Chapter 35: The Forbidden Script
Ren entered his room and immediately turned the lock. The click of the bolt felt like a barrier between him and the lies of the world outside. His stomach cramped painfully, reminding him of the pizza and burgers he had just bought for Hana.
Master Kara and Kimo were clear, Ren thought, leaning against the door. No food. Only water and dry bread for the next few days. If I eat now, the transformation might fail... or worse.
He walked over to his small desk and picked up the two yellowed pages Mika had given him. They were fragile, the corners charred by fire and edges torn as if someone had tried to destroy them in a hurry. The ink was faded, but the English letters stood out—sharp and alien in this world of Melses.
Ren took a deep breath and began to read:
"I know you will think I am a madman. Everyone here does. But listen carefully: Trust no one. Unless they are from our Real World, they are not like us. Even if they claim to be your mother, your father, or your brother—stay guarded."
Ren's hand trembled. He thought of Hana in the other room.
"I had to leave my own parents behind. They were hollow... predictable. I managed to 'cure' my wife and my son, to bring their souls back to a state of true humanity so they wouldn't be like the fickle inhabitants of Aethelard. In this world, you can give a person a thousand shards of gold, but the moment you refuse them once, or the moment you do something they dislike—they will turn on you. They will kill you without a second thought."
Ren felt a chill. Was the entire population of this world just one bad day away from becoming murderers?
The text at the bottom was underlined heavily:
"If you wish to save anyone, to make them 'normal' again, you must be on the path of the Magic Crow or the Shadows. These are the only pathways that allow you to reach into a soul and fix what is broken. If you are not on these paths, you cannot help them. You must stay away from them for your own survival."
Ren collapsed onto his bed, the papers clutched to his chest. The weight of his choice hit him like a physical blow. He hadn't just chosen a way to fight; he had unknowingly chosen the only path that could "cure" the people he cared about.
But the warning about family... it echoed in his head. Hana... is she really my sister? Or is she just a 'person of this world' waiting for me to make one mistake?
He tucked the papers under his mattress. He had a mission tomorrow. A mission as a Magic Crow. And now, he knew exactly how much was at stake.