The night of that very same day, Ryu sat under the cool dark air, his black robes fluttering along with the thin drapes that whipped in the wind behind him. He was currently on a balcony extending from his and Elena's room. While she slept soundly once more, he couldn't bring himself to.
Scenes of his life kept replaying in his mind like a record, memories he hadn't thought of in centuries were suddenly becoming crystal clear whether he wanted them to or not.
He could remember how excited his father was after his birth. A man with the weight of an entire Plane on his shoulders ignored it all to spend time with his son. Ryu remembered the early morning hikes to Shrine Mountain, he remembered how diligently his father taught him the Tatsuya Clan Martial Forms, he remembered the bright smile of pride on his face when he became convinced that his son would shake the Shrine Plane even fiercer than he had.
But, with those memories of good, came memories of anguish. He could remember his father's despair when his meridian awakening ceremony failed. He remembered feeling pain because he knew that his father wasn't hurt by having a crippled son, but hurt by the prospect of what it meant for Ryu himself. The love in his father's eyes never faded, it just became balanced with a pain that Ryu couldn't ignore, a pain that Ryu, a young boy who was so used to seeing a single side of his father, couldn't help but run away from.
Ryu also remembered his mother. He remembered laying in her arms and clinging to her breast's milk desperately. Imagine that, a woman of her stature personally feeding her own child… This was the love his mother had for him. Suffering through the pains and aches of an overly eager, oversized baby boy with a loving twinkle in her eye.
She never lost that desire, that desire to provide and protect. Not once had she ever.
His grandparents were another light of his life. His Grandma Kunan was always the soothing voice in his ear, it was she who chased away his father and grandfathers when their training became too harsh back in those days. His Grandma Tatsuya was a far more reserved and stoic lady, but her smile had long since been reserved for her baby boy. It was her who gifted Ryu his best toys even though a toddler had no business playing around with Heaven Grade treasures.
His Grandpa Tatsuya was a man of very few words. In fact, Ryu could likely count the number of times he'd spoken to this grandfather of his to an accurate estimate. However, it was because he was so silent that he conveyed his love through his actions. It was he who had found the most herbs and spiritual treasures capable of extending Ryu's life, even spending decades and sometimes centuries away in pursuit of them.
Grandpa Kunan was likely the polar opposite of Grandpa Tatsuya. He was rambunctious and loud, but his heart was just as big as his personality was. It was he who found Ryu first after his meridian awakening ceremony failed, slapping him on his small shoulders and hugging him tightly. At that time, he told Ryu that a man never gives up, that a man finds a way to succeed no matter what cards he was dealt. If it wasn't for Grandpa Kunan, Ryu didn't know if he would have recovered enough to set a new path for himself by entering Shrine Library.
Then there was Nuri. Ryu had always seen her as his big sister, a woman always there to protect him. The truth was that Nuri was a little girl his parents had adopted before his birth. At the time, they had been trying for several millennia to birth a child to no avail. It was then that Nuri fell like a heavenly treasure from the skies. They fell in love with the little baby girl immediately, taking her in as one of their own.
When Nuri grew and Ryu was finally born, she wanted to repay this debt of gratitude. Having never known her own parents, to her, the Tatsuya Clan was the only family she'd ever recognize. She didn't even blink an eye when she swore a Tribulation Oath to protect Ryu for life.
Ryu remembered patting his little chest as a boy no more than three or four years old, swearing that when he grew up, he would take Nuri as his wife, then it would be his turn to protect her. Nuri had smiled brightly, that beautiful smile of hers… She rubbed his small head and nodded with happiness.
And Elena… She had a place in Ryu's heart that was unshakeable. When she came into his life, he hadn't thought that he would ever open up that side of himself to anyone until his death took him from this world. Was it even fair of him to do so? How could he promise love to a woman he wouldn't be able to sustain? It was then that Elena had said those ill-fated words to him… Be selfish.
What a funny idea. Words with such a negative connotation used to light a path to happiness in a man who had all but given up on everything.
Ryu's face shifted up, allowing him to catch a glance at the three moons in the sky. The two smaller shone a beautiful red and blue, but the largest was seemingly reminiscent of Ryu's Fate Star, blazing with a grey-white color. Ryu had heard that Shrine Plane had three suns as well, but the largest was so bright that the smaller two were impossible to see.
A slight breeze passed, causing Ryu to frown. He lifted his hand to his cheek, only to be shocked to find that it was wet.
"Ha…" Ryu's voice croaked. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so weak. Could it be that he hadn't felt this way since that day nine hundred ninety-three years ago? The very day his ceremony failed and his remaining prospects became bleak?
Ryu knew what he had to do. He had known since the moment the Embryonic Origin Flame fused and enlightened him with the will of the universe. Formerly confusing lines of fate and karma became clear and obvious. Ambiguous and abstruse paths forward fused into a single heavenly lane…
Things couldn't continue as they were. It wasn't a simple matter of Ryu's happiness, it about the life and death of the four Clans that mattered most to him along with countless others.
But he was scared. He was scared to the point of trembling – of tears falling down his face… Even to the point of wanting to vomit both in disgust toward his own cowardice and anguish at the prospect of what lay ahead.
Ryu closed his eyes, his jaw clenching. Moments later, he stood and walked back into the room he shared with Elena. With a heavy weight laying on his heart, he kneeled beside her sleeping body to gently stroke her soft cheek.
The instant Elena moaned awake, he lowered his lips to hers.
