Rei woke to the low hum of the barracks generators, a sound that had become almost like a heartbeat in this place. The dim lights flickered occasionally, casting long shadows across the concrete walls. His body ached—muscles sore, joints stiff—but it wasn't the pain that made him flinch. It was the memory of yesterday.
The screams. The smoke. The heat of his own powers tearing through everything. The blood.
Hoshikawa Ren was sitting against the wall, watching him carefully, arms crossed. "Rei," he said quietly, "you can't keep doing that."
Rei rubbed at his eyes. "Doing what?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
Ren's gaze didn't soften. "Losing yourself. Every time you use the Relic, a piece of you disappears. Yesterday… you almost didn't come back."
Rei swallowed. He could still see it all in his mind: the barracks in flames, bodies thrown across the floor, the power inside him screaming to get out. "I know," he admitted. "But if I don't fight… if I don't use it… they'll kill me. Or worse."
Ren stood and took a step closer. "Then we fight smart. Not just hard. You let it control you again, and you won't be the only one who pays for it."
Rei looked away, tracing the flickering shadows on the wall. "I don't know if I can control it. It's like it has its own mind."
Ren's voice softened slightly, but it was still firm. "Then you learn. You practice. You focus. That's the only way you survive here."
Before Rei could answer, the alarm blared. Red lights flashed, and metal shutters slammed down with a deafening clang. Children screamed in panic, some running for cover, some frozen in place. Rei's chest tightened as the familiar pulse of the Relic stirred inside him.
"They're here," Ren said, voice low but tense. "And this isn't a drill."
Shadows shifted in the corners of the room. Dark figures moved with unnatural grace, sliding silently across the floor. Rei felt the power coil beneath his skin, restless, impatient. His hands trembled, energy crackling faintly around them.
Ren grabbed his shoulder to steady him. "Remember what I said. Focus. Every move, every decision has a cost. You lose control, and someone dies."
The first figure lunged, a sleek black visor reflecting the lights, blades humming. Rei's Relic flared before he even thought, an invisible force throwing the attacker backward across the room. Dust and debris rained down. Rei staggered, gasping, the taste of smoke in his mouth.
"Rei! Stay with me!" Ren shouted, deflecting another strike.
Rei's heart hammered in his chest. He could feel the Relic pressing against him, demanding release, and the more he resisted, the more it tried to force its way out. He raised his hands, shaping the energy, bending it to his will. Sparks shot across the room as he forced the figure back.
And then he saw it—something in the visor of the attacker. The tilt of the head, the speed of movement. It was familiar. Too familiar.
Ren's voice cut through his thoughts. "Now, Rei! Focus on the present. Don't get distracted!"
Rei obeyed. He channeled the power, precise this time, forcing the figure back into the shadows. The room was chaos—screams, fire, energy arcs crackling, children scrambling—but he survived.
When the dust settled, the shadowed figure was gone. Rei's pulse was racing, and a cold dread settled in his stomach. Whoever that was, they weren't here to kill him. They were here to break him.
And Rei realized, for the first time, that surviving this world might demand more than he was willing to give.
Cliffhanger: Rei's hands were trembling, energy still flickering faintly. Something in the shadows watched him, studying him… waiting for the moment he faltered.