Marie's Hospital - Sector 1
VIP Ward…
——
There was a knock on the door.
Then Aika came in anyway.
Black slippers whispered against polished marble. The lights in the room were soft—muted by morning haze filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Machines hummed quietly in the background.
Ren stood by the glass, watching the city below. District 4 shimmered under the morning light, its towers catching the sun and scattering it through layers of glass and steel.
Behind him, Anya lay curled beneath a pale-blue coverlet, sleeping soundlessly. Her tiny frame lost in the pristine hospital bed.
Aika didn't speak at first. She walked slowly until she stood beside him, close enough that their shoulders nearly touched.
"How is she?" she asked, voice quiet.
Ren sighed.
"She's alive, but her system's wrecked. They dosed her with immunosuppressants—likely prepping her for something worse. Now her body's exposed, barely holding on. And she's injured too."
His voice was steady, but there was something brittle just beneath it. Something trying not to crack.
It was silent for a while.
Then Aika asked, more softly,
"What about you… how are you holding up?"
Ren's mouth twitched. The corner of his eye flinched like something sharp had passed behind it.
"I don't know," he murmured. "Just tired. Of watching people die. Of watching the ones I care about get hurt. Of not being able to do anything."
His voice dropped lower.
"…It's exhausting."
Aika said nothing. Just unscrewed the matte-black hip flask in her hand and took a swig. Then offered it.
He glanced at it. "I'm seventeen. I'm not supposed to drink alcohol."
Aika scoffed. "It's water, you dummy."
Ren gave her a flat look, then took the flask.
"Who puts water in a hip flask?" he muttered—and drank.
The reaction was immediate. He sputtered, coughed into his wrist, eyes wide.
"Hey! This is alcohol!" he hissed, trying not to raise his voice too loud.
From the bed, Anya stirred faintly but didn't wake.
"You said it yourself—who puts water in a hip flask?" Aika said mockingly, smirking as she reclaimed the flask and drank again, unbothered.
Ren shook his head, barely holding back a laugh.
Aika smiled when she saw his lips curve into a small smile. Then she took another sip.
"Sami told me what happened," she said, voice low. "Aberrants from human children… that's messed up."
She paused.
"Makes you wonder what exactly they're trying to accomplish."
Ren didn't turn from the city. His voice was calm, but low—tight.
"Any chance we can find out who's really behind this? I mean… this didn't look like the work of some small-time group. Who knows—there could be other facilities out there."
Aika glanced over.
"Sami's gonna send a report to VHQ. Once they get wind of what happened, they'll have the Division of Investigation on it."
Ren sighed then looked down.
"Because of how we are… how we don't feel things the way most people do—all muted and drawn out… this ache in my chest, this sadness, the guilt—it's going to stick around. For a while."
He tapped the glass lightly.
"I keep thinking... maybe I'd feel less useless if I was the one to deal with them. The ones who hurt her. Maybe if I was stronger—if I could actually protect someone—I wouldn't feel like this."
Aika took another sip, then sighed through her nose.
"I feel you buddy. That's why you need to hurry up and find your derivative then."
Ren glanced at her. The sun lit his features for a moment, warming the edge of his cheek.
"I did."
Aika blinked. "Huh?"
"I found it." He turned fully now. "Thanks to you."
He raised one hand slightly.
At first, nothing happened.
Then—the air shifted.
A bead of condensation slipped down the window—then lifted.
The IV drip at Anya's bedside quivered faintly.
Then, tiny droplets began to form from the moisture in the room—water leeched from the air vents, from the corners of the ceiling, from the breath of the room itself.
All of it began to draw toward him. Slowly. Reverently.
The droplets swirled around his arm like celestial rings, orbiting faster and faster until they collapsed into a thin ribbon of water—clear, steady, alive.
It danced around him like a snake, pulsing faintly with the rhythm of his heartbeat, its color shifting—blue to clear, then back to blue.
"Water manipulation," Ren said. "That's my derivative."
Aika stared. Her flask lowered slightly.
"…You're Corebound."
Ren tilted his head. "Corebound?"
"It means your derivative is the core element itself. No alternate forms like mist, blood, or ink. Just pure water."
A pause.
Then, more thoughtfully: "Ahh… that explains why you catch on so quickly."
She sounded impressed, but her voice stayed calm—controlled, like always.
Ren let the water evaporate, vapor hissing faintly into the air. The mist curled between them for a breath before fading.
"So..." he said, quieter now. "Does being Corebound make me... stronger?"
Aika leaned back slightly, gazing out at the city again.
"No, not stronger or anything," she said. "But it puts you on a faster path to Ascension. Things are just… less complicated for Corebound Virans."
She turned to Ren.
"Think of it this way. Since your derivative is the element itself, it's a bit easier for you to achieve resonance than it would be for someone with a different derivative. What might take another Viran, say… three months to achieve, would probably take a Corebound like you a month and a half—just because you're able to resonate faster with the element."
Ren nodded slowly. "Oh…"
'So being corebound doesn't make me the strongest guy in the room. Just makes me a prodigy?'
He glanced off.
'Still… that's not bad. Especially for someone like me who's just starting out.'
After a short pause, Ren spoke again.
"Are there a lot of Corebounds?"
Aika shrugged lightly.
"Not really. Elements like water, earth, and fire don't produce many. Darkness and air tend to have more, but even then… Corebounds are rare. Maybe one in every thousand Virans, if that."
The room stayed silent for a few moments before Ren spoke again.
His voice was lower this time—serious.
"Aika…"
He turned to face her.
"I want to be strong. I'm tired of feeling powerless."
He paused.
"I saw what Sami did yesterday. It was insane… dude literally brought down an entire facility by himself."
His eyes lit up, and he leaned forward slightly.
"Be honest—how strong is Sami, exactly? And what would I need to do to reach that kind of power?"
Aika let out a small chuckle, then turned to meet his gaze.
"You're an Initiate right now," she began. "Sami's a Shaper. That's one entire stage ahead of you."
'Shaper? That's what the next stage's called?'
"What's the difference between an Initiate and a Shaper?" Ren asked. "And is there some massive requirement to advance? You did say Initiate was the easiest to get into."
Aika took a swig from her hip flask, her gaze drifting back to the city in front of her.
"Theres a world of difference between stages Ren. That's why it's so hard and takes time to progress through the stages. Take the second stage for instance. There's at least three requirements to advance to this stage. This stage is very important on your journey to apotheosis as it is when your powers begin to take shape. You begin to tap into other aspects of your derivative like creation, or empowerment."
'Creation or empowerment?'
Ren blinked, the words lodging in his mind.
Then Aika turned to him, raising a hand.
Slowly, mist began to gather in her palm—as if conjured from nothing. It twisted and curled, swirling into a delicate gray shape that elongated and darkened, forming a smooth smoke pipe. It hovered in the air, humming faintly.
"To be a Shaper means more than just controlling your derivative. It means molding it into whatever you want—changing its shape, weight, and density."
She pointed the pipe at him, its edge gleaming despite being made of vapor.
"When you can make water denser than a ballistic shield to stop a bullet—or create a sword sharp enough to split a building—then you're one step closer to being a Shaper."
"And how am i supposed to do that?" Ren asked.
"Well that's for you to figure out." Aika replied. "You need to figure out the principle for shaping your derivative on your own."
Ren sighed.
Aika turned her gaze back to the city in front of her. The pipe of black mist dissolving back to vapor.
"You can ask your Whisperscript to guide you, you know? I mean… that's what it's for."
Ren frowned then looked at her.
"Yeah? Well, that thing's got a real talent for ignoring half my questions."
Aika smirked.
"Well that's probably cause your resonant level is faint. You need to raise it higher."
Ren tilted his head. Then, slowly—
"Oh… so that's why."
There was silence for a moment. Then Aika continued:
"To answer your question—to be as strong as Sami, you need to meet all the requirements and become a Shaper." She paused.
"But to be on par with Sami?"
She turned to him.
"Well… I'm afraid you are gonna need more than just being a shaper."
"Is he that powerful?" Ren asked turning to meet her gaze.
"I'm sure you know what laws and concepts are by now—the power our derivatives give us to command certain parts of reality," Aika replied, her voice low.
Ren nodded in agreement.
Aika continued, "Sami is insanely powerful due to a law he governs called the Law of Multiplicity, which allows him to create multiple personas—or versions of himself—born from his emotions. Each one has power over their own laws and concepts."
"Woah. Each with their own laws? That's crazy overpowered."
"I know, right? And that's not even the crazy part. The Law of Multiplicity can let him cheat death by sacrificing one of his personas."
Ren's jaw dropped.
"No way… how many personas does he have?"
"Five? Yeah… unless he's created a new one. It should still be five," Aika replied.
She raised five fingers.
"We've got Sami. That's his true self. He is the embodiment of his guilt and compassion."
She dropped a finger.
"We've got Joonas born from his rage and hatred. I'm sure you have met Joonas."
Ren nodded.
"Yeah… the guy who grins like a clown. My affliction was working overtime just to keep me from fearing him."
Aika smiled a bit.
"Wait till you meet the others."
She lowered another finger.
"Kairus. A quiet one, born from his grief and despair."
She dropped the next.
"Then we've got Vel—twitchy guy, born from fear and anxiety."
She lowered her last finger.
"And finally, Lune. A man born from repression and the need for order. Trust me, you'll hate him."
Ren was so stunned, he couldn't speak. Five personalities. That meant five laws and concepts. And he could create more?
After a while, he swallowed and asked,
"How many laws can a single Viran govern?"
Aika walked over to a chair and sat down.
"The standard is one. Most Virans are lucky to command two. Very rarely do you see a Viran command three."
Ren raised a brow. "And we've got Sami commanding five?"
Aika shrugged. "Well… each persona can command only one law, so…"
"Right. Only one law per guy. Totally not broken at all."
Ren looked toward the window.
Behind him, Aika sat slouched in the chair, her black kimono trailing around her ankles like fog refusing to settle. She tilted the small metal flask upward again.
Nothing. It was finished.
She frowned—then sighed.
"So," she said dryly, "what are your plans now? You are finally an initiate."
Ren blinked once. He didn't turn around. For a moment, it seemed like he wouldn't answer.
Then—
"Well. For a start, I need to keep getting stronger."
He turned to her, then walked forward, stopping in front of her.
"Help me, Aika."
Aika blinked.
"What?"
"Help me grow stronger."
Aika raised her brows, tilted her head—then scoffed.
"Look at this brat."
But Ren spoke up immediately.
"I'll pay you. Double what you earned on your last job."
Aika opened her mouth—clearly about to curse—then closed it, like she physically swallowed the urge.
She stared at him for a beat.
"...Did that brat Sami teach you to say that?"
Ren turned back to the glass wall, suddenly fascinated by the skyline. His ears had tinted just slightly pink.
Aika folded her arms, shaking her head like she couldn't believe what her morning had become. Then she sighed.
"Triple it," she said. "And I'll keep babysitting you."
Ren turned to her again, a slow grin spreading across his face.
"Deal."