The forest had gone quiet.
Too quiet.
Not the peaceful kind — the kind that screams something isn't right. No wind. No rustling. No birds. Just silence that pressed against Renji's skin like a blade.
And then… the air split.
A ripple shimmered in the air before him, and from it stepped a man — or what looked like a man.
Tall. Cloaked in draping black silks that flowed unnaturally, like shadows obeyed him. His face was hidden beneath a smooth porcelain mask, blank except for two crescent moons where his eyes should be.
He didn't speak at first. He glided closer, his very presence making the ground wither and the night darker.
Renji instinctively reached for his blade.
The figure tilted its head.
"Are you so quick to fight, child of chaos?" the voice was soft—soothing, seductive, like velvet over a dagger.
Renji narrowed his eyes.
"Who the hell are you?"
The figure chuckled.
"I am what remains when gods fall and mortals sin. I am Temurai, the Forbidden One. And I offer you a taste…" He lifted a gloved hand, palm facing the heavens.
"…of ultimate pleasure. The kind that shatters the soul and rebuilds it into something... magnificent."
Renji's grip tightened.
"You've got the wrong guy."
"Do I?" Temurai floated above the ground now, cloak fluttering like smoke.
"You walk the path of power, vengeance, desire. You've already tasted sin. Let me give you divinity with it."
A dark flame spiraled from his hand and formed into a massive, cursed blade made of writhing black glass.
"Defeat me, and you earn the right to decline."
Renji's lips curled into a grin.
"Now that's more like it."
He drew his sword.
The forest exploded in light and shadow.
They clashed.
Steel screamed.
Renji vanished and reappeared behind Temurai in a heartbeat — only to find the god already facing him. Their blades collided, sparks flashing like stars.
Temurai's cloak turned into tendrils, lashing at Renji from all directions.
Renji spun, activating Shadow Blink, dodging and countering mid-air. The wind howled. Trees shattered.
The ground beneath them cracked and floated.
The fight raged — speed, grace, raw power.
Each strike from Temurai distorted the world.
Each counter from Renji pushed him back.
But the god was smiling.
Temurai: "You're worthy! Wield pain like pleasure! Wield lust like power!"
Renji (panting): "I don't need you. I'll build my own throne. My own hell. And I'll rule it my way."
Temurai's mask cracked slightly, revealing a smile made of fangs.
And then — the final clash.
Blades soared.
Power surged.
And then—silence.
One of them stood.
The forest fell silent.
Ash drifted from the shattered treetops. Sparks fizzled in the air like dying stars. And there—standing in the crater of their cosmic battle—was Temurai.
Unscathed. Blade poised.
Renji knelt before him, his sword shattered, a deep, glowing wound carved into his chest. The pain burned through bone and soul alike.
Temurai slowly stepped forward, his voice a low whisper in the ruined air.
"This…" he said, his finger lightly tracing the bleeding line on Renji's chest, "…is not defeat, mortal."
He leaned in, voice now in Renji's ear.
"This is reminder."
Renji gritted his teeth, fury still in his eyes.
Temurai crouched, eyes level with Renji's — or rather, the crescent moon slits of his mask.
"You chase shadows with a blade dulled by guilt. You crave justice but carry shame. That is not power.", Temurai said.
Renji tried to stand, but his legs gave out beneath him.
Temurai sighed, "You will never master the Nightmare Mode until you embrace it. Until you surrender… to it."
A flick of his hand.
The world ripped open behind Renji, and in a single moment, he was no longer in the forest.
He blinked—pain still humming in his bones—but now, he stood barefoot in a vast underground cave, glowing with bioluminescent blues, golds, and reds. Water trickled down crystal walls. The ceiling was lit with veins of a mineral that pulsed like a living thing.
It was haunting. Gorgeous. Alien.
And at the very center, on a floating island above a glowing pool, was a massive cocoon of black chains, twisted and humming with dark power. It pulsed in rhythm with his own heartbeat.
A single message glitched in the corner of his vision:
[ Exile System : Nightmare Mode ]
[ Unclaimed Vessel Detected ]
[ "Only the worthy may awaken what sleeps in chains "]
Renji clutched his chest. The wound was sealed—but the fire within him still burned.
Temurai's voice echoed from the cave walls.
"You are chosen, Renji. But chosen does not mean ready."
"You have one path left."
Renji raised his head, the glow of the nightmare cocoon reflecting in his eyes.
Temurai's final words came like a curse and a prophecy:
"If you fail… the gods will not weep. The devils will cheer. And the exile shall burn."
And with that, he was gone.
Only Renji… and the chained nightmare remained.