With hands raised, heart as calm as a lake, the imagery of the chants flashed across Ryuk’s memories as his lips parted, and he began:
"Niv’rath kalemai forsta, jor’aan ivyrith kael. Sol’arth nythrae vendra, asi’tor vvalur elase."
"Niv’rath kalemai forsta, jor’aan ivyrith kael. Sol’arth nythrae vendra, asi’tor vvalur elase."
"Niv’rath kalemai forsta, jor’aan ivyrith kael. Sol’arth nythrae vendra, asi’tor vvalur elase."
The chants were unending, ringing out clearly through the dimly lit meditation room, and quickly, the rotating Ice Pool beneath Ryuk began to speed up.
Frost appeared all over its surface, soon forming pillars of stalactite ice around Ryuk’s figure.
A chilling wind echoed through the meditation room, carrying the frosty energy that was spreading all around.
Frost spread repeatedly, snaking through the entire room and climbing the walls until Ryuk’s surroundings were entirely covered in intense cold and frost.
Cold, white air ushered out of Ryuk’s lungs with every chant.
The more he chanted, the denser the air grew, and the temperature began plummeting to a level even Ryuk found unbearable.
From the frost, particles materialized from thin air, swirling into a glowing mist before converging into a sphere of pure condensed Ice Apex energy above Ryuk’s palms.
Immediately, the mist of Ice Apex energy drove into Ryuk’s palms. A vein unconsciously bulged on Ryuk’s face, and his hands buckled as if lifting the weight of the world. Yet, he bore through the pain, his chants growing heavier.
The mist immediately increased by hundreds, gathering above Ryuk before suddenly rushing into his palms. The instant they made contact with his palms, the frost dissolved into a luminous liquid that seeped into his veins.
A cold, invigorating sensation surged through Ryuk’s body—painful as it was chilling—and illuminated every single vein in his body in an icy, radiant blue light. His veins began shimmering like frozen rivers. The more time passed, the more the glow became visible under his pale white skin.
The energy flowed steadily, coursing through every inch of him before climbing up his face and disappearing into his Primordial Gate.
Immediately, Ryuk sensed something shocking as he felt his consciousness splitting into two.
On one side, he could sense the external sensations of tingling ice and the chilling sound of winds, but on the other, he was now also sitting at the utmost peak of his Apex Realm.
His hands were raised in the same position as his physical body, and frost was pouring out from his hands, surging straight into the mountain below him. Arcane runic lines began appearing all over the Apex Realm, and the mist from Ryuk’s hands began filling them up.
"So, this is what the Apex Realm formation is. If I keep pouring Ice Apex energy into the Apex Realm, filling up these runes, it will eventually solidify to a level where I would be able to summon it to the physical world. And the day that is achieved is when I officially arrive at the Plane of Dominion," Ryuk uttered faintly, his understanding of the Plane of Ascension deepening.
"Well then, I’ll just keep this up as long as I can..." he mused as he also closed his eyes in the Apex Realm, the ice-cold energy seeping into every part of it.
In the physical world, time passed quickly, but Ryuk’s chanting never ended. The more he continued, the colder the air from his mouth grew, frost forming all over his face, created from sweat instantly freezing due to the intense Ice Apex energy.
"It’s painful. It’s incredibly painful!" Ryuk thought, his teeth clattering within him. It was as if his innards were being completely filled with ice blocks—a horrifying sensation even for someone who possessed Ice Apex energy.
His manipulation of Ice Energy did little to help, as acute veins began filling with every single absorption. Still, he continued until his lips eventually became covered in ice, as did his feet, which stuck to the ground. Cold and frost layered all over his back, and his arms raised into the sky became incredibly heavy as frost also covered them up
His breathing grew laboured and heavy, and eventually, Ryuk was unable to continue the chant. His arms dropped to the ground as he collapsed onto his back with a loud groan of pain.
[Congratulations, Host, on your successful awakening of your Deep Seclusion!]
The system notification was the first to appear as Ryuk breathed painfully with shut eyes, his chest heaving up and down as if he had just run the greatest marathon of his life.
"Deep Seclusion?" Ryuk asked with a raised eyebrow.
[Yes, Host has been in Deep Seclusion for three days now.]
The system’s words caused Ryuk’s eyes to bulge to their absolute limit in shock, and instantly he raised his heavy arms to the watch strapped onto his wrist.
There were a couple of notifications already, but the one that was beeping in red caught his attention:
[Interdimensional Gate Class]
[Begins Approximately: 10 Minutes From Now!]
A map appeared on the screen, directing Ryuk.
Instantly, he shot up to his feet.
He shouted, ignoring his painful body, and rushed to the bedroom with fast speed.
Throwing open the wardrobe door, Ryuk grabbed a uniform, donning it with haste. He had been in ice and cold for three days, so one could say he wasn’t dirty-looking, quite the opposite actually.
In an instant, Ryuk raced towards the door but suddenly paused. Then, he turned back as one of the glass panes in the living room opened up. Without hesitation, Ryuk jumped out of it with speed, his figure soaring downward with monumental momentum.
His eyes moved to the watch where he could see the map, and with a powerful kick in the air, he changed direction, soaring toward the Hall area of the academy with all his speed—braving the blowing air, gravity, and his absolute control of his body to gain a bit of aerial maneuverability.
It is said a man only finds out what he could do when faced with the shittiest situation and right now, Ryuk was finding out his.
"Wait, is that a flying Newcomer?"