Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ailsa was in a daze. She, too, didn't hear the rest of what the man was saying. It didn't really matter to her; she had heard it a million times.

She was Ryu's Life Partner for a reason; their personalities were practically mirror images of one another. The only reason Ryu seemed so different from her when they met was because his own personality had become twisted and cold. This was all to say that a person's words were completely unable to affect her. As far as she was concerned, once someone said something that pissed her off, their death date wasn't too far off.

However, she wasn't thinking about that right now.

How long had it been? Billions of years? Trillions maybe? She didn't know; she had truly lost count. It had just been too long, too long...

Tears began to pool in her eyes as her head swiveled, looking for where she had sensed that feeling coming from.

It would have probably broken her heart to know that Ryu was standing right in front of her, his head inclined toward the direction of the man who dared to speak those words.

Ryu was nothing but an illusory construct, something less than a ghost. It could be said that the only reason Ryu could even appear here in the first place, aside from Fading Star's efforts, was one due to his soul connection with Ailsa, and two because of his own attunement with Fate and Karma.

However, while he could see Ailsa clearly, she could only vaguely feel his presence.

"Where are you?" Ailsa said with a hint of excitement in her voice, the tears already having begun to stream down her fair cheeks. The yearning in her heart practically burst out in wild waves, the surrounding air and space trembling.

Ryu forced himself to look away from the man when he heard these words. He didn't have much time and no matter how he racked his brains, he couldn't figure out how he could do anything to that man.

Instead, he just erased the image of him from his mind. It wasn't a true memory wipe, obviously, but more like a meditation technique. He didn't want to waste what time he had, but he also couldn't easily push down his rage without doing this.

He looked into Ailsa teary eyes, the coldness in his own melting away like frost in a breeze. But when he tried to touch her cheek, his hand moved right through and a deep sigh came from him.

Ailsa suddenly raised a hand to her cheek, seemingly having felt something. But it was so fleeting and far away that she didn't have the chance to bask in.

"Ailsa, where are you?" Ryu spoke, trying to convey his intentions.

Ailsa didn't hear these words at all, and she turned downcast, but then she felt that feeling on her cheek again.

She continued to try to look around, the man's words below turning more and more vulgar, but she couldn't seem to hear a single thing.

"Little Ryu... where are you..."

She felt like her heart was breaking all over again.

Ryu's jaw clenched, his fury threatening to bubble up again. How could he allow this to happen?

He knew the way here, he had watched every second. But he didn't know of an easy way to make it here. In fact, even if he was a Dao God, he wasn't sure he could survive such a trip.

It made one think that there had to be something beyond Dao God, but after seeing all of those worlds... Ryu knew there was no such thing. Dao God was definitely the truest pinnacle, but that was what made Existence so amazing.

Even the strongest creatures it could create wouldn't be indomitable in its lands. One could only be one of many, meandering around and protecting their life to the best degree they could.

Ryu thought about finding a method to show Ailsa the path back, but did he want his wife to risk her life just for the smallest chance to see him again? Who knew how long the journey would take? If any one of them was going to make the journey, it should be him. That was his duty as a husband.

So Ryu didn't try at all. Instead, he felt a wild burning in his eyes as he began to churn through a large amount of Karmic Qi.

He felt that his eyes would likely be dormant once again due to this. However, it wouldn't be for long. So long as he could break into the Perfect Sky God Realm, they would come back. He had already completed the calculations.

Even so, if he had to choose between crippling his eyes forever and giving his wife this small bit of warmth, he would choose the latter every single time.

This was the one duty he had, the one duty that he took more seriously than anything else, a duty that burned like an endless flame within his heart.

His wives would be the most carefree women in the world, doing what they want, feeling what they want, he would make the world their oyster.

There was no one who would make them shed tears, not even himself. That was his promise to him as a man, as a husband.

And nothing could stand in the way of him doing that, no matter what sacrifices he had to make. Even the world itself couldn't stop him.

At that moment, Ailsa felt something warm wrap around her. They were thick, silky lines of Karmic Threads, enveloping her body not just in warmth, but in Ryu's very existence.

In the end, they only conveyed one thing oh so very clearly.

Wait for me.

Aisle's tears fell like a tide. She had been so worried, so lost. But suddenly, the world felt brighter again.

For the first time in a long while, a smile bloomed on her face even amidst the streaking tears.

It was a smile that lit the entire world in a gorgeous glow.