Abyss Draconis

Knullic was roughly smashed into the ground, the entire throne room shaking violently.

GASSSPSSS

He recoiled from the slam, and a sharp gasp of pain echoed through the room as he was blown erratically into the air.

But it was silenced abruptly when White Draco's claw reached the side, a gleaming white light gathering over his sickle-like claws.

And then—he vanished.

When next he appeared, he stood at the far end of the throne room, his body in the posture of a swift, deadly swipe.

Ryuk watched as Draco descended back to the ground. Yet when he landed—

BAAM

BAAM

BAAM

The sound of something hitting the ground with thunderous force rang out.

That object… was Knullic's head.

It bounced over and over until it came to a rest directly before Ryuk's feet, whose hand reached down, picking it up by the crimson hair and lifting it to his face.

For a few seconds, there was nothing but shock and disbelief on Draco's face.

A single slash of the claw had instantly defeated him.

'A bloodline that could defeat me, an overpowering dragon with just a slash…?'

But the disbelief faded when he caught sight of Ryuk at the edge of his gaze. Slowly, a mocking grin spread across Knullic's lips.

"So, you made your final choice, huh?"

"Choosing to get rid of us and seal your fate of certain death…" Knullic said.

"I made my choice," Ryuk replied curtly, watching as the grin faded.

Knullic realized something from the young man's expression.

There was not the slightest ripple of regret in Ryuk's gaze.

In fact, from how he looked, it was as if this was something he had planned to do all along, and somehow, something told Knullic that the appearance of the Beyonder Dragon was simply the opportunity he'd been waiting for.

That realization made him ask:

"How long...How long have you been planning to get rid of us?" he asked quietly.

"Ever since my battle with Zar'kul," Ryuk said, voicing the thought that had long settled in his heart.

Knullic chuckled.

"To think—even though we viewed your life like spectators—we still failed to suspect your twisted motive. Unthinkable…" he muttered.

But then, Ryuk watched as his head began to dissipate into red motes of light, showing that it had little time left.

"We'll be back, Ryuk..."

"And when we return, we won't be friends—we'll be enemies," Knullic threatened.

Yet no ripple of emotion stirred in Ryuk's eyes.

They stared at each other—one fading into ashes.

And just as Knullic completely vanished, his final words echoed:

"Now that I think about it… this is the first time you've made an important choice on your own, Ryuk. The first time you've become… interesting."

The words lingered, echoing through the throne room as Ryuk's hand opened, releasing the last of the crimson motes of light into the air.

A full minute passed in silence as he sat, unmoving, his eyes closed.

For a fleeting moment, memories flashed across his mind. His hands clenched into fists.

And then, slowly… they relaxed.

'I've made my choice…' He thought, steeling his heart.

Then, he opened his eyes to see him standing before him.

Draco.

Or rather, who he hoped was Draco.

But as Ryuk turned his head faintly, his gaze fell upon something else gripped in his left hand—the severed lower half of the now-deceased Knullic.

He watched with interest as the new Draco lowered himself to the ground, crouching beside the body of Knullic.

Both of his hands stretched outward, then began moving in circles—rolling, spinning, like someone trying to form a sphere from the air itself.

But instead of a ball materializing, Ryuk watched as red motes began amassing from Draco's body.

These red motes were none other than Knullic's bloodline essence. It broke apart and gathered, swirling around until there was no longer any trace of the left of him.

Only a massive, rotating ball of motes of light remained.

It condensed… and condensed further… until it became a red, egg-sized gem floating in the new Draco's palms.

Then his second hand stretched forward—and from its depths, another gem appeared.

It looked nearly identical to the Knullic gem… but instead of crimson red, it was jade blue.

Ryuk understood what it was immediately.

It was the bloodline motes of the Jade Dragon, Draco's essence.

And its presence proved something:

Draco… no longer existed.

The white-scaled entity before him now held both essences, floating gently in his hands.

Ryuk watched as they dropped into its palms—and then he slowly pressed them together.

There was an audible strain—shockwaves continuously burst through the throne room from his palms.

Ryuk watched him with intensity as the white light flared, the pressure rising.

It persisted, continuing to press both palms together.

And then—at last—the pulsating waves stilled.

Both of the entity's hands were clasped, hiding what had formed within.

Ryuk's gaze sharpened.

Then, the white-scaled being finally turned to him.

Eyes that once appeared distant and lost now stared directly into Ryuk's own.

Then… it stretched out his clasped hands before Ryuk.

And when they were just a few centimeters away from his face, he unfurled them.

Within, Ryuk saw something he had never seen before.

A gem.

Twice as small as the size of an egg… yet what took Ryuk's breath away was its color.

A shimmering purple.

It pulsed with energy that felt more alive and conscious than any he had ever seen.

Along its surfaces were glimmering runes—ones that glowed with a bizarre power, something Ryuk recognized vaguely… something he had only crossed once.

His thoughts spiraled, latching onto memory after memory.

And then, he realized it.

The white entity before him had harvested the Knull motes from Knullic… and the blue motes from the Jade Dragon.

So then… what happens when the essence of a Knull and a Jade Dragon are refined into one?

"…Hurricane Essence?"

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A/N:

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