Chapter 11
The night air was cold.
As Sylva led Ren onto the towering rooftop the night wind brushed against his face, carrying the distant sounds of the city below.
Cars moving through glowing streets, train tracks rattling somewhere far away and the faint laughter drifting through the night from people still living their ordinary lives.
Everything felt... normal.
And somehow, that made it hurt even more.
Sylva stood a few steps behind him, silently giving him the space he needed.
"This is the view I can see why it?" Ren asked quietly.
A faint smile crossed Sylva's face.
"You used to come here often as a child."
Ren blinked.
"Huh?"
" of course you don't remember," she said softly. "But your mother used to bring you here whenever you cried."
Her gaze drifted toward the city lights.
"She loved this place, she loved this world, she loved this people."
For a brief moment, sadness flickered across her eyes.
"This was the place she came to whenever the weight of everything became too much to bear."
Ren slowly looked over the skyline.
Towering buildings stretched endlessly beneath the dark sky, their windows glowing like scattered stars across the earth.
This was home, the convenience stores he visited after school
The crowded streets, when he walked with his friends
The parks where he wasted entire afternoons doing absolutely nothing.
His chest tightened
I can't believe there's another world, how is— I still don't understand any of this," he muttered.
"Another universe... monsters... Kuroõkami..."
His voice lowered.
"It doesn't even feel real."
Sylva slowly walked beside him.
"That's because this world was never meant to know the truth," she replied quietly.
she looked at him with a soft gaze
"This is also why your mother brought you here."
Ren frowned slightly.
"You might not know this but she existed as an avatar in this world when her energy was depleting she used the last of her remaining power on you."
The wind suddenly felt colder.
"In case one day... you wished to return home."
Ren stared ahead silently, after a while, he finally spoke again.
"What was she like?"
Sylva looked at him.
"My mother," Ren clarified softly... for a moment,
Sylva said nothing.
Then her expression softened in a way Ren had never seen before.
"She was kind," Sylva said quietly.
Her eyes drifted toward the city lights once more.
"Far kinder than someone with her power should have been.
A faint laugh escaped her.
"She was strong really really strong, she never cared about power, or glory or fame"
Her smile slowly faded.
"She was reckless too. Stubborn infact....
Always throwing herself into danger for the sake of others."
Ren listened silently.
"But when it came to you..." Sylva paused.
"She would have destroyed wiped out multiple universes just to protect you."
And she did that once.
Ren's breath caught.
The wind blew harder across the rooftop as he lowered his gaze.
"If I leave..." he said quietly, "I'll probably never see this place again, huh?"
Sylva remained silent but that silence alone gave him the answer.
Ren laughed weakly to himself.
" I can't even say goodbye to my friends this really sucks for me ."
Sylva chuckled softly "Yes," she admitted "It does."
Ren took one final look at the city then slowly, he turned around.
The System screen immediately flickered back into existence before him.
MISSION QUEST UNLOCKED
Return to Origin Archives
Objective: Return to the Original Universe and uncover the truth about your parents.
Reward: Unknown
Failure: Unknown
Warning: This mission cannot be abandoned once accepted.
Do you wish to accept this quest?
YES NO
Ren stared at the screen silently.
If my mother really used the last of her energy for me ...
Just in case I ever wished to return home.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"I won't let it go to waste, she was my hero"
Sylva smiled softly "Then what are we waiting for?"
Ren took a deep breath.
YES.
Ding...
[Player has accepted request.]
[Incubating mother's spiritual Energy...]
[Incubating.....Stabilizing Dimensional boundary...]
The air suddenly distorted.
Ren's eyes widened.
Then
RRRIIIIIPPPPP.
Reality itself tore apart.
A massive crack split open above the rooftop, stretching across the darkness like shattered glass.
[ Mother's energy getting depleted....]
Violent waves of energy exploded outward.
The wind howled as the energy shook the entire city making all buildings to tremble.
At the center of the fracture, a swirling abyss slowly formed.
Pitch-black endless.
As though space itself had been hollowed out.
Strange violet currents spiraled around the gateway while fragments of light warped unnaturally into its depths.
System notice
[ Mother's energy completely depleted]
[Dimensionsal boundary completed destroyed]
Ren instinctively stepped back.
His entire body screamed at him as he starred at the sight of the darkness
Sylva, however, stared at it calmly the portal continued expanding until it towered over the entire rooftop like the entrance to another reality.
Then the System's echoed once more.
[Dimensional crack has been successfully created ]
[Welcome home, Player.]
Silence fell as ren stared into the abyss.
" Mother— he stuttered "is this really the power of just a little of what you can do ".
Sylva stared at the massive portal silently, the violent currents of energy reflecting in her eyes.
Then she smiled faintly.
"Even in death..." she murmured, "her power is still enough to tear through dimensional boundaries."
And stabilize the cracks between universes
Even in death she's still impressive
Ren looked toward the swirling abyss again, speechless.
The portal pulsed violently, as though calling out to him.
Sylva turned back toward Ren and extended her hand.
A gentle smile appeared on her face.
"Let's go home."