"What is this?" The curious thought echoed through Isha's mind after wandering through the Pet World for countless hours.
She had desperately lost sight of Ryuk in the endless grassland, but eventually, she found something.
Something incredibly grand.
It was none other than the two enormous, twin-sided trees before her.
One side of the tree was covered in shimmering blue lights, invoking an aura of absolute reverence in Isha's heart. Instinctively, she lowered her head before it. But the second aura...
It made her scales crawl.
Her eyes turned crimson as an intense force of death and decay enveloped her. Yet, despite the overwhelming sensation, it didn't do much harm. She eventually snapped out of it.
'This gem… an Ice Gem?' Isha mused to herself as she looked at the white-colored gem resting in the space between the twin trees. Elegant branches cradled it, and the gem shone with a bizarre, frosty light.
From within, Isha could sense a monumental amount of power. Her heart trembled faintly as she stared at the object.
It resembled her power.
Involuntarily, her claw stretched toward it. The moment the gem touched her palm, her expression contorted in shock.
The world around her distorted.
And in the next instant—
The Pet World fell into solemn silence once more.
"Why? Why is it not working?!" Ryuk muttered under his breath as he stood atop the mountain, in a world where a crazy amount of snow rained down from the sky.
The chill was incredibly biting, spreading among the icy hills.
Even for Ryuk, the cold was unbearable. His breath seeped out in a frosty white mist with every passing second, and a slight layer of ice formed over his face—what should have been sweat instantly freezing upon exposure.
'Why do I keep failing?' Ryuk clenched his teeth.
He had done everything right.
He had solidified the entire space until it could no longer be condensed.
He had implanted the Absolute Zero Domain skill to grant his domain its specialty.
Yet, no matter how much he tried—
Ryuk still felt blocked.
He still wasn't able to fully control the Apex Realm. It was as if there was one final missing piece, and no matter how much he struggled, he could never grasp it.
'Hey, System. What am I missing?' Ryuk asked as he finally opened his eyes. His head pounded from the headache, but he forced himself to rise, staring at the pitch-white world of snow beneath him.
The long, Runic Lines remained on the floor, exuding a frosty white glow. They almost blended into the background of the icy world.
Somehow, he felt they were the problem.
'Just what else do I have to do? Do these runic lines need to be filled with something? Do they say something?'
He waited for an answer.
But unfortunately, this was one of those times when the System chose to remain silent—probably because it had no idea either.
'Or… will this breakthrough be natural? Like moving from the Initial Stage to the Core Stage?' Ryuk muttered under his breath.
But he quickly dismissed that idea.
"No. Every major cultivation won't be natural. Not a cultivation as major as ascending from the Plane of Ascension to the Plane of Dominion."
He ought to be able to manifest the Apex Realm into the outside world—to turn it into a domain, hence breaking through.
'But why? Why can't I manifest it yet? Why can't I control it?'
His snow-white hands clenched into fists. But before his frustration could consume him, he exhaled loudly, calming the infinite anger burning in his heart.
'Perhaps… I just need to give it more time.'
Ryuk mused to himself, preparing to withdraw his consciousness.
But just as he was about to leave—
He suddenly felt a presence step into the Apex Realm.
'What's that!?' Ryuk's eyes widened in shock.
He turned toward the far distance—
And then, before he could react, he saw a figure gliding through the air.
A figure that melded perfectly with the snow.
A loud call echoed from afar—
His breath hitched as he stared at the ultra-gigantic creature before him.
Isha had grown to nearly 100 meters in pure size.
Her two wings alone stretched up to 150 meters in length. With every flap, the entire snowy area followed the rhythm of her wings, as if bowing to her very presence.
'I've lost half of the control I had over the Apex Realm!'
His mind spun in shock.
It should have been under his will. His command.
But with Isha's appearance—
His connection to them vanished.
Everything was suddenly beyond his control.
The faint connection he once had felt nonexistent.
Isha's voice echoed in his mind as she flew down from above.
She dove onto the mountain Ryuk stood on, causing the ground to rumble slightly beneath her landing.
"Isha, what are you doing?! How did you even get here?" Ryuk asked, his voice a mixture of confusion and annoyance.
"Just taking a usual stroll around my world." She shrugged. "Then I found this white gem, touched it, and entered—only to discover a part of my world that I didn't even know existed. Silly me."
Ryuk clapped his hand to his forehead.
"Just taking a stroll? You keep getting better and better at lying with each passing day, Isha…"
"And that's worrying."
Isha ignored his remark, her excitement bubbling over as she suddenly spread her wings and twirled in the air.
"Hey, Ryuk! Can you see me?" she asked eagerly.
Ryuk rolled his eyes. "Of course, I see you."
"No, no, I mean—look how big I am!" Isha said, flapping her wings with newfound energy. "Why am I suddenly so big? And what's this weird connection I feel with the world? It's like I can…"
Her words trailed off.
Snow maelstroms began forming.
The ice mountains shifted.
The air currents intensified.
Everything in the Apex Realm—once under Ryuk's sole control—was suddenly moving on its own.
Moving under Isha's command.
Ryuk's heart pounded.
'Why do I feel such a strong connection to this world, Ryuk?' Isha's voice echoed again, softer this time.
"Can you feel it too?