He snapped his hands once more, and the darkness faded away like it was but an illusion, returning reality to its original state.
"So that is what I am to you… the lamp?" Isha whispered beneath her breath, and Ryuk nodded.
"You feel like you don't have much use because you're unable to protect me, but if you really think about it, the lamp was never the one to literally carry me forward through the darkness."
"That was the duty of the legs, which correlates to my own personal strength."
"And remember, without the lamp, no matter how strong the legs, they are more or less useless."
"Don't bring yourself down for me. You're too strong to ever get lost," she said, though a faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"It's just the truth."
"So, if I may reframe my earlier question… do you still wish to be bright, or even brighter than ever before?" Ryuk asked, watching as her eyelids closed.
Her brows creased slightly, as if she were fighting her own thoughts, but in the end they settled.
Her lips parted, sucking in a deep breath before she exhaled.
When she opened her eyes again, things were different.
Her eyes, once dull and lifeless, had regained their light.
Silvery dots twinkled within them as the lost aura around her faded away.
She rose from his hold, leaping over him as her bright silver eyes blinked.
[She got over it quite fast. Impressive.]
The system blinked at Ryuk, who silently exhaled in relief.
"Then, I have just the thing," he said, and in the next moment, something appeared in his hands.
'What…' Isha had yet to fully register it before the object zipped into her lips with blinding speed.
She clutched her throat to stop it, but it bypassed easily, traveling down and settling in her stomach.
"What was that?" she asked, looking at Ryuk.
"An Evoluti..o...n P...il..l."
The next moment, she felt her head spin, the world blurring as she collapsed into his arms, losing consciousness.
[-1 Beast Evolution Card Used.]
[Total Evolution Cards Left: 9]
"I wonder what you'll look like after this," he muttered to himself, rising with Isha in his arms.
With a single thought, the space before him rippled, leading to an opening.
He prepared to step into it but stopped slightly, turning his gaze toward the woman seated silently on the Wyvern.
"Wait here. I'll be back."
She patted the Frost Wyvern on its back, causing it to pause.
The second it did, he stepped through the portal, which immediately zipped shut behind him.
When Ryuk reappeared, he found himself in a valley of red roses and blue lilies, a refreshing breeze rustling through the garden and faintly flapping his clothes.
At the side of the garden lay a lady on the ground, both hands behind her head, a blue lily tucked between her lips.
She was buried in a small hill of tentacles that shone with brilliant purple light, and one of her eyelids lifted, staring lazily at Ryuk.
"You're back so soon," Zaffre said, and Ryuk rolled his eyes.
"So soon? It's been more than twenty hours since then…"
"Really? Felt like only a minute passed." She buried herself deeper into her tentacles with a sigh of relief.
It was immediately clear, this truly was a beast's haven.
Zaffre turned when she noticed the girl in Ryuk's arms, watching as he lowered her gently to the ground, resting her against the tree.
"And that is…?" she asked curiously, flashing to his side in an instant.
"Isha," He replied as he rose to his feet.
"Is she…" Zaffre probed.
Ryuk nodded. "Yes. Isha is my first contracted pet."
'She looks so… beautiful.'
Ryuk watched silently as a frostflake tattoo appeared on Isha's chest, spreading across her arms and releasing a stream of cold mist that gathered around her.
Five seconds later, Isha was completely enveloped, with the mist realigning to form a cocoon of ice that sealed her within.
"Hmmm?" Zaffre hummed at the bizarre change.
"Isha is currently evolving, and the cocoon is to protect her from outside interference."
"I brought her here, because I'm sure this should be the best place for her to undergo it," He explained lengthily, watching Zaffre shrug and returning to her lounging position.
"I don't care about her, so I can't be bothered to waste time interrupting,"
He furrowed his brows slightly at her, something Zaffre didn't fail to notice.
"Tsk, you don't even trust me," she scoffed, and he rolled his eyes.
A moment later, the space rippled once more as he stepped out of the garden.
It left just Zaffre and Isha, and the second it left just the two, Zaffre moved, appearing before the cocoon.
She moved closer, four purple eyes studying the lady within.
A strange feeling stirred in her chest.
Her hand lifted, fingers inching toward the icy barrier but they halt just a short distance from actually touching it.
"I guess that can wait until she's awake," she muttered, retreating to her lounging position.
'I expected at least that much curiosity.'
Sitting on the Wyvern's back with his arms crossed, Ryuk held a small orb in his palm, and right now it was playing exactly what was going on in the realm.
He has seen everything, leading him to smile faintly as the orb vanished from his hand.
"With Isha's own personal issues resolved, I can finally focus on the other important matters," he muttered, turning a serious gaze to the woman seated on the Frost Wyvern.
"The Evioulurnian Kingdom is now less than an hour away," She said to Ryuk who hmmed before he asked.
"You mentioned thenm being sent away due to having with them the possession of the accursed one..." He said, watching her eyebrows furrowed.
"You're going to appear before Celine Nagas, apologize for your unreasonable and foolish actions, and present her with an exclusive invitation back to the Kingdom, along with special benefits to make it clear just how sorry you are for the injustice they suffered."