CHAPTER 4
The wind died. Not because it faded naturally
but because Renji willed it to.
He stood perfectly still, eyes half-lidded, the faintest tremor of breath slipping between his lips. The air around him warped, vibrating like a glass struck by a divine hammer.
Arisa felt the pressure first.
A weight. A whisper. A warning.
What is he…?
Her heartbeat quickened.
Renji opened his mouth slowly, deliberately his voice echoing as if spoken by countless versions of himself from countless worlds.
"Apex of Transcendence…"
His pupils constricted.
"[Abyss Manifestation]."
And the world answered...
WHOOM—!!
Space folded like wet paper.
Sound snapped out of existence. Light evaporated. Color died.
And Arisa didn't move.
She couldn't.
There was no falling, no floating, no direction. Just immediate, crushing displacement.
The world was gone.
Instead, she drifted in a void so absolute it felt like existence had been erased. Darkness pressed against her skin, her thoughts, her soul a vast, silent ocean that swallowed time itself.
And then
she saw him.
Renji.
But not the Renji she knew.
This one towered above the abyss like a god sculpted from black flame. His form was enormous, stretching upward forever, merging with the endless dark. A silhouette of pure authority.
Arisa's breath caught.
This… this is him? This is Renji?
Her voice was barely a tremor.
"What… the…"
Then...
GBIM—!!
A force slammed into her chest so violently her back arched involuntarily. She didn't feel pressure she felt extraction.
Something was being pulled out of her , it was getting ripped out
Her life force.
"Wh–what the hell ?!" she choked. Her voice shattered into fragments. "Where am I ?!"
Her vision flickered. Her limbs numbed. A freezing burn spread across her veins, making her whole body go sour and heavy.
Her consciousness dimmed like a dying candle.
I… can't… breathe…
She reached out even though she knew nothing was there to reach.
Her fingers dissolved into the black.
Her thoughts scattered...
WHOOSH—!!
The void collapsed.
Light exploded into existence, so bright she instinctively squeezed her eyes shut. Air rushed back into her lungs all at once, and
THUD—!
Her knees hit solid ground.
Arisa doubled over, coughing violently. The sound was raw, tearing, like each cough pulled threads of her soul back into place.
Iron flooded her tongue.
Her vision swam.
Her lungs seized.
"Arisa!" Renji's voice cut through the haze sharp, urgent.
He dashed toward her, kneeling beside her.
His hand hit her chest not harsh, but firm.
A soft, pale glow bloomed under his palm as healing magic surged into her.
"Easy… hey...hey, look at me." His voice dropped, calm but commanding. "Breathe. You're safe now."
Arisa tried—but another painful cough ripped out of her.
Her voice barely functioned.
"R… Renji…"
" It's One breath at a time." His hand hovered near her cheek as if afraid to touch her too hard. "Just follow my voice."
His fingers lightly brushed her back, guiding the rhythm of her breath.
"In… slow.
Out… slower."
She latched onto his voice his presence..anything solid in the dizzy swirl of her senses.
Gradually, the coughing subsided.
Her chest stopped burning.
Her sight steadied.
Her voice came out broken but audible.
"…What… was that…?"
Renji didn't answer.
His head snapped up instead, eyes narrowing as he scanned the air. Space itself rippled around them residual distortions from what he'd unleashed.
Then, in a clipped, unarguable tone:
"Not here."
He slid an arm under her knees, another behind her back, lifting her effortlessly. Arisa gave a sharp, embarrassed gasp.
"R-Renji—!"
"Don't talk," he murmured. "You're shaking."
"I...I'm not—!"
"You almost died."
That shut her up instantly.
Her face flushed red.
A portal tore open beside them with a serrated crack, like reality being unzipped.
Renji stepped through, carrying her against his chest.
The world twisted then stilled.
They were inside Renji's living room.
He placed her on the couch gently, as if she were made of glass.
"You'll be fine," he said softly. "Just… rest."
Arisa looked up at him, eyes still wide with shock. "Renji… what was that?"
He sat at her side, leaning forward, arms resting on his knees. His expression was unreadable calm, but hiding something deeper.
"That," he said finally, "was my mind made form."
Arisa blinked.
"… I don't understand your mind? Renji, what are you talking about?"
He exhaled slowly.
"It is exactly what I said. In that place… you were inside my mind, my reality."
She felt her heart skip.
Renji continued, voice low and deliberate:
"That ability one of my Apex of Transcendence it's also the strongest power I possess. The void you saw… the one that drained your life force… is a fragment of my true existence."
She swallowed.
"So you're saying… you're a god in there?"
Renji stood, his shadow falling over her.
"Yes," he said simply. "In there, I am God. My laws override everything."
He closed his hand slowly, as if crushing an invisible sphere.
"If I command the void to devour stars, it does.
If I command time to reverse, it will."
Her lips parted in disbelief.
"That's why," he said, "it's called Apex of Transcendence. My word becomes absolute."
It's called the absolute law
Arisa's heart pounded.
Then something clicked.
"Wait I don't understand... but why if you're that strong, why didn't you use it against Choji? You could have ended everything instantly!"
Renji's head whipped toward her.
"No." The word hit like a blade.
He clenched his fist.
"I'm not at full strength. I'm not even at twenty percent. Absolute Law… cannot manifest when I'm that weak."
He looked away, jaw tightening.
"And if I used Abyss Manifestation against Choji.. he wouldn't die."
Renji's voice darkened.
"He would infect my mind. Corrupt it. And if I fall in my own domain… everything ends."
This is a forbidden technique used by the dragons of veltorax and we were taught by our mother ..
Even my brother this power
A chill ran down Arisa's spine. But she stood shakily but with determination rising in her blood.
She met his eyes.
"I want it."
Renji blinked.
"I want that power," she said, fists trembling but voice unwavering. "The strength to surpass every human limit. If this war is ours to win, then I refuse to be weak."
For a moment, Renji simply stared at her and spoke you can't have my ability if you try to learn it you will die
I know Arisa replied with conviction if it's as you said then I want to learn the absolute law
Then..
slowly
A proud smile curved his lips.
Renji's eyes narrowed, studying Arisa with a hardness sharp enough to cut steel.
"So," he said slowly, "after hearing everything after nearly dying in my domain you still want to learn?"
Arisa didn't hesitate.
She lifted her head, her breath steady, eyes burning with a fierce, unyielding light.
"Yes," she said with conviction. "I want to grow stronger. Strong enough to stand beside you. Strong enough to survive whatever's coming."
Renji's expression shifted surprise, then something else. Respect? Worry? Perhaps both.
Before he could reply
Two silhouettes moved behind them.
A subtle rustle. A shift of mana. And from the corner of the living room the shadows stretched.
Dracan stepped out first, tall and broad-shouldered, his dark cape brushing the floor. His dragon-gold eyes gleamed sharply.
Sakura emerged beside him, silent at first, her presence like falling petals soft but deadly. Her kimono fluttered despite the still air.
Dracan folded his arms.
"Renji," he rumbled, "allow me to teach her."
Sakura added softly, "He's right."
Renji's brows shot up. "Sakura? You support this too?"
Sakura stepped forward, her footsteps whisper-light. She placed one hand on the table for balance, leaning slightly toward Renji.
"We need every fighter we can get," she said. "If Arisa is willing to risk her life, who are we to stop her? This war won't wait for us to be ready."
Dracan nodded. "I can temper her body. Shape her mana. Make her able to withstand a fragment of your domain."
Arisa stiffened shocked, but hopeful.
Renji stared at both of them, thinking.
His fists curled at his sides.
"Dracan… do you know what you're asking? Abyss Manifestation isn't a technique. It's a reality. One mistake, and.."
"—she dies. Yes."
Dracan's voice was unshaken. "But if she doesn't learn, she dies anyway in the coming war."
Sakura placed a hand gently on Renji's shoulder.
Her voice softened, something rare.
"Renji… she chose this. And we need every advantage."
Silence.
Renji's jaw tightened.
"…Tch. Fine. But. ....."
GBIM—!!
The entire room trembled.
Arisa flinched. Sakura inhaled sharply. Dracan's wings snapped open instinctively, shielding Arisa on reflex.
A crushing surge of mana rolled over them like a tidal wave.
Renji stood abruptly.
Sakura's lips parted. "This presence… no… it can't be.." Choji!!
Dracan hissed through clenched teeth.
"Impossible. He's back."
Renji's hands curled into fists.
"You won't get away this time… Azerin."
The air shattered with tension.
THE HUNTERS BUREAU DOJO
SLASH—! SLASH—! SLASH—!
Hiroto lunged forward, blade flashing silver under the training lights as he charged Takeda with everything he had.
Takeda stepped aside casually..precise, effortless like water flowing around a stone.
"Hiroto. Concentrate."
His fist drove forward
WHAM!!
The punch buried itself in Hiroto's stomach. The force launched him across the dojo and hiroto slammed into the wall hard.
A spray of blood left his lips as he crumpled to the floor.
"Gah—!"
Takeda approached, expression unreadable.
"You're fighting with emotion, not precision. Clear your mind, or you'll die before you ever swing at Choji."
Hiroto wiped his mouth, eyes shaking with rage.
"Shut up…"
He clenched his blade tighter.
Then..step.
He vanished.
A burst of blinding speed.
He lunged..
Takeda didn't even blink.
In one smooth motion, he grabbed Hiroto by the throat, twisting mid-air
BAM!!
He slammed him into the ground.
Hiroto choked, coughing blood again. Takeda didn't release him immediately.
"Enough," the Pillar said. "You're better than this."
Hiroto's eyes widened, then narrowed.…"Better?"
Takeda's hand loosened.
Hiroto seized it pushing it away violently.
"Better, you say?" His voice cracked with fury. "Millions are dead, Takeda! Hunters our comrades slaughtered like insects like animals"
Takeda stiffened.
"When Choji changed when a mere B-ranker became a monster we couldn't do anything. Not one damn thing."
Hiroto trembled, breathing hard.
"And you're standing here telling me I'm 'better'? Tch."
His fists shook.
"Now i don't care what happens to me anymore. I'll awaken that power even if it kills me. And then…"
His eyes burned with hatred.
"…I'll rip Choji's heart out myself."
Takeda exhaled slowly, worry flickering behind his stern expression... Are you stupid you can't even defeat me how can you.....
GBIM—!!
Both froze.
The same crushing mana hit them pure, overwhelming, unmistakable.
Takeda's eyes widened. "It can't be… he's back."
Hiroto's heart pounded. "Let's go."
He sprinted, Takeda following close behind.
The corridors shook as Hiroto and Takeda dashed down the hall, boots thundering against the marble floor.
"Why now?!" Hiroto shouted as they ran. "Why is he back now?!"
Takeda grit his teeth. "I don't know. Maybe he's planning another massacre."
Ahead, they burst into the hallway near the Commander's office.
The other Pillars were already assembling.
Marcus Steel spotted them first.
"Takeda! Hiroto! You felt that, right?!"
Takeda nodded sharply. "Yes Choji's back."
Lucio Vasquez adjusted his gloves, eyes narrowed. "Then what are we waiting for? We need to track that mana and contain him."
Longwei Tian hesitated, crackling lightning around his fingers.
"But… can we even beat him?"
Elena Warwick stepped forward, fire blazing across her blade.
"There's no time for doubt. Even if we die—we fight. This is our one chance."
Each Pillar nodded.
Their resolve unified.
Hiroto pushed forward.
"I'm coming too."
Takeda whipped around immediately.
"NO."
Hiroto froze but Takeda's voice grew cold.
"Your head isn't straight. You step onto that battlefield now, you'll die in the first thirty seconds."
"But I—"
"Shut up," Takeda snapped. "You will stay. Protect the president. That's an order."
Hiroto's jaw clenched in pure frustration.
Then...
GBIM—!!!
The mana wave returned deeper, darker, more violent.
Rarvi Surya's hair lifted as the air vibrated with power.
"It's getting stronger…!"
Elena raised her hand. "Move!"
One by one.....
CRASH—!!
The Pillars burst through the windows, leaping into the night sky, racing toward the source.
Buildings blurred beneath them as they sprinted from rooftop to rooftop an army of living weapons.
Back at Renji's Apartment at the Balcony
Sakura stared into the sky, her hair whipping in the wind.
"Why is he back…?" she whispered.
Renji stepped beside her, aura flaring like black fire.
"It's fine. This time… we won't let Azerin escape. We'll stop him before he fully merges."
He turned sharply.
"Dracan!"
Dracan knelt instantly. "Yes, my lord."
"Protect Lily and Arisa. No matter what."
"With my life," Dracan vowed.
Renji looked at Sakura.
Their eyes met.
"…Let's go, Sakura."
Sakura nodded once.
Then
BOOM!!
They vanished ...two streaks of light shooting into the sky.
Now a bove the City in the midnight Sky, the moon hung high cold and silver.
And beneath it…
a figure floated.
A familiar figure towering over the cityscape, hair and coat drifting like ink in water.
His presence warped the air.
His smile was sharp.
His voice rolled like thunder:
"Yes… come to me, Renji."
Come !!
Come!!!
Come to me ....
He spread his arms wide. My foolish best friend