Ryu should have realized it then, but Granny Miriam was far more intelligent than he had given her credit for. She distracted him with this story, telling him of the reason why his family seemed to hate him for no reason at all… But, in doing so, she managed to avoid telling him the truth.
If only she had told him earlier. If only she had told him of her plans. If only he knew, if only…
"Little Ryu!" Suddenly, a warm, aged hand shook Ryu awake, startling him. He knew that the old Doula came to check on him sometimes, but she had never gone out of her way to awaken him. "Quickly, get dressed. Today is the day we leave this place."
"Listen to me very carefully. Inside of this ring, there are provisions for exactly half a year…"
Granny Miriam spoke of everything in quick succession, not allowing Ryu to speak at all.
"… I've spoken to your elder sisters. With their cultivation, they'll be able to take you out of the castle safely. After that, you'll be on your own."
"Wait, what?" Little Ryu froze, his eyes icing over.
"I said I've spoken to your elder sisters. They're the only ones who've still shown care for you."
A mournful croak escaped Ryu's lips, his voice almost sounded like that of a dying animal. "RUN! RUN AS FAR AS YOU CAN. NOW!"
Ryu was frantic, more frantic than he had ever been in his life.
His eyes turned completely black, his falling blood beginning to sizzle with a dense fogginess.
But then, they sparked.
A singular drop of blood fell from the skies like a meteor, a raging inferno of red-black suddenly enveloping it.
"Why do they look like a pair of lovers escaping into the night to elope? Don't tell me your little brother has such a perverted fetish, Brother Amory?"
"Your jokes are as crude as ever, Brother Atticus. Whether my Fourth Brother is having an affair with this old whore is none of my concern."
By now, the old Doula had frozen completely. Her aged and trusting mind couldn't comprehend just how this had happened.
She couldn't comprehend it. As an older sister herself, she would put her life on the line if it meant protecting her younger sibling. She could never imagine that for the sake of some feeble empire, Ryu's two sisters who had always seemed to dote on him would do such a thing.
To make matters worse, they were cowards. They didn't dare to come here to face the despair of a little boy and an old woman themselves. They were pathetic, spineless, worthless shells of a human being.
"NO!" The rush of emotions Ryu felt were so fierce that he vomited on the spot. A horrible, gut wrenching stench erupted from his lips, coating the dew-covered night grass with his hatred and animosity.
"Aiyah, he really must love her. What a sad sight. Such a handsome young man falling for an old hag."
The old Doula was ripped from Ryu's hands. He tried to stumble forward to grab her back, but he found himself flying through the air, having been slapped away by his father's Death Guard.
"STOP!" Ryu roared, standing as swiftly as his concussed body would allow. "Imperial Doula Miriam's twin sister is an Immortal cultivator! Killing her is a mistake!"
Prince Atticus' lewd laughter filled the night air once more. "I was wondering how an old bat seduced such a young man. Did you woo him with your fanciful stories of grandeur? What a joke."
Ryu's body shook violently, the pain in his head doubling, then tripling as his veins pumped with rage. It was then that he thought of the spatial ring. Not only was it a rare treasure, the space within it was large enough to hold enough rations for years. From what he knew, this was impossible for a normal treasure. Shouldn't this be proof enough?
"Little Ryu, that's enough." Blood flowed from Miriam's scalp as clumps of her hair were pulled too far back. "You were right to never call me Granny Miriam, it's not a title this old woman deserves…"
The old Doula never got to finish her words, the sharp fall of a blade connecting with her neck, allowing her head to roll in a dense, bloody mess.
Ryu sat and stared, not believing what he was seeing.
"Granny Miriam…" Ryu had no more tears to shed. Whatever remained of him had dried, crusting over in a coarse salt.
His heart was hollow, his mind blank.
He sat there for weeks, unmoving, unable to do anything.
A slumbering giant trembled in his soul.
Sin of Wrath was completely drowned out. Ryu couldn't hear it, it couldn't reach him no matter how hard it tried.
His eyes were sunken, his chest wide open as his Realm Heart crumbled down to its last pieces.
"I…" Ryu's voice echoed through the skies.
"… Should have slaughtered them all to their last!"
An infuriated roar shook the Shrine Place, traveling through the Shrine World and almost collapsing the Moral Planes.
The veins around Ryu's eyes turned completely black from red as a pitch-black soul emerged from his forehead, even turning the bright gold of the Rebirth Crown to the same dense darkness.
Within the Incubator, several Black-Veined Spirit Seeking Lilies were devoured and swallowed by Ryu one by one, his fury reaching the point where he cared about nothing else.
In that moment, Ryu's silvery irises turned into a pair of blackholes, trembling as the skies above split to reveal a looming Heaven's Gate.
The Valkyrie in the distance trembled, coughing up a mouthful of black blood as her irises lost all their color.
She fainted on the spot, dead. Never to rise again.
However, Ryu continued to howl to the skies, his very being becoming painted in darkness.
His claws grew a size, Rage Flames billowing around him even as Dark Phoenix Heavenly Patterns covered his violet scales.
His horns exploded forward, black arcs of lightning crackling between them.
"Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill!"