Sarriel fell into silence, the rest of it all fell into place on its own. Ryu was sure that there were details she had left out, but they didn't particularly matter. However, there was still one thing nagging at Ryu.
"Tell me, why are the Truth Pupils locked in at the seventh rank. It's related to all of this, isn't it?"
Ryu had always been curious about this. Of all the Heavenly Pupils, the Truth Pupils were the only one to have never gone up or down in rank. No, maybe it wasn't accurate to say this as Ryu couldn't confirm with any certainty. But, what he could say is that within the last five Eras, the Truth Pupils had never moved upward nor downward.
One might think that this was because of Sarriel. 'Obviously', if she moved through time, then the ranking of her Pupils would be stalled. This was, of course, under the assumption that a pair of Heavenly Pupils could only appear once at a time.
However, there were two issues with.
Firstly, there was no guarantee that this was true. Two pairs of the same Heavenly Pupils had never appeared at the same time before, but given how rare Heavenly Pupils were to begin with, it was impossible to tell if this was because they were hardly born at all or if there was truly a ban on two appearing at the same time.
And, secondly, if Sarriel's rank had been 'frozen' because she traveled deep into the future, then the Truth Pupils should have been ranked last, not seventh.
With the birth of every pair of Heavenly Pupils, the deeds of its owner would add to its Faith and prestige. As this occurred, a pair would move up the rankings. However, whether or not it could close the gap with those above it would depend on how great its owner was and what they accomplished.
Just like with Ryu who had vanished for so long even after being the first owner of his Pupils in countless epochs, others should have long since closed in on Sarriel. But, that wasn't what had happened. Instead, she was perpetually stuck at seven.
In that time, some had leap frogged her, others were forced beneath her, but it was always in equal parts. It was either a pair would manage to jump from eight to six and force another down from six to eight, or no movement would occur whatsoever.
Ryu had read many theories about this and many of the popular ones surrounded the deception abilities of the Truth Pupils. While Ryu's Heavenly Pupils and Sarriel's Truth Pupils started out with abilities that were very similar, the former diverged to focus on absolute truth while the latter learned to trick the mind and play with the heart.
Knowing this, some speculated that at its highest levels, the Truth Pupils could even fool the Heavens. This would be the perfect explanation for how and why they had managed to remain at the seventh rank all this time.
Ryu was inclined to believe these theories. If Sky Gods could pass on legacies through generations, this sort of deception across Eras could be the Truth Pupil's form of passing on a legacy. Without ever knowing exactly how powerful these Pupils were, it would be possible for many to underestimate it. In fact, very little was known about the Truth Pupils compared to others. While Ryu's abilities could all be listed one after another, aside from the mutated ones of course, the same couldn't be said for Sarriel.
"… Didn't you say you wouldn't ask me any questions so long as I told you the full story."
Ryu smiled when he heard this. Sarriel wasn't wrong, but her response had confirmed his thoughts. This matter did relate to her family and these matters. It was very likely that among what Sarriel had hidden, the truth of her Heavenly Pupils was among what she had wanted to protect. That made her reactions far more believable.
"Fair enough. Let's eat."
Sarriel's pupils constricted when she heard Ryu's words. He let it go? Just like that? Her eyes couldn't help but narrow. Somehow, despite the fact he was keeping his word, this still managed to annoy her. Why was this man so good at pissing people off?
Ryza, who had been very much focused on Sarriel's words and enthralled by the story, snapped awake, realizing that Ryu's gaze was on her?
Ryza's reaction made perfect sense. She, much like everyone else, had thought that the Fey were extinct, only to realize that there was one right here before them all. How could she not be shocked? But now, she just wanted to know why Ryu was looking at her like that? She suddenly felt a strong urge to slap him.
Ryu's smiled widened. Since Yaana was on his lap, he couldn't very well get up, right? But, someone had to prepare dinner, after all.
With a wave of his hand, an enormous griffin corpse appeared.
"You're probably a great cook, right Ryza?"
Ryza's lip twitched. The answer to that for most Sky Gods who had experienced so much life was yes. Often times, living for so long, many would pick up hobbies. There was only so much continuous cultivation you could do. In fact, Ryza, who had never tasted Ancestral Beast meat, very much wanted to try this. But…
She still very much wanted to slap Ryu.
"Ah, I will help you Big Sister Ryza!"
To Ryu's dismay, Yaana excitedly jumped from his lap. What a joke, she had spent year preparing to be the perfect wife and had refined those skills countless times over. Now that she had an opportunity to cook for her husband, how could she not take it?
Under Yaana's enthusiasm, and after being called 'big sister' for the first time in what must have been billions of years, Ryza found her heart becoming too soft to refuse.
Gritting her teeth, she sent Ryu a death glare before trudging off under Yaana's pull.
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