the Pseudo-Apocrypha stage. She's not even fully there yet.]

[You don't need to kneel to her, nor silently take all her obvious disdain,] the system added, clearly irritated.

Ryuk looked to the front, unmoved, before he thoughtfully replied.

'You're mostly right, but wrong about one thing.'

'It wouldn't take me minutes to reduce everything to ashes. It would take me 50 seconds at most.'

'But if I destroy everything, the stronger Seraphims would come for me, as I'm one hundred percent sure that Seraphim Initiate is not the strongest one here.'

'And even if I could hide away and make sure they never find me—what about them?'

'All this isn't just for me. It's for Morgaine, the Half-Fallen One, and Old Jack, who are starting a new life in their original world.'

'Blowing everything up would only cause them a headache—or worse, get them hurt.'

'Compared to that, silently enduring the underestimation of ignorant fools is nothing.'

'I'll shut them all up when I wipe the floor with their so-called strong combatants in the test,' Ryuk thought, as the panel disappeared and he slowly turned his gaze below him.

The landscape below him was a monumental contrast to Endearth. That much was clear as he flew across the sky, surveying everything beneath.

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A/N:

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In and Out_SnowySmoos