Grand Ancestral Bloodlines
chapter-1908

Ryu looked down upon the world as though a mighty overlord casting judgment from above.

The first great swordstaff connected and severed the first of the Lines of Fate. Silent Quibus felt his mind convulse. It was as though he had just lost the right to control his shadows, and they all began attacking him at once. But it only grew worse when the second descended, and then the third.

Each time, Ryu targeted a pillar of Silent Quibus' Dao. Such a man would never feel the effects of Karma. In fact, the fact he had gone so far could only mean that he had likely even found a method of using Bad Karma to make himself stronger. Ryu had never heard of such a method before, but the possibilities in the world were far too numerous. He had no way of confirming whether this was possible or not… But what he could do was see through what Silent Quibus relied upon… And tear them apart.

"BASTARD!"

Silent Quibus held his head, screaming in pain. He was no longer just fighting Ryu alone, but all the people he had ever killed. They bit and nibbled at his soul, scratching and clawing with everything they had just to cause him a modicum of pain.

Ryu had no ability to cause this much damage to Silent Quibus' main body. He was certain that his main body was a Dao Sovereign at worst, and if he wasn't already a Dao God, then he was very close to it… In that case, Ryu would destroy his road forward forever.

The fourth and fifth great swordstaffs descended. Then came the sixth and seventh. Each time, Ryu felt a backlash nearly shatter him to pieces, but the cold indifference in his eyes didn't fade. To touch his brother. To have such thoughts about his wife…

Black flames flickered deep within Ryu's eyes, their tinge of red only fading more and more.

The eighth great swordstaff descended, and the world whined and cried. "This is only the beginning."

Ryu's voice was gruff. It sounded as though he had just barely ground it out, as though he was using up all the energy he had left to push them forth. The ninth great swordstaff hung high in the skies, descending slowly as though it had met great resistance. But not once did it falter, not once did it hitch, and not once did it slow. In fact, it seemed as though it was slowly increasing in pace.

"To say the things you have said today has earned my ire." The ninth great swordstaff fell closer, approaching Silent Quibus' forehead. "You may not understand what that means. Maybe most of the world doesn't understand what it means. But there'll be a time when you finally come to realize that what you've done today… no, what you did the moment you laid hands on my family… was the worst mistake you could have made."

The ninth swordstaff pressed against Silent Quibus' forehead. The screams of Silent Quibus seemed to be sealed as though he was suppressed into a world of his own making… a world filled to the brim with his sins.

"For what you've done to her… for what you've done to Nemesis… wear this on your heart until the day I come to take your head."

Silent Quibus trembled when he heard Nemesis' name as though he had suddenly come to understand something. But he couldn't even raise his head to look at Ryu, nor did he have any ability to communicate with his real body. He was somehow forced to suffer through everything this projection was experiencing, without even truly understanding what was going on. And when he finally realized what had happened here in the future… It would be too late.

He felt a despair take root in his heart… a despair that Ryu would make sure he felt a second time.

The great swordstaff descended and split him in two. His body was erased, and the souls that came along with it seemed to have been forcefully purified.

...

In a distant and unknown location, the screams of Silent Quibus continued to echo. Birds flew away at their greatest speed in the night skies, the flapping of their wings drowned out by the horrified screaming. Compared to what his projection had experienced, his main body was actually in a far better state. And yet, it didn't matter.

That was because the issue wasn't the backlash… the issue was the harm to his Dao and his future path.

Just like Ryu had thought, Silent Quibus was just a step away from Godhood, but now…

An infuriated roar shook the mountain.

BOOM! BOOM! His fists drove into the ground and shattered everything in their wake.

He had had such a bright future, but this… just what had happened? How could this happen? In the end, he still hadn't been able to find where that feeling was coming from. He had run so far away from that world precisely to avoid Ailsa until he was strong enough. If even Ailsa's gaze wasn't sharp enough to find him, then how could his own be enough to find Ryu? All he knew was that someone had somehow targeted his Fate, and there were only a very small number of things that could do that. As such, it wasn't long before he thought of the possibility of a Throne Challenge.

But how could that be possible? Who had the skill to target him through a Throne Challenge? No, more importantly, who could trigger his appearance in such a Throne Challenge? After his betrayal, he would have certainly been buried. Unless someone manipulated the Throne Challenge, or someone triggered a particularly powerful Throne Challenge, there should be no reason for his projection to be evoked.

Silent Quibus was practically shaking in fury. How could this happen? What he didn't know was that his bad day was about to get worse. Deep within him, a pair of crimson eyes suddenly opened.