Renji sat on the depot floor, eyes blank, pulse steady — too steady.
The system screen flickered endlessly in front of him.
> [Status: Identity Conflict – Level 1 Unstable]
[Warning: Soul Feedback Loop Detected]
Yua watched silently from the doorway, not sure if she should speak.
Not sure if she was looking at Renji… or something else.
He finally whispered, "I need to know who I am."
And then—
He reached into the Curse Tree and unlocked something never seen before.
> Node Unlocked: "Inner Wake – Class ???"
Description: Trigger the sleeping self. Risk: 100% soul fragmentation.
"Renji, stop—" Yua rushed forward.
Too late.
---
[System Lockdown]
Renji's body arched backward.
Blood streamed from his eyes.
And suddenly—
A second voice spoke from his mouth.
Deeper. Older. Not human.
"You're not ready to wake me."
Yua screamed. "Who are you?!"
The voice laughed.
"I am what was buried inside him… long before he was 'Renji.'
I am the breath they stole. The curse they couldn't erase."
---
Suddenly—FLASH.
The depot burst with red light.
Renji collapsed, steaming.
And when he opened his eyes… they were glowing gold.
Not red.
Gold.
"Renji…?" Yua asked softly.
He blinked.
Trembled.
"I saw the lab," he whispered. "I saw tubes. Experiments. Dozens of me."
"They didn't just clone me, Yua…
They were trying to build something ancient."
---
Flashback: Echo of the Original
> Scientists standing around a tube.
Inside — a child with golden eyes and blood dripping from his fingers.
A screen reads: R-00: Project Soulbind.
Voiceover:
"If this works… humanity won't fear curses.
They'll become one."
---
Back in the depot, Renji clenched his fists.
"They made me as a vessel," he whispered.
"A shell for that thing's soul."
Yua backed away. "Renji… are you still you?"
And Renji smiled.
A sad, broken smile.
"I don't know anymore."
---
> [System Alert: Phase Two Unlocked]
Trial Class Upgraded: Curseborn → Hybrid Vessel
New Ability Available: "Ancestral Pulse"
---
Final Scene
That night, Renji stood alone on the rooftop.
The sky roared above him.
Lightning struck nearby.
He raised one hand — and the clouds parted slightly.
Inside his palm, a mark had appeared.
An ancient symbol.
The same one burned onto the skin of the Original.
Renji whispered:
"If I'm not real…
Then I'll become something they've never seen before."
Who is Renji now? A clone? A vessel? A new curse?
If this shook you — comment "Hybrid Renji has awakened."
Your support fuels this madness.