Chapter 74: The Fractured Bond
The moonlight filtered through the cracked window of Ren's room, casting long, skeletal shadows across his bed. Ren lay there, staring at the ceiling, his body aching from the bruises Adam had left behind. But physical pain was the least of his concerns. His mind was a chaotic storm of questions that refused to be silenced.
Shit, he thought, rubbing his temples. I was supposed to get more pages of Thomas's Forbidden Book from Mika today. If those records are true, then the secrets of the Royal Bloodline are within my reach. I need to confirm it. Is King Zero really my brother? And if we share the same blood, why has he left us to rot in this godforsaken Sector while he sits on a throne of gold?
The hunger in his stomach growled, a sharp reminder that he hadn't eaten since the mission. He sat up, sighing. The house felt unnaturally cold, a damp chill that seemed to seep out from the very walls.
"Hana?" Ren called out, his voice echoing in the hallway. "Hana, did you make anything for dinner? I'm starving."
Silence.
Usually, Hana would respond instantly with a cheerful shout or the sound of clattering plates. But tonight, the house was as silent as a tomb. Ren frowned, a prickle of unease dancing down his spine.
"Hana? Are you listening?" He called again, louder this time. Still, there was no reply.
Ren stood up, his instincts as a Vaner screaming that something was wrong. He stepped out of his room and walked toward Hana's door. He hesitated for a second before pushing it open. The sight that met his eyes froze the blood in his veins.
Hana wasn't sleeping. She was sitting on her knees in the center of the room, her back straight, her hands clasped tightly together. She was deep in a trance, whispering words in a language Ren didn't recognize—a guttural, rhythmic chanting that made his ears ring.
What is she doing? Ren thought, his heart hammering. This isn't a normal prayer. This feels... dark.
He rushed forward, his worry overriding his caution. He reached out and placed a hand on Hana's shoulder, shaking her gently. "Hana! Hana, wake up! What are you doing?"
Hana didn't move. It was as if she were made of cold stone. Ren shook her harder, his voice rising in panic. "Hana! Stop this! Look at me!"
Slowly, the chanting stopped. Hana's hands unclasped, and she performed a final, deep bow toward the darkness. Then, she stood up. But when she turned to face Ren, she wasn't the sister he knew. Her face was a mask of pure, unadulterated rage.
Before Ren could utter another word, Hana's hand whipped across his face.
SLAP.
The sound was deafening in the small room. Ren's head snapped to the side, his cheek burning with the force of the blow. He looked at her, stunned, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Hana... what are you doing? Why did you—"
"Are you blind?!" Hana's voice was no longer sweet and high-pitched. It was heavy, distorted, and laced with a terrifying, hollow resonance that sent shivers down Ren's spine. It sounded like two voices speaking at once.
She lunged forward, grabbing Ren by his collar with a strength that shouldn't have been possible for a girl her size. She pulled him close, her breath smelling of sulfur and cold air. "Stay in your place, Ren! Don't you dare interrupt my devotion again! If you ever step foot in my room while I am with the Master, I will make sure you regret being born!"
Ren was paralyzed. He looked down and saw it—the black iron necklace with the diamond-shaped jewel. It was pulsing with a sickly, yellow glow, a light that seemed to feed off the anger in the room.
"Hana, that necklace... where did you get it? Get it off! It's dangerous!" Ren reached out, but Hana shoved him back with such force that he crashed into the doorframe.
"GET OUT!" she screamed, her eyes flashing with a predatory light. "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"
Ren scrambled back, his mind reeling. He retreated into the hallway, his heart thudding against his ribs. He had seen Hana angry before, but this... this was something else. This was demonic.
He ducked into his own room and leaned against the door, gasping for air. Something is horribly wrong, he thought. She would never talk to me like that. She would never hit me.
Determined to see what was happening beneath the surface, Ren closed his eyes and focused his Vane energy into his optical nerves. "Vision... Activate," he whispered.
The world shifted into a monochrome blue. He looked through the wall, his gaze penetrating the solid wood to see Hana. In this spectral vision, the human body usually glowed with a soft, white aura. But Hana was different. Her entire body was draped in a deep, pulsating blue—the color of concentrated sorrow.
But it was her eyes and the necklace that horrified him. They weren't blue or white; they were a piercing, toxic yellow. They looked like two glowing embers burning through her soul.
Suddenly, within the vision, Hana stopped moving. Even though there was a thick wall between them, she turned her head and looked directly at him. Her yellow eyes met his spectral gaze.
A sudden, violent surge of energy slammed into Ren's mind. It was like a physical wall of static. His vision instantly blurred, the monochrome world dissolving into a mess of grey and black. A sharp, agonizing pain erupted behind his eyes.
"Arrgh!" Ren cried out, clutching his face as his special vision was forcibly shut down.
He felt something wet running down his cheeks. He pulled his hands away and stared at them in the moonlight. They were stained with dark, crimson blood. His own eyes were bleeding from the sheer force of Hana's spiritual counter-attack.
Panicked, he stumbled into the small bathroom, fumbling for the tap. He splashed cold water onto his face, washing away the blood, his hands shaking uncontrollably. He took a long, shaky breath, trying to steady his racing heart.
What was that? he thought, staring at his bloodshot eyes in the mirror. She blocked me. She didn't just see me—she attacked my consciousness. That necklace... it's glowing yellow. It's changing her. It's corrupting her.
He remembered the way she looked at him—the hatred, the coldness. She wasn't his sister anymore; she was a vessel for something far more ancient and far more malevolent.
I have to watch her, Ren resolved, his jaw tightening despite the fear. I have to find out where she got that necklace and who she is praying to. If I don't save her soon, the Hana I love will be gone forever.
The house remained silent, but Ren knew that the silence was a lie. In the next room, his sister was no longer alone, and the shadows were starting to move on their own.