CHAPTER 18: BACK TO REALITY

W-What’s happening? Ren thought, his mind spiraling with confusion as the chaos unfolded around him.

His parents were alive. But in danger. Trapped inside their crumbling old home, surrounded by thugs with knives and guns. It was like the past was playing out again before his very eyes.

Then he wondered. Why? Why is Kade even stopping me?

Ren struggled to stand up but his head was slammed against the concrete. Kade’s boot pinned him down, pressing hard on the back of his skull.

"Let me go, Kade!" Ren yelled as his voice cracked with desperation. "We can still save Mom and Dad!"

"No, you can’t!" Kade yelled back. "You’re weak! You couldn’t save them before and you still can’t now!"

Ren’s eyes widened as he thought. This... this isn’t like him. Why is Kade talking like this? Why did his voice feel so distant just now?

Then Kade’s tone shifted, low, almost gentle.

"Just come with me, Ren and you’ll be free from this nightmare."

"What... What are you talking about?"

"Say it. Tell me you’ll come with me and we’ll both be free."

Then it hit him.

"He said I could be free."

The words of the man who exploded before they reached the cathedral.

This isn’t real. This is a nightmare. One crafted by that man. Ren thought.

And now Ren understood.

The robed man. He created this nightmare after touching me. That must be his Drive ability. But how do I escape it?

Ren clenched his fists as lightning sparks crackled between his fingers. Then he gripped Kade’s leg, the illusion of Kade. Then lightning energy wrapped around the leg like binding chains, forcing the fake to release him.

The pressure lifted from Ren’s head. He slowly pushed himself off the ground as his body trembled, but his resolve was steady. He looked up and froze.

The figure claiming to be Kade was now fully facing him. But there was no face, only a blur, as if the world refused to acknowledge it.

"Just as I thought," Ren muttered, lightning crackling across his blade as he pointed it toward the fake. "You’re not real. You’re too weak to be my brother!"

With a burst of speed, Ren vanished from sight, then reappeared right in front of the imposter. In one clean motion, he slashed through the false Kade’s face.

The illusion shattered like mist then completely disappeared out of sight.

"Thunderclap!"

The dream began to break apart,. The scenery collapsed into shards of memory and void as Ren stood alone in the fading world.

"I’ll find you, Kade," he whispered. "And I’ll make that robed lunatic pay for using our family like this."

The nightmare crumbled around him as Ren woke up to a sight he didn’t expect.

Ren gasped and quickly sat up as he came back to reality. But what he saw right after made his eyes widen in shock.

They were inside a large transparent barrier made of petals. Outside of it, petals were falling from the cathedral’s ceiling like rain, but every petal that touched something cracked the ground or walls. The three masked enemies and the robed leader were dodging desperately as they tried to avoid getting hit. The four were so focused that they didn’t even notice that Ren already woke up.

What is this? Ren thought. Is Kaela doing this?

He looked around quickly and spotted Sora lying nearby. She was unconscious but breathing. Then he saw Kaela. Compared to Sora, she looked worse.

She was inside a smaller barrier of petals, hugging herself, visibly in pain. She looked like she was being choked by something invisible. Like a hand tightly wrapped around her neck.

"Help me! Please. Help." Kaela cried weakly in her sleep.

Ren ran to her and hit the barrier with his lightning attack.

"Thunderclap!"

But nothing happened. The barrier was too sturdy to even leave a dent.

He gritted his teeth and rushed to Sora. He didn’t know what to do so he leaned closer and saw something strange. A small black energy orb on her forehead.

Is this what’s causing the dream?

He charged his finger with lightning and tapped it.

ZAP!

The orb broke and Sora suddenly sat up, gasping.

"My sister! No!"

"Sora! It’s okay, it’s me, Ren!" he said quickly.

She looked at him with wide eyes, still shaking. "Where... where is she? I need to find her!"

"It wasn’t real," Ren said, trying to calm her down. "That robed guy used his Drive ability. He trapped us in a nightmare."

Sora put her hands on her face. She looked scared and broken. Ren didn’t say anything else. He understood clearly. After all, he had just been through the same thing minutes ago.

After a while, Sora looked up. "What’s going on out there?"

Ren looked at the barrier. "Kaela’s power is protecting us. It might be her Drive Core release. But it’s out of control. She’s still trapped in her nightmare. If we don’t wake her up now, her drive core might be in grave danger."

"She’s hurting... but still helping us." Sora whispered.

Ren nodded. "We need to wake her up. Her barrier is giving us time, but once she wakes up, it might disappear. And those enemies will come straight for us."

"Then what do we do?" Sora asked. "If we wake her, we lose the barrier. If we don’t, she might get worse."

"We have to take the risk," Ren said. "I have a plan."

Sora nodded slowly. "How do we wake her up?"

Ren looked at Kaela’s trembling body and took a deep breath.

"I’ll make a small crack in her barrier. That’s all I can do." Ren said. "Once you see the crack, hit it hard and make a hole big enough for me to get in."

Sora nodded and got ready.

Ren started charging up a strong ball of lightning in his palm. It was crackling violently, but he kept it under control.

"Oh, and once Kaela is conscious, grab her and run for the door," Ren added.

Sora nodded again. Ren gave a small smile. He was glad that Sora trusted him without asking questions. He looked at the black handkerchief tied to his left wrist and smiled before firing.

"Raikodan, Lightning Bullet!"

He fired the lightning attack. It ripped through the air and slammed into Kaela’s barrier, leaving a small crack.

Sora didn’t hesitate. She dashed forward, spinning through the air with her blazing red daggers.

"Red Bloom Drive!"

The impact shattered a chunk of the barrier just enough for Ren to slip through. He launched himself like a comet as lightning sparked around his feet, and dove inside before the barrier sealed up again.

Just as I thought. The barrier regenerates fast. Her core release is powerful, Ren thought.

Inside, Ren used the same move he did on Sora, he found the black energy orb on Kaela’s forehead and shattered it with a touch of lightning coming out of his index finger.

Right away, the petals stopped falling from the outside and the barriers vanished.

Sora jumped in and did exactly what Ren said.

"Sora! Now!"

Kaela’s eyes opened, full of tears and fear. "Where’s my father? Am I safe now?"

Sora didn’t answer. There was no time. She just pulled the fatigued Kaela to her feet and ran toward the exit.

But the robed man noticed right away.

"Kuro. Bind them."

The bald masked man threw glowing chains at them.

"Gray. Break their limbs."

Instantly, the spiky-haired man charged with a giant hammer.

Zeishuro moved too, riding the wind toward them.

But Ren was ready. He crouched low and pulled out his katana, then slashed wildly. Instantly, a spirals of lightning shot out, spinning and crashing into the attackers like a storm.

"Thunder Spiral Break!"

Smoke exploded across the cathedral, forcing the enemies to stop and back away. The attacks didn’t land, but they left deep marks on the ground and walls, showing just how destructive they were.

Zeishuro cut through the smoke with a swing of his machete, clearing his view. But by the time he did, the trio was already gone.

He stepped forward, ready to chase, but the robed man raised a hand.

"Don’t worry. They won’t get far. Our men destroyed their vehicle and I planted a bug to track them. They’re trapped now like mice in a cage. HAHAHAHA"

"Understood, Father," Zeishuro replied.

"That pink-haired girl could be dangerous if we don’t take her out soon," Kuro said.

"I agree. Even the other girl was strong." Gray added.

"But I think the sniper and the lightning kid are the real threats," Zeishuro said.

"You’re right. They were all strong, but those two have the most potential. You felt it too, didn’t you, Zeishuro?"

"Yes, Father. We need to take care of them before it’s too late."

—-------------

"Seth! Wake up! It was just a nightmare!" Sora said.

For the first time, the group saw Seth completely shaken. He was always calm and collected, but now he was sweating and his eyes wide with fear. Ren stepped in front of him, looked him straight in the eyes and placed both of his hands on his shoulders.

"You’re safe now. You’re with us. It was just a nightmare. We’re here, Seth."

Slowly, Seth started to breathe normally again, his panic easing as he locked eyes with Ren.

"What happened? The people who knocked me out, they were strong."

"It had to be the leader and their three ’saints.’ They’re still after us, so we need to move fast."

Seth nodded and stood up. Meanwhile, Kaela had already helped Miko wake up, but his eyes were trembling in fear as they regrouped with the others.

Seth scanned the area from a building to the west and saw that most alleys and streets were already blocked.

"There’s no way out. We’re trapped."

"Tch! They’re quick," Sora muttered.

"Fine. Then we’ll go underground. The sewers." Sora answered.

In an instant, Seth quickly scanned for a nearby sewer.

"There! East of this building. No guards yet. Let’s move before they get there."

The group dashed toward the sewer entrance and slipped inside, climbing down into the dark tunnel. The air was thick and foul, with green dirty water flowing like a stream, moss covered the walls as rats and bugs scurried past them.

Still, it was better than being caught.

They sat quietly, their backs against the damp walls, trying to catch their breath and process everything that just happened. The only sound that accompanied them was the steady flow of water.

"We need to call for backup," Miko said, clearly panicking. "There’s no way we’re getting out of here with the whole place crawling with Smileys! It’s impossible, we’re lucky we’re even alive right now!"

He gripped his head as his voice trembled more with every word. "That guy’s Drive, it was insane! There’s no escaping someone like him. He’s not just strong, he’s unhinged! And those three ’saints’? They’re all like Drake. Three of them!"

Miko’s breathing continued to grow heavier with each passing second as fear engulfed his system. "Why are we even here? How are we supposed to survive this? Where’s our captain? Why would ZEAL send us here alone?"

Seth slowly stood up and walked over to Miko who was sitting with his head buried in his knees. Without saying a word, Seth grabbed him by the collar of his ZEAL jacket and pinned him against the wall.

"Listen," Seth said firmly. "It’s okay to be scared. But the moment you start doubting ZEAL and everything we stand for, you’re disrespecting all of us. If that’s how you really feel, then take off that jacket and leave. We don’t need people who turn their backs when things get tough."

"G-guys...?" Kaela said softly.

Sora quickly stepped in, grabbing Seth’s arm. He let go of Miko and backed off.

"Enough," Sora said. "We’re all on edge right now. After everything we saw, it’s normal to be scared. But Seth’s right about one thing. Being scared is fine. Giving up on ZEAL isn’t. That’s something we can’t do."

Miko wiped his eyes and slowly stood up. He looked at them all, then bowed deeply.

"I’m sorry. I lost myself for a moment. I let fear take over and forgot why I joined ZEAL in the first place," he said. Then he stepped closer to Seth and bowed again. "If it’ll help, hit me. Knock some sense into me."

Seth gave a small smile and gently patted his shoulder.

"No need. What matters is you’re back with us. You’re our eyes. We can’t do this without you."

Despite how rough things felt, the group started to feel a bit lighter. The fear was still there, but their resolve had returned.

They formed a circle, and Ren stepped forward, looking at Sora.

"So... what’s the plan, Vice-Captain?"