Chapter 176 - Proper Rest

"You need treatment…"

Iris suddenly commented, snapping Ren out of his flustered trance, looking at the bruises that took place on his body: purple, blue, green--he only just noticed them as well. 

"Ah, I'm fine...It doesn't really hurt."

Ren gave her a reassuring chuckle, quickly thwarted as a gentle flick against his arm shot through his body the pain of a thousand needles prodding his nerves. Tears instantly welled up as he tried to hide the pain--to no avail as Iris gave him an unimpressed look that soon shifted back into worry. 

"You're right…"

Giving in to this, he finally recognized the severity of the wounds he accumulated throughout the stressful day--even the subtlest brush of the wind against his skin began to bring with it a sense of pain.

"I can handle injuries of this level, but you'll need to be asleep."

"Asleep? I've slept twice today already--am I a toddler or something?"

Though he protested this decision, a yawn erupted from Ren's maw naturally, causing a bit of fluster to tint his cheeks as he slumped his shoulders. 

"Fine, fine…"

"If you're asleep, it allows your body to divert all of its focus on healing; with the usage of my magic, it'll further expedite the process, Ren…"

"I've got it, I've got it!"

Ren let out a sigh before slowly adjusting himself onto his back, wincing as the faintest contact with another surface seemed to shock his sensitive body. 

Everything hurts. Breathing hurts. Existing hurts, Ren thought, Still...I'm happy. It's the first time in a while I can genuinely tell myself that. It's not a lie to fabricate a world in which I can keep moving forward--I reached my destination. She's here, smiling...I did it. 

For the first time...It feels like I'm truly experiencing magic. The darkness that shrouded both my heart and soul is fading under her light; that constant, beating anxiety is finally settling. 

I'm glad I didn't do it now. I didn't sink to the level of a killer--so many times, I thought to myself...It'd be okay to do it if it meant seeing you again, Iris. It was just an excuse for my weak heart to give in; I'm here now. 

I'm still Ren Nakamura; all the same, give or take. 

With Iris smiling down at him, gently petting his head as if he were some sort of family pet, which he didn't mind really, sleep came just as easy as the first two times--this time fully welcoming it with an open embrace. 

That's weird, he thought. 

Once again, he retained some level of consciousness while resting. Laying motionless within the sea of golden clouds, he could feel a distinct warmth attack the wounds scaling his real body--eliminating the resonating pain and replacing it with a soothing sensation. 

I guess this is the healing she talked about, huh? I'd prefer if I could sleep without being conscious though, Ren thought. 

Attempting to sleep within a dream, Ren let out a frustrated sigh--sitting himself up as he fixed his shaky balance--not used to the feeling of walking along clouds. 

"This is a real pain in the ass. Maybe I'm supposed to do something so that my own damn ability will leave me alone…"

Folding his arms across his chest, Ren massaged his chin as he took in the scenery--a sepia sky that seemed to constantly orbit around his existence, the endless, illustrious clouds pouring into existence to stay at his side. 

"Heaven-Earth Disconnect, right? That's the name of my ability; I know that much."

Saying the name of the ability seemed to trigger some sort of response within his inner world, watching as some of the clouds fluttered at his words. 

"I would prefer to get some sort of handle on it. It's a real pain in the ass if I can't even activate my own ability by my own will."

Speaking out loud, the words he allowed to leave his lips seemed to naturally command his innate realm, guiding the gilded clouds to coalesce into a humanoid shape; a silhouette roughly resembling himself. Looking at it with a questioning gaze, Ren slowly waved his arm in front of it--watching as it completely mimicked his movements. 

"That's not very funny...The hell am I supposed to do with this?" 

Though one thing did come to mind--holding a smile as he dashed forward with his fist reared back, meeting the cloud-bound mirror of himself halfway as it met his fist with its own. Even without a physical form, the impact replicated his own. 

As Ren threw all he had at it, it matched both his speed and power, negating every blow he launched at it with perfect precision. 

I think I get it now, Ren thought. 

It was a good hour, he felt, though it was really impossible to discern time within this inner-world, he started to understand the point of this exercise. To launch an attack against a perfect mirror of himself was nothing short of impossible, but it wasn't the end-goal. 

I can see it, I can understand it--how I fight. A perfect outside view of myself and all of my flaws; I can predict my own self, the shortcomings of each attack, how they feel, how I am perceived--all of it, Ren thought. 

Mindlessly clashing against this golden mirror of himself, it was only after continuing this for what felt like hours that he noticed something--he wasn't flesh-bound as he had thought. 

He was a mass of black, harrowing clouds--an entity that tainted the beautiful sepia before his gaze. Noticing this darkness of himself, the gilded clouds slowly became corrupted, adopting this shade of darkness as the skies fell to utter darkness. 

Why? 

The one, true place of reprieve in his heart, and even it became just as cold and desolate as his mind felt all this time. 

If this is my inner world, then just what the hell is going on with me? 

"Geh--!"

Once again, his eyes shot open as he was suddenly back into reality. A gray, smooth ceiling sat above his gaze as he took a few deep breaths, still feeling his heart race from the heat of such intensity within his own mind. 

"Ren?" 

A feminine voice, but it wasn't Iris--a bit too high, with a slightly differing accent. In his recently awakened haze, Ren couldn't immediately put a face to the voice but knew that he knew it; turning his gaze to meet the caller of his name. 

The short, beige hair that had a few crimson streaks running through it--he felt elated just at the millisecond sight of her. 

"Aiko!"

Attempting to quickly sit up to reach out to her, he was quickly dropped back into his bed by a sharp sting resonating from his abdomen, wincing as slumped back down. 

"Don't move so quickly! Your body still isn't completely healed…"

"Yeah, I can feel that."

Ren chuckled through the pain, massaging the side of his abdominal region before realizing a differing sensation from normal. The covers of the bed he rested in were soft--really soft. A slight wind traveled through the blankets, tickling his skin. 

I'm naked, Ren concluded. 

"Why the hell am I naked?!"

As he asked this, a slight blush came over Aiko's cheeks as she kept her gauntlet-clad hands on her legs, looking down. 

Watching the young girl fiddle with the ends of her snow-white robes, Ren raised an eyebrow, his mind wandering to thoughts he would never speak. 

"They had to do it while you were being healed, to check your wounds…"

A sigh of relief poured out from his lips as he got Aiko's flustered answer, thanking the fact that he wasn't tampered with in his rest by someone of her youth. 

"Wait--you said they? Did Iris undress me?"

Holding himself with quite a potent blush and exasperated expression, Ren asked this with almost a yell of excitement. Just the thought of it sent his mind into overdrive as he gulped, feeling his heart begin to thump inside of his chest. 

"No...It was Elder Heldjrim."

Aiko's quiet and concise answer put an immediate hold on Ren's excited heart, sending his heated body into a cold sweat. 

"Heldjrim…"

Putting a face to the name, Ren felt a shiver run over his body--remembering that the name belonged to the stout, ancient primorelf. 

Why the hell was it him?! I wouldn't have minded if it was you, Iris! He thought. 

After calming down from his regret of not being undressed by the beautiful maiden, Ren turned his attention towards the girl at his bedside. 

"You're really okay, right?"

Ren asked with a gentle smile, looking at Aiko as he saw the girl before him now in pristine condition--not even a single scratch was to be seen. 

"I don't know if it's really fair to be asked that when you're in that sort of condition...but, yeah. I'm perfectly fine."

"That's great."

Ren smiled wide hearing it come directly from the girl, patting his hand against the top of his head as a slight blush inhabited her cheeks. 

"...It's only thanks to you. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even be hurt…"

Aiko spoke what she seemed to be holding within herself this entire time, averting her gaze as she gave these words to him. 

"Ah, that's not your fault at all...I was, urr, a bit reckless…"

"A bit?..."

"Really reckless."

Ren adjusted his words with a chuckle, not gaining much traction on the mission of putting a smile on the girl's face. As he held his smile continuously, it was obvious that the young lady was clearly attempting to hold her brooding mood; Ren watched as her lips trembled and squirmed before a smile she had fought against finally made its way across her lips. 

"See? A smile suits you much better, Aiko."

Patting her head once more, her complexion shifted to that of a tomato; blushing so deeply from the powerful combination of a compliment and a pat on the head, Aiko fell silent.