Abyss Draconis

"When they ripped me into 7 parts, they shared it amongst 7 Knulls."

"These Knulls have a special name — Calamities."

"There are a total of 7 of them, and the 7th one was Zar'kul, whom I faced on Endearth," Ryuk explained, realization hitting Old Jack, though he refrained from interrupting.

"When I faced Zar'kul and killed him, I assimilated with him — my original body part that was in him."

"So, that's why you were in slumber for those 4 months after your fight with Zar'kul?" Mrs. Lynia asked, and he nodded.

"Yes, I was re-fusing with one of my body parts. My skeletal system, to be exact. It's the reason for the slumber and all the weird phenomena," he explained, and they inhaled.

Now, things were clearer, and some of their doubts were dispersed.

"My main body is on a journey to travel to the Upper Realm, to retrieve the remaining six body parts that I'm missing."

"Without those parts, I will never be whole — and that's why I need to get them all back. It's the reason I can't always be in Ammamora." he said, and it made Lynia finally understand.

She had always wondered why he never tried to start a new life here.

Ryuk often zoned out now and then, slipping away to his main body—but she never really knew what he was doing during those moments.

She often wondered whether what he was chasing was truly worth it, or if he was simply avoiding the chance to start anew in this world.

But now, she had her answer — and it made sense.

She knew well that if she were in his shoes, it would only make sense to go out searching for them with the hope of getting them back.

"When I collapsed and was rushed to the hospital by Morgaine," he said, bringing them back.

"It was truly because I activated a technique, like she said, but the technique I activated led to the creation of a third bloodline within me."

"A third bloodline?" Old Jack asked, confused.

"Yes. And that third bloodline turned into a bloodline manifestation that got rid of my two original bloodline manifestations," he explained.

"Wait, wait. A bloodline you got from activating a technique... got rid — like destroyed — your Knull and Draconic bloodlines?" he asked, hoping to be corrected, but all he got was a nod from Ryuk.

"Yes. Right now, I no longer have even a single drop of Knull bloodline or Jade Dragon bloodline within me," he said.

Old Jack's jaw seemed to have lost its screw, hanging onto the table, while Mrs. Lynia's eyes were more focused, thoughts flickering in them before she asked:

"So, right now, you're no longer a Knull, right?"

"What made me a Knull — which is the blood in my veins — is now gone, replaced by another," he said.

"What other? Do you know what this other bloodline is... if you don't mind me asking, of course," she said, watching as he softly shook his head.

"It's fine. The new bloodline — I don't know much about it. But the name, I believe, is called Beyonder Dragon."

"Beyonder Dragon..." Mrs. Lynia muttered repeatedly, seemingly filtering through the word in her head as if searching for something, but in the end, she got no clue at all.

"I've never heard of such a race."

"Was that what caused the huge explosion in the hospital?" she asked with more clarity, but he shook his head.

"No, that wasn't what caused the explosion. When the Beyonder Dragon manifestation slaughtered both my Knull and Jade Dragon manifestations, it transformed their energy motes into gems, and then fused them together."

"There's an ancient saying: 'When Apex Energy and Abyssal Energy fuse together in harmony, a new energy—unique and extraordinary—is born.'"

"That energy is referred to as Hurricane Energy."

"Hurricane Energy..." she repeated with a whisper.

"The fusion of my two bloodline manifestations by the Beyonder Dragon bloodline led to the creation of a Hurricane Energy gem — which I swallowed."

"When I swallowed it, it tried to fuse with me. That fusion was what must have led to the explosion of energy in the hospital."

"And furthermore, it's the same energy you see in these tattoos..." he added, and they turned to his tattoos — now it made more sense than ever.

"I always felt this tattoo on you wasn't radiating Apex or Abyssal Energy. Now it makes more sense. So this is Hurricane Energy?" she asked, and he nodded.

"That's correct," he said—but his eyes lit with seriousness as he continued.

"I'm telling you all this because if I just say, 'I'm fine,' or 'I'll be fine,' or 'I won't explode anymore'..." he paused, noticing their eyes turning to him.

"It would be a lie as I have no idea what Hurricane Energy can fully do or is capable of, nor do I know all about this new blood flowing in me."

"But I think, having a single bloodline in you should technically be more stable than having two opposing bloodlines — and this Hurricane Energy of mine seems stable enough."

"That is the most promise I can make about the future."

"I'll figure everything out eventually, but for now, all I'm doing is grappling in the dark with not high enough guarantee I won't blow up with a bang tomorrow," he explained.

Old Jack chuckled but choked midway when he got a stare from Mrs. Lynia.

"Now, I feel even more at rest at what you said."

"There might be no guarantee, true."

"But at least we know it's not due to you being unhealthy, or a cultivation mishap, or a curse you got from Zar'kul that is slowly corrupting you," she said — hypotheses that made a strange expression appear on Ryuk's face.

"Most of those are the ideas of Jack, by the way," she added with a side glance at Jack, who opened his lips to defend himself, only to quiet down when her stare turned from a side-eye glance to a full-on mean glare.

'Tch, I'm being bullied unfairly.'

"Whatever this new energy and this new bloodline is, I'm sure you will find a way to understand it."

"If you did, then a little blowing up and experimenting here and there will be a price worth paying for it," she said, comforting him.

"I'll do my best to minimize the damage as much as I can."