The Beginning
"Hey Ren! Don't go outside, son! Ren, I'm talking to you!"
his father shouted.
Ren answered calmly:
"Dad, the park across the street… please, just a little. I'll come right back."
His father sighed.
"Ah, damn… I can't say no to you. Fine, but be quick."
Ren smiled brightly.
"I love you, Dad!"
"I love you too, son."
his father replied with a warm grin.
---
The Park
There were three boys in the park. Ren walked over.
"Hi! Can I play with you guys?"
Zen answered:
"Sure. We needed one more anyway. Come on. What's your name?"
"I'm Ren. And you?"
"I'm Zen. This is You, Rei, and Mex."
Rei nodded,
You smiled,
Mex waved lightly.
Ren grinned. "Nice to meet you. What are we playing?"
Zen explained proudly:
"Thief and Humans."
Ren blinked.
"Thief and humans? What kind of game is that?"
Zen smirked:
"The thief breaks into the house, kills the humans, and escapes.
Humans win if they don't get caught."
Rei assigned roles:
"You're a human, You."
"Why am I ALWAYS the human…?" You complained.
Zen added:
"Humans run, thieves catch… and kill."
Ren shivered.
"O-okay…"
"START! Thirty seconds! Go hide!" Rei shouted.
Ren and You ran.
"I'll hide behind the tree!" Ren said.
"I'll take the house with the garden. Don't get caught, Ren." You said.
"I won't!"
Zen shouted: "We're coming!"
Rei: "I'll check the houses. Zen, you know what to do."
Zen smirked: "Of course I do…"
Zen spotted Ren's footprints behind the tree—but before he got close—
Rei shouted:
"You! Found you! Zen, over here!"
"No, please! Let go! I'm sorry!" You cried.
Zen hissed:
"Shut up, You! Where's Ren? Tell me or I'll break your hand!"
You trembled.
"I'm… I'm sorry, Ren… He's behind the tree…"
Rei: "Good."
Zen: "Rei, go get the little freak."
Rei grumbled.
"Fine…"
Ren tried to run—
"O-oh no… I have to…!"
—but tripped on a rock and fell.
Rei grabbed him by the hair.
"You fat idiot! You made me run for nothing!"
Dragging him back to Zen.
Zen looked at Ren.
"Your hair is too long…"
He pulled out scissors and began cutting it.
Rei backed away.
"Those eyes… like a demon's eyes…"
Suddenly Ren noticed something—
The door of his house across the park… was open.
"Why… is the door open…?"
A man stepped out.
His hands were covered in blood.
Ren screamed:
"LET ME GO! I have to go home!"
"This is a GAME!" Zen snapped.
"Enough, Zen! The game is over!" Rei shouted.
Zen punched Rei.
You screamed: "Rei!!"
In the chaos Ren escaped and ran home.
When he entered…
Everything was red.
Everything was silent.
His parents… were dead.
Zen peeked into the house—
and screamed:
"WHAT THE HELL—?!"
and ran away in terror.
Ren knelt beside his parents.
His hands trembled as he touched them.
"Mom… Dad… please… answer me…"
No response.
Only silence.
Only blood.
Ren's hands shook.
His voice cracked.
"That bastard…
that piece of shit…
he killed them…"
---
Present Time
Ren's knees trembled.
"What a fucking… miserable day…"
He punched the wall—knuckles bleeding.
He walked downstairs to the basement.
Cold, wet air hit his face.
Walls covered in scratches.
Notes.
Newspaper clippings.
Red strings connecting photos.
At the center, a single phrase:
"WHO IS HE?"
Ren's voice cracked:
"Who are you?
Who the hell ARE YOU?!"
He flipped the table, papers scattering everywhere.
He grabbed a photograph—his hands shook violently.
"Damn it… DAMN IT!"
"When I find you… I'll tear your head off."
The lights flickered.
A shadow moved across the wall.
Ren slowly raised his head.
The shadow… was alive.
---
The Confrontation with the Shadow
The darkness shifted, shaped like a human but completely black.
Ren stepped forward.
"You're here… I know you're here!"
The shadow moved—testing him.
Ren's fists clenched.
"Damn it… I'll find you…"
The shadow suddenly lunged.
Ren jumped back, heart pounding.
"W-who are you?!"
The shadow spoke—its voice deep, metallic, inhuman.
"Ren…"
Ren shivered.
"What do you want?"
A low laugh.
"Your rage… your hatred… will lead you to me.
But first—
you must learn."
"Learn what?!" Ren yelled.
"The only thing I need to learn is how to KILL YOU!"
The shadow stepped closer.
Lights flickered violently.
"Brave… or foolish?" it whispered.
"I'm both." Ren snapped.
"And I'll end you."
Ren swung a plank—
but it passed through the shadow.
A distorted whisper filled the room:
"I am your past…
your anger…
your destiny…"
Ren's breathing grew heavy.
"You killed my parents… didn't you? SAY IT!"
The shadow said nothing.
It only moved closer.
"I won't destroy you," it whispered.
"I will test you."
Lights died completely.
Ren gasped for breath, gripping his head.
"I have to… stop this…
before… I lose myself…"
On the wall, a new message appeared:
"WITHOUT KNOWING YOUR PAST, YOU CANNOT DESTROY YOUR FUTURE."
Ren stepped back.
"I'll uncover it…
I'll find you…"
The basement door creaked open.
A figure stood at the top of the stairs—dressed in black, eyes glowing.
Ren didn't back away.
"It's time," he whispered.
"For answers."
"For a reckoning."
---
Yuna & Mina Enter the Basement
The doorbell rang.
"Ren? Are you home?" Yuna called.
Silence.
They entered.
The smell—metallic, cold, almost like blood.
"Ren…?" Yuna whispered.
Mina followed her.
"What happened here…?"
They opened the basement door.
Darkness.
A faint sound—punches, echoing.
"Ren?" Yuna asked, voice trembling.
Ren was in the corner, punching the wall again and again.
His hands dripping blood.
Breathing ragged.
Mina stepped forward.
"Ren! Stop! This isn't good for you!"
He didn't turn.
He punched harder.
Yuna approached slowly.
"Ren… we're here. You're not alone."
Ren froze.
"They're gone…" he whispered.
"I… couldn't save them…"
His hands shook violently.
Mina touched his shoulder.
"Ren. We're here. Let us help you."
He turned toward them—eyes red, wild, exhausted.
"I don't want to bear this alone…
but until I find him…
I won't stop."
Silence filled the room.
Yuna placed her hand on his shoulder.
"We're with you."
Ren took a breath—painful, shaky.
"…Thank you."
---
School Morning
"Time to go to school," Yuna said softly.
Ren changed his shirt.
Mina noticed burn marks on his side.
"What… happened here?" she asked.
"Don't touch it."
His voice was sharp.
But Mina touched the burn anyway.
"Ren… this is serious."
Ren suddenly grabbed her and kissed her—
a desperate, impulsive, broken kiss.
Mina gasped—
but didn't pull away.
"Ren! That's enough! Snap out of it!" she shouted.
Ren blinked—realizing what he did.
He pulled back, guilt in his eyes.
"…I'm sorry. I just… lose control sometimes."
Mina touched his arm.
"We're here. Always."
Yuna nodded quietly.
"Let's go. Time to move."
Ren looked forward.
Calmer.
But determined.
"I'm going to find him," he whispered.
---
End of Chapter
The three walked together.
The sky was heavy.
The air colder than usual.
Ren clenched his fists.
"They're waiting for me…"
"And I WILL find them."
Behind them, in the basement…
the shadows moved again.
---
Mina was sitting at the edge of the school courtyard, nervously opening and closing the zipper of her bag.
Ever since last night, she had tried to stay away from Ren…
But her heart kept whispering his name.
That made everything worse.
Yuna crouched beside her.
"You saw it too last night, right?" she asked softly.
"That red light in Ren's eyes."
Mina didn't lift her head.
"I saw it. And… it scared me."
Just then, two boys approached them.
Upperclassmen—confident, relaxed, and a little too friendly.
"Hey girls," one of them said with a grin.
"You look lonely today. Want some company?"
Mina stayed silent.
Yuna frowned.
"No. We're not interested. Leave."
But the boys didn't back off.
One stepped closer to Mina.
"Don't be so harsh," he said.
"You don't need to shake like that."
Mina instinctively pulled back.
And at that moment…
She felt someone watching them from afar.
Ren.
He stood in the shadow of the school gate.
Eyes narrowed… breathing different.
The burning sensation in his chest had returned—
cold, sharp, guiding him toward something.
The Shadow.
A whisper brushed against his ear.
"Look at them."
"Touching what's yours."
"Do you want me to show you what to do?"
Ren's throat went dry.
Something dark moved inside his bloodstream—
anger, but deeper… heavier.
"Should I kill them…?"
The thought hit him out of nowhere.
Sharp, sudden, uncontrollable.
Was it his own thought?
Or the shadow's voice inside his mind?
He couldn't tell.
The edges of his vision darkened.
His heartbeat quickened.
Yuna looked uncomfortable.
Mina's shoulders were trembling.
One of the boys reached toward Mina's arm, smirking.
Something snapped inside Ren.
He stepped forward.
Then again.
His footsteps were almost silent, but the air grew heavy around him.
Mina lifted her head…
And she saw the flash of darkness pass through Ren's eyes.
"Ren…?"
Ren said nothing.
But his pupils glowed red for a split second.
So fast only Mina noticed.
The boys stopped laughing.
Ren slowly curled his fingers into a fist.
His breath trembled.
"Don't go near them."
There was no anger in his voice.
No fear.
Only a cold, suffocating stillness—
a voice that didn't need to shout to be dangerous.
The pressure in the air dropped onto the boys like a weight.
Both of them took a step back without meaning to.
Mina inhaled sharply.
In Ren's eyes, she saw both the boy she knew…
and something she'd never seen before.
Yuna whispered,
"Ren… are you… really okay?"
Ren slightly turned his head.
Behind him, clinging to his back like a second skin,
a thin shadow shifted.
Only Ren could see it.
And at that moment…
the shadow smiled.
---