The sound that followed was that of bones being shattered to pieces as Ryuk landed heavily on the ground. Blood rushed out from his lips.
Layered breaths escaped his lips as he struggled to keep his heart beating, trying not to be completely drowned by the pain that seared not just his body but his very soul.
Right now, there were various missing parts on him—severed legs, severed hands, a ripped-open jaw, exposed ribs.
There was almost no difference between him and an eaten animal—except he was alive and still struggling to live.
’I... have to... move... to know where... I am!’ Ryuk thought, urgency laced in his voice.
He had finally stopped falling and landed somewhere, but in his battered state, he couldn’t see where he was. And with danger lurking in every corner until now, he knew he needed to stand up.
Ryuk called out, seeking help, but he got no reply.
If he still had the system, he could buy some rejuvenating pills and get back on his feet, even if not fully. And if Isha was here, he could ask her to scout the surroundings. But neither of them answered his calls.
It was like they had been completely severed from him, leaving him with nothing but his physical strength—which had now been drained.
After moments of breathing and forcing himself to rise, his body’s natural regeneration kicked in.
Slowly, he regained some sensation, and with gritted teeth, he pressed his reformed hand against the ground, pushing himself up onto one knee.
But the sight before him made his already thumping heart pound wildly in his chest.
"Where... where the hell am I!?"
Ryuk asked in horror as something beneath his grasp shattered into pieces. He hurriedly retreated, only for the sound of crushing bones to echo even louder in the dead-silent area.
The world before him was a world of... bones!
They crumbled beneath his weight, brittle remains of the dead collapsing into dust at his touch.
His hurried motion to brace himself sent a wave of splintered ribs and skulls scattering outward, rattling like wind chimes in a breeze that did not even exist.
Yet, despite the stillness, the air was suffocating.
No movement. No sound. Only a strange sensation that overwhelmed his senses.
The sensation of being... watched.
The thought echoed in Ryuk’s head, and his spine chilled when his instincts tracked down the source of that feeling.
Ryuk lifted his gaze.
Not stars. Not darkness. Not even a true sky.
Eyes—countless, shifting, blinking, closing in unnatural rhythms.
Some were small. Some impossibly large. Some bloodshot, others featureless voids. Watching him.
Observing his every move.
Right now, they were watching how his heart pounded in his chest, rising and falling in terror.
Ryuk’s breath unconsciously hitched, his entire body enveloped in overwhelming horror. His breathing slowed, controlled by instinct, and his limbs froze.
This power was beyond him.
It was like his cultivation, his strength, his will—none of it mattered.
It was like staring into the eyes of an ancient horror.
Yet, he knew he needed to move.
He pushed himself up from his knees, every nerve in his body screaming in protest.
Blood trickled down his arms, staining the layers of bone beneath him.
And that was when the horror began.
The second Ryuk’s drop of blood landed on a skull’s forehead...
The sound of clattering bones erupted, and Ryuk’s breath hitched in shock.
With widened eyes, he watched as the bones rapidly aligned—skulls, limbs, spines, all mending together at an unnatural speed.
They gathered, fused, and in mere seconds, they formed a creature that made Ryuk’s heart shrivel within him.
A three-meter-tall humanoid creature stood a full meter above Ryuk.
Its body was covered in an eerie layer of external bones, forming an armor of pure white ridges.
Ghostly green flames burned where its eyes should have been, and cryptic green tattoos shimmered over its forehead.
Then, from the distance, a deep noise echoed—a heavy object flying forth.
And as Ryuk watched, the object—a weapon—landed in the creature’s grasp.
A gigantic club, massive in size, its end covered in thick, brutal spikes.
A nauseating aura of death emanated from the bone-crushing weapon.
Ryuk barely had time to react before the creature turned its burning gaze toward him and raised the club above his head.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
The ground shattered into pieces.
The monstrous skeleton smashed its club into the earth where Ryuk had just been, the floor disintegrating into nothingness, bones exploding from the impact.
To the side, the sound of rattling bones rang out.
A figure rolled across the skeletal remains, crashing onto the ground.
It was none other than Ryuk, who had barely dodged the strike.
But the moment he put weight on one leg, it gave out, sending him collapsing onto his knees.
Blood splashed from Ryuk’s lips as he felt an unhealed wound tear open once more.
The splattered blood landed on another pile of bones.
Ryuk’s eyes widened in horror as he began to hear more clattering—bones shifting, moving—awakening.
One by one, they began to rise.
Seven more of the three-meter-tall creatures stood before him, all gripping massive clubs.
’If my blood splashes on them... they’ll wake up?!’
Ryuk’s mind reeled in shock.
Unconsciously, his eyes darted around, taking in his surroundings.
Thousands of such bones were scattered across the entire landscape.
The horror of what would happen if all of them awakened at once sent a deep chill through Ryuk’s bones.
For a moment, he regretted having any blood left to spill.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
Eight skeletal warriors stood before him.
Eight deadly clubs gripped tightly in their hands.
And Eight pairs of ghostly green flames were set on a single goal—
Ripping his life away.