Abyss Draconis

He said, towering above Ryuk by more than two heads in his auraless form.

Then, his hands stretched outward as a ball of dark cube appeared in his grasp.

"One of the powers of being a true Fallen is this ability—Divination."

"The ability to see into the future on a single important topic."

"I divined this... fifty years ago, when I tried to see how Endearth's war with the Knulls would go. And this dark cube holds the vision I saw back then."

"In it lies the answer to all you need to know..." he said as Ryuk watched the glowing cube float towards him, and in an instant, the golden panel flashed:

[Host has come across a Future Vision Cube, an invaluable Artifact capable of storing a divined future that may or may not be true.]

[The host only needs to grab hold of the cube to see the vision stored within.]

The system prompt appeared as Ryuk stared at the floating cube.

He turned his suspicious gaze to Old Jack, who simply looked down with his solemn golden eyes.

But eventually, he raised his hand and gently grabbed the cube with both hands.

The cube flashed a soft layer of color for a few seconds.

Then it lit up with a fierce light that concentrated directly on Ryuk's eyes. Seven fate scenes flickered rapidly across Ryuk's vision, and just after thirty seconds, the cube dimmed and faded into nothing while Ryuk took three steps back, inhaling and exhaling heavily as memories flashed through his head.

"Seems like you've seen it all..." Blind Jack said before continuing.

"As you can see, the vision displayed all plausible ways for the Apocalypse to end.

"Twenty-one of the visions showed the destruction of Endearth, and only one showed how Endearth could be saved."

"You can guess—it was hella confusing at first."

"But the one that had shown how Endearth succeeded is very similar to how things have unfolded in your life until now."

"Your appearance in Grade E."

"You exchanging cores and familiarizing yourself with me."

"Uncle Bob's death and you leaving Grade B with the card I gave you."

"Your love with Morgaine, and how it waned."

"Your anger and pain, and your final war with Zar'kul, the Calamity."

"Most of everything, Ryuk."

"Most of everything that has happened, right from when you first laid eyes on me in Grade E, up until your defeat of Zar'kul.

"It was all foreseen..." He said, as Ryuk's eyebrows twitched in shock and confusion.

"All defined by the vision I saw fifty years ago..." Old Jack completed as Ryuk went through the scenes in his head once more.

It was a total of 21 visions.

Each showed how Endearth lost to the Knulls—how all life was wiped out, leaving a barren world.

Fifteen of those twenty visions had Ryuk in them.

They showed everything playing out, a future, but something always went wrong in the end, and he eventually died at the hands of Zar'kul, the 7th Calamity.

Some showed him never leaving Grade E and dying a nobody.

Others depicted him never meeting the Half-Flame One and ending up a struggling slave at the Ascension Academy, only to be killed and devoured by Zar'kul.

One version depicted him failing to grow stronger because his love for Morgaine never waned. When Zar'kul arrived, he was too weak and completely destroyed, losing his life and everything he had ever cared about.

But just one vision—only one—was different.

Only one had shown him surviving. Only one had shown him defeating Zar'kul.

And that vision had gone almost exactly as Ryuk had lived up until now.

At least the most important bits of it:

Meeting Old Jack.

Trusting him.

Receiving the card.

Meeting the Half-Fallen One. Being betrayed by the Half-Fallen One.

Every single pain. Every single factor was exactly as divined by that last vision.

"You... you orchestrated everything."

"Yes. Yes, I did!" Old Jack said, not denying a single word.

It was all too late for that anyway.

"My disappearance fifty years ago—it wasn't an accident like the world thought."

"I disappeared after I saw the vision, went from being an anomaly genius of the Fallen Angels to becoming a lowlife bartender in Grade E."

"It was all part of my goal to make the vision of Endearth surviving the Knulls a reality."

"While I didn't foresee Bob's death, I knew a situation would arise where I could send you to Grade B."

"So you giving me that card wasn't just kindness. It was all part of your ploy for me to meet Half-Fallen One and gain admission to the Ascension Academy?" Ryuk mused under his breath.

"Yes, and even though I never told the Half-Fallen One about the vision back then."

"I predicted her reaction if she sees the exact type of card I gave to you, and it all worked out exactly as planned."

"I saw your love with Morgaine—my daughter."

"And I also saw that even though you and Morgaine had a great relationship."

"It was one of ten paths that ended with your loss to Zar'kul, the 7th Calamity, and you saw it too."

"It was like a curse, where love became your downfall."

"If it's left to grow, then everything, you, Endearth, me, Morgaine herself, will all be lost."

"That was why I reappeared to the Half-Fallen One."

"I showed her the future, just like I've shown you now, and she understood it and followed my commands—to create friction between the relationship between you and Morgaine."

"To halt the love."

"And I believe you already knew how she did that...." He said, as Ryuk's heart pounded, and he asked.

"And her placing a death bounty on my head? Was that all part of your ploy, too?" He asked, and he replied

"I commanded her to place a death bounty on your head just after your relationship with her and Morgaine waned, in order to channel even more anger and pain."

"To grow you into the only version of Ryuk that can defeat Zar'kul!" he declared, as Ryuk's expression twisted with fury.

It was like he had been a game piece—a character moved on a chess board by the figure before him.

"You played me like a puppet... all for a vision."

"When I thought I had a family."

"When I thought I belonged—when I thought someone finally cared."

"You came and tore it all apart... just for a vision?" He asked in disbelief as Blind Jack sighed.

"Yes!"

"Yes, I played you like a chessboard."

"I did everything to ensure you became the Ryuk I saw in the vision."

"And what Ryuk was that!?"

"That was never me! That was the Ryuk, you and your damn Vision Orchestrated!" Ryuk shot back, as Blind Jack scoffed back.

"You think, a Ryuk who felt himself already part of a loving family, defeated Zar'kul?"

"You think, a Ryuk under the influence of the emotion of love, and the peace it brings along with it, could have defeated Zar'kul?"

"The Ryuk who defeated Zar'kull in my vision was a tired, broken, and angered Ryuk!"

"A Ryuk who felt lost and unaccepted."

"A Ryuk confused and believed to be hated. A Ryuk that had been through pain, and saw the only meaning to life being strength!"

"And all I did was simply make sure you were that Ryuk."

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A/N:

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