Ryu's words made Emilia reflect on what her goal and purpose were.
'Save Ace. I say that I want to save him, but…' Ace's words to her echoed in her mind.
Get the hell out of this place, Emi, and don't you dare come back.
"How am I supposed to save Ace?" she muttered, Ryu hearing her.
"Beats me. You're the one who decided to go for mission impossible. You'll just have to own up to it," no matter the intentions behind Ryu's words, Emilia knew that he was right.
During that time, Ace was still evading the strikes of the Shadow-faced warrior. For what seemed to have been going on for minutes without end, the two figures that were darting around the endless white void never faltered from exhaustion.
They simply went on and on with their confrontation, one seemingly not gaining the upper hand on the other.
"How long will they continue?"
"Who knows," Ryu answered Emilia's question. "Maybe until one of them has finally kicked the bucket."
A drop of cold sweat fell off Emilia's face.
'What can I do right now?' she started to contemplate every possibility and option she had. 'The Keys. What I learned about Ace. What can I do with all of it right now?'
Maybe she had realized it unconsciously, but Ryu's insistence on the fact that she had all the pieces needed to resolve the current situation continued to make the gears of her mind turn.
'What is it that I'm missing?' an anxious expression started to etch itself on her face.
As she looked into her palm, a gasp of realization escaped her mouth.
'How did I forget about it?' her eyes widened slightly as her gaze fixed itself on the ring on her finger.
Behind his mask, Ryu side-glanced Emilia before his gaze drifted back on Ace and the relentless onslaught that targeted him continuously.
'So, she figured it out in the end. Guess this game is coming to a close. Heh!'
A smirk etched itself on Ryu's lips.
Far from the two spectators, Ace's thoughts raced calmly as he continued to barely evade the Shadow-faced warrior's attacks.
'What the hell am I doing? Why am I even this guy? Who even is he?'
In Ace's eyes, time moved much slower than his mind. Every move made by the Shadow-faced warrior was slow in his eyes, and similarly, every move he made with his own body felt sluggish. It was as if he was in a pool with his body fighting off the density of the water.
'No. That's a stupid question. I know who he is." Ace's gaze reflected his opponent's form as another silhouette layered itself with it.
The image of a desperate young man with a battle-hardened gaze layered itself seamlessly with the Shadow-faced warrior's body with the only difference being the fog of shadows that covered its face.
"This guy is me. The part that was ripped from Asaru Takayoshi after the Tutorial Dungeon. The part that's ready to do anything to survive. But…'
The creature's sword passed through Ace's abdomen, blood dripping down on its blade.
"Ace!" Emilia screamed out in distress.
"It's over," Ryu said with a sense of finality, Emilia's head slowing turning towards him with dread creeping on her face.
"Wha…?"
"Look closely and you'll get it. He's won this fight."
Emilia's eyes went back to the fight, not taking her long to understand what Ryu meant.
"But so what?" Ace gripped the Shadow-faced warrior's arm without letting go one bit.
"Why should I care? I didn't ask to be created," Ace continued, the sword stuck in his abdomen without budging. "I wasn't meant to exist. And what of it? If I'm such a bother, then leave me alone already."
A powerful punch to the face followed his words, the Shadow-faced warrior getting blown away with even force that he finally let go of the sword.
With his bare hands, Ace then pulled out the blade from his abdomen and held its tip toward his opponent.
"I'm putting an end to this," Ace flash-stepped in front of the Shadow-faced warrior, impaling it through the chest with an unchanging expression.
As silence reigned in the air, a stomp echoed through the void.
'Now!' Emilia held out her left hand towards the two opponents, her ring glowing with blue light.
As if in response, Ace's completely unexpressive hollow face finally gave out a reaction as he felt his surroundings trembling with a sudden pulse that echoed from the depths of his very core.
"What did you―?" his slightly confused question was cut short as the Shadow-faced warrior's body faded into digital statics.
[You have obtained the Item: Keys of the Truth (3/3)]
[Notice: All Keys of the Truth have been collected.]
[Presence of Item: Ring of the Oath confirmed.]
[Activating Set Effect.]
An electric circuit-like circle appeared beneath Ace's feet, holding him down with unknown pressure.
"What's… going on?" Ace asked, not understanding the situation as a dark-blue wall started enclosing him.
For a moment, Ace locked eyes with Emilia, the determined yet warm glint in her eyes making him bow his head, as if trying to avert his gaze from her.
As the wall finally enclosed Ace in an impermeable sphere, Emilia stared at Ryu with an unwavering look in her eyes.
"Ryu," Emilia started, Ryu's head turning towards her as she stared down at him. "This is what you meant, right? This is what I had to do to save Ace. Am I wrong?"
"Nope," Ryu finally revealed his face, a confident, smirking expression etched on it. "You're spot on."
"I see. Ryu? No more hiding things. I want the truth. What are you going to do with Ace?"
"Sheesh. Talk about scary face you got there. But I guess it's about time I revealed my hand," Ryu rose up from the ground, stretching out his arms and back.
"Now, let's start with the beginning." Ryu grinned excitedly. "The reason why you're here. Why Ace exists. And my role in all of this mess. I'll tell you everything I can."