The sun was dipping low over Mikado City, painting the skyline in strokes of amber and fading gold. Ren sat cross-legged on the floor of his modest apartment, eyes half-closed as the dull hum of the city seeped through the thin walls. The world outside continued in its usual rhythm—cars honking, people chattering, a distant siren wailing—yet for Ren, time felt… different.
He inhaled deeply, letting his breath slow. His mind, however, raced. Images, sounds, sensations—all unfolded at a speed no one else could fathom. The drip of water from a cracked pipe. The minute flutter of a moth's wings outside the window. The subtle tension in his own muscles.
"I'm going to be late for school" picking up his backpack Ren heads downstairs to the street. As he stepped outside, the noise of the street swelled around him the hurried footsteps, the chatter, the hum of engines. But to Ren, it was annoyingly slow. He blinked, frustration flickering across his face. Everyone else moved like they were underwater, every motion exaggeratedly slow. The world had turned into a sluggish dance while his mind raced ahead, craving the speed to match.
To his slow, perceptive eyes, Ren sensed that something was off—but he couldn't quite put it into words. It wasn't the sound, smell, sight, touch, or even the taste of the air—those all felt the same. Yet the energy of the crowds seemed more and more muted, like something was tugging at the back of his mind, just out of reach. He slowly shook his head, snapping out of it, but the feeling lingered. Throughout the school day, his thoughts kept circling back, trying to make sense of what he was experiencing.
After school, he felt the usual glares trailing behind him like heat off pavement. The same group of delinquents loitered by the school gates, their laughter sharp and empty. One of them—Ren had already forgotten his name—was shouting something in his direction. Words, loud and jagged, but they barely registered. To Ren, they sounded like garbled echoes underwater, too slow to bother decoding.
He kept walking.
A hand grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back. The world blurred—not from motion, but from the strange dissonance between what he saw and what he felt. The bully's face twisted into a sneer, but Ren couldn't focus on it. He didn't feel fear or anger. Just a low, vibrating hum in his ears.
The boy's fist drew back, slow like a video playing at half speed.
Too slow, Ren thought.
He watched the punch come toward him. Calmly, he raised a hand, caught the first midair, and in one fluid motion, pivoted. The next second, the bully was on the ground, flipped cleanly over Ren's shoulder.
Bullys Pov
"Look it's the shy loser who doesn't even respond to anything, maybe I should give him a little scare"
I smirk as I walk up to him, swaggering forward with the boys trailing behind. Ren—yeah, that's his name, I think—is just walking by like we're not even here. Like we don't exist.
Pisses me off.
I start calling him freak, shy boy. he turns around as I keep laying in to him, as he looks at me with cold dead eyes, it makes me flinch for a second.
I grab his collar and yank him hard. His body jerks, but he doesn't stumble—he just moves forward, slow and weird, like he's already expecting me. No fear in his eyes. No surprise. Just that same blank, quiet look.
Creepy.
I clench my fist. "Maybe this'll wake you up, freak."
Ren Pov
Well, looks like I won't hear the end of it tomorrow. Time for bed—another long, dreadful day awaits.
But even as I try to sleep, I can't shake this feeling... Like something's being lost. Like something's being drained from everyone around me.
It's strange. I've never felt anything like it before.