Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

The skies split for a moment before large, rolling clouds concentrated overhead. The brightness of day plunged into an overcast of darkness.

The Birthed Phenomena looming to Ryu's back solidified, its enormous figure stretching from the earth to the Heavens above. However, this only seemed to make the raging lightning clouds above rumble with a greater ferocity, almost as though they were accumulating strength to strike Ryu down in a single instant.

The prayer mat within Ryu's Inner World trembled more violently than it ever had in the past. The drain of Focus Qi had touched upon an unprecedented level. If not for its existence, Ryu wouldn't even be able to use his fully unsealed Pupils without having to take a several days' long nap every few minutes. But now, its prowess was even more defined and obvious than it ever had been before.

BANG!

Ryu's body tore through the canopy of the Immortal Ring Realm, the aura of a Path Extinction Realm expert violently swirling outward in all directions.

Pulsing rings of Immortal Qi manifested in the skies. There were a total of thirteen, spread out such that they almost formed wings to Ryu's back as they pulsed with a Dark Gold Qi that seemed capable of suppressing and swallowing everything.

Ryu raised his bow. In the past, this action was benign as it could be. But, right this moment, it felt as though he was lifting a behemoth from the ground, frozen over by the tides of weather, history and time. The heft of the bow alone seemed to have undergone a tremendous change, he could almost feel the chains pulling against it and trying to force it back into the ground.

And yet, his movement upward remained steady and contained. There was no struggle or jerkiness, and if not for just how slow it was, no one would have ever suspected a single thing.

Ryu could almost see it. The higher he raised his arm, the more of these chains shattered. Every time one shattered, the strength of his Birth Phenomena seemed to touch upon a new realm, skyrocketing throughout layer after layer of strength until it too suddenly began to raise its hands.

The movement of a Birth Phenomena seemed to come with it the movement of the world. Hundreds of kilometers away, the waters of large seas rose and fell. The earth beneath their feet collapsed and crumbled. Harsh winds whipped about in all directions, forming numerous cyclones and pockets of strong vacuums that suffocated those in the surroundings.

The appearance of a Birthed Phenomena represented a kind of fortune rarely seen. But, to experience the birth of one at the hands of a person right before your eyes was a level of shock and awe that would only be seen once in a lifetime.

The Birth Phenomena was the very foundation of human ingenuity and strength. It was acknowledgement by the Heavens that something you or your lineage had created could be raised to the point of being Blessed by the Heavens… It was a reminder that who had formed something that even the Heavens themselves had failed to.

It was because of the Birthed Phenomena that humans could lay claim to the power they had now. But, the birth of a new one wasn't something that happened very often. In fact, it was so rare that it might only occur once every several generations and was so potent that it could become the foundation for an all new Clan.

Much like the Tatsuya had been built on the back of the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons, so too could Ryu's own reach such a level. But, it was this realization that shook those present to their core… Because the only sorts of Birthed Phenomena that could move in this fashion were ones that were self-created!

No matter how perfect you felt you had come to understand your Inheritance, you would never be able to receive its full blessing. Even Ryu, who had <Lines of Fate> and could retrace the intentions of his Ancestors perfectly, wouldn't be able to replicate this feat.

This was a sight that could only be dreamt about… The creation of an Origin Birthed Phenomena.

Ryu's Birthed Phenomena was the perfect reflection of himself if he were to have bene completely inverted. Its skin was a greyish hue and lacking in the fair luster of Ryu's own. Its robes were a pristine white, shifting between corporeal and illusory. But, the largest change was its hair. It looked like an expanse of blackness, blanketing the surroundings with a river of stars that extended into infinity.

It felt like the entirety of existence was hidden within its hair, an ethereal and enigmatic aura wafting out from it as though one could pick out their Fate Star within its depths. Somehow, it made one feel like their lives were in the palm of its hands, prepared to be snuffed out at any moment.

However… Its eyes were closed, locked shut and hidden away from the world. A tingling sensation of incompleteness tugged at the heart strings. As powerful as it was, it felt like it wasn't enough, as though there was still another level, still another mountain beyond.

And that was when it happened.

The gaze of Ryu's Birthed Phenomena snapped its eyes open. However, within, there was nothing but an endless murky darkness. The vast emptiness left those expecting something more feeling empty themselves. They didn't know why they felt this way. After all, Ryu was an enemy to them all. The more powerful he got, the more of them would die…

But then the skies began to rumble.

Ryu's bow reached a level height but astonishingly continued to rise. It passed a plateau and was soon aimed at the very skies themselves. The rumbling of thunder above only grew, the culmination of black clouds becoming so ominous that even a large portion of Shrine Mountain became shrouded in darkness.

"In that case… I'll make my own eyes."

A wild, tingling violet spark lit within Ryu's pristine white hair.

"Storm."