The air in the great hall was thick with the scent of ozone and something far more ancient and terrifying. Ren stood in the center of the room, his clothes unmarked and his posture relaxed, but the air around him hummed with an almost palpable pressure. The dozen guards, once so full of bluster, lay in a heap, knocked out by a mere fraction of his spiritual energy. Genshiro's blustering rant had been replaced by a grim, serious expression, his eyes narrowed as he finally recognized the true threat before him.
Then, just as the tension was about to break, a new voice echoed through the hall. "Lord Genshiro, I have returned."
Oboro glided into the hall, a ghost of a smile on her face. Her sword was sheathed, her movements fluid and confident. Behind her, tied with spiritual ropes and looking terrified, were Sagiri, Hibari, and Yuuna. The three girls' eyes locked onto Ren, and a gasp of relief escaped their lips. "Ren!" they cried out in unison.
The sound of their voices was like a dagger to Ren's heart, not of pain, but of a strange, unsettling drama. He watched, a spectator in his own life, as Oboro continued to report to Genshiro. "Hibari and Sagiri are here, sir. They seem to be attempting a kidnapping of Yuuna."
A smirk played on Genshiro's face, a cruel, mocking twist of his lips. "A kidnapping? How preposterous. Yuuna is not from this realm. She is bound to me."
Oboro's eyes glinted, a cunning light in their depths. "I have a suggestion, Lord. These two… they possess impressive psychic abilities. It would be a waste to simply dispose of them. Perhaps they would be better served as your concubines?"
Genshiro's gaze fell upon Sagiri and Hibari. He saw their fear, but also their ethereal beauty. The cold, calculating look in his eyes was replaced by one of greedy interest. "An excellent idea, Oboro. They will be perfect."
Ren felt a sense of surrealism wash over him. This was exactly how it would play out in some poorly written television drama. He saw the next scene before it even happened. Sagiri and Hibari would apologize for their weakness, and Yuuna, always so pure and self-sacrificing, would offer herself as a wife to Genshiro so that Ren could escape. He almost chuckled at the predictability of it all.
And as if on cue, the script was followed to the letter. "We're useless," Sagiri whispered, tears welling in her eyes. Hibari nodded, her head bowed in shame. Yuuna, her voice trembling, said, "Lord Genshiro… if you will let Ren leave this place safely… I will… I will be your wife."
Ren felt a small, almost imperceptible warmth spread through his chest. It was a good kind of out of place. They were trying to protect him, a normal human, from this supposedly unstoppable foe. They didn't just blindly believe he would win; they saw his vulnerability and chose to put his safety before their own. He was grateful for their kindness, even if it was born from a misunderstanding of his true power. He had watched their stories, their struggles, and their sacrifices in his old life. Experiencing it firsthand was a far richer, more meaningful experience than any manga or anime could provide.
It was time to correct this misunderstanding.
In an instant, Ren's entire aura flared. He wasn't just releasing a fraction of his power this time. He was creating a dome, a 'Real Illusion' that enveloped the entire castle. The air shimmered, and the very reality of the space warped around them. Within this barrier, Ren was god. The floor, the walls, the very air they breathed bent to his will. Genshiro, in the middle of a triumphant laugh, found his mouth unable to close. Oboro, standing next to him, gasped for breath, her lungs refusing to take in oxygen. The fear radiating from Ren was so potent it was like a physical entity, suffocating and absolute.
They looked around, their eyes wide with terror. They could feel that this was an illusion, but every sensation, every sound, every terrifying detail was as real as the stones beneath their feet. The guards who had just woken up from Ren's initial display of power fell unconscious once more, unable to withstand the sheer weight of his spiritual energy.
On the other side of the hall, Sagiri, Hibari, and Yuuna gasped. They felt it too, the terrible, oppressive aura that radiated from Ren. It was the energy of a demon god, an ancient being who had ascended the human realm and was now simply existing. It was terrifying, and beautiful, all at once.
Genshiro, however, was not one to give up. He roared, and in a flash of brilliant light, he transformed into his dragon god form. The great beast, with its scales of shimmering jade and eyes of burning gold, filled the hall. But even in this form, he couldn't completely block out Ren's aura. The spiritual pressure pressed down on him, making every breath a struggle. Oboro, a mere spiritual being, could no longer handle it. She collapsed, unconscious, her body unable to withstand the overwhelming power.
Genshiro fought on, but it was a battle against reality itself. He was a dragon god, a being of immense power, but Ren was something more. He was a reality manipulator. The very fabric of Genshiro's existence began to fray at the edges, his power draining away like water in a sieve. With a final, guttural roar of defiance, he too collapsed, his dragon form dissolving into mist as he fell unconscious.
Ren's aura slowly receded, his barrier dissolving with a faint shimmer. He looked over to the three girls, a pang of guilt in his chest. They, too, had fallen unconscious, their bodies overwhelmed by the aura he had released.
With a thought, a gentle, ethereal light surrounded the girls. He used his 'Real Illusion' to make them float, their unconscious forms drifting after him as he walked towards the exit of the castle. But before he left, he looked back at the unconscious form of Oboro. A sudden, mischievous thought struck him. It was their turn to have someone kidnapped.
Ren reached out, and with a flick of his wrist, Oboro's floating body was added to the group. He walked out of the cave, the four of them floating behind him like a strange, otherworldly procession.
It was still night when they exited the cave, the cool mountain air a welcome change from the heavy, spiritual atmosphere of the castle. Oboro was the first to wake. Her eyes fluttered open, and she realized she was floating. She looked around, her mind a whirlwind of confusion and fear. She saw Ren, his back to her, walking calmly through the woods. She decided to pretend to still be unconscious, her mind racing as she tried to assess the situation. But then, her eyes fell upon Ren. She felt something new, something alien and yet strangely familiar. It was a pull, an undeniable connection. This feeling… what was it? She didn't know, but before she returned to Genshiro's castle, she knew she needed to understand what it was. She closed her eyes again, feigning unconsciousness, her mind now consumed with a single, unanswerable question.