The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1537

Several hours later, Hao Xuan breathed a sigh of relief while watching Viltgar walk into the desert and disappear over the dunes.

*Sigh*

"That was a lot harder than I expected," he grumbled.

"Tell me about it, I thought he would never leave!" Ryuk's voice came from somewhere within the stone formation, making Hao Xuan frown.

"When the hell did you get here?"

"A short time after you ventured past the veil. I could feel the connection weaken."

"Oh...right. I forgot you could do that. Did you come here to eat?"

Ryuk's barely detectable body phased through the matter as he approached Hao Xuan and sat in front of him, "I already did while you were busy talking. So many words..."

Hao Xuan could only shake his head in response.

"Yeah, it wasn't easy to convince him not to drag me along on his witch hunt. He thinks I'm on some path and sooner or later we will meet no matter what. I'm sure he will find me again in the city. But at least it was quite informative."

Ryuk inched closer in interest, "Ohhh, what is it? Anything that can help me return to the river?!"

"Of course not! You think information like that is so easy to come by? I was talking about information related to the abyss and what's currently going on."

Although he couldn't 'see' Ryuk's face the disappointment was palpable.

*Snort*

"What does it matter?? It is all human problems..."

"It matters a lot if you want to live," Hao Xuan quickly retorted, "Did you forget our fates are tied together?"

But Ryuk could not accept that so easily.

"How will talking about some humans in a faraway place help you stay alive?! Are you stoopid??"

Hao Xuan had to bite his lip to keep himself from saying anything untoward.

"I will explain if you shut up for a minute," he muttered through gritted teeth.

*Phew*

"Firstly, he explained what his faction is all about- these 'Timoratus' people. From what I can tell they are extreme religious fanatics even by the sanctum's standards who believe in the Nine above all else. They don't care about anything or anyone as long as it can further their agenda. To someone like them the chosen of the Nine, who happens to be ME, might as well be a divine figure."

"This is both good and bad because, on one hand, I can use them if I am ever in desperate need and they should come to my aid...well, they would have if the water wasn't so muddy because of all the inner politics."

"On the other hand it could also backfire because apparently, multiple chosen ones have recently shown up all over the abyss and not all of the Timoratus believe in the validity of the prophecy anymore. And even if they do, what if they don't agree with my plan? That could turn them into my worst enemies."

"Secondly," Hao Xuan glanced in the direction of the city, "A lot more is going on in the background than I thought. The Song Clan harbours a lot of power but they can only influence things from the shadows by controlling the one the public listens to, this woman named Yukio. I'm not sure what her role is but it seems to be important. And if I'm not wrong, her side and the Song Clan don't see eye to eye on many things so maybe I should make friends with her and- Oi where are you going?"

Ryuk suddenly stood up and walked towards the tunnel, "BORING!" he yelled.

"I don't have ears but if I did they would have fallen off by now! So many words, so little action- BORING!"

Hao Xuan ground his teeth out of frustration.

"The only thing boring here is YOU! I can't have a god damned conversation because Im surrounded by freaks and idiots! Where are you even going?!"

Ryuk phased through the rock formation and disappeared on the other side before popping his head back out for a moment.

"To look at the crystal! It is nice and warm- unlike you!"

'???'

"What crystal?" Hao Xuan stood up and chased after him in confusion, "And how could it be warm-" but when he realized what he was talking about his mouth fell open.

"Oh my GOD! How did I fucking forget?! YOU CAN MOVE THROUGH MATTER AND ENERGY!" he exclaimed.

Normally the intense spiritual energy of the spirit stones blocked all sensory abilities so the only way to find out what was hidden inside was to dig through its core. But Ryuk could freely move through any surface, allowing him to survey the entire rock formation within minutes.

Hao Xuan's eyes turned green with greed, "Did you find the core?? How big is it? The biggest stone in there?"

"The size of your foot!"

"My foot??"

He looked down at his feet only to sigh in disappointment while muttering, "Damn, that's not gonna cover it."

To be able to power the city for any respectable amount of time, the core would need to be at least half the size of a grown man.

He was about to turn around when Ryuk's voice pulled him back, "-But there are many of them, so warm and pretty!"