Whoosh!

Ren’s hand disappeared. The next moment, it appeared before the dagger, catching it.

Tchish!

Ren stopped the dangerous dagger. However, it came at a cost. Blood slowly dripped from his palm, staining the ground.

Ren stared at the dagger in a daze. Confusion overcame his mind as he ignored the pain. A new word popped up into his mind.

‘Parallel Cut?’

Ren dropped the dagger and glanced at his bleeding palm.

“Are you okay? It was Lord Ne- I mean, my fault!” A cat dashed up to Ren. It jumped onto his arm and licked his injured palm.

Ren watched in amazement as the cut faded. Soon, there was almost no trace of any injuries.

“There! All done!” The cat jovially licked its lips.

“Mrr? Who arre you? I have not seen you before.” The lion glared at Ren.

“…I’m waiting for Sis Lena.” Ren hesitantly replied.

“A newcomer? Kirrin, let's go!” The lion lost interest in Ren and jogged away.

However, the cat looked at Ren in suspicion. In the end, it hesitantly left after a weak farewell.

“See you later.”

Ren noticed that he finally had some free time. He sat down and attempted to reorganize his memories.

‘Where was I before? What am I doing here? Ugh, why can’t I remember anything?’ Despite straining his head, he drew a blank.

Whoosh!

“Phew! He’s still here.” Lena arrived a few minutes later. A cat-woman followed her. The cat-woman took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, it seemed as though all the surrounding energy gathered onto her body.

[“Edahi Arts: Instant Teleportation.”] She chanted, in a language not understood by Lena.

With a flash, both the young women and Ren disappeared.

Ren felt his surroundings contort before they changed to the familiar cottage. However, the broken door had been fixed.

“Lena! Go and prepare lunch. I’ll speak to the Honored Guest.” The cat-woman ordered before sitting on the dining table.

“Honored Guest! I am Kana, the owner of this cottage. Please sit down!” She pointed her finger at a chair. Like magic, the chair moved back, inviting him to sit.

Ren gulped at this sight. The indigenous magical abilities amazed him.

“Honored Guest, I’m sure you have many questions. I’ll try to clear all your doubts but please hold onto them until I finish my explanation.”

“This cottage is within Evergreen City, the capital of Edahi. This city is the Holy Land of Everleaf Forest. For your understanding, it means that this place is important to the beasts living in this forest. Has Honored Guest heard of Everleaf Forest before?”

Ren shook his head.

“Oh, then is Honored Guest from the Tribal Lands?” Lena's eyebrows creased.

“…I don’t know.” The word ‘Tribal Lands’ drew a blank in Ren’s mind.

“Then where is Honored Guest coming from?” Lena frowned. The region surrounding Everleaf Forest was the Tribal Lands. Beyond that, she did not know of any place that could be accessible to any terrestrial living creature. Unless... Ren came from the ocean…

Looking at Ren, she immediately crossed that idea. Humans couldn’t live in the ocean.

“I don’t remember.” Ren stuck with an honest reply. This question had bugged him for a long time, and he had no clues to his past.

Ren’s answers gave Kana a headache. She understood that his case might be more complicated than her initial expectations.

“Do you remember anything? Your parents? A friend? A place? Anything?”

Ren dug into the empty reservoir known as his memory. Finding nothing, he shook his head.

“Ha… Amnesia? Don’t worry! Your memories will come back.” Kana sighed and comforted him.

“I’ll explain from the beginning. This forest is the abode of beasts and demi-humans. The only human habitations I know are those belonging to the Tribal Lands. However, due to many reasons, the Tribal Lands and Everleaf Forest have been almost completely isolated from each other.”

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“So, your presence as a human is rare in this region. Many beasts and demi-humans in this city have never seen a human before. This, by itself, isn't a problem. However, the Divine Emperor has bestowed the title of Honored Guest upon you. This is beyond unprecedented, and it has evoked the jealousy of every cat and dog in this region.” Kana presented a tired smile.

“Honored Guest? What is that?” Ren found another weird term. Initially, he assumed it was a respectful manner of greeting a guest. He recognized that he was wrong.

“...The title of Honored Guest is one of the highest titles attainable by demi-humans. Before your entry, demi-humans had monopolized this title. The fact that an unknown human, especially a child obtained this title… they take it both as an insult and a threat. That is why they resent you.”

Cold sweat broke down Ren's face. Reminded of the minotaur's actions, he thought of escaping this dangerous place. Seeing his expression, Kana smiled and allayed his main worry.

“Fortunately, they can’t kill you. However, they will do their best to intimidate, challenge and bully you. They won’t let you live in peace until you rescind your title.”

“But, the moment you rescind your title… they will kill you.” Her expression turned grim.

Ren shuddered. Despite not doing anything, he had won the hatred of a whole race.

"You don't have to worry. Your situation won't devolve to such a state. The Council of Order… which is the highest power below the Divine Emperor, has placed you under my custody. My job is to ensure a smooth transition between you and the residents of this city. At the same time, I am tasked with your protection. For this, I require Honored Guest to stay hidden for a couple of days. Any questions so far?”

“Was I living here before? If not, how did I get here? And how did I become this… Honored Guest?” Receiving an opportunity, Ren shot a volley of questions. He hoped to track his steps back and maybe find a clue to his past.

“…I’m sorry, but I do not know. Your presence was only revealed a day before. Only the Divine Emperor and The Council of Order can answer that question.” Kana answered after a slight pause. She hadn’t seen Ren before, but she didn’t know if the Council of Order had been grooming Ren in secret. His fluency with their language evoked her suspicion.

“Divine Emperor and the Council of Order. How can I meet them?”

Kana froze. The way Ren spoke, it seemed as though he was speaking of meeting some ordinary cat or dog.

“Honored Guest… One cannot simply meet the Divine Emperor. Without the Divine Emperor's summon, one cannot meet His Grace. As for the Council, I can only arrange a meeting with a few members. But, it must be for grave matters that affect the city…” Kana awkwardly replied.

Ren sighed. In other words, his amnesia was not important enough to warrant a meeting with the authorities of the city.

“Lunch is ready!” Ignorant of the downcast mood, Lena brought a large pot onto the table. She poured some soup into three bowls, serving it it to her sister and her young guest.

----------------------------------------

Ren remained silent for the rest of the afternoon. He sat on his bed, trying to recollect any bits of information from his past. At the same time, he puzzled over his future.

Should he search his past? Or ignore it and start a new future? Even if he wanted a new future, he did not know where to begin. Without a goal to strive for, he felt empty and soulless.

Kana was apparently an incredibly busy cat-woman as she left immediately after eating lunch. Nevertheless, she did not forget to warn Ren of the importance of lying low once again.

After the previous incident, she no longer spared any efforts. She hired a few guards to ‘protect’ the cottage. She also gave them the secret mission of preventing Ren from leaving the cottage. This group was only the guards on the surface. Her real guards were hidden from common sight, adding another layer of protection.

Time flew, and the sun plunged into the horizon.

Ren stared at the corner of the window. He noticed a small glowing inscription. It drew his curiosity as he thought of possible utilities of the inscription. Sometimes, he wondered if it was all a dream.

The setting sun filled him with a sense of familiarity. At least, this sight wasn’t uncommon to him.

Thump!

Ren shuddered. For a moment, he felt like he lost control over his body. Dizzy, he tried to stabilize his body.

THUMP!

Just as he thought it settled, he once again felt the shudder. His face paled as his condition worsened.

'An enemy?'

BOOM!

Ren spasmed. He felt an explosion from within his mind. Almost instantly, he lost control over his body as his eyes lost focus. He collapsed onto the bed.

Suddenly, his eyes changed color. A bluish tint encroached into his pupils, expanding and expelling the amber color of his pupils.

In a couple of moments, the transformation was complete. His eyes had turned blue.

“Ren? Are you okay?” Lena’s sharp ears twitched. They had caught onto the small sudden movements of Ren.

Ren left the bed and approached the table. He grabbed a jug and chugged down some water into his system.

“Oh… you were just thirsty?” Lena lost interest and resumed her book. She didn’t notice that Ren’s pupils had turned blue.

----------------------------------------

Ren stared at his new surroundings in shock. It looked like an empty place, devoid of anything.

Other than himself, he found a purple fox in this empty space. He noticed that it wasn’t an animal. Its body was made of purple-colored translucent substance, giving it an ethereal touch. Staring at it, he wondered if it was smiling.

“Welcome to your Mind Space, Ren.” The fox’s silvery voice contained no ill intent. Yet, Ren instinctively put up his guard. He vividly remembered the nauseous feeling of losing consciousness. It felt like he was ejected from his body. It irked him to no end, as he confronted the purple fox.

“Who are you? What did you do to me?”

“Calm down pup! I did not do anything to you. If you want to blame anyone, blame dead face.”

“Dead face?” He tilted his head.

“Right! His name is Azen, the second soul occupying your body.”

Ren fell speechless. Despite not having any memories, his common sense told him that the purple fox was spouting rubbish. Nonetheless, he had witnessed many things that felt unnatural. Adding one more to the list wasn't difficult.

Ren let out a tired sigh. He felt confused with all this information. First, he awakened in a world without other humans. Then he had no recollection of his past. Yet he seemed to be capable of understanding the language of the beasts and demi-humans with no problem.

On top of this, he was sharing his body with another soul?! And that soul took possession of his body and sent him into this ‘Mind Space’? Ren felt like either he or the world was turning crazy. All this information, one after another drove him to the verge of insanity. He wished to believe that it was all a dream. Yet, his eyes couldn't deny the truth.

For a few minutes, he ignored the fox. He had to sort out his state of mind and… prepare himself for more crazy news. Apparently, it was the norm in this world.

After calming down, he asked.

“Do you know about my past?”

The fox nefariously grinned and replied in dramatic pauses.

“Of course, although I don’t know your entire history, I was there… to witness… the end… of your life.”