Know your place

The instant Raja was hit by the wave, Gen appeared out of nowhere, a few steps away from where he was standing before.

Seeing this, Karin said, "I found you.", and then moved towards Gen.

Gen knew that he couldn't run away, and so he decided to try to protect himself from the punch.

He then closed his eyes and began to concentrate, and just as Karin was about to hit him in the stomach, he opened his eyes and made the air in front of his belly become endless, trying to use the air resistance to take some of the force of the punch he was about to receive. Still, unfortunately, it was to no avail. Karin's punch continued on its way as if nothing had happened.

Gen then thought, 'Damn! If I don't die from this, I'm going to be several months in bed at the very least.'

...

inside Gen's inner world

In one corner of the world was a region surrounded by a black mist. The mist had an eerie feeling as if if you got too close, something might come out of it and pull you in.

Somewhere inside this mist, there was a room, it was simple, with only a table and two chairs inside, on one of the chairs a man was sitting, he had long black hair that fell over his face, and was wearing simple white clothes.

He was bound to the chair by his arms, legs, and waist. His mouth was also covered by the same material that held the other parts of his body together.

He was sitting still on the chair when suddenly he turned his face in one direction and said, "What's going on?! Why is she doing that?!", and immediately after that, he disappeared from the chair.

Dehji was standing in his hut, pacing back and forth as he thought about how he could save Gen after he received the punch, "Maybe I can-", but suddenly, he felt a strange sensation and looked in one direction.

In the direction he looked was a castle, it was huge, and surrounded by a black mist, inside the castle the same black mist permeated it almost entirely, and following the inside of it, more and more mist was found until the point where a room was reached.

In the middle of the room, there was a young woman. She had long white hair and was hanging upright by several black lines that made something like a giant spider web around her.

The glass ceiling let some sunbeams hit her hair, which made it shine as if it had its own light. She had her eyes closed, and she had a serene expression on her face as if she were sleeping.

The scene was beautiful to behold, but then suddenly, the expression on her face changed to one of discomfort, and she slowly began to open her eyes like someone who had just woken up.

She looked around a little confused and then looked in a specific direction. After a few seconds of looking, the expression on her face changed to one of anger, the black line covering her mouth parted, and then she moved her lips as if she were saying something, but no sound came out of them.

...

Meanwhile, in the real world, Gen was about to be hit by Karin's punch when suddenly a voice said, "Do you want to die?!"

The voice was a woman's, but she was neither gentle nor sweet. It carried with it a feeling of imposition, anger, and especially a desire to kill.

The effect of Karin's essence faded, but no one in the bar could move. They were all paralyzed and trembling. Karin, who was standing in front of Gen, fell to her knees and broke out into a cold sweat.

She then bowed her head and said, "No ... I ... I don't want to die.", and right after she said that, the voice came again and said, "Then know your place!"

After saying that, the pressure that everyone was feeling disappeared.

Everyone in the bar was in shock, many were still shaking, and some even started vomiting.

Everyone there was an adventurer, but none of them had experienced anything like this, regardless of rank. First, they were under the control of Karin's essence, and soon after being released from it, they were threatened by the voice of a mysterious woman.

Each one of them that was present will never forget this day. Some of them may take inspiration from what happened to run after their own essences, and others may give up being adventurers, but the one thing that everyone in the bar will have in common is the feeling of fear and respect for the awakened ones.

Raja was looking at Gen and was holding the wrist of his left hand with his right hand, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop shaking.

He then thought, 'What was that?! Does Gen have another essence?! And from what I felt, it's stronger than mine! Why didn't he use it on the expedition?'

Gerald was also trembling, but he got up and went towards Karin, stumbling along the way.

When he arrived, he knelt in front of her, took her shoulders, and then said, "Karin! Is everything all right?"

Karin lifted her face to look at Gerald. She was pale and looking a little lost.

Gerald then said, "Karin! Answer me, are you okay?"

Karin's eyes focused, and she said, "Y-yes, everything is fine. I was just in shock."

"That's great!"

He then turned to Gen, stood up, and started to walk towards him, saying, "Gen! What do you-", but before he could finish, Raja stepped into the path between them.

Seeing this, Gerald said, "Raja, get out of my way. I need to talk with Gen!"

Raja then said, "Are you crazy?"

"Look, Raja, I don't care how strong he is. He's not going to get away with it after he did this to Karin."

"It's not a matter of being strong. Did you forget what I told you? Karin was going to kill Gen. Luckily, Gen had a way to save himself. Otherwise, he would be lying on the ground right now, and besides, Karin wasn't hurt. She was just scared."

"... That's true, you're right. Hey Gen, I'm sorry for yelling at you. After all, you were just trying to save yourself."

Raja then said, "There's no point in you talking now."

And Gerald said, "What do you mean?"

"Just look at him."

Gerald then looked at Gen's face and saw that he was standing still, staring into the distance.

He then walked over and said, "Hey, Gen!", but Gen was still standing in silence.

He then tried to get closer, and even though he shouted and walked in front of him a few times, he got no reaction.

Gerald then asked, "What happened to him?"

And Raja said, "Well, it's a long story."

Karin got up from the ground, came closer, and said, "We have time."

And Raja said, "Ok. Let's sit down."

Karin and Gerald nodded, and after they sat down, Raja said, "Have you ever heard of the inner world?"

...

Meanwhile, inside Gen's inner world.

Just as Gen was about to be hit, he had his consciousness pulled, and as he opened his eyes, he asked, "What happened? Did I die?"

He then looked to the side and saw Dehji carrying him on his shoulder somewhere, and said, "Dehji? Did you die too?"

"... No, Gen, we are inside your inner world."

"What?! Why did you bring me here? I'm in mortal danger out there."

"Gen, you don't have to worry, you're safe."

"Really?!"

"Yes."

"Gee, that's nice. When the air I used as a barrier didn't work, I really thought I was going to die, but anyway, why did you bring me here?"

"Eli asked me to bring you."

"Eli? Did something happen?"

"Yes. You'll see when we get there."

Dehji kept running for a few seconds until he arrived with Gen in front of a castle.

Gen then asked, "Why are we in Light's castle? Did something happen to her?"

"... Just follow me, Gen."

The two continued inside the castle to the point where they reached the room where Light was being held. Dehji then opened the door, and as Gen entered, he could see Eli facing Light.

Gen then approached and asked, "Eli, what happened? Why did you call me here?"

Eli then said, "You didn't notice anything different?"

"Hmm? Different how? The room looks the same to me. Several black lines, Light stuck in the middle of the room."

Gen then heard a voice calling him, "Hey Gen, how are you?"

Gen then turned to the middle of the room and said, "I'm fine, how are you-", but stopped in the middle and widened his eyes. His throat then went dry, and he began to break out in a cold sweat.

He quickly sobered up from all the alcohol he had taken on this night as if it had all come out of him along with his sweat.

He then looked up at Light and saw that she was staring at him with a beautiful smile, but this only made him sweat more and swallow dryly.

Gen then, with much difficulty, said, "H-Hey Light, how's life going?"

Light then said, "Shut up!"

"Yes, ma'am ..."