Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu stepped through the portal, his eyes blurring for a moment before he could finally see once again.

After registering just where he was, Ryu stood silently for a long time, ignoring the individuals that were all around him. Maybe just a few days ago, after seeing this place, he would have flown into an immediate rage. Draconic scales would flood down his skin, his irises would flicker between its current silver and a deep crimson, and maybe the ground beneath his feet would have long since shattered.

Though some of it had changed in the last 900 million years, it wasn't enough that Ryu wouldn't be able to recognize it with a single glance.

The Deep Eruption Sect.

If the Awoken Moon Sect was a subordinate Sect of Ryu's Ice Phoenix Clan, then the Deep Eruption Sect was a subordinate Sect of his Tatsuya Clan. Compared to the former, Ryu had much deeper roots with the latter, by several measures.

Though Ryu was the product of four powerful Bloodlines coming together, it had to be known that he was ultimately the Scion of the Tatsuya Clan. His families had been close, but if there was ever a Clan he was going to inherit, it would have been the one, not all four.

From his youth, that was what Ryu had been raised to be. Even when he failed his Awakening Ceremony, his father never treated him any differently and still acted as though he would one day inherit the Clan.

His father had always been that way. He inherited some of his quiet and reserve from Ryu's Grandpa Tatsuya. But, Titus Tatsuya was far more impulsive than his father ever was. In fact, that impulse was tied with his stubbornness, a stubbornness that even his own wife and child had trouble budging.

Even if Ryu's father didn't have a plan, even if it didn't make any sense whatsoever, the moment he set his mind to something, he would do it. Due to this, Ryu had always been raised like the successor of the Tatsuya Clan… And it was also likely due to this personality that his father had gone off to the Nether Realm without a thought for what might happen in his absence.

Ryu didn't believe his father hadn't known the danger the Tatsuya Clan had been in. After all, the reason he had been able to leave without explanation was because after fusing their souls, Elena should have been aware of all of his thoughts. There was no way she wouldn't pass on the information and what he was doing.

But… That was just the kind of man his father was.

And now, for the first time in millions of years, Ryu stood in the same position he had when he was just a youth who had to reach up to his tippy toes to hold onto his father's hand. He was far taller now than he had been in the past, but these walls still seemed so tall.

Everything was washed in deep blacks and reds. The heat of the air alone made it feel as though there was no moisture in the surrounding thousands of kilometers. Someone who was too weak to stand here would feel a stinging in their eyes just trying to look around.

The building was completely open concept. Rather than windows, there were simply large, vacant holes. There was no ceiling above, just massive columns that made the whole place look like it was crafted to be a several kilometer wide chimney. And, there were even several large holes torn through the ground that, if he didn't know better, Ryu would conclude had to be some sort of odd abstract art.

But, he did know better. And, the truth was that the Deep Eruption's Palace was a volcano.

That was right. This Sect wasn't built into a volcano, it wasn't on top or beneath a volcano, it was a volcano.

All of the holes, opening, and the billowing heat that pervaded the area painting the perfect picture. Even the irregularly shaped walls and crevices were just products of cools molten rock that had been left over several eruptions.

The location was the Blossom Plane, just a step below the Shrine Plane Ryu was born on. And this Deep Eruption Sect was a place Ryu had frequented as it was one of the weakest subordinate Sects the Tatsuya Clan had.

Why the weakest? This was because his father had tried to ingrain into him the importance of even the weakest subordinate, doing his best to mold him into a leader.

Obviously, this failed quite miserably. Ryu didn't have the patience or charisma of a leader. If he had succeeded in Awakening the first time and set off on a path to taking over the Tatsuya Clan, it surely would have flourished. But, this wouldn't be due to his management, but rather his strength.

As for all the miscellaneous matters, he would have left it to Elena who was much better at these things than he was.

Seemingly having realizing that his son wasn't getting it, and not being that great of a teacher himself, Titus Tatsuya settled for quantity, hoping that if Ryu visited the Deep Eruption Sect enough, he would finally get it.

The issue was that Ryu had never 'not' gotten it. It was just that he didn't care very much.

Well… This wasn't accurate. He had cared maybe a little before his failure. But, after he realized he would never be able to cultivate, he became very closed off from the world. He simply couldn't be bothered to care about the plights of those beneath him, at least they could cultivate… At least they had a chance.

By all rights, this should have made all the memories Ryu had of this place terrible… Except the fact he could have been considered to have made his first and maybe only true friend in this place… If he could be called that. He was ironically a boy who was just as cynical as Ryu.

Ryu's lip curled into a smile. If there were three words to sum up that relationship…

"I hate him."