Chapter 5: When Worlds Begin to Bleed

Date: 2742-08-21

Time: 08:40 PM

Location: Ren's Apartment – Central Kyoto District

Ren stood in the doorway of the spare bedroom, arms crossed, staring at the makeshift space he'd put together for his unexpected guest.

He'd changed the sheets, cleared out old boxes, even lit a small lamp by the bedside. A thin blanket lay folded at the foot, next to a bottle of water and an unopened first-aid kit that, frankly, felt insulting considering Lirael's glowing silver blood and self-healing abilities.

She was asleep now — or at least resting. Her chest rose slowly, rhythmically. Her skin still shimmered faintly in the dim light. Her armor, torn and scorched, sat draped over a chair nearby.

Ren lingered in the hallway, back against the wall, eyes scanning the shadows.

"An elf," he muttered to himself, "from another world… dropped into a café like it's just a Tuesday."

He looked down at his palm, flexing his fingers. They trembled. Not from fear — not anymore. From pressure.

Too much had happened in too little time. And the world was still cracking.

He walked back into the living room. The letter Kael left him — the one that had changed everything — was still on the desk. Ren picked it up.

He'd read it twice before. But now… the words felt different.

To the next bearer of the light —

If you're reading this again, it's because you're looking for direction.

I can't offer comfort. Only truth.

The Aetherium Core you carry is not a gift. It's a lock — and a key.

The portals that now flood your skies are the result of destabilized Core signatures. The Fallen is drawing species across the boundaries to fracture reality.

You must not let them converge. Stabilize the beacons. Close the tears. Destroy the remaining fragments.

I gave you my sight — the Void Eye — so you could see what no one else can. But there's more. With time, it will let you move like I once did. Through the seams. Through the cracks.

You must be stronger than me.

You are The Last Light now.

— K

Ren lingered near the desk, his mind swirling in quiet chaos.

The letter from Kael still lay open, its last words gnawing at the edge of his thoughts.

You are The Last Light now.

He muttered the phrase aloud, testing the taste of it in his mouth. It didn't feel like a title. It felt like a sentence.

Then he remembered the email.

The one he'd deleted. Junk. Spam. Probably.

He sat down, opened his laptop, and dug through the trash folder. There it was — unread, ignored, but suddenly glowing like a loaded gun.

He clicked.

Subject: [Urgent | Personal]

Ren Ishida,

I know this will be hard to believe, but your life is in immediate danger.

Tonight, at exactly midnight, you will be attacked by someone — or something — not of this world. He does not belong here, and neither do his methods. You won't recognize him until it's too late.

He is not human. But neither are you.

Not anymore.

There's a power inside you, Ren — one you haven't begun to understand. It was placed there to protect you, to anchor your soul when the veil collapses.

Do not run.

Do not call for help.

You must face him. You must survive.

I will try to guide you when I can… but I am not always able to reach across the veil.

If you live past midnight — you'll understand everything.

Until then…

Be the Light.

— The Last Light

Ren swallowed hard.

He stared at the screen, eyes burning. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, but there was nothing to type. Nothing to say.

Then he leaned back in the chair, glanced at the clock on the wall... and waited.

It was 11:11 PM.

The air felt colder.

The name — the same name Kael used. But this sender wasn't Kael. At least, not exactly.

A clone? A fragment? Another Kael from a parallel timeline?

His thoughts spiraled.

Eventually, sleep claimed him.

Time: 12:00 AM

Location: Ren's Apartment

The window shattered.

A figure moved faster than human. Silent. Efficient.

Ren jolted awake — instinct and adrenaline doing most of the work.

But before he could move — the figure was on him.

A blade flashed in the dark. But it didn't connect.

Because something slammed into the intruder with shocking force, knocking them into the opposite wall.

Ren's jaw dropped.

Lirael stood in the doorway — barely upright, one arm clutching her ribs. Her eyes burned with silver light.

"I warned you," she muttered, voice low, almost feral. "If you touch him, you die."

The attacker rose — tall, faceless, wrapped in armor that seemed to exist just slightly out of sync with reality. A dimensional assassin.

Ren dove to the desk, grabbing the nearest object — a heavy paperweight — like it would actually help.

The assassin lunged again — this time toward Lirael.

She moved clumsily but effectively. Her blade, summoned from light and energy, clashed with the assassin's weapon.

Sparks flew. Metal screamed.

Ren backed away, then focused. His left eye pulsed, and—

[VORTEX OPTICS ENGAGED]

Target Scan: Hostile. Classification: Unknown Variant | Origin: Inconsistent

Location Signature: Does Not Match Earthly Coordinates

Trajectory: Multidirectional Layered Pathways (Deformed)

"What the fuck does that even mean?" Ren hissed.

It means they didn't come here from a place. They came from a direction. One that shouldn't exist.

The attacker faltered. Lirael struck again, faster this time, her blade grazing the figure's side. Sparks of dimensional static burst outward.

The figure dropped to one knee.

Ren moved, grabbed a loose cable from his desk — and together, he and Lirael managed to bind the assassin's arms. It twitched, glitching like a corrupted hologram.

Ren leaned in, scanning again.

The minimap showed a glowing path — not behind the attacker… but beneath him. A thread of light snaking straight back toward…

Ren stood upright.

"The factory," he said. "That place wasn't just a wreck. It's a relay. That core fragment was keeping something open."

Correct. The factory's dimensional architecture has been co-opted. It's no longer just a ruin. It's a beacon.

He looked at Lirael, who had collapsed onto the couch again, breathing hard.

"You okay?"

"I'll live," she rasped. "You saved me earlier. Now we're even."

Ren half-smiled. "Even, huh? Alright. I'll take it."

Time: 03:37 AM

Location: Industrial Exclusion Zone – Factory of Whispers (Revisit)

Ren stood before the ruins again. Only this time, he wasn't running away from the unknown.

He was walking toward it.

His Vortex Optics were active, already scanning the layered threads of instability. The rift signatures were worse now — visible to the naked eye as twisting halos of heat and light in the corners of every shadow.

Two objectives. One: stabilize the factory's internal rift to prevent further portal eruptions. Two: locate and secure the second Aetherium Core before The Fallen finds it.

You ready, Ren?

He adjusted his gloves. Cracked his knuckles.

"No."

He stepped through the threshold anyway.

Good answer.