Morning sunlight poured through the windows.
Ren's eyes slowly opened, his vision blurry at first. His body felt heavy, like he hadn't fully recovered from whatever happened last night.
He blinked.
A familiar ceiling.
"…Home?"
He turned his head slightly.
Kai was lying on a bed across the room, already awake, staring at the ceiling.
"…You alive?" Kai muttered.
Ren exhaled.
"Barely."
"We got kidnapped again? VERY NICEEE. Now what?"
Before either of them could say anything else
The door swung open.
"Finally awake?"
A man came in.
Ren was confused.
"Uncle kael? What are u doing here"
"I'll explain everything later. U have better things to do. handle ts one first." He said.
A small figure rushed in like a storm.
Bright eyes. Endless energy.
She stopped right in front of Ren, leaning in way too close.
"Wait! When did you get the fragment? How does it even work? Can I see it? Can I touch it? How...."
"Lina."
A calm voice cut through her rapid-fire questions.
Kael stepped into the room behind her.
"Introduce yourself first."
Lina puffed her cheeks, clearly annoyed, but quickly straightened up.
"…Fine."
She pointed at herself proudly.
"I'm Lina!"
Then immediately—
"So where's the fragment?!"
Kael sighed quietly.
He leaned slightly toward Ren and whispered,
"Ignore her. They never stop."
Kai let out a small laugh.
"…I can see that."
Kael stepped forward.
"Everyone, this is Lina. She's one of the orphans who will be helping us."
Ren frowned slightly.
"…Helping?"
But Lina was already talking again.
"What does it feel like? Does it hurt? Can you turn it on and off—"
Kael raised a hand.
"Enough."
Lina finally stopped.
For about two seconds.
Kael turned toward the door.
"Come in."
One by one, the others entered.
First
Kaito.
Tall. Calm. His presence alone quieted the room slightly. His eyes scanned everything before resting briefly on Ren.
Then.
Ren stepped into the room.
For a moment, everything felt… normal.
Riku sat in the corner, nose buried deep in a thick book, though his eyes occasionally lifted. quietly observing, as if he noticed more than he let on.
Sora sat cross-legged on the floor, calm as ever, nodding along while Lina talked endlessly beside him. He didn't interrupt, just listened, like every word mattered.
Mika stood near the small kitchenette, gently stirring something in a pot. The soft clink of the spoon against the metal filled the background, her expression peaceful and focused.
On the couch, Haru and Taro leaned back lazily, watching TV. A quiet laugh escaped them as something on screen caught their attention.
And in the middle of it all—
Lina bounced on her toes, waving her hands dramatically as she spoke.
"I'm telling you, something is seriously off about Ren! Like, he disappears, then comes back acting all mysterious, and don't even get me started on that necklace—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Her eyes locked onto the doorway.
"…Oh."
Everyone else slowly followed her gaze.
Ren stood there.
Silent.
For a brief moment, no one spoke.
Then Lina pointed straight at him.
"SEE?! I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT YOU!"
Haru leaned back further into the couch, smirking.
"Well, this just got interesting."
Taro chuckled.
"Perfect timing."
Riku closed his book slightly, watching Ren more carefully now.
Sora tilted his head.
"…You look tired."
Mika glanced over from the kitchen.
"…And injured."
Ren stood there, still processing everything that had happened.
The fight.
Rei.
That shadow.
The voice.
His hand instinctively moved to the necklace.
It was quiet now.
But not gone.
Ren exhaled slowly.
"…Nah. I am fine now..."
Haru burst out laughing.
"Good"
The room filled with noise.
Lina started talking again.
Riku began asking questions.
Kai complained.
Haru kept messing around.
Through all of it—
Kaito simply watched.
He gave Ren a small nod.
"You'll get used to this… eventually."
Ren looked around.
At all of them.
Different.
Strange.
Yet somehow…
Connected.
And annoyed.
"…This is going to be a problem."
Just then, Kaito walked to him.
He stopped beside Ren.
"You're thinking too much."
Ren glanced at him.
"…Am I?"
Kaito looked around the room.
"At them."
"They're not normal."
A pause.
"Neither are you."
Ren looked at the necklace around his neck.
Then back at the group.
"…So what happens to me now?"
Kaito didn't answer immediately.
He simply walked past him.
Toward the others.
"…You stay alive."
Ren stood there for a moment.
Then looked back at everyone again.
Chaos.
Noise.
Energy.
A strange kind of warmth.
He exhaled quietly.
"…Yeah."
Maybe…
Just maybe…
He wasn't alone
Volume 1 end
Volume 2 Coming soon
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