Abyss Draconis

"Huuuuuuuuuhh," She said out loud and lengthily, and Ryuk raised an eyebrow at her disappointed expression.

"Tch, I was so hopeful," she muttered under her breath, turning her attention away from him. His eyebrow twitched.

'Are you cursed with a need to fight or something?' he wondered silently.

"Hey, it can't be that I beat the bravery out of you, can it?" she asked, her tone quieter.

Ryuk simply shrugged and replied:

"No."

"Good. I don't appreciate the presence of spineless cowards, as nothing good ever comes from keeping them around," she murmured, finally turning her focus back to what she was doing.

The rune continued to etch itself into the sky.

Ryuk merely observed, like a distant outsider.

Silence stretched for about an hour, until his curiosity could no longer hold him back.

"There are a lot of doors in the mountains around here. They're houses, right?" he asked.

"Huh-uh," she replied, not looking away.

"I'm guessing those from your Nihil race once lived there. But... I can't sense any living presence."

"What... what happened to the rest of your race?" he asked, trying not to sound too probing.

Her reply came — expected, yet not in the way he anticipated.

"They're all dead," she said flatly, as if she weren't talking about her own people at all.

"I... I'm sorry," Ryuk offered, only to see her turn her gaze down at him, grinning as she replied:

"Don't be. We were quite the menace when we were alive. We don't deserve pity..."

She paused briefly, then added, "And yeah. Those were the words of the ones who killed us all."

"Or at least... almost succeeded in killing us all," she said, turning back to the rune she was crafting.

Ryuk's voice broke the pause.

"If you get out of here... will you go look for him? For revenge?"

She hummed.

"He's dead," she replied bluntly.

"You managed to kill him before you were sealed?"

"Sealed?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"How did you know I was sealed? I might've just been sitting on these mountains, waiting for you to arrive," she countered.

"There were a couple of Crimson Demons performing a ritual to awaken a powerful ancient being. They were killing people and using their blood to channel energy — and the gate to where that energy was sent was right here." Ryuk explained.

"Crimson Demons, huh?" she repeated, her eyes crossing with memory, and a familiar remembrance

"Fools." She added, causing Ryuk's expression to plummet.

"And no, I didn't kill him before I was sealed."

"When the rest of my race was slaughtered, I was the last one still standing. Eventually, I was subdued... Though I did manage to take down about 7,000 of them first," she added with a feral, psychotic grin.

"But just before they could kill me... I smelled his scent."

"They smelled it too, and when they did, they didn't want to waste any more time finishing me off."

"So instead, they sealed me to go face him."

"But I'm sure they all met their end by his hands," she said, a claim that sent a chill through Ryuk's chest.

'Just who is this "he" she's so certain could avenge her by defeating those who were able to subdue her herself?' he wondered.

But he didn't ask, and he felt he already knew too much in a moment.

And from how she had not continued after his words, it was clear she wasn't willing to reveal more.

Suddenly—

VROOOOOOOOOOOM

The wind around them surged wildly. Ryuk turned his gaze to the sky, where the massive runes now glowed powerfully.

"Finally done," she announced with glee — but Ryuk's eyes narrowed as the phantom behind her dissolved into motes of light and she plummeted toward the ground.

He acted fast, appearing on one knee and catching her inches before she hit the earth.

'So heavy,' he thought, straining as he tried to lift her.

"She's unconscious, huh?" he muttered, looking down at her gentle expression and slow, calm breathing.

[This is a good chance to end it all!]

[One claw straight to her heart, and the quest will be completed!]

[Do it quickly!]

The system's notifications flashed urgently, sounding like a scary villain.

Ryuk hmmed in reply, but then, from the depths of his eyes, divine white flames flickered, and his expression darkened.

Slowly, he turned his head toward where she had previously stood.

"What do you think you're doing, Odette?" he asked aloud, releasing his grip and letting her fall to the ground.

But the Odette he carried instantly vanished into dark mist upon landing.

From the direction Ryuk faced, space rippled — and someone stepped out.

The real Odette, with her usual mischievous grin painted across her lips.

[A Doppelgänger!?] the system panel flashed.

The wind whipped around them as she appeared directly in front of him.

"Just a little test," she said. "Wanted to see whether I should kill you here or bring you out with me."

Her evil grin widened.

"You passed, though, so... good for you." She floated back up toward the sky.

"Now come. We've only got a few seconds before the energy runs out," she called, a rare urgency in her voice.

Ryuk followed, arriving at the edge of the red portal as its center glowed with crimson motes of light that rapidly multiplied, forming a spinning vortex.

He waited for it to fully form — but then—

GRAB

A hand seized his own, much to his surprise.

He turned towards he source, to see her grinning at him, her eyes blazing.

A moment later, the world flashed as they were dragged together through the portal, vanishing from the realm.

Just two seconds after their disappearance, the carved runic gateway in the sky collapsed, fading into dark motes and leaving the world in eternal silence.

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A/N:

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In and Out_SnowySmoos