CHAPTER 28: LIGHTNING REQUIEM

Inside the sphere of shadow, Ren faced Squad 4.

It was a complete chaos. Sora charged in with molten daggers, Seth’s shots whizzed past his head, Kaela’s petals closed in like cornering him with barriers, and Miko’s drone stalked him without stopping.

This wasn’t training. In this nightmare, they fought to kill. Ren knew it was Grin’s drive ability trapping him, but that didn’t minimize the pain on his heart of seeing their faces painted with murderous intent towards him.

Where’s the source? Ren thought. Zeishuro had told him the only escape in this nightmare made by Grin was to take down the nightmare’s main antagonist.

He had already cut them down again and again, yet they just revived like zombies, attacking him once again without hesitation. After all, none of them were the main antagonist. The main one is hiding somewhere in there.

The repetition of events was breaking him, forcing him to kill his friends endlessly, even as he told himself they weren’t real.

"I can’t do this anymore," Ren muttered. "I can’t kill you guys over and over and just be normal."

Ren dropped to one knee as the nightmare started messing with his mind, and he knew what would happen if he gave in and was defeated by the illusion. Madness, hysterical laughter, and finally, the same explosive end as the others.

And there it was, just above a building, watching everything unfold with a creepy smile over his face. It was Grin’s illusion. The main antagonist of this nightmare.

Rage surged through him as lightning erupted from his body in violent arcs. He lost control.

But then.... warmth. A comforting hand grasped his.

The nightmare shattered around him like glass as the fragments of false memories scattered into darkness and calmed him down.

Through the fading shadows, he saw her, Sora, who had just freed her from the nightmare. But as soon as Ren grasped that he was freed, Sora was already half consumed by the sphere of shadows holding him moments ago.

"Ren! Wake up!" she cried.

Ren gripped his katana, channeling a calm but lethal black lightning into his blade. With a single, precise arc, the shadows around Sora were ripped into nothing as she collapsed to the ground, sobbing.

"I-I was trapped in chains and I was forced to watch my sister die thousands of times. Then, when I was freed, I felt you being swallowed by that shadow. I tried to pull you out, but it took me instead, and then you....." She cried with her face buried in her hands.

Ren kneeled in front of her and took her trembling hands. She looked up through tears as she saw Ren wrapped in calm black lightning and smiling.

She jumps forward, hugging him tightly as she sobbed against his chest.

"It’s okay," he whispered. "You’re safe now."

When they let go of the hug, Ren’s gaze shifted to the chaos beyond him. Grin clashing with Kuro, and Zeishuro imprisoned inside another sphere of shadow, just like the one that had consumed him moments ago.

"Sora," Ren said with his voice steady despite the chaos, "I need you to do one thing for me. Free Zeishuro from that sphere by destroying the faint black aura probably in his forehead, then get out of here."

Her eyes widened. "What? The saint? He’s captured? Why free the enemy? And I’m not leaving you behind."

Ren looked at her with the most reassuring smile. "Just trust me. Please."

Something in his tone emitted a trusting aura that made Sora calm down. His presence felt different now, stronger, more grounded than the Ren she’d last fought beside before being kidnapped. She didn’t know what had changed, but she could feel it radiating from him.

Then she nodded. "Alright. I’ll do it."

Without wasting another second, Sora rushed into position, waiting for the perfect moment to break Zeishuro free from the shadows holding him.

Ren didn’t move. He simply closed his eyes, shutting out the chaos around him. In the darkness of his mind, he saw them again, the spheres of lightning from his dream. This time, they were sharper, brighter, and clearer.

I can do this. I know I can. Maybe I’ll never be able to repeat it, but right now my mind and body are in perfect sync.

His breathing slowed as he seized hold of that vision. The aura around him shifted, black lightning holding him tighter, thinner, but more refined. It flowed down his katana in calm, deliberate streams, radiating a quiet but overwhelming power.

"Core Release: Lightning Requiem," he whispered.

A mask made of black lightning crackled into shape across his face. The surge of energy was powerful, so much more than he’d thought himself capable of.

My body’s screaming. If I push this without mastering it, my limbs will tear themselves apart. I’ll have to train until I can truly control it. That’s if I get to live through this. But for now, I’m strong enough. Strong enough to save all of you.

Grin felt it before he saw it, the crushing pressure radiating from Ren’s direction. Only then did he realize that Ren had already broken free from his shadows. He’d been too focused on Kuro to even notice until now, but this power, he couldn’t just ignore it.

Without hesitation, Grin abandoned his clash with Kuro and charged at Ren, shadows curling and whipping around him. Kuro could wait, but he knew that Ren was the real threat now.

"What did you do? How are you almost on my level?!" Grin yelled as he shaped a dagger of pure shadow in his left hand before lunging forward in a relentless assault.

Ren didn’t reply. He moved with fluid precision, slipping past every strike as if Grin’s attacks were moving in slow motion. His speed and his strength both had multiplied threefold in an instant. Even Ren was stunned by the sheer boost his Core Release had given him.

The moment a gap opened, he countered. His katana cut through the air in a blur, slicing across Grin’s chest. The attack was so fast no one saw the motion, even Grin who only realized what happened when the pain emerged a second later.

"Agh!" Grin yelled as he coughed up blood and dropped to one knee. "So this, this is what Zeishuro saw. This potential. This power." But he just grinned through the pain. "Still, it’s not enough. The fangs are far more terrifying! Core Release: Laughter’s Crown."

The atmosphere inside Saint’s Lair shifted in an instant. Shadows wrapped tightly around Grin’s body until only his head remained visible. The air grew heavy and oppressive as the favor shifted to Grin.

Then reality itself began to warp. The cathedral’s walls twisted inward like molten glass, and faint, inaudible broken whispers slid into everyone’s ears like ghosts.

This isn’t just a nightmare, Ren thought as his grip tightened on his katana. He’s turned this entire place into one and his power.. it’s overwhelming.

Ren dashed forward, moving faster than the eye could follow. But Grin’s domain made the space itself untrustworthy. One moment Grin was right in front of him, the next, a slash would land on empty air as the distance warped away.

Every strike failed, not because Grin dodged, but because the very dimensions twisted against Ren’s vision. He pushed himself faster and faster, yet nothing connected, as if reality itself refused to let his blade reach its target.

"What in the world is this?" Kuro muttered as his eyes widened at the sight of the warped cathedral.

Then he noticed Sora helping a weakened Zeishuro toward him. "When did you?"

"Our hero’s friend freed me before Father activated his Core Release." Zeishuro said, his voice clearly weakened. "But this is terrifying. All these years, I never knew he possessed this kind of power."

"Ren’s strong, but your leader, he’s bending reality. How is anyone even capable of something like this?" Sora muttered as her gaze got fixated over the bending walls and writhing shadows.

"I don’t know." Zeishuro admitted as his eyes narrowed at the chaotic battlefield. "But at our current strength, we’ll only get in the way. We’re barely at a quarter of our power. That goes for you too." He gestured toward Sora who was preparing to strike any moment now with her molten hot daggers.

"So what? We just leave Ren in there? In that twisted nightmare?" Sora argued.

"We trust him," Zeishuro replied firmly. "And when an opening shows itself, that’s when we strike."

Inside the warped cathedral, Ren pushed harder as his movements grew faster and sharper. Yet no matter how close he got, Grin was always too near, then suddenly too far. It was like the distorted space is mocking his every step.

The stalemate shattered when Grin dashed forward at Ren and threw his shadow daggers. Ren slipped past them, only to realize too late that shallow cuts had opened along his arms and legs.

It wasn’t just attacking, his defense suffered too, as his sense of distance collapsed under the warped reality. Still, his immense speed spared him from deeper and more lethal strikes.

And before long, the battle tilted in Grin’s favor. He wasn’t landing any fatal blows, but each shallow wound stacked, wearing Ren down piece by piece.

This boy, he can barely gauge our distance, Grin thought, eyes narrowing. Yet his speed still lets him evade when I’m about to hit something vital. Still, if this keeps up, you’re nearing your end.

Just as Grin had anticipated, Ren’s attacks slowed. The relentless strikes from earlier were gone. Now he only swung to deflect, to survive. Grin could see it in his movements, he was conserving what little strength remained as this drawn out exchange was finally beginning to reveal its victor.

I can’t keep this up. Ren thought while every breath burned in his chest. My whole body aches from the release and these shallow wounds, they’re stacking, wearing me down.

He leaned on his katana like a cane as his legs trembled beneath him.

But before he could even draw a full breath, Grin dashed forward again with his shadows No breaks nor mercy, forcing Ren to pour out the last drops of energy he had left, as if Grin’s only goal was to grind him into the ground before the killing blow.

You are strong. Grin thought. If you had more time to gauge the distance, you might have defeated me. But you’re not there yet, you’re barely even at the surface of your core release. I’m ending this.

He dashed forward as shadows swirled into his shadow dagger only to be stopped mid air as Ren’s blade carved a thunderous arc of black lightning through the air, forcing him back.

"Still got a fight in you, huh?" Grin muttered. "No matter. The next blow will finish you."

Calm down, Ren. We can still win this. Ren told himself. If I can’t gauge the distance, I’ll stop relying on sight. I’ll feel him. Every sense but vision. This is my last chance.

He lowered his stance and sheathed his katana but kept his grip on its hilt firm. Every volt of black lightning gathered into his right hand, wrapping tighter and tighter around the hilt for a single, final strike.

Grin burst forward with pure killing intent radiating from him. But despite the pressure, Ren’s eyes stayed shut. He waited with complete trust on his senses. Nothing yet, then there. Three meters. The faint distortion in the air, the weight of Grin’s presence crashing into range.

Ren slashed. A desperate but precise swing with the blade screaming with black lightning.

"Pulse Breaker" Ren whispered.

Ren felt pain across his cheek as Grin’s shadow dagger grazed him, but behind him, Grin’s shadow armor shattered like glass.

The cathedral warped back to its original form as Grin staggered to one knee with disbelief painted across his face.

How? How did he....

Grin struggled to stand up as blood spilled from the wound in his chest. He slammed his fists into the ground, trying to force his legs to obey but it didn’t help.

"Stand up! You useless legs! Stand up!" He yelled in frustration.

Kuro and Zeishuro approached slowly, while Sora sprinted to Ren, catching him before he could collapse.

"Ren! You did well!" she said, wrapping her arms around him and helping him keep his balance.

"I can barely move, you know? Where’s Miko?" Ren asked, but Sora wasn’t able to answer immediately.

"I don’t know." She finally replied. "Grin took him somewhere."

Across the hall, Zeishuro and Kuro stopped in front of Grin.

"Father," Zeishuro said coldly, "let’s end this. The ZEAL will help us."

"No!" Grin yelled. "The Fangs, they’re stronger! I can barely even put up a fight against those guys!"

Then in a sudden motion, shadows wrapped around his right hand and he drove it straight into Kuro’s chest.

With his eyes wide, Kuro dropped to the ground, lifeless.

Grin laughed at the sight as he held a golden gem in his right hand.

"Father!" Zeishuro’s voice echoed with fury as he kicked Grin across the face, sending him crashing into a nearby wall. But even then, Grin’s laughter didn’t stop.

"How?! How can you kill one of your sons so easily?!" Zeishuro shouted as a violent gust of wind spiraled around him in rage.

Grin only laughed harder. Then, without hesitation, he crushed the gem in his palm.

Light came out from the fragments as pure Core energy poured into his body. Then suddenly, symbols lit up across the cathedral walls, Core Bleed seals, glowing in a pattern that surrounded them all.

"What? This whole cathedral, it’s covered in Core Bleed markings?" Zeishuro’s eyes widened in shock.

"Father! I’m ending this right here and now!"

"Oh, my dear son." Grin laughed as immense power radiated from him, "I would like to see you try."