Abyss Draconis

"Activate throne shift..."

In an instant, the command was given in his mind.

He felt his consciousness slipping from him, his heartbeat quieting down to a level where it could barely be felt.

For a few seconds, darkness was all that assaulted his mind… but then, his eyes opened to the sight of a dimly lit room, with blue fluorescent lights all around him.

Ryuk turned to look around, noticing the glowing blue pool of water where he sat.

He was back in his main body.

He slowly rose to his feet amidst the crackling noise of his joints—an effect of having remained in the same position for quite a long time.

He walked out of the pool, and a new cloth appeared in his grasp and he swiftly donned it on, then reached for the door knob.

CLIIICCKK.

A soft click—and it opened up, revealing his room, which was currently quite the scene.

The room seemed to have somehow been flipped upside down from how he remembered it.

The soft, round couch had long claw marks slashed across its surface.

The wardrobe was gouged in the same way.

And the bed?

It was half-covered in frost and dark furs—like something out of a beast's den.

It felt like entering a kid's room that had been ravaged by a wild pet.

'I guess this is what happens when you leave a Frost Wyvern and a Void Panther unchecked in the same room.' He thought, but then his hand stretched toward the bed, and a Void Vortex appeared.

Quickly, all the frost particles and fur were sucked in.

Another Void Vortex opened up outside in the void, spitting the debris out.

His Aetheris Will spread outward, and all the scattered objects lying on the ground floated upwards as if suspended by invisible hands before each was returned to their rightful place.

The bedcovers were arranged properly, along with the pillows.

Barely 20 seconds had passed, and the room was restored to exactly how he remembered it.

Well, aside from the claw marks.

There was nothing he could do about those, so he let it be.

He turned toward the room's exit—and exited.

The sight that met him: a single figure standing before the central holographic projection, beside a Void panther.

It was none other than Void, and beside him stood Elder Celine, both engrossed in the footage before them, not even noticing Ryuk's presence… until he was right beside them.

His hand tapped on a side footage, and it quickly revealed the image of the Void.

"Ryuk, you're out of your seclusion?" Elder Celine's voice rang out as he nodded and turned to Void.

"I asked you to wake me up if something's wrong, no?" he said.

The Void Panther cat-walked to him, rubbing its tail along Ryuk's side, only for Ryuk to push it off with a single finger.

"Chill out. Isha, Antares, and Rak are already out there. They should be enough to deal with those mongrels..." Void said with a shrug.

But then—

BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!

Suddenly, a heavy tremor shook the entire ship, tilting it violently to one side.

Elder Celine was flung from her stance, soaring toward the side wall.

But before impact, a Vortex opened on her path, and she vanished into it, reappearing beside Ryuk, who surrounded her with his Atheris will, anchoring her to her position.

Her hands moved swiftly. A couple of holographic panels materialized before her, and the ship stabilized almost instantly.

The alarms blaring across the chamber were silenced just as fast.

"Phew..." she exhaled in relief, but then her expression narrowed dangerously.

Her fingers tapped quickly on a few more holograms—and a gigantic holographic projection appeared overhead, revealing a scene that made her eyes darken.

A battlefield.

Three familiar figures—Isha, Raksasha, and Antares—collide with dozens of alien warriors.

"Well, it seems like the negotiations aren't working well this time?" Void asked, raising a brow.

Ryuk shook his head, staring at the footage.

He only needed one look to realize—

Void Pirates.

They were humanoid aliens—ashy brown in color—and seemed like hybrids of human and scorpion.

Each one possessed tails with stinger tips, along with six pincers for arms.

They wore various space artifacts like bangles and chains across their necks—each acting like a cocoon that allowed them to easily maneuver in the Void.

But what shocked Ryuk most was their aura.

The weakest among them was at the Eternal stage.

And when Ryuk looked at their humongous spaceship, he sensed something wild slumbering within.

If it could pique his attention, then it had to be—

'Apocrypha stage or even beyond.'

"Normally, Antares' presence alone is enough to scare off most pirates we've encountered. But these... they're strangely refusing any form of negotiation," Elder Celine said.

Ryuk gave a thoughtful hum—and made his choice.

"I'll go check things out," he said.

Before she could reply—

"I'll come with you—" Void started.

But Ryuk barked back:

"No. Stay here with Elder Celine."

"But why? Do you—"

"It's an order, Void."

A Vortex appeared before Ryuk. He stepped into it—and vanished.

"Tsk. Fine. Go break a leg if you want, but I won't be there to save your ass this time..." Void grumbled out loud.

The portal closed before his face, and he gave a soft growl through his maw.

Elder Celine ignored the grumbling cat, turning to the footage again.

She immediately saw as Ryuk appeared amidst the conflict and explosions, but then...

Everything suddenly halted.

The explosion froze mid-air.

At the point where Ryuk stood, something began to spread out radially—something inky black.

It turned into a dark cocoon, completely enveloping everyone within, cutting off all visuals.

For the next few seconds, Elder Celine couldn't see anything.

'Just... what is that?' she thought, tapping on various holograms, trying to pierce through the cocoon with radars.

But every attempt failed.

She didn't have to worry long, though—

10 seconds later, the dark cocoon faded off.

And the scene before her...It numbed her to the bones.