Chapter 9 - Yama's Plight

The moment Ryujin chanted the first verse, a dragon heart appeared within his cauldron of thought, and he placed the essences into it.

Then an oppressive and tyrannical aura of a dragon rippled forth from within the dragon heart.

It tamed the aggressive essences with terror, merged the blend and began to pump them out and absorb them in in a repeated loop, until they became one and flowed effortlessly.

---

At his second verse, a pure crystalline droplet that seem to hold the reflection of wholesomeness of nature descended and added itself to the mix.

It bathe them with warmth of mother nature's embrace, dampening their aggressiveness, and giving them an inherent affinity with every aspect of nature.

---

At his third verse, a multicolored stream of lightning essence seeped out of the cauldron, added itself to the blend, and created order, marshalling them with the threat of a divine judgement.

---

At his fourth verse, a mystical wind from no origin suddenly washed over the content of the cauldron; and that was when the commotion began.

The heart began to beat harder and faster; pumping with a level of power that thumped fear into the core of Ryujin's soul.

It blasted the cauldron of thoughts into smithereens, causing Ryujin's soul to spasm intensely, alerting Yama and Long.

'Eh! Just as I thought...' Long sneered derisively.

However, in the next moment, a blob of pitch-black blood actually phased into reality before Ryujin's soul, shocking the spectating duo.

"I-imp-possible! What is this presence?!

Puny human! What have you created?!" Long blurted in fear.

However, just when it seemed like it couldn't get any worse, an utterly chaotic aura suddenly diffused out of the blood and seeped into the atmosphere, turning the entire sky ink-black.

It was an aura of utter horror and terror, suppressing the entire area with the oppressive weight of oceans and mountains.

Even the hovering Long had to descend to the ground in reverential fear.

This was a fear born from power; one born from a primal instinct that warns one of the presence of an Overlord.

Yama's legs turned jelly as he fell to his knee.

An overwhelming sense of reverential fear gripped their hearts like the talons of an Roc, threatening to clench and burst them apart at the slightest dissent.

The blob of blood pulsed repeatedly, releasing waves of power that rippled through the emerald forest, commanding a silent worship from all its inhabitants.

---

Ryujin; trembling with a face as white as snow, opened his eyes and continued to chant his incantation.

"Phoenix Feather, grant it rebirth; From ten beasts were you born, and after ten lives shall you cease to exist."

At this verse, though, a real phoenix feather didn't appear, the entire blob of blood was suddenly set ablaze by a brilliantly radiant flame of Red, Gold and Black hues.

Then from within the flames, the phantom visage of a beast began to take shape, and that was when Ryujin completed his incantation.

"and you shall be called; The Mimic Drakon!"

The phantom visage of the Mimic Drakon raised its tiny head and seemingly screeched a cry that sounded like the most silent of whispers but reverberated within all souls like the most destructive of thunders.

And as if on cue;

Boom!

A sharp flat thunder clapped across the skies, and boomed into the area, causing even Ryujin to stagger several steps backward as his face went a sheet paler.

However, before its visage could be fully revealed, it suddenly vanished, snuffing out the rebirth flame and leaving only the blob of blood behind.

'I did it....' Ryujin thought to himself as he walked over to Yama and Long who were still recovering from the horrific oppressive aura of his creation.

"This can be counted as a pass, right?" 

With a sense of satisfaction and pride, Ryujin presented his creation to the Azure Dragon, knowing that he had succeeded in the trial.

"Impressive, Ryujin. Your understanding of balance is indeed profound." Long remarked after scrutinizing the blob of blood in Ryujin's hand.

"Hmph!" Yama snorted in disgust.

He had indeed not seen someone change their tone and attitude so quickly before.

Such shamelessness!

Not that it wasn't to be expected; after all, the bastard did indeed have an impossibly thick skin.

"It is not by my understanding alone; so I didn't really do much." Ryujin humbled himself, feeling he had cheated his way through the test.

"For you to say such words, it shows that whilst greedy, you still have a clear understanding of your limits." The Azure Dragon gave Yama a side glance as it spoke.

"However, your feat wouldn't have been possible if you hadn't passed your previous trials to obtain those treasures. So, they could also be counted as part of your abilities."

Long; finally behaving like the guardian deity he was, encouraged Ryujin.

"But I must warn you; though you have created something legendary; otherworldly even. Ensure no one asides from you know about its existence; otherwise, it might become a curse rather than a blessing.

Furthermore, there are lots of greedy, power hungry people out there that would go to any length to obtain more; even if it meant destroying an innocent life." Long advised in a serious tone. 

"Thanks Long, I'll be sure keep that in mind." Ryujin said as he gave a slight bow of gratitude.

"I've done all I can, and you have gotten what you came for. Now, you two can shoo away now." 

The Azure Dragon gave Yama one last side glance, but the latter simply ignored its existence; seemingly still grudging over what had happened.

"I didn't make you wait too long, did I?" Ryujin walked over, a smile of victory hanging his lips even as he spoke.

"Not a tad kid. You have once again proven my decision, correct." Yama acknowledged; his mood however, still sour.

"We should head back; the time has come for you to set out on your quest."

 "I've been looking forward to it, Yama." Ryujin replied; confidence oozing from of his words.

"Good. But before that, there is something I think you should have."

With that, Yama turned around and took a step, and vanished with Ryujin in tow.

"Quest? Wait, don't tell me....

Alright then, Realm King. Show me... Show me you can truly swallow more than you can chew...

It's not like the others would simply sit back and watch you gobble it all up.

Interesting... Truly interesting.

This is a show I can't afford to miss.

Haha haha ha..."

The Azure Dragon muttered to itself, laughing hysterically as watched the duo leave.

------

A few days later, Yama and Ryujin reappeared within his abode; the latter excited to have finally returned to the tranquil embrace of the Realm King's study.

"So, what is it you're giving me this time?" Ryujin asked as he slowly laid atop the reclining chair.

"Drink this." Yama spoke, waving his hands, as the tea set poured Ryujin a cup of their content.

"What is this?" Ryujin asked in surprise.

A single waft of the content's scent, had just bathed his aching soul with a soothing sensation.

"To be honest, even I don't know what this treasure does. I was just lucky enough to chance upon a galaxy at the end of its chaos cycle.

Upon devouring itself, it was the first thing that was spat out into creation, making it an Origin Grade treasure.

I've been studying it ever since, trying figure out exactly what it does; and, despite having scoured almost every knowledge out there, I still haven't found a mention of it anywhere." Yama revealed.

"Unh? Are you saying you have a treasure that no one knows anything about?" Ryujin was stunned.

"KunLun is but a miniscule fraction of existence, and Shangri La; a miniscule fraction of KunLun.

The amount of knowledge here is almost nonexistent compared to that of some other universe even I know of." Yama lectured.

"Then why don't you try exchange knowledge with these other universe?"

"It's not like I don't want to, rather, it's that I can't." Yama revealed with a depressed sigh.

"Why not? You're Yama after all; the King of the Nether Realm." Ryujin frowned in confusion.

"Silly brat." Yama smacked Ryujin on the back of the head.

"I am merely the King of Shangri La's Nether Realm. I'm not some omnipotent god that can just stride across existence like I'm visiting stalls in a mall.

Moreover, there are reasons why I cannot leave Shangri La."

"Unh?" Ryujin was getting more confused by the moment.

"This title I hold is both a blessing and a curse.

For one; I can't leave the Nether Realm for too long; not only will it upset the balance of Shangri La's Natural Cycle, it would also weaken me significantly.

This is one of the reasons why you are the one heading on this quest and not me." Yama explained.

"Furthermore, even if I could trade knowledge with these beings, it would also reveal the existence of this treasure.

Should they get greedy and decided to try and rob me of it, I'll be powerless to stop them.

My leaving the Nether Realm already poses a huge threat to the Natural Laws of Shangri La; what do you think would happen if i died outside KunLun?"

Yama asked, chuckling when he realized that Ryujin's was only listening to him by reflex but was actually within his own world, debilitating the situation.

This prompted him to smack the latter's on the head, snatching back his attention.

"Sorry. I just couldn't believe someone like you can be scared of death... No; it's sounds more like you're more worried about dying outside the Nether Realm." He postulated.

"And you figured out this much just from my short explanation?" Yama couldn't help but chuckle at the situation.

"To put it simply; I am not worried about dying outside the Nether Realm; in fact, neither am I worried about dying outside Shangri La.

If the former happens, one of the other judges would simply fill in my spot on the interim, and once I reincarnate, the structure would return to its normal trend.

If the latter happened, the Nether Realm King of that world would send my soul back to Shangri La to reincarnate, since all our reincarnation gates are connected by the Divine Laws of KunLun.

However, if I was to die outside KunLun; outside the bounds of its Divine Laws, then my fate would be sealed." Yama explained.

"However, my inability to undertake the mission I've entrusted to you has nothing to do with all these, rather, it has to do with the fact that I don't qualify to do so, since I'm already at my prime.

You however, if nurtured properly and giving the right impetus, could surpass my potential, and this is why you have been chosen.

Yes... To become worthy of even standing a chance at solving this mission, you must at least show a level of potential that surpasses mine, and that would be your first task upon reincarnating."

Ryujin's soul trembled at the magnitude of his preliminary task.

Surpass a Realm King?

And not just that, but to show more room for growth even after that?!

Ryujin was stunned silly, and it even made him start to wonder just how difficult the mission he was to undertake actually was.

"That's all I can reveal to you for now; at least, you've proven yourself this much. Your progress would determine how much more you are allowed to learn." 

With that, Yama drew a line in the air with his index finger, and the latter opened t reveal a pocket dimension.

Then he stretched his hand at the entrance and focus, and a few minutes later, a cube-like object snapped into his grasp.

"Is that it?" Ryujin asked from behind Yama, stretching his neck to catch a glimpse of the treasure.

"Yes it is." Yama answered, turning around to show Ryujin the treasure.

The treasure appeared to be a perfect cube, each side measuring exactly the same length, creating a symmetry that was pleasing to the eye and mind.

It seemed to have been made from a translucent material of some sort, and right at its core, was what looked like a dormant cosmos, with tiny stars and nebulae moving at a nigh-imperceptible speed.

Furthermore, from the way Yama had summoned it and was now holding it, Ryujin couldn't help but wonder how something that is said to hold an entire universe within it be so lightweight.