Ahead

Ryu caught the heads of Merrick and Snyder by their hair, his expression indifferent as though this was what he had expected all along.

Those watching felt their knees tremble, unable to believe what they were watching.

Merrick and Snyder had just stood there, smiles on their faces, as Ryu approached and calmly cut off their heads. It was as though they had welcomed the result, as though they were embracing death with open arms. But everyone knew that wasn't what had happened.

Their eyes turned to the illusory grey skinned man that was slowly fading from view, their hearts threatening to beat wildly out of their chest.

Unlike in Sacrum where the comprehension of a Visualization and its manifestation into the real world was the foundation of "Soul Techniques", in the True Martial World, this step was the final and ultimate form of a technique. It represented reaching the Great Circle of Perfection, the very highest realm there was.