"Who is the man that convinced you to kill your mother?"
The voice still echoed in his mind as Ryojin sat cross-legged on the floor, a lamp on a small table lit up the room.
He had no idea what had just happened. Was what he saw just a dream? But It felt so real- the force that pulled him, the sea and the pain.
"Kill my mother?" he muttered, dropping his head. "I don't even know how she looked like."
Ryojin had never seen his mother before, let alone known anything about her or her family—his father had always refused to tell him anything. The only thing he had been told was that she passed away shortly after giving birth to him, and people—his father included—blamed him for her death. They called him a curse, a killer of his own mother.
"Maybe if she had not died, I could have had a normal life," he sighed, lifting his head to look at the ceiling. "I wish I could have seen you once, Mom—just one time, it would be enough."
His gaze turned to the wall of the room. He could see the darkness of the night through the tiny holes.
"Ah, it's still probably midnight."
With one more sigh, he got up and took small, measured steps towards the corner of the room where a wooden box hidden beneath tools and other objects lay.
"I need to get rid of the armor," he muttered to himself. "If anyone finds it here am screwed." He paused. " I wonder if Mister Kenny already saw it- his behavior earlier was so weird."
He first removed the tools and objects that were on top of the box cautiously, as he did not want to make noise. Then he proceeded to open the box. The armor along with his katana was still there, intact—it was in the same position he had put them.
"I guess no one has opened this box," a sigh of relief escaped his lips. "What should I do with this?"
He tapped his chin, his mind racing. "Should I just go outside and burn it?" He shook his head. "No, that won't do. How will I even open the door of this building? It's probably locked, and trying to open it would probably make noise." He paused as he turned around. "Furthermore, I cannot get rid of my katana even if I wanted to—I will need it in battle."
He remained silent, then he heard a whisper in his head.
"Portal..."
This time it was one word, simple but it held more meaning than most of the times the whispers spoke to him.
"What?" he muttered, stopping mid-step. "Did I hear that correctly?"
But the whispers did not respond.
Then realization struck him.
"Portal?" He repeated. "If i remember correctly, I opened up a portal when Darius first confronted me after I came out of the Nexus Abyss, but it was not my own doing—it happened instinctively." He ran a hand through his hair. "Can I do it on my own? And how does it even work?"
He walked around the room, his mind coiling with questions. "Do I just have to imagine a place where I want to go and the portal will open?" he stopped. "Well, I have to try to know."
He straightened up his posture and extended his hand. He could feel the runes on his skin pulse with energy and his eyes began to glow.
"Let's see, where should I go? I need a place where no one will be," he thought. "It would freak people out to see a portal open up out of thin air, so I suppose Malakar will do."
He took one measured breath before speaking. "I want to go to Malakar."
No response.
"What? Let me try again."
He closed his eyes before reopening them. "Take me to Malakar."
No response again.
A sigh of disappointment left his lips as he sat back down on the floor.
Then the whispers spoke again.
"One word..."
"One word?" he repeated as he got up. "I guess I have to say one word, but which one? Should I just say the name of the place I want to go? If that's the case, it will be such a hassle to open up portals—as I have to memorize the names of all cities."
He took one step. "Maybe I just need to come up with a single word that would be used to open up portals." He paused. " The portal will likely open to a place have been before."
A smile tugged on his lips. He straightened his posture once more, closed his eyes as he recalled the destroyed tower in Malakar. He took small, routine breaths. The runes on his body flared and an aura surrounded his body. He then slowly opened his eyes, which were glowing, and spoke.
"Open."
His voice was calm but absolute. He slowly opened his eyes.
For a moment, there was silence. Then—
CRACK!
A small crack appeared on thin air. It was small. Ryojin's eyes narrowed as he noticed it. Then the crack began to spread, and other small cracks started forming until a pattern of cracks formed before Ryojin, pulsating with a purplish aura.
A faint smile played on Ryojin's face. Then the sky shattered, revealing the destroyed tower in Malakar.
"Oh, it worked," Ryojin said as he reached for his armor and katana. Without Hesitation he stepped through the portal and re-emerged in Malakar.
"This is incredible," he opined as he turned to see the portal behind him—it was now closing. "I just hope that it will open again."
He walked towards the tower, armor and katana in hand.
"Intresting-though it may be dark, I am able to see. Guess my vision has also been sharpened." He reached the entrance of the tower—a half-destroyed wooden door stood there, loosely hanging on the doorway with its hinges.
He entered the tower. Its inside was full of dirt, and large destroyed walls lay on the ground.
His eyes then drifted to stairs that led down.
"Oh perfect, an underground room," he smiled. "That will be a perfect hiding place for my katana."