Already Given Up
Ryu's aura quickly became as calm as a lake. Standing there, he could finally look out of the eyes of his own body and it was a feeling that he never thought that he would have taken for granted before. But experiencing it now, had it not been the life-death situation he had just been in, he might very well have laughed.
However, the current Ryu was unable to laugh. Looking into the cracked skies above him, seeming as though the world might fall apart at any time, he realized just how small and insignificant he was. The mountain before him was actually so tall and imposing, so grand and all-consuming that he couldn't even see the peak.
In the past, he had thought that the only difference between him and the experts he chased was time. For most of them, that was true. But he should have realized after seeing his master and the Phoenix Sky God that not all things were just a matter of time for him.