Abyss Draconis

"Welcome to Refilling Port Station 4!"

The welcoming words were carried by unknown waves, allowing them to penetrate directly through the spacecraft, resounding in the ears of everyone aboard.

"Please open your Spacewave Signal Port to enable instructions on a safe and proper landing."

"Our Servicing Agent will be with you soon, and your needs will be promptly attended to."

"Thank you for your trust in Refilling Port Station. We hope you have a quick and safe journey ahead."

"Open up Spacewave Signal Port?" Rakshasa mused out confusedly.

"Don't worry about that. I'll handle it," Elder Celine said, her fingers rapidly tapping against a couple of new holographs before her.

BEEEP

BEEEP

BEEEP

Occasional beeping sounds echoed, and soon enough, they all could feel the spacecraft descending.

After a few seconds, it came to a total stop.

"We've landed," Elder Celine announced, turning to the others, who all nodded.

She turned to Ryuk, who asked,

"You need to pack up some resources, right? Then, go do just that. Antares will follow you, in case of a mishap."

"Good plan," she agreed.

"And I'm guessing Rakshasa is dying to stretch those legs too... and maybe charm some unfortunate souls with those eyes," he added, earning an eye-roll from Rakshasa.

"I'm not charming anyone..." she muttered, though she wasn't against the idea of getting off the ship.

Staying within these walls for over two weeks was tiring—she definitely needed to stretch and take a breath of fresh air.

Or Alien air in this case.

"I'll go with Rakshasa," Isha said, waving from the side.

Ryuk nodded with a smile.

"Okay," he agreed.

'If anything goes wrong, send the signal telepathically to Void, and he'll relay it to me...' he said to her mentally.

'Why Void. Why not directly to you?' She asked telepathically.

'I might be in slumber, and not hear you. But Void is close by, and will wake me up...' He explained telepathically before speaking aloud.

"Void and I will remain on the spacecraft, just in case," he added, exhaling in relief when the group didn't object, and didn't ask any questions.

Their reason was simple:

They were all disembarking on a world they'd never visited, even if just temporarily.

Having someone stay behind felt necessary, and with Ryuk volunteering, it was a relief.

"Seems like all has been planned," Elder Celine said, tapping on a holograph as the faint sound of rumbling came from the ship.

Ryuk felt rays of sunlight filtering through as the hatch opened.

The group moved out while he remained behind. The hatch soon closed, leaving him alone—

—until five seconds later, when a black figure popped out of thin air, landing on all fours.

"You... you damn goof!" Void cursed at Ryuk, who turned his back and disappeared into his allocated room.

"Hey—where is everybody?" Void wondered, looking around the empty space as it tiptoed after Ryuk and entered the training room.

"Don't tell me you're going to sleep again?" it asked, watching Ryuk remove his clothing and settle down in the Mana pool.

"Everyone has left, and both of us are acting as ship holders."

"Ship holders," It asked with tingling whiskers.

"We're staying here in case anything goes wrong."

"You're not allowed to leave the spacecraft unless you get my explicit permission. If anyone unfamiliar comes in, wake me up, understand?" he asked, glancing at the panther.

Void opened its mouth to protest, but then saw Ryuk's sitting position, and grinned wickedly to itself instead.

"Of course, I understand, Ryuk."

"I'll stay right here the whole time, not moving an inch while you're asleep."

"You just continue your cultivation without worry, okay?" it added sweetly.

Ryuk's brow twitched faintly at the overly agreeable tone.

He had expected an unending banter and protest since Void was a shameless extrovert, but the panther surprisingly agreed, and so easily too.

"Good... and thanks, Void."

"Oh, don't sweat it, Ryuk."

"Just doing my job as a fellow Fella," Void said with a wave of its paw, but watching evilly as Ryuk's head gradually drooped to the side, and his breathing slowed to a barely audible rhythm.

It waited a few moments but saw no reaction, prompting it to move closer to Ryuk.

It waved a paw before his face, but Ryuk still didn't budge at all.

It was all the confirmation Void needed.

"Finally," Void muttered, quickly scooting away from Ryuk as a Void vortex appeared before it.

It was prepared to jump into the swirling energy but paused, glancing back suspiciously.

"Why has he been sleeping so often lately?" it murmured.

The Ryuk, it remembered, barely ever slept.

The only time he did was during deep cultivation, and whenever he did, mana would always stir abnormally.

Like snow falling, or the Void itself, would wrap around him to form a cocoon.

But this Ryuk was just... sitting lazily, and clearly not cultivating.

And he had noticed Ryuk had been like this ever since reappearing four months after he vanished.

"Could he be doing something in his sleep?" it muttered curiously, but soon shrugged it off.

"Who cares. At least this gives me a chance to explore the outside—and maybe find a few different bosoms compared to what I'm used to."

"Hehehehe..."

Grinning lecherously, Void leapt into the vortex, leaving the cultivation room in absolute silence.

Less than a minute later, he was completely outside the spacecraft, leaving only a slumbering Ryuk in the entirety of the ship.

_______________

'I just came here to activate the Nemora skill and check what it means... but I ended up spending four days instead,' Ryuk muttered internally.

His original goal for returning had been to test his new skills.

But instead, he had been dragged into the pirate issues and then had to guide the team through the EiD zone.

And all that had taken an extra four days to resolve, with him still yet to check out his skills.

Now would be the perfect time, but then, he remembered correctly, his other body needed to leave with the Dominares for the Dominare Royal Ground.

How could they possibly travel if he were asleep?

And strangely, Morgaine had never pinched him awake, so he figured they either found a way—or never left.

Whatever the case, he needed to confirm it.

Hence:

"Activate Throneshift..."