Chapter 4: Awakening the Chains
The world blurred into darkness.
Ren's body collapsed onto the broken ground, blood dripping from his mouth, ribs shattered. Above him, the masked man stood motionless, blade dripping red, watching silently—ready to end it.
The training field, the students, the instructors—it all faded from Ren's mind.
He was sinking.
Deeper… Deeper…
When he opened his eyes again, he wasn't in the academy.
He stood alone in a vast, endless void—a black sky cracked by flashes of red lightning. In the distance, an impossibly massive tree towered into the heavens.
The Tree of Chains.
From its roots, rivers of black mist flowed like veins across the cracked ground.
And beneath the tree, arms crossed, a figure waited.
Akira.
"Took you long enough," Akira said, smirking lazily. "Welcome to your soul, Ren."
Ren staggered toward him, heart pounding. "Where... what is this?"
"Your mind," Akira said. "Or what's left of it after that beating."
He jabbed a thumb toward the Tree.
"You chose the Dark Tree. That means you accepted the curse. But you don't even know how to use it yet, do you?"
Ren gritted his teeth. "Special powers? Magic? Something?"
Akira laughed—an ugly, mocking sound.
"Powers? Hah. No miracles, no flashy spells. You don't get a cheat code, kid."
He lifted a hand and a dozen black roots burst from the ground, coiling around him like infinite arms.
"You get control."
He demonstrated with terrifying grace. A root blocked a phantom sword slash. Another root lashed out like a whip, cutting an invisible enemy clean in half. A third grabbed a chunk of stone and hurled it into the void like it weighed nothing.
Akira's voice sharpened.
"Infinite arms. Infinite reach. Infinite strength. That's the power of the Tree of Chains."
He jabbed a finger at Ren's chest.
"You don't cast spells. You become the battlefield."
"You don't beg for power. You wield it."
The ground beneath Ren trembled. The tree's roots pulsed—alive, eager, ready to obey.
Akira smirked wider.
"Now wake up, kid. Or die."
Ren's eyes snapped open.
The world came rushing back—the cold air, the blood in his mouth, the masked man stalking toward him, blade gleaming.
But something was different now.
Inside him, the roots answered.
Ren raised his hand and black tendrils erupted from the ground around him, forming a shield of twisting chains.
The masked man hesitated for the first time.
Akira's voice echoed in Ren's mind:
"Don't think. Feel. Control the field."
The masked man lunged forward with a flash of steel—
But Ren was faster now.
He moved like he had a dozen arms. One root snapped the enemy's sword away. Another root wrapped around his wrist, crushing it with a sickening crack. A third slammed into his ribs, sending him sprawling backward.
The masked man grunted, sliding across the dirt, struggling to rise.
Ren advanced—roots rising around him like a sea of black serpents.
The enemy growled lowly beneath his mask.
"Tch... it seems you've found yourself a talented kid, Akira."
His voice was cold. Familiar.
Ren's heart froze. He knows Akira?
Before Ren could react, the masked man threw a smoke bomb to the ground. The world filled with choking black mist—and when it cleared, he was gone.
Ren stood alone in the ruined training ground, panting hard.
Around him, the academy students and instructors watched in stunned silence.
Zayne was the first to break it, stumbling toward him, wide-eyed.
"Bro… you just… what the hell even are you?"
Ren wiped the blood from his mouth, forcing himself to stand tall.
Inside him, Akira chuckled darkly.
"Not bad, kid. But this was just a warm-up."
Ren clenched his fists, black roots swirling at his feet. He wasn't the victim anymore. He wasn't the cursed boy. He was a fighter.
And the real war had only just begun.