CHAPTER 37: GATES OF POWER

"Valen, are you a traitor?" Ren asked.

The words of Ren froze the air between them as the room fell in heavy silence. Valen didn’t turn around, while Ren kept his eyes on his back with one hand gripping his katana’s hilt, ready for anything.

"What makes you say that? Me, a Warden of ZEAL who gave his whole life to protect this city?" Valen replied, finally cutting through the heavy silence.

A wave of violet and black aura emitted from him, pressing down like a storm. Ren gasped as his knees buckled and his body refused to move.

What..... What is this? He’s not even touching me. Just his aura alone, it’s crushing me!

Ren clenched his teeth, forcing himself to rise against the weight.

"So tell me, Ren, what makes you say that? Answer me!" Valen yelled with his voice full of rage.

"Earlier....." Ren forced the words out, still trembling under the crushing weight of Valen’s aura as he pushed against it. "Minato was almost assassinated. A man in a hood took position on the rooftops overlooking the battlefield. I stopped the attempt, but Minato saw the assassin escape through a portal. Your Drive Core allows you to open one. Why did you help him?"

At that, the suffocating pressure suddenly lifted. Ren collapsed forward, gasping as if he had been drowning the entire time. And for the first time in minutes he could feel his own body again.

Valen finally turned to face him. His eyes, cold and sharp as blades.

"I see, you’re not making groundless accusations." His tone suddenly became calm. "But listen well. It wasn’t me. I cannot give you evidence to clear my name. All I can tell you is this, what you saw was not my doing."

"Then how do I trust you? Can I even trust you at all?"

And as if on cue, Kaien walked in through the door.

"If that’s the case, you can trust that blockhead over there." Kaien pointed at Valen.

"Huh?" Ren and Valen said in unison.

"What do you mean?" Ren asked, narrowing his eyes.

Kaien crossed his arms. "Valen’s not the only one who can open portals."

That line alone made the room tense up.

"I had an affiliate investigating the 13th Ward for months, the Ward where the Shikkoku resides." Kaien continued. "When I fought one of the Fangs, someone intervened. The Fang went for me, but the moment the dust cleared, they were gone. Vanished. If they’d hidden or fled, I would’ve sensed their presence. But it wasn’t like that. They were simply gone."

For a brief moment, silence lingered in the room as Kaien waited, expecting them to piece it together, but when neither spoke, he let out a quiet sigh and continued.

"My affiliate reported that someone in Shikkoku can open portals. A small girl with yellow hair. And guess what? The one who intervened against the Fang that day was also a yellow haired girl. That explains why I couldn’t feel anyone after they disappeared."

"Ohhh....." Ren and Valen reacted at the same time.

Without a second thought, Ren dropped to his knees and slammed his forehead against the floor.

"Valen, I’m really, really sorry! You can kick me out or punish me however you want! I’m sorry for doubting you!"

Valen only gave a small smile and gestured for him to get up.

"It’s fine. Honestly, anyone would’ve thought the same thing, even me. I’m just glad you decided to say it straight to my face. It almost kicked you out, but it worked out in the end."

Ren slowly stood, still looking ashamed of himself.

Valen then turned his attention back to Kaien.

"Anyway, about that affiliate of yours, they must be pretty skilled to sneak into the Ward where Shikkoku’s HQ is located, right?"

"She’s not a member of ZEAL. But we can trust her. She prefers working solo like me. Still, she’s skilled, maybe on par with me, if not stronger."

Ren and Valen froze. They both knew Kaien’s strength. Among the Wardens, he’s one of the guys who stood out in combat instincts and sheer power. The thought of someone who could rival, or even surpass him was shocking especially for Valen.

"Anyway," Valen narrowed his eyes. "What are you really doing here?"

Kaien crossed his arms and his expression was unreadable. "Reporting my findings, of course. There’s someone out there with the same ability as you."

Valen tilted his head, unconvinced. "If that was all, you would’ve just made a phone call."

"I... uh... well..." Kaien scratched the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact. "I came to visit Ren, you know."

"Don’t even try to fool us. You’d never visit me unless I was half dead in a hospital bed." Ren replied with his arms crossed.

"Agh, fine!" Kaien sighed, throwing his hands up. "I just need a place to crash for the night. Too lazy to head home, it’s too far. Your ward’s the closest spot after I met with my affiliate."

Ren and Valen exchanged nods as if proud of themselves for revealing Kaien’s real intentions.

"Anyway." Ren leaned forward, grinning. "You said ’she.’ So, is she your girlfriend?"

"Huh? No! I don’t have a girlfriend!" Kaien snapped, his face turning slightly red.

The three of them headed to the training grounds so Valen could start Ren’s training. Despite being pushed away by both, Kaien still insisted on tagging along.

"Just sleep somewhere else or go to my room." Valen snapped.

"Oh, c’mon! I just wanna watch. I’m bored out of my mind." Kaien begged.

"Why not do some actual work or go meet with that affiliate of yours?" Valen countered.

"I told you, it’s not like that. And I just got back from work, so let me relax and watch."

No matter what they said, Kaien refused to budge. In the end, he settled himself on the corner of the sparring platform, sitting comfortably with a smile as the two prepared to begin.

Valen and Ren faced each other, standing apart as their first training session officially began..

"So, Core Release is basically one of the strongest techniques you can do with your Drive Core." Valen explained. "Think of it as unleashing its true form. When you activate it, the Drive Core goes beyond its limiter, letting you bring out the full nature of your Drive. But..." he raised a finger, "There’s a catch. It puts a heavy strain not just on your core, but on your body too. That’s why we’ve been focusing on strengthening your body first."

Ren nodded. "My body’s a lot stronger now, and yeah, the training helped. But whenever I try to activate my Core Release, I still feel this sharp pain in my arms and legs even if it’s just for a second."

"That’s normal in the early stages." Valen said calmly. "You’re not used to it yet. Remember what I told you about the plumbing? Leaks in your core energy are bound to happen when you force your Core Release. The key is redirecting it fast, channeling it smoothly from your core through your whole body so it doesn’t leak out."

He crouched down, tapping the floor with his finger. "Now, you mentioned before, when you activate it, you see those glowing dots, right?"

"Yes. It’s like I need to connect it first before I can actually release it."

"Exactly. So here’s the plan, for the next hour, all you’ll do is connect those dots nonstop, as fast as you can, while keeping Pulse Control Breathing steady. Envision it. Faster and faster. The goal is to eventually stop relying on visualization and doing it by feel instead. Once you reach that point, we’ll move on to drive art chaining. Think of it as plumbing your body’s energy flow."

Valen held up two fingers. "That has two key benefits. First, if you can connect the dots by feeling, you can dedicate your focus to patching leaks and redirecting your flow instantly. That eliminates the backlash your core release inflicts on your core and body. Second, it lets you perform techniques in rapid succession without losing rhythm."

Ren’s eyes widened a little. "So that’s why I feel that throbbing pain. I’m too slow repairing the leaks because I waste time envisioning the lightning spheres before connecting them."

"Exactly." Valen crossed his arms. "Now, begin."

Kaien and Valen stayed quiet as they watched Ren sit in meditation. Each second that passed, they could sense him opening the gates of his core release, patching the leaks quicker than before. But he still wasn’t there. The sharp pain running through him meant he hadn’t reached the goal yet.

I need to go faster. Stop overthinking. Just feel it, focus, Ren. He told himself.

An hour passed by before Valen finally raised his hand. "That’s enough. We’ll shift to combat training, without using core abilities."

Ren slowly opened his eyes, sweat dripping down his face. He grabbed his weapon, standing up as the two of them prepared.

They moved on to combat training, fighting only with their weapons, no core abilities allowed.

For the whole one hour, Ren kept losing in less than ten seconds. It was hard for him to believe that Valen wasn’t even using his core ability with how fast he was moving.It felt like Valen was in front of him one second, then behind him the next.

By the last match of the night, Ren was running out of energy, but he still pressed on.

Valen gripped his dagger and dashed forward. Ren pointed his katana straight at him and slashed at what looked like an opening. But Valen vanished in an instant, slipping past him.

Ren reacted on instinct, stepping sideways to keep his distance. But when he turned to where Valen had been, he was already gone.

The next moment, Valen appeared behind him, pressing the cold edge of his dagger against Ren’s throat. "That’s it for tonight’s session." Valen muttered.

"We’ll continue with the same regimen for the rest of the week." Valen instructed. "Join the morning sessions with the others, but don’t participate in sparring. At night, we’ll focus on Pulse Control Breathing, Drive Art Chaining, and your spars will be with me."

The days quickly passed by as Ren trained exactly as told, pushing himself through every drill. By the third day, he noticed it, his body could endure more reps during the morning sessions, and at night, the sharp, unbearable pain had reduced into something manageable. He was still losing to Valen, but now he could last 30 seconds, sometimes even a full minute before being overwhelmed.

Time slipped by, each session pushing him closer to the edge of something new. Core Release, that was his goal. If he couldn’t awaken it before the war, he knew he wouldn’t even be allowed to fight. That thought lingered at him, sharpening his resolve.

By the 6th night, something had changed. Ren stepped into the training grounds with an unusual lightness in his body. The tension in his chest was gone, his breaths flowed evenly, as if synced with the quiet rhythm of the world around him. Calmness washed over him, not the forced kind, but a deep serenity, as though peace itself had made its way into his body and soul.

The very first time he tried it, Ren didn’t even need to picture it in his mind, he just felt it. As if instinct guided him, he reached out and tapped the gates of his Core Release.

I think I can do this.

Ren’s thoughts echoed inside him as his body felt lighter.

Valen and Kaien immediately stood, their eyes sharpening. They could tell something had changed.

Ren slowly opened his eyes. Guided only by instinct, he unlocked the gates of his Core Release. And before any leaks in his energy flow could even appear, he sensed them and redirected the stream, letting the energy surge through his body in one smooth motion.

"Core Release: Lightning Requiem."

In an instant, a dark storm of lightning wrapped around his face, crawling like a mask of pure destruction. His core’s power burst out, flooding every vein, every muscle, every part of his being, filling him with strength that felt immeasurable.

"This is it, the same power I felt back then. But this time it’s different. It doesn’t hurt. I feel in control." Ren muttered as his voice trembled in awe.

Valen’s eyes widened. Unbelievable. He’s almost standing on Shin’s level already. Not as powerful yet, but if they fought now, Shin wouldn’t walk away unscathed.

Kaien remained silent, his gaze locked on Ren. His expression didn’t show surprise, it was as if he had been waiting for this moment. Deep down, he knew exactly what had just awakened. This was the power Kade wanted, the power meant to surface within Ren.

"Ren." Kaien said quietly. "There’s something you need to know."

Valen’s head turned toward Kaien instantly. He already knew what was coming, and the revelation was one that would change Ren forever.