"I may be afraid; I may be weak, and I may have one foot in the grave, but if it means protecting my friends, I will gladly put the other in too!" - Ryu to Atem, Arcosian Arc
Ryu Naraka
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Ryu Willow Naraka is a member of the Amandine City's Special Defense Force and the primary protagonist of "Sephirot's Eye". He is a physically 16 year old male with a relatively feminine appearance, a thin build and very pale skin. He has navy blue hair and cyan eyes. His most classic outfit involves a short sleeve black hoodie with a cyan hand pocket and inner hood. Underneath this, he wears a white long sleeve shirt and two black and blue arm bands with a large gem around each upper arm. Also, he dawns tan cargo pants with black dress shoes. Ryu is well known for his shy but courageous disposition. He is often seen putting the well being of others before his own, in part out of regret for his own actions. Due to his relatively isolated childhood, Ryu is very self conscious and shy around strangers, believing himself to be ugly despite the positive reassurance he receives from his friends and family. Ryu's two greatest sources of self doubt are his status as a Neo-Arcosian, bearing both the Arcosian eyes and the Arcosian blood, and his inability to control his mental state on his own as a result of Doctór's experiments. In order to control the latter, Ryu wears a specialized bracelet with a heart on it, which suppresses his insane personality. Ryu was born with a rare condition known as Illumi's disease, which is a terminal illness which slowly weakens the hosts body until it collapses in on itself. As a result of this, Ryu is very frail and weak to the point where he is no longer able to support his own body's weight without an aid. Because of this condition, his father had him moved to a special hospital in Amandine City where he spent most of his childhood. Ryu hardly left the hospital for two reasons, the first was because he was at risk of being seriously injured should he get knocked over by a pedestrian or trip on the pavement, and the second was because he found it difficult to breathe the city air because of his weak lungs. At age 7, one year after being stationed in the hospital, Ryu's family mysteriously vanished, and he was left with his family's large medical investment to pay for his hospital bills. At age 8, he met his current personal nurse (then an apprentice), Yuki Silvers, who he looks to as an older sister.
The story begins in the year 3273, when Ryu is 13 years old. Ryu and Yuuki are approached by Mr. Yama in the hero's hospital. The latter insists that Ryu come with him and shows him a federal badge to convince him. Yuuki, who is largely opposed to this idea, fearing that the intimidating man is after Ryu's Arcosian eyes, of which Mr. Yama is unaware. Ryu ultimately decides to go with the man because he knows that even if he was to refuse, their would be no resisting him should he resort to violence. On the way there, Ryu is informed of his role in the Sephirot and Ryu reveals his Arcosian eyes for the first time. When the two arrive at the City Tower, Ryu meets Aaron Lotus and Erza Cross, with whom he later becomes very close friends with. |
Following his near death experience with Atem, Ryu is confronted by Doctór who offers to save his life in exchange for becoming a "god killer". Ryu reluctantly agrees out of concern for his friends lives whom he might take should he refuse. Over the next three years, Ryu is subject to conscious experimentation, extreme torture, isolation, starvation, and psychological trauma. As a result, Ryu's hair turns white, he develops a destructive; insane personality, and Ragnarok evolves into a rapture weapon. Among the changes Doctór made to Ryu's body, were the implanting of the Black Fiber Network (BFN) and the replacement of his own blood with Arcosian blood, making him the first Twin Arcosian in history.
In order to counteract Ryu's failing body, Doctór spent 6 months implanting (with no anesthetic) a specialized bio-engineered compound, known as the BFN into Ryu's spinal cord. This is a set of about 100 million fibers, which are commonly weaved together to become much larger, which Ryu can control at will as he would any limb. These fibers are Ryu's primary means of combat and serve two primary purposes. The first is to serve as the first and last layer of Ryu's triple level defense and the second is to aid him in walking and everyday actions through the application of his woven fiber defense (discussed more in detail under Powers and Abilities).
In order to counteract Ryu's failing body, Doctór spent 6 months implanting (with no anesthetic) a specialized bio-engineered compound, known as the BFN into Ryu's spinal cord. This is a set of about 100 million fibers, which are commonly weaved together to become much larger, which Ryu can control at will as he would any limb. These fibers are Ryu's primary means of combat and serve two primary purposes. The first is to serve as the first and last layer of Ryu's triple level defense and the second is to aid him in walking and everyday actions through the application of his woven fiber defense (discussed more in detail under Powers and Abilities).
As a member of the Amandine City Special Defense Force, Ryu is a member of the Sephirot; specifically he is the fifth member who is the representative of the dimension Geburah. He was first discovered by Mr. Yama, when he sensed an abnormal quantity of soul energy arising from the City Hospital, where Ryu was staying, which was actually the result of Ryu's Arcosian eyes. Ryu was the third member of the Sephirot to join and is ultimately named the leader after the events of the Alvon War Arc.
Ryu's soul weapon is known as Ragnarok. Ragnarok is a Rapture weapon, the second ever to exist, in the form of a traditional European styled double edge sword with a black blade with an eye pattern running down it and a gold hilt. As a Rapture Weapon, it has the ability to change into a large dark mouth which can destroy, devour and absorb the soul weapons of Ryu's opponents. The total number of weapons Ryu has devoured is unknown, but the most notable ones include Erza's soul weapon, Sol, and Doctór's, Chimera. Ragnarok has an affinity for darkness and a purity level of 100%, making it the second in history to have a perfect purity level, after King Arthur's Excalibur.
Ryu's soul weapon is known as Ragnarok. Ragnarok is a Rapture weapon, the second ever to exist, in the form of a traditional European styled double edge sword with a black blade with an eye pattern running down it and a gold hilt. As a Rapture Weapon, it has the ability to change into a large dark mouth which can destroy, devour and absorb the soul weapons of Ryu's opponents. The total number of weapons Ryu has devoured is unknown, but the most notable ones include Erza's soul weapon, Sol, and Doctór's, Chimera. Ragnarok has an affinity for darkness and a purity level of 100%, making it the second in history to have a perfect purity level, after King Arthur's Excalibur.
Background
Ryu Naraka was born to Aizen and Aya Naraka on April 3rd, 3260 in Verdan Town - located in Western Romeria. Upon his birth, Ryu's eyes entered their semi-active state and terrified both the doctors and Ryu's own parents. Fearing his Arcosian inheritance, Ryu's parents made sure to force the medical staff to sign a contract of confidentiality, and they instilled in their son at a very early age to keep his eyes hidden. While they were afraid of his powers, Aizen and Aya still cared deeply for their son and feared that he would be targeted by black market traders, or would be socially outcast by society and deemed a freak. Through age three, Ryu led a heavily sheltered life in a relatively wealthy household (his family was of the upper class, but was not a member of the aristocracy). He was primarily cared for by his older sister, Luna, who was extremely protective of him. At age four, Ryu began to exhibit symptoms of Illumi's Disease and his body began to weaken. By the time he reached age six, Ryu's parents were forced to move their son to a special hospital in Amandine City, known as the Amandine City Hospital, for two reasons. The first was that this was the closest location that had the equipment necessary to treat their son's condition, and the second was that Ryu's weak lungs were making it difficult for him breath in Verdan town and thus he needed to move to a location near the ocean where the air was purer.
During his first year in the hospital, Ryu was frequently visited by his family and was allowed to walk freely about the hospital grounds. Unfortunately, due to his weak body and feminine appearance, Ryu became subject to a lot of bullying during his time in the hospital, and this became apparent to his family when Luna found him being pushed around by a group of older patients in the courtyard. Furious, Aizen demanded that they increase the hospital's surveillance of his son and later set up an investment fund for Ryu's treatment that would cover all of the expenses for the next ten years (Ryu's maximum life expectancy). At age seven, however, Aizen, Aya and Luna were attacked by Doctór, who was running a field test for XDEUS-5 (Atem Illiad) at the time, while overseas in Siegrhine. Both of Ryu's parents were killed, but Luna managed to escape via teleportation using her Soul Weapon, Hyōri Ittai. Using his powers, Doctór managed to cover up the incident and he used the bodies of Aizen and Aya for his experiments; thus no evidence of their murder, nor the whereabouts of Luna, were ever found, and they were all reported to have mysteriously vanished. During her last visit to Ryu before this incident, Luna gave Ryu a pocket watch with a picture of the two of them together inside of it. She told him to look to it as a a source of confidence to stand up to his bullies when she is not around to protect him. This watch eventually became Ryu's most cherished possession and he began to carry it with him everywhere as a reminder of his family.
Following this incident, Ryu fell into depression and he continued to be picked on by various individuals for his appearance and his submissive personality. Eventually, Ryu snapped and yelled at one of his bullies, which resulted in him activating his Arcosian eyes and scaring off the assailants. This event received the attention of the hospital, who had made it part of their contract to keep his status as an Arcosian a secret known only by a select few. In response, they ensured the silence of Ryu's oppressors and assigned the boy a personal nurse, Mrs. Silvers, who was accompanied by her daughter, Yuuki, who was apprenticing to be become a nurse at the time. From age eight to age ten, Ryu was under the care of Mrs. Silvers, but this duty was passed on to Yuuki, with whom Ryu had spent a lot of time with over the last two years. Yuuki, who was four years older than Ryu, became his first non-familial friend and the two grew very close over the years. She reminded him very much of his older sister in her overly-protective and caring nature, and he began to look to her as a sort of maternal figure in his life. Yuuki, on the other hand, had noticed Ryu's inherently kind nature and genuinely wanted to help him enjoy the years he had left. Over the next three years, Ryu began to spend more and more of his time in his hospital room as his condition worsened. However, with the support of Yuuki, Ryu was able to overcome his depression and he was bullied less due to her heavy surveillance.
Following this incident, Ryu fell into depression and he continued to be picked on by various individuals for his appearance and his submissive personality. Eventually, Ryu snapped and yelled at one of his bullies, which resulted in him activating his Arcosian eyes and scaring off the assailants. This event received the attention of the hospital, who had made it part of their contract to keep his status as an Arcosian a secret known only by a select few. In response, they ensured the silence of Ryu's oppressors and assigned the boy a personal nurse, Mrs. Silvers, who was accompanied by her daughter, Yuuki, who was apprenticing to be become a nurse at the time. From age eight to age ten, Ryu was under the care of Mrs. Silvers, but this duty was passed on to Yuuki, with whom Ryu had spent a lot of time with over the last two years. Yuuki, who was four years older than Ryu, became his first non-familial friend and the two grew very close over the years. She reminded him very much of his older sister in her overly-protective and caring nature, and he began to look to her as a sort of maternal figure in his life. Yuuki, on the other hand, had noticed Ryu's inherently kind nature and genuinely wanted to help him enjoy the years he had left. Over the next three years, Ryu began to spend more and more of his time in his hospital room as his condition worsened. However, with the support of Yuuki, Ryu was able to overcome his depression and he was bullied less due to her heavy surveillance.
Personality
Ryu is a shy and quiet individual. He is quick to cry and has difficulty standing up for himself, and his extremely limited experience with social interaction throughout his childhood in addition to his heavily sheltered life has made him naive to a great deal of knowledge and commonalities that are taken for granted by most. His meek and reserved disposition has stemmed from his the numerous traits with which he has been conditioned into feeling extremely insecure about, such as his feminine appearance, his status as a Neo-Arcosian, his lack of experience with social interaction, his inability to swim, (following the Rise of the Rapture Swordsman Arc) his mental instability, his regret for his past misdeeds, and his soul weapon class. Despite his lack of self-confidence however, Ryu is also quite courageous. While meek and teary-eyed in the face of verbal assault, he will not hesitate to risk his own life for the sake of another. As early as the Arcosian Arc, when he stands between Atem and an incapacitated Erza, he can be seen challenging extraordinary odds as if he had virtually no regard for his own well-being. This lack of hesitancy comes from his firm belief that his own life is worth less than that of others. At first this belief is founded upon the fact that his time is very limited and he is aware that he is not going to be alive much longer, but later, following the Doctór Saga, this is rationalized by his regret for all of the crimes he has committed.
He has a strong dislike for any forms of conflict, but he never dismisses it as a last resort should negotiations fail. This opposition to conflict has prevented him from ever undergoing training in swordplay because, in his eyes, that would mean committing himself to such a lifestyle. When he does fight, he is driven only by his desire to protect his dream of spending the time he has left alongside his friends, and it has been noted by Ido Yama that this conviction, in spite of all the obstacles life has thrown his way, to always continue fighting on against adversity inspires those around Ryu to follow in his footsteps.
Ryu's personality develops and evolves immensely throughout the course of the story. As the story enters into its second saga, we witness the shy and meek disposition that characterized our hero throughout the beginning of the story be transformed into one of guilt and regret as he is driven to the point of insanity and can no longer distinguish himself from his maddened half. The immense trauma that Doctór subjects him to makes Ryu actively wish for death, but to afraid to take his own. His inner conflict develops as he struggles to stop himself from hurting those around him, and his ultimate resolve to become the monster he is in order to inspire a hero to stop him. As the story enters into its third saga, Ryu continues to struggle with his regret for his past misdeeds and enters a state of depression. He feels as though he does not deserve a second chance and that he is undeserving of such kindness. His interactions with Naomi, however, help him to begin to overcome some of these feelings and eventually learn how to smile again. Before the events of the Alvon War Arc, Ryu begins to regain the shy and naive disposition that characterized him at the beginning of the story, but he now has a bit more confidence in himself as he is able to hold his ground better in most conversations and no longer gives off an air of meekness. His former sad disposition has been replaced with one of solemn contentedness and he is able to smile and laugh regularly. Throughout the rest of the story, Ryu's feelings of regret and self-doubt begin to diminish, though they never entirely disappear, and are replaced with ones of confidence and self-fulfillment. Ryu actually fulfills his dream of living a happy life alongside his friends very early on in the story, and he spends the majority of the epic fighting to protect that reality. The presence of his motive to protect his status quo rather than to accomplish a goal lead him to develop this sense of fulfillment and lead Ryu to overcome his insecurities.
Having spent a large portion of his early life in a hospital room, Ryu developed a number of unique traits and hobbies. The first one to develop was a love of reading. Ryu spent countless hours shifting through various books and texts in his hospital bed as he felt it gave him a way to experience the rest of the world. Since he never received a formal education as his medical condition prevented him attending school, Ryu was taught how to read and write by Yuuki Silvers, and his strong curiosity about the world led him to take up reading as a means to supplement his lack of education. His love of reading actually inspired another interest, a fascination with geology. Ryu's favorite book is known as "7 Stones of the Earth", which is a compilation of the research notes of a famed geologist who claimed to have discovered and named all of the Seven Stones of the Earth. After reading this, Ryu developed a strong interest in rocks and minerals and loves to collect those that catch his eye. He hopes to one day see all seven of them in person, and actually sets out on a journey during the Blood For Blood Arc in the hopes of finding one before he runs out of time (he only has a few years left to live at this point in the story). Another trait that Ryu picked up was a love of sleeping. As a result of his weak lungs, Ryu struggled to supply his body with a sufficient amount of oxygen and this caused him to become exhausted easily. He had to take naps often and slept in often. This dilemma, however, did not bother Ryu all that much as he found a sense of delight in escaping the stresses of reality for the bliss of sleep. To him, there was more adventure and wonder to be found in a dream than in a hospital room. This habit of sleeping a lot is further amplified following his augmentation with the BFN, which consumes a massive amount of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) from the body in the same way a muscle would, but on a much larger scale. This results in Ryu, who is constantly using his BFN to move and walk, becoming exhausted relatively easily and having to take naps often. Furthermore, it has been noted that Ryu despises being interrupted during one of his naps and it has been commented on by Erza that one of the only times Ryu ever gets mad (his submissive personality usually results in him becoming sad where others would get angry and defensive) is when someone wakes him up. After being woken up by someone, Ryu temporarily enters an enraged state where he acts in a way that is the exact opposite of his usual personality (hostile, angry, condescending and intimidating). Having spent a lot of time living together with Ryu, however, Erza is able to calm him down with relative ease by using a firm tone. After calming down, Ryu often has no memory of what had just happened other than the fact that he was woken up by someone.
He has a strong dislike for any forms of conflict, but he never dismisses it as a last resort should negotiations fail. This opposition to conflict has prevented him from ever undergoing training in swordplay because, in his eyes, that would mean committing himself to such a lifestyle. When he does fight, he is driven only by his desire to protect his dream of spending the time he has left alongside his friends, and it has been noted by Ido Yama that this conviction, in spite of all the obstacles life has thrown his way, to always continue fighting on against adversity inspires those around Ryu to follow in his footsteps.
Ryu's personality develops and evolves immensely throughout the course of the story. As the story enters into its second saga, we witness the shy and meek disposition that characterized our hero throughout the beginning of the story be transformed into one of guilt and regret as he is driven to the point of insanity and can no longer distinguish himself from his maddened half. The immense trauma that Doctór subjects him to makes Ryu actively wish for death, but to afraid to take his own. His inner conflict develops as he struggles to stop himself from hurting those around him, and his ultimate resolve to become the monster he is in order to inspire a hero to stop him. As the story enters into its third saga, Ryu continues to struggle with his regret for his past misdeeds and enters a state of depression. He feels as though he does not deserve a second chance and that he is undeserving of such kindness. His interactions with Naomi, however, help him to begin to overcome some of these feelings and eventually learn how to smile again. Before the events of the Alvon War Arc, Ryu begins to regain the shy and naive disposition that characterized him at the beginning of the story, but he now has a bit more confidence in himself as he is able to hold his ground better in most conversations and no longer gives off an air of meekness. His former sad disposition has been replaced with one of solemn contentedness and he is able to smile and laugh regularly. Throughout the rest of the story, Ryu's feelings of regret and self-doubt begin to diminish, though they never entirely disappear, and are replaced with ones of confidence and self-fulfillment. Ryu actually fulfills his dream of living a happy life alongside his friends very early on in the story, and he spends the majority of the epic fighting to protect that reality. The presence of his motive to protect his status quo rather than to accomplish a goal lead him to develop this sense of fulfillment and lead Ryu to overcome his insecurities.
Having spent a large portion of his early life in a hospital room, Ryu developed a number of unique traits and hobbies. The first one to develop was a love of reading. Ryu spent countless hours shifting through various books and texts in his hospital bed as he felt it gave him a way to experience the rest of the world. Since he never received a formal education as his medical condition prevented him attending school, Ryu was taught how to read and write by Yuuki Silvers, and his strong curiosity about the world led him to take up reading as a means to supplement his lack of education. His love of reading actually inspired another interest, a fascination with geology. Ryu's favorite book is known as "7 Stones of the Earth", which is a compilation of the research notes of a famed geologist who claimed to have discovered and named all of the Seven Stones of the Earth. After reading this, Ryu developed a strong interest in rocks and minerals and loves to collect those that catch his eye. He hopes to one day see all seven of them in person, and actually sets out on a journey during the Blood For Blood Arc in the hopes of finding one before he runs out of time (he only has a few years left to live at this point in the story). Another trait that Ryu picked up was a love of sleeping. As a result of his weak lungs, Ryu struggled to supply his body with a sufficient amount of oxygen and this caused him to become exhausted easily. He had to take naps often and slept in often. This dilemma, however, did not bother Ryu all that much as he found a sense of delight in escaping the stresses of reality for the bliss of sleep. To him, there was more adventure and wonder to be found in a dream than in a hospital room. This habit of sleeping a lot is further amplified following his augmentation with the BFN, which consumes a massive amount of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) from the body in the same way a muscle would, but on a much larger scale. This results in Ryu, who is constantly using his BFN to move and walk, becoming exhausted relatively easily and having to take naps often. Furthermore, it has been noted that Ryu despises being interrupted during one of his naps and it has been commented on by Erza that one of the only times Ryu ever gets mad (his submissive personality usually results in him becoming sad where others would get angry and defensive) is when someone wakes him up. After being woken up by someone, Ryu temporarily enters an enraged state where he acts in a way that is the exact opposite of his usual personality (hostile, angry, condescending and intimidating). Having spent a lot of time living together with Ryu, however, Erza is able to calm him down with relative ease by using a firm tone. After calming down, Ryu often has no memory of what had just happened other than the fact that he was woken up by someone.
Powers and Abilities
Physical Abilities
Prior to having any enhancements made to his body, Ryu was incredibly weak and fragile to the point where he struggled to even walk. Having been born with Illumi’s disease, a largely debilitating and terminal illness, his body is largely susceptible and will bruise or break from normal contact (this is seen when Aaron grabbed his arm at their first meeting, causing it to heavily bruise). In addition, Ryu’s internal organs are also affected by this condition and will eventually collapse in on themselves due to prolonged strain (as they do in the fight against Mephille). The main effect this has on Ryu is his poor lungs, which makes it hard for him to breath in areas with polluted air. It should be noted, however, that the symptoms of this disease ceased to exacerbate after his revival, meaning that his life is no longer at risk, but his body still maintains its condition.
Despite his incredibly weak and frail body, Ryu is able to counteract these symptoms through the use of his BFN. Ryu’s BFN grants him tremendous strength, speed, defense, and dexterity. His immense strength is seen in his ability to easily manipulate the incredibly heavy sword, Ragnarok, and his capacity to bench press six tons. Using this strength, he is able to move his light body at incredible speeds that most people cannot even see, and this augment grants him complete control over his body, greatly enhancing his dexterity. Also, because of the BFN’s incredibly hard and dense characteristics, it enables him to defend against most form of attacks with relative ease, as seen in his capacity to stop bullets and block blows from notably powerful opponents like Faust.
Also, his soul weapon enhances all of his abilities tremendously through its property as a Rapture weapon. His stamina is most notably affected by this power. However, in spite all Ryu’s strengths, his endurance remains below average. Should an enemy be able to do direct, physical damage to Ryu’s fragile body, he would fall quite easily. His fragile structure remains his weakness, and when enemies are able to bypass (or do enough damage to his body through shockwaves) his Woven Fiber Defense, he collapses in battle.
Despite his incredibly weak and frail body, Ryu is able to counteract these symptoms through the use of his BFN. Ryu’s BFN grants him tremendous strength, speed, defense, and dexterity. His immense strength is seen in his ability to easily manipulate the incredibly heavy sword, Ragnarok, and his capacity to bench press six tons. Using this strength, he is able to move his light body at incredible speeds that most people cannot even see, and this augment grants him complete control over his body, greatly enhancing his dexterity. Also, because of the BFN’s incredibly hard and dense characteristics, it enables him to defend against most form of attacks with relative ease, as seen in his capacity to stop bullets and block blows from notably powerful opponents like Faust.
Also, his soul weapon enhances all of his abilities tremendously through its property as a Rapture weapon. His stamina is most notably affected by this power. However, in spite all Ryu’s strengths, his endurance remains below average. Should an enemy be able to do direct, physical damage to Ryu’s fragile body, he would fall quite easily. His fragile structure remains his weakness, and when enemies are able to bypass (or do enough damage to his body through shockwaves) his Woven Fiber Defense, he collapses in battle.
Enhancements
- Black Fiber Network (BFN) - Ryu’s BFN is a specialized bio-engineered compound developed
by Doctór and implanted
into Ryu Naraka in order to counteract his failing body. The BFN appears to bet a set of approximately
100 million tiny black fibers that can be wrapped together like rope in order
to look like tendrils. These fibers are
incredibly hard and can withstand nearly any attack without breaking; they are
also quite flexible which grants them a great deal of versatility for
uses. These fibers are all hooked up to
Ryu’s central nervous system and can freely pass through the skin on his
torso. According to Ryu, they can be
controlled just like any other body part, but it can become very confusing to
mentally manipulate the millions of fibers individually, thus he wraps them
together for ease of use. In addition,
the BFN is works similarly to muscles in the body in that they can grow
stronger and faster through exercise and continuous use. When wrapped together, the fibers are called
tendrils and these are immensely powerful whip-like weapons. The tendrils are central to Ryu’s fighting
style and can be used for attacking, defending, transportation, and many other
things. Also, the BFN is capable of
freely maneuvering throughout Ryu’s body and can be used to block attacks that
make direct contact with his body.
However, it is incredibly difficult to move the fibers within his body
and can take a long time to do so.
- Arcosian Blood - The second major adjustment that Doctór made to Ryu’s body was to replace all of his blood with the Arcosian Blood. This turned Ryu into the world’s first Twin Neo-Arcosian (someone who has 2 Arcosian items). Doing this not only increased Ryu’s energy volume tremendously, but also granted him access to new transformations (which would not be discovered until much later). In addition, by having two Arcosian items, Ryu can also draw out a significantly greater level of power from his soul weapon than most people normally would.
- Sunset Stone - The Sunset Stone is one of the Seven Stones of the Earth, meaning that it is a specialized entity comprised of the solidified aura of a fallen god. These stones possess the power to greatly enhance the power of an individual’s soul weapon, but only if the aura of stone oscillates to the same frequency as the owner’s aura. If this occurs, the stone will shatter and turn to a dust that will flow into the soul weapon, greatly enhancing its abilities.
Biology
- Sephirot Member - Having been chosen as a member of the Sephirot, Ryu had all of the limits on his potential removed, enabling him to continue to grow stronger than human restrictions would normally allow. Also, in addition, being a member of the Sephirot enables him to directly interact with divinity, and more specifically, injure/kill them. Normal humans are unable to hurt or resist the influence of any being with a certain degree of divinity (specifically any beings with a level of divinity equal or greater than the Reapers), but those of the Sephirot are not subject to this rule and can directly interact with them.
- Neo-Arcosian - Arcosian Eyes - As a Neo-Arcosian (an individual who has inherited one of the body parts (“items”) of the Arcosians), Ryu was born with the Arcosian eyes. This Arcosian item is widely considered by folklore to be the most powerful of all the items because it belonged to the Arcosian’s leader, Ios. Arcosians bear a very similar appearance to humans except that one portion of their body serves as a container for a massive amount of soul energy, making this segment look different than what it normally would. Every Arcosian has a different “soul point”, making each individual unique. These “soul points” can be inherited by humans as Arcosian items (though only one individual can possess a certain item at a time), and appear at random throughout human history. Ryu’s eyes are capable of being activated and deactivated; when fully active, they turn bright orange and gain a unique design, consisting of a circle with four points, in them. The Arcosian eyes increase Ryu’s soul energy volume immensely, grant him access to an Arcosian mode, give him the ability to undergo an Arcosian Transformation, and enhance his ability to learn through observation immensely.
Fighting Style
Ryu’s fighting style is largely defense oriented. He tends to maintain a mid-range distance from his opponents while attacking them with both his tendrils and soul energy blasts from his soul weapon, Ragnarok. His primary style of combat is based around his triple level defense: when faced with an attack, the first thing Ryu will do is use his tendrils to attack and intercept his opponent before they can get into a close range. This first layer of defense is incredibly effective because the tendrils are capable of stretching up to 15 meters in any direction and are able to move faster than the speed of sound, making it nearly impossible to get close to Ryu. If the opponent does manage to break through and get close, Ryu will use Ragnarok to stop and hopefully overpower the attack (and in some cases devour the enemy’s weapon). Should the second layer fail, his third and most powerful layer of defense takes effect. Using his Woven Fiber Defense, he can block nearly any attack the moment it makes contact with his skin allowing him to counter attack in their disorientation from the unforeseen block.
For most of the battle, Ryu will maintain this defensive strategy while observing and adjusting to his opponent’s moves. As the fight progressive, Ryu will become more and more offensive, and begin to use his BFN more for maneuverability than defense. He will dish out fast and powerful attacks with Ragnarok and eventually go for a finishing blow either by devouring his opponent’s soul weapon or targeting them directly.
While transformed or in one of his various enhanced states, Ryu largely disregards his defensive strategy (though he always maintains his third layer of defense to protect his fragile body) and skips straight to his latter fighting style.
For most of the battle, Ryu will maintain this defensive strategy while observing and adjusting to his opponent’s moves. As the fight progressive, Ryu will become more and more offensive, and begin to use his BFN more for maneuverability than defense. He will dish out fast and powerful attacks with Ragnarok and eventually go for a finishing blow either by devouring his opponent’s soul weapon or targeting them directly.
While transformed or in one of his various enhanced states, Ryu largely disregards his defensive strategy (though he always maintains his third layer of defense to protect his fragile body) and skips straight to his latter fighting style.
Techniques
- Woven Fiber Defense - Ryu’s signature technique, by weaving the BFN underneath his skin, he can create an incredibly strong and flexible “suit of armor” that is invisible to the normal eye. The fibers are near-invulnerable and can stop almost any attack that reaches his body. The weaving style Ryu made was later improved to prevent people from being able to stab him through the weaves in his defense after Erza achieved said feat.
- Tendril Whips - Ryu is capable of individually wrapping together multiple fibers from the BFN (like a rope) to create a larger “vine”, known as a tendril. He can make multiple of these tendrils and can move them faster than the speed of sound. This allows him to swing them in a whip-like fashion at his opponents.
- Soul Energy Blast - By concentrating a large amount of energy into Ragnarok, Ryu can then swing his soul weapon and release a huge, and incredibly destructive, dark energy wave at his opponent.
- Soul Weapon Devour - As a Rapture weapon, Ragnarok is capable of transforming into a devouring state in which the center of the blade splits apart and takes the form of a large mouth. In this state, Ryu can have it chomp down on an enemy soul weapon and consume it (destroying the weapon in the process), increasing his own power by an amount proportional to his opponents strength.
- Void Blast - Ryu raises his sword up and begins to concentrate a massive amount of soul energy into the tip of his blade. He then uses six tendrils to help condense and concentrate energy into the desired location. The energy will continue to build until it is larger than Ryu’s head. Ryu then throws the ball of highly concentrated energy at his opponent, and the attack will then explode in an immensely destructive blast. Ryu can only use this while he is in his Arcosian Mode or a higher form.
- Insanity Plague - After the events of the Byakuran Arc, Ryu learned to better control his aura and manipulate it in such a way that it gives off oscillations identical to the ones that naturally flow while he is insane. By sending these waves at his opponent, he can slowly drive them mad, causing them to see illusions, have their senses distorted, and eventually fall unconscious.
- Transformation - See the Transformations section for more details.
Miscellaneous Skills
Ryu has a number of unique skills including being a master of mid-range combat, a prodigy organist, and a skilled martial artist (learned through experience in battle). One of his greatest abilities, however, is his ability to effectively learn a technique after only seeing it once. Time and time again throughout the series, Ryu shows off his skills as a visual learner. He is able to quickly understand most moves and strategies of those around them simply through direct observation. This is first seen when Ryu fires his first energy wave based off of the way Aaron absorbs other elements with his soul weapon, Paradox, by throwing his own raw energy at elemental projectiles. Another example of this occurs during Ryu's battle with Faust Bloodstone during the Alvon War arc, during which he is able to slowly match Faust’s speed and power through small adjustments to his energy distribution and physical movements based on his observations of his opponent during the fight.
Another one of Ryu’s skills is his ability to intimidate his opponents with his aura. Due to the sheer size and density of his aura in addition to his status as a Rapture weapon wielder, he can terrify his opponents into believing he is much more sinister and violent than he is. Those who can sense his massive aura as a result of his Arcosian items believe him to be a powerful warrior because the soul energy volume (SEV) is often considered to be an accurate reflection of an individual’s strength.
Another one of Ryu’s skills is his ability to intimidate his opponents with his aura. Due to the sheer size and density of his aura in addition to his status as a Rapture weapon wielder, he can terrify his opponents into believing he is much more sinister and violent than he is. Those who can sense his massive aura as a result of his Arcosian items believe him to be a powerful warrior because the soul energy volume (SEV) is often considered to be an accurate reflection of an individual’s strength.
Weaknesses
Among Ryu’s main weaknesses are his frail body structure and his inability to operate his BFN in significantly cold temperatures. Though his BFN is capable of nullifying almost any attack, it cannot stop the shockwaves that come as a result of the blows that make contact. Strong attacks will still release a shockwave directed inward toward him upon hitting his woven fiber defense, this will hurt him slightly due to his frail body structure despite his outward appearance of being unharmed. With this in mind, Ryu is especially susceptible to opponents who use blunt force attacks because they can still send a heavy shockwave through the woven fiber defense toward his susceptible body.
The primary weakness of the BFN is that Ryu loses his ability to control it in significantly cold temperatures. Should his body temperature drop to a certain temperature, all of his fibers would go limp and he would no longer be able to stand (Illumi’s disease) because he is no longer receiving support from his woven fiber defense. Another weakness of the BFN is that it consumes a large amount of energy from Ryu’s body. This requires him to sleep a lot in order to make up for the heavy amount of exhaustion that stems from it. In addition to this weakness, it also takes Ryu a substantially long time to reform his woven fiber defense once he has retracted it. Every time he has a doctor investigate his current condition, he needs to retract his BFN from his body to his back so that the medical team can observe his internal organs. It takes about one week for him to fully rebuild his woven fiber defense, making him completely helpless during this time period.
Ryu is also incapable of swimming for two main reasons. The first is that he was never taught as a child due to his frail condition, and the second is that he becomes incredibly disoriented when trying to use his BFN in the water. The most he can do in a large body of water is flail around in an attempt to keep his head above the water. Also, water has another danger for Ryu because it can quickly lower one’s body temperature, meaning that it could cause him to go limp shortly after exiting the pool if he does not warm up quickly.
Another weakness is Ryu’s inability to control his mental state. As a result of the heavy torture Doctór subjected him to, in addition to the two Arcosian items that are in conflict within his body, Ryu has developed an uncontrollable and violent personality that is separate from his own. This personality can draw out a significantly greater amount of power from Ragnarok because it is founded upon fear (from which Ragnarok feeds on). Ryu must always be wearing his suppressive bracelet, which keeps his other half from taking over; otherwise his insane personality will gain full control over him.
It should also be noted that Ryu has never actually received any formal training in swordplay. Contrary to the majority of the members of the Sephirot, Ryu dislikes conflict and finds little entertainment in fighting; because of this, he feels as though if he were to dedicate a part of his life to practicing an art designed for killing it would mean accepting battle into all aspects of his life (as opposed to trying to limit it solely to his occupation). While Ryu's fighting style is primarily based on instinct and is usually more focused towards his BFN rather than actual swordplay, he is often outclassed in sword-skill when an opponent is able to make it past his first two layers of defense. As a result of this, Ryu usually relies on his overwhelming speed and strength to keep up with the superior skill of his opponents. In addition, despite his distaste for the idea of taking up swordplay, Ryu bears no personal opposition to the idea of training oneself. He takes pride in the idea of gaining the strength necessary to protect one's allies and sees this as an activity of completely different nature than the prior, which is undertaken with the intent of stealing life.
The primary weakness of the BFN is that Ryu loses his ability to control it in significantly cold temperatures. Should his body temperature drop to a certain temperature, all of his fibers would go limp and he would no longer be able to stand (Illumi’s disease) because he is no longer receiving support from his woven fiber defense. Another weakness of the BFN is that it consumes a large amount of energy from Ryu’s body. This requires him to sleep a lot in order to make up for the heavy amount of exhaustion that stems from it. In addition to this weakness, it also takes Ryu a substantially long time to reform his woven fiber defense once he has retracted it. Every time he has a doctor investigate his current condition, he needs to retract his BFN from his body to his back so that the medical team can observe his internal organs. It takes about one week for him to fully rebuild his woven fiber defense, making him completely helpless during this time period.
Ryu is also incapable of swimming for two main reasons. The first is that he was never taught as a child due to his frail condition, and the second is that he becomes incredibly disoriented when trying to use his BFN in the water. The most he can do in a large body of water is flail around in an attempt to keep his head above the water. Also, water has another danger for Ryu because it can quickly lower one’s body temperature, meaning that it could cause him to go limp shortly after exiting the pool if he does not warm up quickly.
Another weakness is Ryu’s inability to control his mental state. As a result of the heavy torture Doctór subjected him to, in addition to the two Arcosian items that are in conflict within his body, Ryu has developed an uncontrollable and violent personality that is separate from his own. This personality can draw out a significantly greater amount of power from Ragnarok because it is founded upon fear (from which Ragnarok feeds on). Ryu must always be wearing his suppressive bracelet, which keeps his other half from taking over; otherwise his insane personality will gain full control over him.
It should also be noted that Ryu has never actually received any formal training in swordplay. Contrary to the majority of the members of the Sephirot, Ryu dislikes conflict and finds little entertainment in fighting; because of this, he feels as though if he were to dedicate a part of his life to practicing an art designed for killing it would mean accepting battle into all aspects of his life (as opposed to trying to limit it solely to his occupation). While Ryu's fighting style is primarily based on instinct and is usually more focused towards his BFN rather than actual swordplay, he is often outclassed in sword-skill when an opponent is able to make it past his first two layers of defense. As a result of this, Ryu usually relies on his overwhelming speed and strength to keep up with the superior skill of his opponents. In addition, despite his distaste for the idea of taking up swordplay, Ryu bears no personal opposition to the idea of training oneself. He takes pride in the idea of gaining the strength necessary to protect one's allies and sees this as an activity of completely different nature than the prior, which is undertaken with the intent of stealing life.
Soul Weapon
Ryu’s soul weapon is known as Ragnarok. It is a classic, European styled double edge sword with a black blade that has an eye pattern running down the middle, and a golden hilt that has a red gem on the bottom. Ragnarok has an affinity for the darkness element and is one of only three weapons in known history to have a purity level of 100%. Ragnarok has evolved into a Rapture weapon, making it the second in history, giving it the ability to literally devour the soul weapons of others. In doing this, it is able to gain a power boost proportional to the enemies SEV. One of the more notable characteristics of this weapon is its extreme weight. Ragnarok is in fact much heavier than it appears and it has been shown that not even army soldiers are capable of lifting it. This weight allows Ryu to put a lot of force into his attacks.
As a Rapture weapon, Ragnarok has a second form in which the center of the blade splits apart and becomes a mouth with large teeth. In this form, the blade become flexible and can bend and stretch; it also is now capable of biting down on an enemy’s soul weapon to destroy and devour it. Also, Ragnarok can switch between is blade and devouring form very quickly, giving him the ability to quickly destroy a soul weapon in the middle of a strike. Rapture weapons are the only known way to destroy a soul weapon, making them feared by the public and their creation outlawed as a crime punishable by death. Lastly, if a soul weapon is damaged but not destroyed, it will slowly repair itself, but the wielder will not be able to withdraw it until it is completely fixed (to withdraw a weapon is to de-summon it). The rate at which a weapon repairs itself is directly related to the mental state of its wielder.
As a Rapture weapon, Ragnarok has a second form in which the center of the blade splits apart and becomes a mouth with large teeth. In this form, the blade become flexible and can bend and stretch; it also is now capable of biting down on an enemy’s soul weapon to destroy and devour it. Also, Ragnarok can switch between is blade and devouring form very quickly, giving him the ability to quickly destroy a soul weapon in the middle of a strike. Rapture weapons are the only known way to destroy a soul weapon, making them feared by the public and their creation outlawed as a crime punishable by death. Lastly, if a soul weapon is damaged but not destroyed, it will slowly repair itself, but the wielder will not be able to withdraw it until it is completely fixed (to withdraw a weapon is to de-summon it). The rate at which a weapon repairs itself is directly related to the mental state of its wielder.
Transformations
Ryu is capable of entering a number of different modes and transformations. Thanks to his status as a Neo-Arcosian he is capable of taking on forms that normal humans are incapable of.
Abilities: Power boost and enhanced visual information processing.
Abilities: Power boost, enhanced visual information processing, levitation, and devoured weapon ability usage.
Abilities: Power boost, enhanced visual information processing, levitation, devoured weapon ability usage and life sacrifice.
Abilities: Power boost, enhanced visual information processing, levitation, devoured weapon ability usage, life sacrifice, and enhanced soul energy blasts.
- Arcosian Mode - This is a state in which Ryu’s Arcosian eyes become fully active. While in this mode, all of his abilities (most notably his SEV) are made to be 10 times stronger. Ryu also gains the ability to read his opponents moves at a much greater rate as well. This is not a transformation but a mode change, meaning that his body has not been altered in any way (his eyes are being revealed in their true form, they appear to be cyan normally because his power is suppressed), but the flow of his aura has been altered. In this form, Ryu’s eyes reveal their original state, turning from cyan to a bright orange, and gaining a unique design involving a ring with for points coming out of the top, bottom, left and right.
Abilities: Power boost and enhanced visual information processing.
- Arcosian Form - After witnessing the memories of his ancestor, Ios, Ryu learned a new way to draw out energy in his body and as a result of doing this while in his Arcosian Mode, he gained access to a Genetic Ascent. While in this mode, Ryu’s power is multiplied another 5 times. He also gains the ability to levitate and call upon some of the abilities of the weapons he devoured (seen in his ability to create black fire after devouring Erza’s weapon, Sol). In this form, Ryu’s eyes maintain their same Arcosian appearance, but his hair grows a little longer and gains a red marking on the sides. Ryu also becomes slightly more built.
Abilities: Power boost, enhanced visual information processing, levitation, and devoured weapon ability usage.
- Twin Arcosian Drive - This form was achieved when Ryu fully activated his Arcosian blood while he was in his Arcosian form. In this form, Ryu’s power is increased an additional 50 times over, and he gains the ability to sacrifice massive amounts of his stamina in order to gain a huge power boost temporarily. In this form, Ryu maintains all the changes of his Arcosian form, but his hair grows much longer and gains white bangs, he gains a red design on his face just to the sides below his eyes. Also his BFN turns dark red.
Abilities: Power boost, enhanced visual information processing, levitation, devoured weapon ability usage and life sacrifice.
- Absolute Aura Reverse - By performing an aura reverse while in his Arcosian form, Ryu is able to reach his final and most powerful form. In this state, Ryu’s power is multiplied by 100, but it will destroy his body should he use it for too long. The only change to his abilities is that his energy blasts gain a red lightning around them and are even more powerful than they used to be (in addition to the 100x power boost). While in this form, Ryu’s hair becomes the same length as it is in his Arcosian mode, and his eyes look the same as they do in that mode as well. His body is a little more built (more so than it is in his Arcosian Mode), and he is slightly taller. His clothes are replaced with a leather outfit that has many straps and chains, his BFN becomes a dark red, and he gains a pair of gear-like wings on his two shoulder blades. Also his hair becomes pitch black with a white mark in the middle surrounded by two dark red marks.
Abilities: Power boost, enhanced visual information processing, levitation, devoured weapon ability usage, life sacrifice, and enhanced soul energy blasts.
Relationships
Aaron Lotus
Aaron Lotus is one of Ryu's closest and oldest friends. He looks to Aaron with eyes of respect and admiration, specifically for his pride and optimism. Though Aaron originally acted somewhat hostile toward him, believing Ryu to be nothing more than a setback for the team, he began become more friendly after seeing how well his younger brother, Kira Makoto, got along with him, and then even more so when he began to recognize his strength in combat. As the series continues, Aaron comes to respect Ryu for his great strength and kindness, and even recognizes him as the leader of the Sephirot despite his hatred for authorities higher then himself.
Erza Cross
Erza Cross is Ryu's closest friend, in addition to being his house mate. He looks to Erza as a compassionate and understanding friend and teacher on whom he can always rely on. She was the one who convinced him to return to Amandine City after he became Doctór's experiment and she vehemently pleaded to courts to have him acquitted of all crimes following this. There friendship runs so deep that the two actually share a villa together in the capital and split the costs. He views Erza as a teacher because she is the one who mentored him about the outside world after he spent three years in Doctór's lab (after spending his entire life prior to that in a hospital room). He considers Erza to be closer than family and is always trying to repay her for her kindness towards him.
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Naomi Shiro
Naomi Shiro is Ryu's love interest. She was the one who helped Ryu to overcome his regret after the events of the Rise of the Rapture Swordsman Arc, and is constantly trying to brighten his shy and resentful personality. He has not yet recognized his feelings for her becuase he does not understand the feeling of love, but he feels the need to protect her, and actually snapped in response to her being severely injured.
Faust Bloodstone
Though the two have never actually gotten along, Ryu recognizes Faust's good heart and considers him to be a rival. He feels as though he can relate to him in that they both have a dark past, but Faust refuses to match those feelings. The latter is always trying to compete with Ryu and considers him to be a worthy sparring partner. He is determined to take the heroes life yet still respects his orders as the leader of the Sephirot.
Sora Sendo
Ryu sees Sora Sendo as a paragon to be imitated. He believes Sora to be the kind of person he wishes he could be like and greatly respects him for this. Sora believes Ryu to be both a rival and a great friend to whom he has devoted his life to protect. The two are often competing with each other and are very close companions.
Mao Nova
Mao Nova is both Ryu's apprentice and his unofficial brother. Ryu originally agreed to train Mao to help him understand his power as a Neo-Arcosian, but over time the to became so close that they actually consider each other to be brothers (in relation to their status as Neo-Arcosians). Ryu has great faith in Mao's abilities and potentials and is always looking out for him. Mao idolizes Ryu as his hero and is constantly trying to copy him. He developed a fighting style very similar to Ryu's triple layer defense, and has even mastered the Arcosian Form. His greatest goal is to surpass his master and to be able to fight him on equal terms.
Yuki Silvers
His first and oldest friend, Yuuki Silvers is Ryu's personal nurse. He first met her at age 8 when Yuuki (age 12 at the time) was assigned to him as a nurse in training. She was the first person he opened up to, being one of the only people he had ever met that was his age. She has spent many hours with him while taking care of him in his hospital bed and considers him to be like a younger brother to her. She opted to continue being a personal nurse for him even after completing her training and she still monitors his monthly checkups now that he no longer needs to stay in the hospital. Yuuki is incredibly protective of Ryu and is always opposed to the numerous dangerous missions he is sent on. She is almost like a mother figure to him and he is very thankful for all the things she has done for him.
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Doctór
Doctór is the one person Ryu has ever truly hated. He resents him greatly for all the torture he put him through and despises him for all the evils he force him to commit. The only thing he is thankful to him for is the BFN which saved his life. Doctór, on the other hand, is fascinated by Ryu and is always looking for ways to further his growth, regardless of the cost. He considers Ryu, who he refers to as XDEUS-6, to be his greatest work and is obsessed with his creation.
Trivia
- Ryu's favorite food is cheesecake and his favorite drink is hot chocolate.
- Both Ryu's own soul weapon and that of his son, Damien, have a name that refers to the apocalypse in Norse Mythology: Ragnarok and Götterdämmerung (respectively).
- More than half of the characters that meet Ryu throughout the story mistake him for a girl at first.
- Ryu's criminal record consists of: mass murder, creation of a Rapture Weapon, vandalism, destruction of federal property, assault, and cooperation with a world class criminal.
- Throughout the story, Ryu is declared dead twice (only the latter time is this statement true), but in actuality he has been to Geburah (the equivalent of Hell) twice and Netzach (the equivalent of Heaven) once.
- Ryu's least favorite food is raspberries.