Blights swarmed into the town in a ragged tide. They came in every shape and size, a riot of teeth, spines, extra joints and swollen eyes, a walking menagerie of wrongness. They tore through what remained, ripping shutters from hinges and dragging carts apart. No civilians were left to see it.
A blight lieutenant rose to the center of the town square and planted itself like a monument to ruin. It closed its eyes and tilted its head toward the sky. For a slow, terrible second its nostrils flared and then its eyes flew open.
"Survivors!" it barked, snapping an arm eastward.
A wind answered, sudden and massive. It swept across the market, a white wall that cooled the air until frost began to stitch itself along roof tiles and cobblestones. When the gust fell back and the air cleared, the countless blights that had been waiting in the alleys stood motionless, watching.
Ren's blade jutted from the opposite side of the lieutenant's torso, a thick line of metal with red running down its length. He ripped the sword free in one motion and let his arm fall to his side. The lieutenant's bulk folded, twitching, and then lay still, already cooling.
The other beasts looked at one another in a blank, savage exchange and then exploded forward together. Claws, talons, hooked carapaces and jagged maws surged in a chaotic wave, each creature a different horror.
As they closed, their steps grew stiffer, then slower, until many of them could barely move. One set of claws came within centimeters of Ren's face and froze there, white crystals forming on the knuckles. He stood like a statue, the cold radiating off him, and an invisible field of frost wrapped around his body so sharp and low that no ordinary life could have survived it.
When Ren moved, the zone vanished. He spun his body in a clean, lethal circle and the blights nearest him were gutted by the sweep of his blade. Bodies slumped and slid in a ring around him, blood steaming on the cold stones. The survivors of the swarm stared at the ruined forms, then turned and fled, their courage broken.
"I won't let you," Ren said, voice low and steady, blade held toward the retreating masses. "Your bodies will crackle under my power." Frost broke from the earth in a rising wall, curling like a frozen wave. It crashed over the nearest blights and locked them in thick prisons of ice.
"Snap," Ren commanded.
The ice answered. It fractured with sharp, crystalline noise, splitting the frozen corpses into shards that scattered across the square. Where there had been faces and teeth there was only glittering ruin, blight shapes shredded and unrecognizable.
Ren flicked the blood from his sword, the droplets freezing in the air before they touched the ground. With a quiet exhale, the weapon dissolved into shards of mana that faded from his grip. His boots carried him east, toward the far edge of town where the swarm had been careless. The last building stood crooked against the street, shutters splintered, roof sagging.
He slammed his heel into the door. Wood cracked apart, swinging wide with a dull crash. Room after room answered him with silence, only broken furniture and dust. Ren's jaw tightened. His eyes closed, searching inward, and then—he felt it. A faint pulse of life beneath the floorboards.
He moved to the back of the house, crouched, and gripped the cellar doors. Hinges groaned as he pulled them open.
A man stood inside, bloodied and pale, his wife clutching their children behind him. The man's hand shook around a kitchen knife, point trembling toward Ren.
Ren raised one hand in front of him, posture lowering, his voice calm and steady. "Look at me. I'm no monster. They're gone now." Step by step, he closed the distance until he stood directly before the man. Gently, he wrapped a hand around the father's trembling grip and eased the knife down. "Follow me, and your family will live."
The man swallowed hard, then nodded. "Thank you…"
Ren inclined his head once. He gestured with a quick jerk of his chin. "Come." He climbed the steps first, pausing in the open air of the ruined street. "Cover their eyes for this," he said flatly, still facing forward.
They obeyed, shielding the children from the square's carnage. Ren guided them into the center, unhooking the canteen from his belt as he walked. He held it out to the father. "You need it more than I do. Keep to the road ahead. My allies are waiting."
A sound vibrated underfoot. A low, wet shudder. Ren's gaze dropped, pupils shrinking, the lieutenant's corpse twitched. Before the family could gasp, he snapped his blade back into existence, slammed it into the ground, and raised a wall of ice to shield them.
The body erupted, shards of blackened flesh and bone bursting outward like shrapnel. Ren blocked what he could, but jagged fragments tore into his arms, chest, and side. He staggered to one knee, coughing blood into his hand, crimson mixing with frost.
The father burst out from behind the wall, grabbing Ren's arm. "Mister, we have to go!"
In the distance, shapes stirred. Blights rose from the ground, feeding on the corpses of their kin, their forms swelling as they absorbed the lingering mana.
Ren's brow creased, voice sharp. "Get your family out!"
The man shook his head, desperate. "If your wounds aren't treated now, not even a skilled healer will save you from the scars!"
Ren shoved him back, teeth grit. "Go!" His shout cracked the air. At that moment, a jagged claw pierced through his thigh, forcing him down. He grimaced, hand snapping to the wound. Frost bloomed instantly, sealing the injury into ice. "Please," he growled, the word edged with command.
The father's eyes filled with anguish, but he pulled his wife and children away. Their footsteps faded up the road.
Ren forced himself upright, each movement sending spikes of pain through his body. Three blights advanced, their bodies bulkier, reinforced by the mana they had consumed. They weren't fast, but their hide gleamed like stone.
Ren tightened his grip on the sword. His breath came out in a cloud, his eyes narrowing.
The first blight lunged. Ren sidestepped, blade slicing across its neck, ice creeping through the wound until its body shattered mid-charge. Another slammed into him with its weight, knocking him back a step. He drove his frozen leg into the ground for leverage and swung upward, cleaving through its chest. The blade stuck for a heartbeat before splitting the beast in two.
The last one came with claws raised high. Ren dropped his shoulder, pain lancing through his body, and slashed upward in a brutal arc. The sword howled with cold. The creature froze solid in mid-motion before it could land its strike. Ren drove his foot into its stomach, and the frozen husk splintered into a storm of shards.
Ren staggered, breathing heavy, blood dripping down his side. The street was silent again, save for the crackle of frost spreading slowly across the cobblestones.
Ren limped down the main road, every step a dull throb that spread through his body like fire eating away at old wood.
Everything hurts. I don't know how much longer I can drag myself like this. I should stop—just one day to rest… but a lot can happen in a day.
His knees buckled. He caught himself with his sword, the blade digging into the dirt as he hauled his body upright again.
"Damn it," he hissed under his breath. "I can't stop. That'd be selfish. Why should I get to lie down when others are losing their lives right now…"
His body betrayed him again. One knee hit the ground, and this time the strength to rise never came.
I—I can't. My legs… they're giving out.
He collapsed, the sword clattering beside him. The sound of steel striking earth rang louder than it should have, echoing through the haze swallowing his mind. His vision blurred, and the world slipped away.
———
Ren blinked awake to light pressing at his eyelids. His eyes snapped open, his body jerking upright in bed, wild and disoriented. His gaze darted across the unfamiliar ceiling and walls until recognition sank in. The safehouse. Their refuge.
His chest rose and fell in a sharp breath. Relief trickled in.
"They got you good."
Rin leaned against the wall, arms folded. Her expression was stone, but her voice carried the edge of worry. "Are you trying to get yourself killed or what?"
Ren's mouth opened, but no words came. Only a sigh. He let himself fall back against the mattress. "No. I'm not."
Rin let out a short, breathy laugh—more exasperation than amusement. She crossed her arms tighter. "Then what are you doing? They told me you've barely slept an hour at a time for two weeks. Look at yourself—you're even paler than usual. At least, you won't have to worry about stress turning your hair white." Her eyes flicked at his head. "It's already a lost cause."
Ren lifted a strand of his hair, letting the pale locks slip between his fingers. "It'll just turn silver."
"Forget about that." Rin shook her head, sharp. "Keep this up and you'll bury yourself the same way Sosuke almost did. You know what happened to him… more than once."
Ren swung his legs over the bed and forced himself to stand, his movements stiff but deliberate. "I'm okay."
Rin rolled her eyes and waved a hand through the air as if shooing away his words. "You can say it as much as you want, it won't make it true." She planted her hands on her hips. "If I hadn't talked Lyra out of coming, she'd have beaten you into the mattress for this."
Ren's brow tightened. "You don't get it—"
"No, I do." Rin's voice cracked like a whip, her gaze unyielding. "Every one of us has struggled with the weight of people dying out there. But if you push yourself until you drop dead, how many more lives will be lost without you to help? Think for once. Take a day off. It won't kill you."
Ren's lips pressed into a thin line. He gave a faint nod. "Sure."
Rin stepped closer, tilting his chin toward her with one finger. "Your face is scarred now. What a shame."
Ren jerked back, heat rising in his ears. "It's hardly noticeable!" He snapped his head toward the mirror by the door, eyes narrowing at the faint mark etched across his skin.
"Yeah, okay." Rin's tone dripped with mockery. She spun on her heel and started toward the exit. "Oh, and you've been asleep for eighteen hours." The door clicked shut behind her.
Ren's eyes shot wide. "What?!"
Ren burst through the door, footsteps echoing down the hall. He caught up to Rin in a rush, grabbing her wrist from behind to force her to a stop. His grip was tight, desperate.
"Eighteen hours? Seriously?" His voice cracked between disbelief and irritation. "You're not messing with me, are you?"
Rin glanced back over her shoulder, unfazed. She shook her head, black hair swaying. "What does it matter? You finally got the rest you needed. Your wounds are closed up. If you're so eager to throw yourself back out there, I won't be the one to stop you."
Ren's jaw tightened. His eyes narrowed, lips pressed to a thin line. "But I can't…"
Her brow arched, a flicker of genuine curiosity breaking through the sarcasm. "Why?"
"It's… a big area to cover." His words stumbled, shoulders dropping as the truth slipped out. "And I've been putting off asking one of you to help." The last few words came slower, quieter, like dragging stones uphill.
A smirk tugged at Rin's lips. She folded her arms, tilting her head just enough to look smug. "That so? Then fret not my friend, you've got the best one." She gave a small, decisive nod, as if it were already settled. "When and where is all I need to know."
Ren let out a breath that wasn't quite relief, wasn't quite resignation. "Right."