Ren's consciousness returned sluggishly, like a computer rebooting after a forced shutdown.
His body felt strangely heavy, as if it had been submerged in molasses, and a dull, insistent pain throbbed behind his forehead.
He groaned softly, taking deep, steady breaths to regulate the discomfort. Panicking wouldn't solve anything. His mind was foggy, but his instincts told him to assess before reacting.
The last thing he remembered was being thrown into that pit, the cold touch of the stone floor beneath him, and then a sudden burst of light.
And now, here he was, somewhere else.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, immediately taking in his surroundings with methodical precision.
The room was simple, almost eerily so. The walls were a soft, muted blue, utterly featureless, giving the space a sterile, artificial feel.
There was a single bed, plain and unremarkable, with neatly arranged white sheets. No decorations, no furniture beyond the essentials.
No windows.
His sharp mind immediately flagged that as significant.
This wasn't a hospital. If he had been rescued after the ritual, there would be medical equipment, at least some indication of treatment.
But the lack of windows suggested something deliberate. Either this place was underground, or whoever had brought him here wanted to limit his perception of the outside world.
That alone confirmed something crucial; the ritual hadn't been for execution.
If they had wanted him dead, he would be dead. Instead, he had been transported somewhere. But where? And why?
The questions multiplied faster than answers. He could theorize endlessly—maybe the ritual was meant to transport people like him to some other location, maybe there was a hidden society that collected individuals with his particular traits, maybe the whole "demon purification" thing was just theatrical nonsense for the masses.
But without more data, any conclusion would be pure speculation. His scientific training had beaten that tendency out of him long ago. Hypotheses were worthless without evidence to support them.
Pushing aside the headache, Ren swung his legs off the bed, standing up to test his body's condition. No wounds, no dizziness beyond the initial grogginess.
Good. He ran a hand through his silver hair, exhaling as he walked toward the only door in the room. If there were people watching, it was best to let them know he was awake.
He raised his hand, about to knock, when suddenly, the air behind him twisted.
A brilliant eruption of grey light flared in the center of the room, swirling like liquid metal, distorting space itself.
Ren froze, his analytical mind immediately cycling through possibilities. Some kind of energy manifestation? A portal? Advanced technology disguised as something mystical?
From within the light, a figure emerged.
At first glance, Ren thought it was a man—broad-shouldered, tall, and effortlessly imposing. But when the light receded, the truth became clear.
The person before him was a woman; an impossibly beautiful one. She exuded an aura of unearthly grace, her long, flowing grey hair cascading past her waist like strands of silk woven from moonlight.
Her features were sharp, elegant, dangerously enchanting, as though sculpted by an artist who had no concept of imperfection.
Yet there was an undeniable fierceness in her deep, stormy eyes, a presence that demanded attention.
Her voluptuous figure was wrapped in an intricately embroidered black coat, partially unbuttoned at the top, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of smooth, pale skin.
The way she carried herself, the way she simply existed in the space around her, radiated absolute confidence and authority.
Ren did not move. Not out of fear, but because his brain was frantically trying to process what he had just witnessed.
The light phenomenon suggested either advanced technology or something beyond his current understanding of physics. The woman's sudden appearance in a locked room indicated either teleportation capabilities or that this place wasn't as secure as it appeared.
Her lack of surprise at seeing him awake suggested she had been monitoring him somehow, or that his awakening had been expected.
Most importantly, she had appeared alone and unarmed, which meant either she didn't consider him a threat, or she was confident enough in her abilities that she didn't need backup.
None of this gave him enough information to understand his situation, but it did tell him one crucial thing: whatever was happening here operated by rules he didn't understand yet.
The smart move was to gather more information before making any assumptions about what was possible or impossible in this place.
Ren blinked, forcing his expression to remain neutral. 'Okay. Magic is apparently real. That's… definitely something I didn't account for.'
The woman, meanwhile, had been silently scrutinizing him, her gaze cold and analytical. After a long pause, she finally spoke.
"You look too weak to be a hybrid."
Ren frowned slightly. Hybrid? The term implied a mixture of two different things. But without context, he couldn't determine what she meant. Magic and non-magic? Some kind of bloodline distinction?
Rather than guess and potentially reveal his ignorance, he decided to ask the most direct question. "Where am I?"
The woman's lips curved slightly, as if amused. "What do you think?"
Ah. A test. That much was obvious. But it was also an opportunity to demonstrate that he wasn't just some confused victim.
He had observed several key facts: the sterile room, the lack of windows, the ritual that had transported rather than killed him, and now this woman's casual display of what appeared to be supernatural abilities.
"The evidence suggests that I was never meant to die in that ritual," he began, voice calm and measured.
"Instead, I was selected—likely due to possessing some uncommon trait or ability. The controlled environment I woke up in, combined with your… unconventional method of entry, indicates that whatever organization you represent operates outside normal human society."
His silver eyes locked onto hers. "Given your apparent authority and the fact that you're testing my deductive abilities, I would guess this is some kind of evaluation phase before I'm either recruited, studied, or eliminated based on my potential value."
He paused, then added honestly, "Though I'll admit, the specifics are still completely beyond me."
For the first time, the woman's expression shifted, just slightly. The faintest flicker of surprise crossed her face before she sighed, shaking her head.
"You're a strange one."
Before Ren could respond, she moved.
One moment, she was standing several feet away. The next, she was right beside him.
His breath hitched. That definitely hadn't been normal human movement. Either she had some kind of superhuman speed, or the teleportation effect was more versatile than he had initially thought.
Before he could analyze it further, she placed a hand on his shoulder, her touch unnervally cold. "Don't resist," she said simply.
In the half-second before he could ask resist what?, the world around him exploded in light.
A blinding flash of grey engulfed them both, and in the blink of an eye, the room vanished.
The world twisted, folded, and then snapped back into place.
Ren barely had time to process the sensation of teleportation before his stomach violently rebelled against him.
His knees buckled, and before he could even think about dignity, he doubled over and vomited onto the cold, stone floor.
The sound of his retching echoed uncomfortably in the eerily silent room. Thick, oppressive air pressed down on him like an invisible mountain, suffocating and overbearing.
It was only after he wiped his mouth with the back of his cloth that he realized something deeply unsettling.
He was being watched.
Ren slowly straightened, his breathing unsteady, and took in his surroundings. The room was enormous, though the lack of proper lighting made it difficult to see its full scale.
What little illumination there was came from flickering, ethereal blue flames floating in midair, their glow casting long, distorted shadows against the imposing figures seated before him.
There were eight of them—old, ancient-looking people, each radiating a presence so intense that Ren instinctively knew, without any prior knowledge, that these individuals were dangerous beyond his comprehension.
Their very existence seemed to distort the air around them, their mere presence more suffocating than anything he had ever experienced.
Some were draped in regal robes, others in sharp, military-like uniforms, and all of them bore eyes that gleamed with intelligence that made his own analytical mind feel inadequate.
They weren't simply looking at him. They were dissecting him with their gazes.
Every little action, every twitch of his fingers, every breath he took was being catalogued and analyzed by minds that had probably forgotten more than he would ever learn.
Ren forced himself to remain calm, pushing back the lingering nausea and the growing sense of his own insignificance.
He was completely out of his depth here. These people—if they were people—operated on a level he couldn't even begin to comprehend. Any attempt to outwit them or manipulate the situation would be laughably futile.
His only advantage was his willingness to admit his own limitations and adapt accordingly.
Then, finally, one of them spoke.
Unlike the suffocating aura of the others, this individual's presence was gentler, warmer.
A kind-looking elderly woman with white hair pulled into a meticulous bun, her gaze filled with something that almost resembled… concern?
"How are you feeling, child?" she asked softly.
Ren hesitated. His body still felt weak, his mind foggy, but nothing was broken, and apart from his momentary sickness, he was functional. He decided honesty was probably his safest bet.
"Confused, but unharmed," he replied carefully.
For a brief second, there was silence. Then, the woman turned her gaze towards the others and gave a slight nod of her own.
"He has potential for both paths," she stated firmly.
Ren's brain immediately latched onto that phrase. Both paths? What did that mean? But before he could even begin to speculate, the conversation continued without him.
The murmuring of the gathered figures filled the air. A few stroked their beards thoughtfully, while others glanced at Ren with renewed interest.
And then the conversation shifted.
"We need to measure the degree of his attunement."
Ren wasn't given the chance to ask what that meant before one of the figures raised their hand.
A wave of something—energy, magic, he didn't know what to call it—surged through the room, crackling like static in the air. The moment it touched him, something inside him responded.
A rush of sensation flooded through his body, like stepping into an electrified pool. His nerves tingled, his heartbeat quickened, and something deep within him stirred to life.
He couldn't explain it, couldn't analyze it with any scientific framework he knew, but there was a sudden, undeniable awareness of forces he had never imagined existed.
Then, just as quickly, the sensation split.
Two distinct responses emerged within him—one raw and instinctive, promising physical power beyond human limits, and another vast and complex, like touching the edge of an infinite web of interconnected possibilities.
The murmurs grew louder. Then, one of them finally spoke.
"Divine Attunement for Weaving. Special Attunement for Carving."
Ren had no idea what those terms meant, but from the way the atmosphere shifted, he could tell it was significant.
Then—chaos.
The calm, measured atmosphere exploded as the figures began arguing.
"He would be better suited at Star Breaker Academy—"
"Nonsense! With attunement like this, Celestia is the only place for him—"
"If he attends Celestia, he'll be limited! The Grand Scholars of—"
"Limited? Do you think a Weaving genius of this level should be left in the hands of a third-rate—"
Ren stared at them in bewilderment.
Were they… fighting over him? One moment he had been a condemned "demon," and now these impossibly powerful beings were arguing about which institution should claim him?
The sheer absurdity of the situation would have been funny if it weren't so overwhelming.
For several minutes, the argument raged on, with none of them willing to back down. Then, suddenly, a presence crushed the room into silence.
The bickering stopped immediately as all eyes turned to one figure who hadn't spoken once during the argument, but whose very existence commanded absolute obedience.
She was tall, regal, and carried herself with the dignity of someone who had never needed to raise her voice to be heard. Her robes were adorned with azure sigils that glowed faintly, marking her status as someone far above even these other terrifying individuals.
She raised a single hand.
And then, in a voice that resonated with absolute authority, she spoke.
"Azure Decree."
The moment those words left her lips, an invisible force swept through the room, like the weight of fate itself settling into place. The meaning was clear even without explanation.
She had claimed him, and that decision was final.
The other representatives stiffened, their faces darkening in clear displeasure. But none of them objected. Because they couldn't.
Ren barely had time to process what had happened before the woman turned to him.
"If fate permits it, we will meet again at the Academy," she said simply.
Then darkness.
A wave of energy washed over him, and his vision blurred. His limbs felt heavy, unresponsive, and before he could even think about resisting, his consciousness faded.
As he drifted into unconsciousness, one thought echoed in his mind: he had no control over any of this.
But somehow, his complete powerlessness had just catapulted him into a world where his very existence had become something extraordinary.