章 84: Chapter 84 - Forging a stable universe
"...Damn, Nimaiya, I thought you said this was supposed to be difficult? It hasn't even been a day yet," Tenjiro said with an annoyed tone as the group gathered in front of Ryu's smithy.
"Don't rub it in..." Oetsu said in a depressed tone. While he thought that maybe Ryu could succeed where he could not, he didn't expect it to only take a couple of hours!
"So that's it? Can I examine the Soul King now?" Ryu said as Ichibe stepped forward. "Unfortunately, that will not be an option." Ichibe walked forward with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "We had a deal, though," Ryu raised his eyebrow in confusion.
"No, you and 𝐍𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐲𝐚 had a deal. I never approved of it. Honestly, talking as you did about the Soul King was enough for me to kill you, but your skill intrigued me. As thanks for completing Nimaya's work, I'll let you go back to Rukongai peacefully. As for you, Nimaiya, we will have a nice talk later," Ichibe said as he looked at Oetsu with a sinister glint in his eyes, causing the latter to look away.
"So you led me on a false promise? Is this how the Zero Divison operates?" Ryu looked at the other members of the squad. They looked unsurprised, causing Ryu to understand that they had talked about this scenario while he was making the sheath.
"Too bad for you, I already delivered on my end of the deal, so I'll be going to see the Soul King now," Ryu replied. "...𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞?" Ichibe said with a sadistic smile creeping across his face.
"Yup," Ryu said, unintimidated by Ichibe's expression. As soon as the word left Ryu's mouth, Ichibe had already appeared before him, his giant brush lifted high behind his back for a large swing. With a speed faster than lightning, Ichibe's strike connected with Ryu's cheek.
The strike created a massive shockwave of spiritual pressure that rippled outwards from the point of impact. The winds caused by the strike were tremendous, with strong gusts of wind blasting in all directions. The sheer force of the shockwave was enough to shatter buildings and uproot trees.
Yet as the dust settled, Ryu was left unmoved. Not only that, his head hadn't turned even a millimeter from the impact. The only visible effect of Ichibe's strike was the disappointed look in Ryu's eyes.
"Sigh, fine. I guess we're doing it this way... 𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧!" Ryu's voice boomed, a chilling command that echoed ominously in the air.
The space surrounding the Zero Division seemed to tremble, as if reality itself was bending under the force of the energy that crackled around them. The air grew dense, suffocating, the darkness encroaching upon their very souls.
Their eyes stretched wide with terror, their hearts pounding in their chests as an unbearable pressure bore down upon them. Their bodies quivered uncontrollably, slick with cold sweat that dripped down their faces like the tears of the damned. They tried to stand their ground, but their legs betrayed them, quaking and collapsing beneath them as they fell to their knees.
Gasping for air, their breathing grew ragged and shallow, their heart rates escalating to a frenzied pace as they fought against the crushing force threatening to consume them whole. Their senses were overwhelmed, their minds reeling, incapable of grasping the vastness of the terror they now faced.
The pressure was an all-consuming torment, unlike anything they had ever endured. They writhed in agony, struggling for each excruciating breath, their souls quivering with the primal dread that gripped them. Desperation clawed at their minds as they tried to summon the strength to fight back.
But it was all in vain. The pressure relentlessly bore down upon them, forcing them to shudder and convulse, their once-confident demeanors shattered like glass beneath a merciless hammer. Now, they were nothing more than pitiful shadows, remnants of their former selves.
"I reckon this is enough," Ryu sneered, his cold voice dripping with contempt as he walked past the broken, fear-stricken Shinigami. "I expected better from you all. Don't act high and mighty if you can't back it up."
---
"He looks more normal than I imagined..." Ryu said as he looked at the Soul King.
The Soul King had a rather simple humanoid physique, not particularly muscular or skinny, with slicked-back dark hair, oval eyes, and very thin eyebrows. His eyes were the most unusual thing about him, each having four black irises. His body was mutilated, both his legs and arms missing.
But examining the Soul King's body wasn't the important part. What Ryu wanted was to understand his powers.
The Soul King's connection to the universe was manifested through an unimaginably complex web of energy and spiritual power that permeated all three realms.
At the center of this complex web of energy and spiritual power is the Soul King himself. His presence was the linchpin that connected the three worlds, and his will is the force that maintained the balance between them. Without the Soul King's presence, the delicate balance between the three worlds would be upset, leading to chaos and destruction.
'This'll be quite the project, but I have what I need. I have to make an artifact that'll replicate and improve the complex web of energy the Soul King is using to maintain balance, I'll also need to supply it with a big enough reserve of spiritual power...' Ryu contemplated about how he should go about designing his creation while walking back the smithy he conjured.
---
Ryu began by selecting the metal alloy that would form the rings of the artifact. He carefully weighed out precise amounts of each metal, mixing them together in a crucible and heating them until they were molten.
Once the metal was ready, Ryu poured it into a set of intricate molds, each one perfectly crafted to create a ring of a specific size and shape. He watched as the molten metal flowed into the molds, filling every crevice and cavity with a steady, fluid grace.
When the metal had cooled enough to touch, Ryu began the painstaking process of carving runes and magical symbols into each ring.
He started by selecting a set of chisels, each one with a different shape and size, ensuring that they were perfectly suited for the task at hand.
With a steady hand, Ryu began to tap the chisel against the metal, carving out the intricate shapes and lines of the first rune. The metal gave way to his touch, sending a shower of sparks flying up into the air. Ryu's movements were graceful and fluid, his eyes focused intently on the metal in front of him.
As he worked, he chanted a low, melodious tune, the notes rising and falling with the rhythm of his hammer blows. The song was his creation, and it embodied the unfathomable knowledge he had amassed from different gods, mortals, and dimensions. It spoke of the power of magic, of the secrets of the universe, and of the ancient knowledge that was encoded into the very fabric of existence.
As the first rune took shape, Ryu paused for a moment, admiring his handiwork. The symbol glowed softly in the dim light of the forge, each line and curve perfectly formed. But he knew that this was only the beginning. He had countless runes and symbols left to carve, each one more complex than the last.
And so he continued, tapping and chiseling away at the metal, carving out each symbol with care and precision.
Some of the symbols were simple and straightforward, while others were so complex that they seemed almost impossible to carve. But Ryu persisted, his movements never faltering, his focus never wavering.
As he worked, the symbols and runes began to take on a life of their own. They glowed with soft, golden light, each one pulsing and shimmering with its own unique energy.
And when he was done, when the final rune had been carved and the last symbol etched into the metal, Ryu stepped back from the forge, his eyes shining with pride. Ryu spent an entire week just carving away at the metal.
Ryu began to assemble the rings into the intricate pattern that would form the basis of the artifact.
The rings were arranged in a fractal pattern, with the smallest ring at the center and progressively larger rings radiating outwards. The rings were suspended in mid-air by a network of glowing energy strands that connect them to the various worlds they supported. The energy strands pulsated and glowed with a soft, ethereal light that illuminated the surrounding area.
With a deep breath, Ryu uttered the activation command.
The effect was immediate and breathtaking. The rings spun with fluid grace, each one fitting seamlessly into the next, creating a complex web of connections and energies. Ryu watched as the artifact came to life before his very eyes.
As the rings rotated around a central axis, they created convoluted patterns that kept the spiritual energy flowing smoothly. The patterns were so complicated that they appeared almost random to the untrained eye.
With a low hum, the rings began to emit a powerful, magical aura. It was as if the very air around it had become charged with energy, as though the ring was a conduit for some greater force.
As the aura spread outwards, it began to interact with the other worlds, weaving together the fabric of reality and ensuring that all remained in balance. The effect was subtle at first, but over time it became more and more pronounced.
Gradually, the worlds began to align themselves, their energies coming into harmony with one another to achieve a result that the Soul King could never dream of achieving.
"Whew, that was difficult," Ryu let out a sigh of relief as he made sure his creation worked properly.
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