Ryuu couldn't keep himself conscious, spreading the medicine across his body before leaning onto the wall behind him, letting out a long, relieved sigh before curling up into a ball.
Ryuu tried to force himself awake, but before he even noticed it, his consciousness waned, and eventually, he fell asleep.
In another part of the world, a notification appeared.
[Congratulations, you have proven yourself to be an exceptional survivalist! In turn, you will receive a reward. Your Power!]
The taciturn, dark-haired girl stared quietly at the notification that appeared in front of her, Kaya watching from behind in disheveled gear.
"I..." Sakura whispered to herself, "I got an ability."
Kaya tilted her head, "What is it?"
[You have received the abilities of the Spirit Caller: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★]
"I-It's... an 8-star. Spirit Caller."
"Holy... t-that's amazing, Sakura!"
Sakura scanned Kaya for a moment. "Have you gotten anything yet?"
She shook her head, "Nah, but... hey." Shrugged, "What can ya do? Maybe it wasn't meant to be." Kaya grimaced at her comment.
Sakura shook her head as well. "If you're here, that means that you'll get an ability like I have, okay?"
Kaya sighed, "Hope so."
"I know so, it wouldn't make sense that you were dragged here otherwise."
Kaya looked excitedly at Sakura, though, patting her shoulder with one hand. "An 8-Star, though, Sakura! You're amazing!"
"I-I'm struggling to even think about it."
Kaya stared out at a forested expanse from a cave. They were high up on a mountain, looking down at the overstretching green. "Hopefully... we'll find the others soon. So you can return to your brother."
"Yeah." Sakura nodded.
***
Ryuu woke up, his body mostly recovered, scars littering his torso and arms. He pulled open the entrance to the small cave he housed himself in, greeted by the view of the ravine once again, squeezing out from the hole.
Ryuu continued down his current path, back towards the nest of Cakranoids. He limped slightly on a sore leg, pressing forward, deeper into the underground once more, the darkness of such a place embracing him with open arms, almost like finding once again a long-lost family member.
The Underground and Ryuu had a lot to catch up on during the two days during which he was sleeping.
Cakranoids lay in his wake, looking to interrupt his pursuit of the crown. The hairs plucked from his head turned into blades that easily cleaved through the beasts, their gore painting the stone walls of the underground.
The underground opened up more and more, lit up by a variety of different torches and lamps, Ryuu's rampage coming to a halt when faced with the blindfolded Cakranoid, Klejakx.
The Final Lord in Ryuu's journey through the underground.
Ryuu took a deep breath, letting out a long sigh in turn. "I just want to go home... and you're in the way of that."
The Captain smirked, his braided hair falling over their blinded face, leaning toward Ryuu, a curved sword in hand.
"Alright..."
Ryuu still struggled to keep his blades lifted into the air, so he forgoed one of them, gripping the one with two hands, raising it into the air, preparing for Klejakx's first strike, who stood there patiently, seemingly observing Ryuu as well underneath their blinded eyes.
One lanky arm fired out toward Ryuu, forcing him to block his side, the blade skidding along his own, causing sparks to fly into the air. As Klejakx passed by, Ryuu spun the blade in his hand, preparing for an overhead swing before being caught in one of the Captain's kicks, pushing Ryuu back into a wall. Ryuu couldn't react as the foot of the Crakanoid grabbed onto his hair, slamming him into the ground.
Ryuu pulled himself up, the creature then spinning, fully prepared to take off Ryuu's head, who used the sword just in time to block the attack.
The blades collided against each other, the Captain's curved sword bypassing Ryuu's defenses by a small margin, creating a shallow cut across his head, just deep enough to send rivers of blood down Ryuu's face.
Ryuu fought violently against the Captain's raining attacks, his body bending in a variety of unnatural ways, small cuts appearing across Ryuu's entire body, sometimes catching a blow of his own, but still barely dishing out any actual meaningful damage, leaving Ryuu in a huff, becoming more and more exhausted.
Ryuu wasn't anything to scoff at either, though, the creature being exhausted by the young man's endurance alone, hopping around the entire place, attempting to get a meaningful strike in to make their demise quick and easy, but failing every time. The battle continued for an hour at a time before they finally both just collapsed at two opposite ends of the cave they were in, the ground stained in blood.
Ryuu couldn't stand up, nor could his opponent, both panting like rabid dogs. Ryuu boiled with anger, but it quickly subsided as the creature chuckled to itself, seemingly showing off what looked to be some sort of sign language.
In that moment, it attempted to communicate, but Ryuu couldn't understand it, and it seemed to realize that after a few attempts, it soon took a stick and drew out individual words across the ground. In shaky writing, it said, "Name?"
Ryuu cocked his head to the side in confusion, observing the Cakranoid as it drew out more words into the sandy ground below.
"Klejakx-- name. Yours?"
It was some sort of broken English, but Ryuu got the idea of what it was asking. He sighed, "Joryuu... you can... uh..." Ryuu paused, bothered that he'd find himself communicating with a Cakranoid. "You can just call me Ryuu."
It sketched words out onto the ground once more. "Ryuu... strong name."
"It means, Earth Dragon. Joryuu. It's spelled a bit off but..." He shrugged. "I like it."
"Earth... Dragon. Very strong." He cackled a little to himself, pointing its face in Ryuu's direction with a big, toothy smile. It looked back down, continuing to write, using its feet to wipe away any message it didn't need to be further displayed. "You... I think... no, belief. I believe you will reach the status of... Dragons."
"That's high praise."
"Lucky, cunning, strong." The Captain pointed at Ryuu before continuing. "Potential."
"What are you... a teacher or somethin'?" Ryuu looked around, almost as if looking for some audience, as if he were being pranked somehow. "You're a better fighter than I."
"No, you... You have a burning desire, a strength. You just need..." Words were erased to begin a new sentence. "You need proper teachings. Proper strength. Time to rest, time to live." It paused, its smile subsiding. "You've suffered here, have you not?"
Ryuu didn't know how to respond at first, a bit flabbergasted at its question, almost spitting out a remark filled with vitriol before choking it back with a hard swallow of saliva. "I-I guess... Have you?"
"Of course."
"What's uh... who... who taught you how to write? Understand language and... yeah?"
"Hairless Ape, like you. Blond hair."
Ryuu chuckled a little. "Blond, huh?"
"Yes, pretty. Very strong. They didn't slaughter. Not like brethren."
"Wh-What makes you different? Why are you... Why even talk to me?"
"I'm not all that different. I'm just tired. I understand why you hate."
"I've... killed so many of your people."
"So have I. So has my master. It is how we are. I do not hold grudges against those who slayed those who deserved of demise."
"They are still your people."
"Yes, cruelty stands amongst the many. King took over, couldn't reject King's will-- nature of us."
"Nature?"
"We have no choice but to follow the whim of the greater." He swept away the sand again, starting another sentence. "Influence... buries in brain... cannot reject the impulse. I was unique, to a degree. Not as unique as I believed. Tired now."
"So... so you're all just stuck being cruel? You-- you can choose not to, you're eviden--"
"We bend. Bend to the will of a greater master. Even their more... eccentric tastes."
"That's... what the hell? W-Why? Let-- Why? I don't understand."
"I'm tired. I'm not this type of being." It paused, taking a beat to catch its breath. "I can train you. Get stronger, kill the beast that haunts us."
Ryuu considered it for a moment. "Alright... I don't mind that, but..."
"You have to kill me when the time comes. I will not be able to reject my impulses if you continue."
"You... Gods I..." Ryuu sighed. "Alright, whatever. I..." Ryuu saw the humanity in these creatures for the first time whilst in the underground, so he had a thought. "That master of yours, tell me more about them, alright? At the very least, I'll carry a memory you weren't able to since you're going as far as to train me in this hellhole."
The Captain smiled. "Of course."
In the end, Ryuu couldn't defy his nature as well. That underlying kindness that had scared the one he loved away all those years ago, leaving him with only his closest friend and sister behind in the wake of it all. He thought back to then, seeing the irony in his actions. Once again, he fell into the same mistakes as before, but, regardless of it being smart or not, he proved himself right every time.
His kindness, the ability of second chances that lay deep within his body, was given to a creature that rewarded him greatly for this achievement.
He had been an unkind person during these months underground, but maybe that was a misconstrued notion in his head. He didn't believe himself to be kind. He believed himself to be naive. He believed that he had finally grown out of this shell, that maybe, Sam was right, to not cave in, to not be... like he is. To not be so naive, to finally... to be violent.
A violent and kind soul. Is that even possible?
He was conflicted, still believing that all of his actions were some childish naivety, a familiar embrace that had latched onto him like a parasite ever since he was a child. A young man who carried so much rage yet still reached a hand out to those who had wronged him.
He wasn't like that here. Did he even have that part of himself anymore, slaughtering these creatures by the hundreds? Yet, when met by a moticum of kindness from a species that had only shown him violence, anger, and suffering... he couldn't help but feel himself turning back into the child he once was.
Ryuu would've assuredly recovered faster than the Cakranoid Captain, but... he waited. They waited until they both recovered, battling each other over and over again, Ryuu getting stronger and stronger with each clash of their blades against the other.
Whenever Ryuu would be allowed to finish the job, though... he didn't take it. He framed it as if he still had more to learn from the experienced creature of darkness, but deep inside, he just wanted to delay the inevitable. Call it desperation, call it anything you want, but he wanted to clutch onto any sort of Respite that he could.
He would stare at the creature that lay before him, sleeping, and the creature stared back. They protected each other.
Eventually, Ryuu was even taught how to read and use sign language. They both spoke to each other with ease in a matter of weeks. Ryuu happened to be a fast learner after all. Maybe it was because of his ability, or because of some hidden talent, but he learned quickly what he needed to do.
"So... one day, we were traveling--" Klejakx told stories to Ryuu about his adventures frequently.
They met their master at an early age as a Cakranoid-- the lifespan of which reaches thousands of years, depending on how strong the Cakranoid could become. As he could recall, it'd been about four to five years for him. They met their master after being blinded, somehow capable of seeing their visage within the roaring darkness. They had their eyes plucked out by the last King of the Cakranoids when they were young.
Yet somehow, their eyesight was clear, looking up at this beautiful glowing figure that had stood above him at his lowest moment. They had an ability, similar to the others, similar to Ryuu. They could see the aura one could emit, and could gather a range of data from that through increased exposure with the person.
Guided by sound, guided by the magic that surrounded them. It was as if they had never lost their eyes at all. They did not need to worry about being hunted any longer, dragged across continents with this person, across seas. He spent those days acting as a seafarer with what he could call his captain at the time-- his mentor.
Through roaring seas and monstrous expeditions, they grew closer. Klejakx couldn't help but see this person as a parental figure. They eventually found themselves on this continent, exploring it with their mentor in an attempt to find an ancient relic. He didn't know what it was, but he followed nonetheless, completely loyal to the young blond seafarer who accompanied them.
One day, the rain fell. They hadn't known that it would cause such a cataclysmic event to occur.
The corpse of their master was laid out beside them, eyes soulless, a mountain of rock collapsed over the bottom half of their body, leaving behind branching rivers of blood in their wake.
He was stuck. And soon Cakranoids had found him again. Through his grief, he slaughtered them after they attempted to suckle on the flesh of their mentor's corpse. They sat there for years, almost as if they hoped that they'd just come back to life to greet them like they always did, sing as they always did, cook as they always did.
That day never came.
Klejakx found themselves seeped in a den of Cakranoids who bowed to him as if they were some sort of Lord. Then... he was forced under the will of the new King, leaving him the sorrowful waste that he is now, only allowed to keep whatever sanity he had left because the King enjoyed the chaos that Ryuu would bring to their colony.
Ryuu also told stories of his own, stories of heroes, stories of Demon Lords. They were stories from his childhood-- he was surrounded by friends acting out fairytales amongst each other.
Ryuu didn't have any actual abilities, but he was unnaturally larger than his friends. He was on equal ground in Elementary and Middle School. They quickly surpassed him. He lamented about that, regretting not out of jealousy, but through the fact that, from his point of view, he wasn't needed amongst his friends any longer.
He didn't stop being reckless either. Injured constantly for fighting back. The overreliance on powers helped as a child, but once he hit the end of Middle School, it was irrelevant.
That led to Sam breaking it off with Ryuu. She got mad at him, called him reckless. He wasn't like them; he was aware of that, but it hurt the most coming from her. Then she left, ignoring him ever since. She had changed a lot since then, but it wasn't his position to pry, so all he did was watch from afar as they drifted further and further apart.
Somehow, Cyril and Elise stuck around, and he found a new friend in Kaya. He also had learned to be content with taking care of his sister.
He was a year older, yes, but he had gotten a job earlier than her, practically taking care of the groceries for their house on his lonesome as she focused on getting into a well-off college somewhere.
He swallowed, looking to the Cakranoid who listened intently to Ryuu's ranting. "Hey... Klejakx, that's how you pronounce it, right?"
They chuckled, "Kinda." They signed.
"Do you think they're still alive in this hell? My friends?"
A beat.
"I... I just want to go back home... to my sister... I... I can't leave her alone like... like he did. G-Gods, I can't... that's too cruel." His voice broke.
"It isn't about taking care of her."
"No... it isn't."
"She can take care of herself."
"Yeah... yeah, she can."
"So, why?"
"Peo-- People need people... I'm... People need family. A-And if the only family she's got is dead or... off somewhere-- Gods know where...!? W-What... I... I would be fuckin' sickened. I-I wouldn't know what to do with myself." Ryuu broke out into tears, hyperventilating. "W-What do I do? I-I don't want to die here, leaving her... I... I-- I can't predict the future, w-what do I do?" His voice strained. "Gods... Gods..."
Klejakx crossed over to Ryuu, sitting beside him, patting him on the back. They let go, just staring aimlessly in the distance, waiting for him to calm down. Ryuu opened his eyes after a moment, watching as Klejakx signed to him. "Then don't die. Determination can carry creatures like us far."
Can't it?
Determination. "Determination can carry creatures like us far," Ryuu repeated what Klejakx said aloud. "How?"
"That's what makes us... us. It's definitely what makes you human. Even if you die, bring everything around you to hell as if you can never die. That's how things like us should live. Beasts of burden, we are, in this hellish world."
"Beast?"
"Beasts."
"I guess, yeah."
"Do whatever you have to, to survive. Even if it means that I'm not there to watch."
Ryuu thought to himself. "I'll make sure that you are. Even in death."
Klejakx smiled.
Even in the beast's last moments, they smiled. A big, sharp, toothy grin as his head was lopped off from his shoulders, his braided red hair gripped by Ryuu's clenched fist.
***
Within the Cakranoid King's throneroom, he sat there, his massive form bisecting the form of a woman with his almost shark-like teeth, letting the remains and liquid crimson run down their chin. They licked their lips, finishing off the corpse of the woman as a myriad of Cakranoids dragged in a tanned woman with longer frizzy black hair, looking away from the beast with a pained expression on her face.
Coral attempted to remain calm within the den of beasts, but couldn't, feeling her stomach churn as she watched the sight of her comrades being consumed one by one, the king of this place showing a monstrous joy in her suffering.
Coral was determined. She blamed herself for the demise of her comrades, but kept steadfast, knowing that if she gave up now, she would be making all of their deaths in vain. She needed to break out; she needed to use her ability to tear these beasts to shreds.
The Cakranoids kicked her to her knees as the King leaned forward, observing her toned form like she was some sort of higher form, artisan's dish.
The peckish King slapped its stomach, unsatiated with the flesh of her comrades, finding her to be a much more appealing catch. She averted her gaze, disgusted by the creature by their mere presence alone.
Panicked screams followed in the hallway behind her, the sound of flesh being split open and the breaking of bones could be heard. Out from the darkness, sending Cakranoids spiraling outwards in a panic, was Ryuu, holding the head of Klejakx, which he threw them out onto the floor, right in front of the Cakranoid King.
Coral was confused by Ryuu's presence, not recognising him.
And so they stood in front of a beast of its own. A Beast of Misery and Chaos. Ryuu plucked two hairs out from his head as two, thick, black blades formed within his hands, muscles contorting against the weight of his weapons.
After killing all of the Lords of the Underground, Ryuu had received a certain reward, perfect for this particular fight.
[Congratulations! For your efforts in beating all of the Lords of the Underground, you have received a reward!]
[You have received a Class!]
[★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - Barbarian]
[Your Rage is capable of weakening your enemies and boosting your resistances at the cost of an uncontrollable bloodlust. It can be deactivated, but once it is, it remains on a cooldown for a small period. Use this ability wisely, and don't overdo it, or you will reap the consequences.]
Ryuu's body pulsed with energy, the weaker Cakranoids in the room frothing at the mouths instantly, leaving the Black-Haired warriors amongst them hesitant to step in as their King smiled. Ryuu cut the bindings from Carol and then pointed his blades at his target.
"Help me kill that bastard!"
A crystalline armor formed around Carol's legs and arms. "You don't have to ask me twice."