As soon as Kahn imparted his analyzed conclusion… Ryuken was suddenly shocked on the spot. For the first time in his life… he was hit with the cold hard truth about himself. And the credibility of this claim came from a man who just witnessed the entirety of his life as Ryuken relived those moments again. If Kahn said those words after witnessing his whole story from a 3rd person view… then even Ryuken had to acknowledge the seriousness of his advice. As moments passed, Ryuken was lost in his thoughts and started doing some retrospection. [My father raised me to be a good man because I was destined to take his place and lead our people one day.] thought Ryuken, realizing that it was his father’s will that was passed down to him even though he was just a child and hadn’t even found his place in the world. [My masters trained me out of their loyalty to the shogun and out of their pledge. It was their creed that aligned their loyalty with me. Not because they deemed me worthy of their respect or had any faith in me… but because I was the son of a man they swore an oath to serve. And even after the fall of the shogun, they decided to swear fealty to me because of their own moral code and the hatred they had towards the Daiymos. Some of them had lost their families, had their clans massacred, and also lost the lands they once guarded. The only person who could offer them a legitimate claim at revenge and also posed the highest degree of success to seek retribution… was also me.] thought Ryuken. Now that he heard Kahn’s verdict… it opened a new psychological aspect of his masters that he never even imagined before. Because if Ryuken wasn’t the son of the shogun, their lord… and if he didn’t have the chance to make the contract with the divine spirits… would they still have chosen to follow him? And even if they still did… for what qualities? Because if those two things were taken away… Ryuken would be no different than a son of a commoner, the kind even the Samurais never cared to protect or avenge. They were never the guardians of the people… No, they were the loyal fighters of their royal lords. At the end of the day… theirs was a society where one’s lineage decided their fate. At this moment… Ryuken came to question the very foundation of their journey of redemption and his training under them. [My friends and allies bonded with me because they shared their discontent with the unfair world around them. All of them shared the ill fate of losing their family due to the civil war and the forceful conscription of both men and resources to fund those wars. But what if those wars never happened? Would I have ever met them in my life or even befriend them? I would be a royal heir and they would be just my subjects. Would I have the heart of a man who has seen the plight of the poor and the weak, or would I just brush them off like flies, unbothered by their existence since I was born into nobility?] Ryuken dwelled deeper into his own psyche and perception of the world as he questioned his morality. [My divine spirits were with me because of the arrangement made by the gods with my bloodline. Even my father failed to make the contract with all 5 of them because he did not share their cruel nature. Hell, even the demonic spirits contracted me because I was a vengeful man who sought nothing but blood and destruction of my enemies in my younger days. Would they have chosen me as their contractor if I lived a different life than the path I chose because of my circumstances?] wondered Ryuken. Because even Ryuken knew that the divine spirits weren’t kind or magnanimous by nature. Rather, they lent their strength to the most befitting person of his ancestral bloodline due to the arrangement of the gods. [What a joke… I’ve met many people who were far better than me and would’ve easily met the criteria to become the contractor of these divine and demonic spirits given how each of them is different in personality. The only thing that made me special or different from those eligible people was the bloodline of the first shogun. Otherwise, there was nothing special about me, especially during the war-trodden times.] he recalled those old memories. [The only person who truly understood me for what I am and played a huge part in what I turned out to be as a man… was my wife, Kanae.] spoke Ryuken to himself. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢 [She never told me to go to a war that I might not be able to return alive from. She never judged me on my merits or how special I was because of my blood as a royal or the contractor of the divine spirits. She criticized me when I was wrong and supported me when I did what was right. She never had any agenda nor did she crave power or wealth. With her… I never had to pretend or feel overwhelmed because of my responsibilities.] Ryuken started remembering the long conversations he had with Kanae and how each of them helped him accept a new side of reality that he simply never witnessed. [What if Kanae and I never met?... What if she and our child never died? Would I be so keen on playing the role of a hero and a leader? Or would I just choose the life of a peaceful man who only wanted to protect his family and nurture his children?] he questioned the last great memories of his life. It was evidently clear to Ryuken now, that regardless of how many heartbreaks, painful events, miserable losses, and important sacrifices he went through… Not a single one of them was because of his choice. Forget being a hero of a god, fighting to save all the worlds like his… if his path wasn’t shaped by outside factors… what kind of man would he be? Ryuken then looked at Kahn/Byakuya and realized another difference between them. [This man… he knows what he was. He accepted his true nature and then moved forward in his life. I may have dealt with my predicaments better than him… but even now, I haven’t even found my true self.] said Ryuken as he ended his retrospection. From Kahn’s own words… it turned out that Ryuken was a better man when dealing with pain, regret and even making a sacrifice for the sake of the others… But where Ryuken was far behind than Kahn... that he didn’t even know what kind of person he truly was if his life hadn’t forced him to adapt to these severe situations. He became strong to avenge his family. He learned under his masters to become a capable warrior to kill his enemies. He befriended others because they shared a common goal with him. Yet none of it came from his own character, rather the surroundings and situations. But finally… After hearing what Kahn/Byakuya said to him… Ryuken recalled that those were the exact last words spoken by his beloved wife before she died in his arms. ’And promise me… You’ll find your own happiness.’ Kanae’s voice rang in Ryuken’s mind as the time around him stopped. A sudden sense of realization dawned upon Ryuken as the world around him turned pitch-black. His body let off a bluish aura as he felt an ethereal energy encapsulating his figure. Ryuken quickly took upon a meditation pose. [What would have become of me if my father hadn’t been betrayed? Would I have a different outlook on life if my mother and sister were with me growing up? What would I be doing now if my wife and child were alive? Would I still be keen on sacrificing myself for the sake of the world or would I have chosen to live for their sake and seek peace in life?] He questioned himself again and again to rediscover his own thoughts and his true nature. Kahn reminding him of his wife’s last words… liberated Ryuken. ****************** Soon, Kahn who watched him, let out a slight smile. [So he finally realized it. How can you say that you’ve lived a worthy life when you have never sought out your own happiness? You’re not born to live or carry on other people’s dreams and responsibilities. There is nothing wrong with wanting to forge your own path and destiny of your free will. It’s not being selfish or greedy to seek joy in life. The more you avoid it, the deeper the mark it will leave on your mind. Those who cannot be honest with themselves can never achieve enlightenment.] spoke Kahn and both of them disappeared from this world. Swoosh! Kahn and Ryuken now returned to the original realm where their battle took place. The Hero of Space’s party members were bewildered as soon as Kahn and Ryuken appeared out of nowhere within the crater, their original location. Then they saw the Hero of Space in the meditative pose, his mind cut-off from the happenings of the outside world. "What happened to Ryuken-sama?! What have you done to him?!" questioned Kagura. "Leave him alone here. He is finally finding the long overdue answers. The next time you see him again…" spoke Kahn with a smirk as he prepared to depart with Omega. "He will be a different man."