2047 Irony
It was ironic that Ryu realized this about himself. He had always seen himself as a hypocrite. A man who wanted for everything and wouldn't be satisfied unless he could have it all.
He didn't care about the hopes and dreams of Wobbling Fairy. Since she had chosen to lay with him, she would be forever bound to him or suffer his wrath.
He didn't care about who he killed, who their families were, who was waiting for them to come home... but should anyone think to do the same with his family, they would surely also face his wrath.
He had so many contradictory views, all of which could be summarized in a single word.
Hypocrisy.
Never did he think that at the height of his life, when he faced off against the dream he had chased after the longest, that he had wanted for the most, that he would actually have such thoughts about it...
That he was actually okay with losing... just this one...
But only if he had been able to give it everything he had. Only if he was able to burn as brightly as he could...
Even if it was just for a short period of time.
Ryu couldn't help but remember his Fate Star.
That day, on his 1000th birthday, he had looked up at it for the first time in a very long while. He remembered how bright it was, how large... but it was too large, too bright.
It would burn through its fuel quickly. He would be like a flashpan in the span of the wider universe. Although he would shine boldly and largely, he would eventually burn out just as quickly, forgotten and abandoned by the world, never to be remembered...
The name Ryu Tatsuya would likely be lost to the stream of time. He would have existed for too short a period.
He had made peace with that long ago. Or so he thought.
At the very least, he had forced himself onto another path, trying to find other ways to be useful.
Although he had allowed it to jade his life, he couldn't help but wonder now if the only reason he had become so hateful of the world was precisely because his Dao Heart hadn't been by his side at the time, because his soul had been stripped from him and hidden away in the Death Shrine.
"Is that so? Maybe so."
Ryu chuckled again, not minding it. Maybe someone so powerful really did have the
right to say such things.
He felt calm, relaxed. He stared off into the endless cosmos, his heart resting at ease.
"Do you know why I picked you?" the voice spoke again.
"Is there a need to ask? I, Ryu Tatsuya, am always the best bet."
"And yet you are about to lose yourself because of your stubbornness."
"I've lost myself before. It was quite embarrassing. This, though... isn't that. If
anything, I have finally found myself."
"Indeed. And it's quite annoying. You're insufferable in the worst sort of ways. There
are a few men like you across Existence. One I met before. For a long while, I thought he was you reincarnated. But he is not. You two are so similar that you've taken opposite paths."
"A few? I doubt that."
"I knew you would say that too."
"I'm interested now. What is his name?"
"He is Nameless."
Ryu blinked for a while and then burst out into laughter. He laughed so hard that tears almost flooded from his eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he had such cheerful laughter. He must have been only seven or so years old when his Grandpa Kunan had
made a ridiculous joke.
And yet, here he was, laughing so heartily.