Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Of course, Ryu's grandmother had no intention of going so far, nor did she feel the need to. She was confident that with his senses, Ryu could tell just how powerful the attack was. 

Her fist stopped right before Ryu's nose, allowing him to observe the changes to her spirit. 

At that moment, Ryu couldn't take his eyes off of the crystalline blue patterns. They seemed to coat his grandmother in a skin of diamond, as though her flesh had suddenly become as hard as a polished gem. 

The patterns had sharp, blocky edges and cut in perfect 90 degree corners. They spread out down from his grandmother's wrist, stop at her knuckles. If it wasn't for their unique energy and color, the pattern would look almost to bland and normal. They weren't anywhere near as complex as Fundamental Runes and seemed to fall far short of large and small formations in terms of mystery. And yet, Ryu somehow felt it was the most enigmatic thing he had ever seen in his life. 

"I can only show you the Life Patterns for obvious reasons, but I can tell you that Life Patterns, as they progress, slowly grow to have the greatest defense. Death Patterns will grow to have the greatest offense and have the most destructive capability. Finally, the Rebirth Patterns are the most enigmatic. On the surface, it seems that it just does both offense and defense well, giving them the greatest balance. But, I have a feeling that the truth will only be revealed when all three Heavenly Patterns come together."

The blue patterns slowly receded from Mistress Kukan's fist and it immediately became obvious that her image had paled considerably. However, by design or coincidence, the grandmother-grandson pair didn't mention this at all. 

"What I just show you was only a single Heavenly Pattern and it could be considered to be the simplest application. 

"Phoenixes usually apply these Patterns to their feathers, giving them millions, even billions of them. This is also why the feathers of Phoenixes are so valuable and hold so many mysteries. But, it's also because of this that Phoenix feathers are so rare, each is tied to their soul so it is impossible for them to treat them casually. But, I'm sure you also understand what this means…"

Ryu's gaze narrowed. It was said that each individual scale of a Phoenix could be considered to be a priceless treasure, not only that, but they each held great power. If a Phoenix of the Sixth Order gifted Ryu one of its feathers, it would probably be a ten times better weapon than any Earth Grade treasure he had ever come across, and that was just a beast equivalent to a Connecting Heaven Realm expert. 

So, did that mean that these Heavenly Patterns when mastered to a certain level could give Ryu the ability to strengthen his Elemental attacks to such a level? Such a prospect… 

Ryu took a deep breath. 

There had always been cause to doubt the Phoenix. After all, Ryu's Qilin and Dragon Bloodlines provided him with more than double the strength his Phoenix Bloodlines did. But now… It even seemed that the Dragon and Qilin were lacking in comparison to the Phoenix. 

Ryu stretched out a palm, his hands suddenly flickering with blue lights. In just a few breaths, an identical Heavenly Pattern to his grandmother formed, causing his Spiritual Sea to roll and tremble. 

His pupils constricted. With just a single Heavenly Pattern, he could feel it resonating with his blood and raising his strength by more than half. Were things really so exaggerated?

Mistress Kukan smiled and shook her head. 

She knew that casting a technique within Ryu's own Spiritual Sea gave him a unique ability to see through its secrets, but this was also more than just a little exaggerated in its own right. She didn't even want to say how long it had taken her to form her first pattern to avoid feeling embarrassed. 

Ryu suddenly felt a flick at his forehead, causing his Life Pattern to twist and collapse. 

"Stop showing off in front of your grandmother, little boy. Have you not learned how to respect your elders yet?"

Ryu was stunned for a moment before he suddenly began to laugh. Before his grandmother could react, he hugged her tightly again. This time, he didn't seem prepared to let go. 

"Oh, dear. Grandma still has a lot to say."

Ryu didn't respond. He didn't seem to care about all this other stuff, he could just figure it all out slowly on his own. But, wouldn't this be the last time he saw his grandmother? This was time he would never get back. 

Plus… He didn't want his grandmother to see his face right now. 

"Okay, okay. Grandma will let you be spoiled, but listen carefully, okay?

"Your Grandpa Kukan is waiting for you in the Lightning Qilin Holy Grounds. Your Grandpa Tatsuya is at the Fire Dragon Holy Land and your Grandma Tatsuya is waiting at the Fire Phoenix Holy Land. 

"You should still have the Four Emblems, correct? There's a special signature on them that we've designed to activate a formation toward the Holy Lands as long as you're on the Shrine Plane and pour your qi into it. It should instantly teleport you out of any obstruction and into our Holy Land. In addition, there's a second mechanism that will send you to a random location on the Shrine Plane should you not be on it originally. 

"However… I hope that you will be patient, Little Ryu. You have a dangerous path ahead of you. Though these treasures will help you, they can also dull your blade. I also hope that you will save these Four Emblems and use them as life saving measures at a critical moment. This is the best that we can do for you as only items that have such great Fate attached to them could be so potent as life saving treasures. 

"Only when you feel that you cannot progress any longer on your own should you use them. This way, you can rely on our guidance to not only help you maneuver past bottlenecks, but it will also help you to hone yourself properly.

"Do you understand?"

Ryu's arms tightened around his grandmother, not trusting himself to speak. He could feel her frame becoming frailer and frailer. 

"… I love you, grandma."

Ryu squeezed these words out with a voice so hoarse it sounded like grating shards of iron. 

A light chuckle that soothed his soul for a final time left his Grandma Kukan. 

"Live well, my handsome little boy. Grandma will be watching over you."

Ryu's arms swung at air, his momentum bringing him to his hands and knees. 

There were legends of what it meant for a soul to cry. Though it was an incorporeal representation of the real body, there were simply limits to what it could do and what it could achieve. However, no matter the legend or folktale, an emotion reflected in the soul was a hundredfold more potent than any displayed by the physical body…

And maybe... that was why the skies reddened when Ryu's soul shed tears of crimson.