Crimson Thread, Silent Flame - Chapter 98
Chapter 98: Crimson Thread, Silent Flame
The floor creaked softly as Ren rolled his shoulders back. Barefoot, and calm, he stood in the center of his ruined apartment. The broken windows let light in just right—a morning fog cutting gold rays across the paper-covered walls.
Kai2 flopped in the corner, chewing on an empty water bottle like it was a toy. The cursefish chirped.
Ren cracked his knuckles, then his neck.
"Alright, no putting it off."
He started stretching—not lazily, but smoothly, like a dancer before a grand performance. His muscles, conditioned and fed over the past week, responded with ease.
"Today's the day."
He did a few slow pushups, a couple of breath control reps, and some deep limb rolls—priming his body not for brute strength, but for the precision he was about to demand from it.
Ren exhaled long through his nose and muttered,
"Let's test my current max… my limit with just the base-level Red Stitch circuit…"
He pulled cursed energy through himself.
A thin blue shimmer wrapped over his skin.
Full-body cursed energy coating—no leaks, no bursts, no strain.
He checked the timer on his phone.
15 minutes.
He dispelled the energy.
Not bad. Not at all.
"That's at least a 2000% improvement in efficiency from before... maybe more. But I'll save number-crunching for later."
His hands were steady. His breathing was sharp.
Ren smiled faintly to himself.
"I was right. Even the base circuit gave me insane control. But now…"
He glanced to the far wall, where his final diagram was pinned like a relic.
"Time to see what a perfected one can do."
Step One.
Without hesitation, Ren shattered his current Red Stitch circuit.
He felt the break like snapping threads in his bones.
A sharp internal tug.
Like someone was pulling a web out of his flesh.
Gone.
A clean slate.
A deep breath.
Step Two.
"Rika. Come out."
A dark void unfurled beside him—quiet, seamless, instant.
Rika emerged in full form, her monstrous figure appearing with no effort or strain.
She looked at him without speaking. They didn't need to.
Ren nodded once.
"Just keep my cursed energy at max. No limit. For five minutes."
Rika hummed gently and extended her hand.
Instantly, Ren felt it—a surge, like water flooding through a dammed gate. But not chaotic. Not rough.
It was familiar.
Comfortable.
Step Three.
The Binding Vows – Part One.
Ren stepped back, standing tall in the center of the apartment.
His voice was clear and firm.
"For the next five minutes, I vow to confine my cursed energy solely within my blood vessels, enhancing control by one hundred percent; no cursed energy shall escape my body's boundaries."
"For five minutes hence, my cursed energy flow shall synchronize perfectly with the red stitch thread, allowing me to weave a flawless internal circuit."
"I vow that during this five-minute span, every cursed energy pulse inside me shall respond only to the commands of this red thread, amplifying precision beyond all previous limits."
"For five minutes, I deny all external cursed energy usage; all output shall be suppressed to maintain supreme internal mastery."
"I bind my cursed energy within the circulatory network for five minutes, granting absolute regulation over each vessel and fiber it touches."
One by one, each vow settled into his soul like wet ink drying on skin.
And immediately, Ren felt it.
A shift.
The air grew denser.
Almost colder.
Like cursed energy itself was pausing to listen.
He held still for a beat.
Then moved on.
Step Four.
The Binding Vows – Part Two.
"I vow to shield my blood vessels from rupture and distortion caused by the red stitch thread, no matter the strain it endures."
"I accept any physical fatigue or pain as a toll for perfect harmony between cursed energy and my vascular system."
"My circulatory system shall remain intact and undamaged, even if it demands sacrificing my cursed energy reserves."
"I will not allow this circuit's growth to disrupt or deform the natural flow of life-giving blood."
"I accept the burden of this cursed circuit's power to protect the fragile vessels that carry it, lest it shatter within me."
The words came out strong, unwavering.
Every line gripped Ren tighter, embedding itself deeper.
Each vow was like tying a new weight around his very bones—but one he chose.
One he embraced.
Kai2 did a little backflip near the corner, flicking water off its tail and chirping proudly.
"Yeah, yeah. You'll be the first to see it."
Step Five.
The Nine Handsigns.
He didn't pause.
Ren moved his hands.
Tiger. Serpent. Bird. Horse. Ox. Dragon. Monkey. Rabbit. Wolf.
Nine signs. Nine exact movements. One fluid cycle.
Each symbol matched a part of his blood system. A metaphor, yes, but more than that—a binding command. A control system through motion.
He was writing the logic of his body in real time.
As his fingers finished the final sign—Wolf—his mouth opened.
Step Six.
The Chant.
"Let cursed energy pulse and roar...
A steady flame I'll not abuse...
Let this bond be strong and true,
A cursed circuit born anew."
His voice rang steady, not loud, not forced.
But every word carried power.
Three minutes passed.
Three minutes of perfect synchronization.
Ren's skin prickled.
The cursed energy began slipping through him—
Through his veins.
Through the web inside him.
Red strings formed—thread-thin and precise, slithering silently beneath the surface like stitched lightning.
Ren blinked.
It felt like ants crawling.
But warm.
Controlled.
His phone buzzed lightly on the floor nearby.
4 minutes.
Almost done.
Almost born.
He grinned. Not wide. Just enough.
No panic. No fear.
Only clarity.
"I'm here," he whispered.
And then—Step Seven.
The Final Binding Vow.
Ren closed his eyes.
One breath.
One final promise.
"Henceforth, this 'Red Cursed Circuit' shall exist independently from 'Red Stitch.' It shall neither be limited by nor exert control over Red Stitch. Only by performing this ritual anew may I reconnect with or alter this circuit."
It snapped into place.
Like gears locking. Like a puzzle solved.
In a soft burst of cursed light, the room fell quiet.
Rika disappeared silently.
The first ten vows broke and faded, timed out by their conditions.
Kai2 blinked twice, then ran a circle and collapsed next to Ren, snoring.
Ren sat cross-legged in the middle of it all.
Sweat on his brow.
Breath steady.
No signs of transformation. No external mark.
He looked…
Normal.
Utterly normal.
Like nothing had happened at all.
And yet.
Ren stared at his own hands.
No cursed energy rose.
None surged.