Slumber did not answer, he only stood there staring at Ren. Ren decided to ask again.

“Where’s Finite!” Ren roared. Slumber, again, said nothing. “If you’re not going to say anything then get out of my way!” he yelled as swung his left arm, motioning for Slumber to move.

“I’m afraid I cannot do that.” Slumber finally said.

Ren’s face became fierce as he took his stance, “Then I’ll make you move!”

“Then I can take this to mean you want to duel?” Slumber questioned.

“A duel? Why would a murderer like you do something so formal?”

“Calling me a murderer when you don’t even know me is rude.” Slumber did not move to pick up his sword. “All I want is a formal duel. No magic nor abilities. Are you willing to accept these terms?” A battle without magic or abilities sounded like heaven to Ren. Abilities were what Ren thought separated his skill from that of the executioners. If this executioner was going to fight without any kind of ability then Ren saw that as fighting on even terms.

“I’ll accept your terms.” Ren said.

“Good. Then come at me.” Slumber had still not moved an inch yet told Ren to attack? If Ren could get to him faster than Slumber could raise his sword then Ren would have an easy victory. Ren launched forward fully prepared to end the battle in one strike. Slumber’s right hand slid down onto his sword’s hilt and grabbed it. He then lifted the sword up with his right hand and put his left hand on the blade to block Ren’s right to left slash. The two locked swords.

“Naive.” Slumber stated. “Did you really think your opponent would be incapable of wielding their own weapon!” Slumber then knocked Ren backwards and sent Ren’s sword flying upwards. Ren had no idea how it happened. He had no idea how he was sent backwards, but after he was sent backwards Slumber threw his sword up against Ren’s and sent his sword into the air. If Slumber had wanted to kill him, Ren would’ve been dead right there. Instead, Slumber gave him a roundhouse kick to the chest and sent him flying backwards towards the bridge Ren had walked across. Ren picked himself back up and looked at Slumber. Slumber had not moved an inch from where he had started. He even went back to the same pose he had been in when Ren had asked him to duel just a second ago.

Enraged, Ren threw himself at Slumber again. Slumber once again deflected his attack and sent him flying backwards. This exchange happened again and again.

“Are you not done yet? It is clear that you have no chance of winning, for you are incapable of moving me from this one spot!” Slumber yelled. Ren climbed back to his feet slower than he had before. The countless attacks he had taken had begun to take their toll. He began to feel weak and tired, yet his anger fueled him. He could not back down, not after the sight he had seen! Ren clenched his teeth and charged at Slumber once again. “You still wish to fight? There’s nothi--” Slumber stopped at the sight of Ren’s pendant exploding into a green fire that wrapped itself around Ren. “That power!” Ren swung his sword and Slumber once again blocked, but this time Ren had swung with such power that Slumber had slid backwards a few feet towards the bridge behind him. “That pendant…” Slumber trailed off as he stared at the chains that wrapped around Ren’s neck where the pendant hung before it had been destroyed.

Ren laughed. “Hey, look. I moved you. Guess it’s not futile afterall!” Slumber did not answer; he only continued to stare at Ren.

“You… you have potential.” Slumber said.

“I don’t care what you think! I just need you to move!” Ren yelled as he swung at Slumber again. This time Slumber used his full force to deflect Ren’s blade, but this time Ren’s sword was sent flying out of his hands and into the abyss below. Ren watched it fly away but then quickly turned his head back to face Slumber but Slumber had already approached him. Slumber suckerpunched Ren in the stomach and knocked the wind of him. Ren fell to his knees gasping for air. Slumber smashed Ren’s head into the ground beneath his foot.

“You have potential to be great, but you lack training and dignity. Losing your mind to anger will do you nothing in a fight.” Slumber looked over to the abyss and then back to Ren. “What you need is to train yourself. Not just in your physical skill, but in your mind as well.” Slumber reached down and grabbed the back of Ren’s collar to pick him up. Slumber then carried him over to the edge of the arena and hung him over the abyss. Ren gazed down into the abyss, barely conscious. “Don’t worry, this won’t kill you. You’ll just wind up somewhere else. No matter what happens or where you end up, become stronger. You need to become strong, Ren, because that’s the only way to save your world. Then one day, you’ll come back to finish our duel. That’s when I’ll be… your slumber.” Slumber let go of Ren’s collar and he fell into the darkness below, just as his consciousness became engulfed in darkness as well.

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Character Files

Executioner I: Illness

Age: ???

Eyes: Blood red

Hair: Black

Height: 6’ 2’’

Clothing: Black cloak

Information: Not much information is known about Illness’s powers. His arm was what pierced through Dr. Tirion’s chest, but Ren wasn’t paying enough attention to really get the idea behind what Illness’s ability is. All Ren knew was that Illness appeared to be a crazed killer.

Executioner S: Slumber

Height: 6’ 0’’

Clothing: Full set of armor (black with red stripes)

Information: Nothing is known about this person clad in armor, not even their gender. Ren has a respect for Slumber for staying an honorable, chivalrous knight.

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It had been raining that morning. Ren had actually decided to get up early for a change and take a walk before his first day of high school. Ren trudged along through the rain with his umbrella in hand as he stared down at the ground as he walked, his thoughts focused on the events causing him to leave his home and live alone on the Valenthia High campus. That’s when he came across him... a male student wearing the same uniform as Ren, the same black and red Valenthia High uniform, and a female student lying facedown on the ground next to the male student. As Ren’s eyes went from the male student to the girl on the ground he realized that the boy was doing nothing to help.

“Oi! Are you okay?” Ren yelled out as he ran over to the student on the ground and kneeled down to her. “What happened to her?” was Ren’s question to the boy, but as Ren raised his head to look at the boy, all he saw was a wicked smile.

“I don’t know,” the boy responded in a sarcastic voice that obviously meant he knew, “maybe she’s anemic or something.” The boy shrugged his shoulders with the smile still on his face, and it was getting Ren annoyed. How could the boy have such an expression on his face while there was a girl laying in front of him who needed help? Ren reached down to the girl to check her pulse and breathing when he was suddenly kicked by the other boy and fell over, dropping his umbrella.

“What the hell was that for! She needs help!”

“Stay out of it. Go away.” That was what the boy said as he stared down at Ren with eyes that were as sharp as daggers. Now Ren was angry.

“What the hell’s your problem!” Ren yelled as he rose to his feet, giving the boy an equal look of disdain.

“You’re in my way.”

“In your way? What were you planning to do to this girl?”

“That’s none of your business!” the boy shouted at Ren.

“None of my business? Do you just expect me to--” Ren had been given a right hook to the jaw. As Ren recovered from the impulse of the punch, he stood there in anger. He turned his glare towards the boy who had regained his wicked smile. The boy had begun laughing a crazed laugh. Ren had thought he had his fill of crazy people in his life but he had never expected to find another, especially not on a morning walk he was using to clear his head -- and above all other unexpected revelations, Ren had not expected that he would ever have to fight again after putting down his sword and retiring from SwordTours -- but the anger fueling Ren at this point could no longer be stopped. Ren roared as he put all of his weight into a right hook and punched the student, who was still laughing crazily, right back in the jaw. The student had flung back and rolled into the middle of Valenthia Road. The boy stood up as Ren was already walking towards him to give him another hit, but the boy was not just going to take it lying down. The boy whipped out his prized possession pocket knife and twirled it around his finger.

“You… you’re going to pay for that…” the boy let out in a delirious voice. Ren became tense once he saw the blade, for one wrong move could mean that he would lose his life to some psychopath; however, losing was not an option, for there was a girl Ren needed to save.

“Bring it on!” Ren yelled at the boy, in which the boy responded by charging straight at him, swiping the knife in an attempt to slice Ren’s stomach open. Ren realized he couldn’t dodge backwards or else he’d land on the girl behind him. Instead, Ren chose to catch the arm that the boy had swung at him. He then used his knee to kick the boy in his stomach, once again sending the boy backwards into the road. The boy fell to his knees gasping for air. Ren looked down at the pitiable boy below him. The boy’s appearance was completely dark. His hair color was pitch black, his dead looking eyes were such a dark blue that they looked black in the dimly lit morning rain, and his skin was a pale white that clearly showed he was not the healthiest individual for he almost appeared ghostlike. The boy continued to sit there and gasp for air. Ren turned back to the girl to once again try to check her vitals, but as soon as he turned away he noticed that the gasping had stopped. He turned back around to find that the boy was up again and had charged at Ren again. This time he was unbelievably close to Ren leaving Ren very little time to do anything in an attempt to not get stabbed. Since the boy was about to stab the left side of Ren’s stomach, Ren began turning his body counterclockwise to avoid the knife. While turning counterclockwise, Ren also went in for another right hook. When this event played out in real time Ren had not dodged the knife completely, the knife grazed his side, and Ren had connected the punch, sending the boy flying down the sidewalk. Ren grasped his side where he had begun to bleed. Now he was furious. Ren went over to the boy, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him up onto his knees with his left hand while sending him a punch to his face with his right hand. The boy was launched down into the ground and knocked unconscious. As for Ren, a car had finally come down the road and stopped next to where Ren had knocked the boy unconscious. The person who got out of the car was the principal of Valenthia High. Ren had met him earlier when he had come on a visit to Valenthia High. The principal was a man who wore sunglasses despite the morning being so dark.

“You! What’s going on here!” The principal shouted at Ren. As the principal approached Ren he gasped, “You’re!” as he realized who Ren was. The principal then went into questioning Ren about what had happened and Ren explained the events that had just occurred. The principal then called an ambulance for Ren and the girl. Ren later learned the name of the boy he encountered that day, he learned it well. The boy’s name was Jonathan, a notorious troublemaker that he would encounter and fight countless times over that one year. At the hospital, Ren’s wound was patched up and Ren found out that the girl had sustained no serious injury, she had just been knocked unconscious by Jonathan. Ren was then allowed to go to school and arrived late, during the fourth period. Upon his arrival, the principal supplied him with a new uniform to replace the one that had been cut by Jonathan.

Ren walked into the classroom and everyone’s faces turned towards him. The teacher questioned his tardiness, but upon receiving a note the principal had given Ren to give the teacher, the teacher no longer had any questions. Ren sat down in the back corner of the room next to the window where there was an empty seat. It just so happened that Tye was the one who was in the desk in front of Ren. That made Ren’s day a little bit better. Eventually the bell rang and class was let out.

“Why were you so late today, Ren?” Tye questioned.

“I overslept.” Ren said, instead of the truth. He knew that telling Tye the truth would only make him concerned and he would make too big of a deal out of it.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Eh? You slept in till fourth period? On your first day of high school? Ren!” Tye yelled.

“Ah! I know! I know!” Tye was perceptive, he tried to read into the situation.

“This doesn’t have something to do with --”

“No, Tye. Don’t worry. It has nothing to do with that.” Ren smiled a pained smile at Tye. It’s true that Ren wasn’t late for that reason, but it was what Ren was trying to forget. Somehow the events of the morning had thrust out the memories of Ren’s troubles, probably replaced by rage, but Tye had just brought the memories back up. Not purposely of course, but now Ren’s past was stabbing him in the heart. That’s when Ren first noticed her. Terra walked into the classroom with her golden hair trailing behind her. She took Ren’s breath away. Tye caught notice of Ren’s thunderstruck look and turned around to see what Ren was looking at.

“Are you looking at Terra Lanon?” Tye asked as he turned back around to Ren. Ren began blushing and began stuttering.

“N-No! Wh-what the hell are y-you talking about?” Tye laughed at Ren’s failure to speak.

“No, you are. You are.” Tye continued laughing as Ren sat there embarrassed, then he turned his head from Tye back to Terra. “Sure, you probably have a chance with her. Actually I would say you have a really good chance. We went to the same elementary school, right? She probably remembers you.” Ren laughed off Tye’s comment as he went on to say he had no chance. That was when later that day, during lunch, Ren’s thought of having no chance became a thought of the past.

“Would you mind if I sat with you two?” Terra questioned as she stood next to the table that Ren and Tye were sitting at. Ren was thrown aback, why would Terra want to sit with them? Ren was at a loss for words, so it was Tye who spoke up.

“It would be our pleasure.” Tye smiled. Terra smiled back. There were two empty chairs at the table Ren and Tye sat at. Terra sat in the chair next to Ren which made Ren even more nervous, but Ren had to know --

“I have to ask, Terra. Why did you decide to sit with us?” Ren questioned.

“Well,” she began as if she didn’t really have a reason in the first place, “we did go to the same elementary school, but I never really talked to you two that much. I just thought that now would be a good time to get to know you two.” she smiled. That answer didn’t make sense to Ren why she would suddenly just decide to become friends with two people she never really knew in the first place. Whether that was the real answer or not, Ren was thankful for it because it allowed him to get closer to the girl he liked. That was Ren’s first day of high school. While it was a day filled with painful memories for Ren, it was also a day he treasured as the day he became friends with Terra.

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Ren woke up to the sounds of rushing waves and a hefty breeze blowing past. The soft sensation of the ground, it could be none other than sand. Ren slowly sat up and opened his eyes. The ocean. It was right in front of his eyes. The blue horizon seemed to stretch forever as it reflected the calm of the sky. Ren looked at that serene view as he recalled the dream he just had, and then Ren thought of the events leading to his slumber. Tears fell from Ren’s eyes. Why had he had that dream? Why had it been that dream? Ren became so lost in his emotions that he didn’t even question why had a dream at all. He should’ve gone to Mana’s realm if he was asleep, yet he had not gone last night.

Ren pictured Terra’s face smiling at him. Then he pictured her as she was obliterated into a storm of blood just as Finite had done to her. She was gone forever, and it was all because of Tye! Ren sat there until the wave of emotions that came over him had passed. As he stood, he realized he had not been to Mana’s realm. The thought had only crossed his mind for a moment but he did not dwell on the thought because there was nothing he could do about it. Instead, the memories of last night crept into his mind and tortured him as he walked down the shoreline in some direction. He didn’t care what direction he was walking, there wasn’t a way for him to know anyway, not even if he looked at the sun. Did the sun rise in the east, the west, north, or south? Ren had never paid attention to how it was in this world so there was no way he could know, but Ren didn’t care where he walked. That was because thinking was something Ren was incapable of at this point. The memories plaguing his mind had become too much for him to bear. He hobbled down the shoreline anyways.

How long had he been walking? It seemed like an eternit. As Ren walked aimlessly down the beach, he suddenly heard what sounded like an extremely large wave coming from his right. He turned towards the ocean to see some kind of large sea monster -- seemingly about twice the size of Ren -- only about ten feet from where Ren stood. Even without his mind functioning properly Ren instinctively tried to defend himself by summoning his gear. His appearance changed into his combat outfit and his sword appeared in his hand, but only for a split second. Ren tried again and the same thing happened. Ren couldn’t maintain his gear. The monster, what appeared to be some kind of sea dragon, lunged its snake like head forward and Ren thought he was done for, but he didn’t care. He stared death in the face as it lunged at him. That’s when a figure appeared in between Ren and the monster. A man with completely white hair had stepped in to save Ren. With a swift swing of his sword, the man had cut the monster’s head clean off and the monster’s body fell over as its head hit the ground. As the man turned around Ren could see that the man also had a long white beard.

“You there.” The man said to Ren. “What are you doing all the way out here? -- and defenceless, too?” Ren couldn’t say anything. All he could do was drown in the thoughts plaguing his mind. The man saw the look of misery on Ren’s face. “You look like you’ve been through some rough times. Why don’t you come on back to my place and I’ll fix you something to eat?” Ren mindlessly agreed and the man led Ren to his home. Next to the beach was an immense forest. The man led Ren a ways into the forest to where they eventually found a log cabin. The man sat Ren down inside at a table and went to make dinner. Ren sat patiently as he waited on the man and slowly regained his ability to think rationally.

“Did you build this?” Ren questioned quietly as the man reentered the room from the kitchen.

“Ah, well. I actually just happened to find it after a venture into the woods one day. It appeared to be abandoned so I took it upon myself to fix the place up.” The man put a plate of food on the table in front of Ren. The man then sat down at the opposite end of the table with his food. Ren sat there in silence until he realized that he was being watched by the man. The man had not yet touched his food, but instead stared at Ren. He had been waiting for Ren to begin eating. Ren reached out for the silverware on his plate and began to eat. The man, after seeing that Ren had begun eating, began to eat as well.

It wasn’t long into their meal when the man questioned where Ren had come from. Ren didn’t feel like thinking too hard about whether or not he should tell the man the truth or not, so he just told the man he came from the capital.

“The capital, eh? And how’d you manage that?”

“Honestly I’m not too sure…”

“Not too sure?”

“I was there yesterday, and today I found myself on the beach…”

“One day!” the man exclaimed. Then there was silence. Ren picked up his fork and took another bite. So did the man, then he asked, “But then… why are you so distraught?” Ren looked as if the man had stabbed him in the chest as the question came out. “Ah!” the man let out after seeing Ren’s expression, “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have--”

“No. It’s okay…” Ren interrupted. “I-I lost someone very close to me… that’s all.” The man stared straight at Ren as he said this.

“I see…” the man replied. “Do you mind? If you tell me their name?”

“Her name was Terra…” Then there was silence again. Ren began to eat his food again, but the man remained still until he finally spoke up again.

“I’m gonna go outside for a second.” the man said unexpectedly. Ren wondered what could possibly be more important than the food in front of him. Ren watched as the man stepped outside and shut the door, leaving Ren to himself. Ren took another bite of his food, and another. Then Ren heard a very loud -- THUD! -- from outside that shook the ground. Ren dropped his fork and ran outside. As he burst open the door and looked out to the right, he saw the man standing next to a large tree that had fallen over. The man held the same sword that he had used to fell the sea monster and save Ren. The man slightly tilted his head towards Ren and said the words, “I needed some firewood. For later,” was all the man said. Ren couldn’t quite grasp it, but there seemed to be some kind of emotion hidden within the man that caused him to cut down the tree. It was as if hearing about Terra’s death had affected him as well.

“I should thank you for your hospitality,” Ren said, “but there’s something I need to do, so I need to get back to Centiria right now.”

“Why?” the man questioned.

“Because it’s something I must do.” Ren began to walk down the porch steps and towards the forest. He didn’t know where he must go; he just knew he needed to go. He needed to get revenge.

“But can you do it?” Ren stopped as he heard these words. “Do you think you can do it? Because I know, you cannot.”

“What the hell do you mean by that!” Ren exploded as he turned around to face the man.

“Look at your anger, your rage, do you think letting it take control of you will just allow you to win?”

“Of course I can win! I’m the only one who can! That’s why I will win, for the sake of this world!”

“For the sake of this world?” The man laughed. “Your eyes say otherwise. You’re fighting for a selfish reason: you want revenge. How is that for the sake of this world?”

“Enough! You know nothing about this world or my burden! I’m going to Centiria!” Ren turned around and began walking into the forest. Behind his back, the man began to use his ability.

“Barrier!” the man yelled. As Ren walked forward, he walked into an invisible wall causing him to recoil backwards and fall onto the ground. He stood back up and held his hands out to touch the invisible wall. Indeed, there was something invisible there blocking Ren’s path and it seemed to be quite a large barrier.

“Oi! What the hell is this!” Ren yelled at the man.

“This is my ability: barrier. I can create invisible barriers wherever I want. Whether they be used for protection or for things such as this, I can use however many I want and maintain them for as long as I live. The only way for you to take them down is to defeat me, but that’s something I’m confident you can’t do in your current state.”

“But why! But why won’t you let me leave!”

“I refuse to let someone die while I can help it!” Ren, thoughts blinded by rage, became angry at the man and charged at him without even attempting to summon his gear. The man threw his sword to the side and took his stance. The man took a wide stance in which his right leg was his leading foot, his body turned perpendicular to Ren, his left hand low and near his stomach, and his right hand outstretched towards Ren. As Ren got right in front of the man, Ren went to strike the man from the side with a low blow to the gut, but with a swift change in footing the man had caught Ren’s strike and flipped Ren over. Ren’s head hit a root that had been sticking out of the ground and he slowly fell out of consciousness. As things became black, the man said something along the lines of, “That’s what happens when you fight without thinking.”

When Ren next opened his eyes he found himself lying next to the pond in Mana’s realm. He looked up and saw that Mana was standing in front of him with her arms crossed and an impatient expression on her face. Ren leaned forward prepared for what she had to say.

“Ren.” Mana said in a cheerful voice with a smile on her face as she leaned forward and put her face in front of his face. Ren was caught off guard, why had she put her face so close to his? -- and then Ren was met with a massive force to his head. Mana had flicked him in the forehead, but it wasn’t just a normal flick. Mana used her willpower to give the flick a massive force that sent Ren bouncing off the ground, eventually rolling backwards and stopping once his back hit the wall of Mana’s house. He had stopped in a perfectly upright position (most likely also planned by Mana). Mana then reappeared in front of him in an instant (as if it were teleportation) and began speaking, “A hero is someone who goes through trial and tribulation. A hero is someone who has gone through pain, after pain, after pain. Different heroes dealt with that pain in different ways. Some overcame it, but some also succumbed to it. You, Ren, are on the path to succumbing to that pain.”

Ren gritted his teeth as he yelled, “What do you expect! Who wouldn’t act like this! Or what, did you not expect me to act like this! The one who’s always the cool, calm one! Was this so unexpected!”

“I thought you’d take it slightly better than this.” she admitted.

“Well, you were wrong. While previous events in my life have been hard on me and I’ve been able to suppress my emotions, that was mostly thanks to Tye being there for me… but now Tye’s my enemy -- the reason for my sadness, my rage. Not to mention none of those events were as hard as losing someone so precious to me…” Ren trailed off as he curled himself into a ball. “Everything that’s happened since Tye suddenly changed that day… everything… has there been a single moment of true happiness? Has there been a reason to fight back?” Mana sat down next to Ren.

“You’re plagued by your own memories, the ones of your friends dying before your very eyes; you’re crushed by the weight of the burden I’ve put on your shoulders and you think you need to carry it all; but most of all, I think you’re crushed by devastation due to Tye’s sudden betrayal. All of those hurt deeply, as I can clearly see.” Mana turned her head towards Ren and began petting his head. “It’s true, the world you are in is one filled with pain, but you can’t lose sight of your goal. You’re fighting to overcome the pain, fighting to return to your world, a world where you can be happy, right?”

“A world without Tye or Terra? Half of my happiness has been taken away.”

“But think about your other half. You still have Steven, and your sister.” Ren shook as Mana mentioned his sister.

“You know about my sister?” Ren questioned.

“Of course, and I know you care deeply about her, right?”

“Yeah, even if she doesn’t acknowledge my existence.”

“Right, then you can’t just give up now can you? You have Steven and your sister, not to mention all the people you still have left to meet in your life. You have a future, and all you need to do is grasp it.”

Ren smiled softly. “Well, you make it sound easy, but in practice taking down five executioners and Tye on top of that is beyond me with this limiter.”

“Well, that man is right. You can’t win with your mind flooded by rage. Of course there’s the idea that you can’t just charge into a fight, you need to carefully strategize in order to win. Strategy is key to victory, but that’s not all when it comes to rage.”

“What do you mean?”

“Rage disrupts willpower. While rage is a form of motivation that one would think could increase one’s willpower, rage disrupts your thoughts making it hard to use your powers. Like how you couldn’t summon your gear before when that sea monster attacked. So not only is having a calm mind to form strategies important, but it’s also crucial to being able to maintain your powers. Not to mention that with a weak mindset comes a weakened overall willpower. Just remember that if one day an event makes you emotionally unstable, avoid fighting at all costs.” Ren thought of the chance of being insta-killed due to a weakened overall willpower.

“Right. I’ll make sure to avoid that.” Ren stood up and took a few steps forward. Mana stood up as well, but before she could take a step forward towards Ren, Ren yelled at the top of his lungs, his pendant broke, his willpower engulfed him in a green flame, and Ren continued to yell until he ran out of breath. Once he was done, his pendant reformed and the energy dissipated.

“What was that?!” Mana questioned.

“I’m sorry.” Ren responded. “I just needed that.” He smiled. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to think, but I do know that remaining this way won’t help anyone. Most of all, it won’t stop Tye.” Ren frowned as he thought of Tye. “But that’s one thing I do know: I will stop Tye. I will end him for all the pain he has caused!”