Outer Ring
For the first time in half a year, Ryu stood. Various popping noises erupted from his body as he stood to his full height of just over two meters tall. In the past years, even he hadn't realized until now just how much he had grown.
If it wasn't for the fact his garments and skin were an absolute bloody and impurity filled mess, Ryu would have likely realized that his height wasn't the only change he experienced. But, unfortunately, there was no place to take a bath on the Immortal Plane.
Finally, Ryu took a step forward, walking with an air of arrogance and confidence. In that moment, he suddenly stopped and roared at the top of his lungs. He had done it. He had survived. A deep, almost bestial part of him was throbbing. That experience of being forced into a corner and surviving against all odds… He had never felt it before during his sheltered life on the Shrine Plane. This was it, this was what he had been missing all of his life.