"Mister Haru, please explain what happened in that cave. What caused all this?"
As Captain Haru prepared to speak, Yume suddenly interrupted.
"That wasn't Ren. It was… something else. The shadow inside me trembled when he touched me. When he restored me, even the power within me was frozen."
Ichiro, the assistant of the organization, furrowed his brows.
"Isn't that the boy who's ranked F? The one in the surgery room? What exactly did he do?"
Captain Haru's expression hardened.
"The gate didn't respond to us… but it opened for Ren. It called to him."
"The gate opened for a low rank…?" Ichiro muttered in disbelief, his face pale with shock.
"We don't know why," Haru continued. "But when he came out… he wiped out every single monster."
Kuro stepped forward, his tone uneasy.
"Something was wrong. When he returned… the monsters trembled. They were afraid."
"Yes," Captain Haru admitted, his voice heavy.
Ichiro pressed. "What did he say?"
Haru's eyes darkened.
"With fear in my heart, I remember his words clearly. He said… 'Wait for your turn to die.' Hearing Ren say that… it terrified me."
The room fell silent until a doctor rushed in.
"Are you the ones with Ren Akatsuki?"
"Yes," Captain Haru replied immediately.
"We've found something unusual inside his body. Look at this."
Haru frowned. "What is it? Don't all humans have hearts?"
"No… you don't understand," the doctor explained. "This is a second heart. On the right side of his chest. Ren Akatsuki has two hearts."
The revelation left everyone stunned.
Yume broke the silence.
"I think I know someone who can explain what's happening to Ren. Let me call them."
Ichiro nodded reluctantly. "If you're certain… then call that person."
The doctor added, "And there's more. While he was in the surgery room, his wounds began healing on their own. And the blood that spilled… carried shadow mana with it. It wasn't normal blood—it was as if the shadows themselves bled from him."
"A highly ranked Shadow-Bound…" the doctor whispered.
"That's Ren for you," Haru muttered bitterly. "Always hiding his true self."
"When can we meet him?" Haru asked.
The doctor shook his head. "He won't wake up anytime soon."
Yume, already on the phone, was speaking urgently to someone, asking for help.
That night, everyone else returned home, exhausted from the day's losses.
"We'll take a break," Haru announced. "We've lost too much already."
Yume spoke firmly.
"I'll stay. Ren only has me right now. He's been through so much, and I wasn't there for him before. I won't leave him again."
Ichiro sighed. "You're exhausted, too. Shouldn't you rest?"
Yume shook her head. "No. Ren restored my body in that cave. I'm fine."
"…Very well," Haru said after a pause. "Someone must stay, and since Miss Yume has chosen, I'll trust her. She's like family to Ren, after all."
"I agree," Ichiro added. "If anything happens, call us immediately."
"Understood," Yume replied.
When everyone finally left, Yume sat quietly by Ren's side in the hospital room. She held his hand tightly, her eyes filling with tears as memories of their childhood flooded back.
"Oh, Ren… what happened to you?" she whispered, tears slipping down her cheeks.
Suddenly, Ren's fingers twitched.
Yume's eyes widened. She gripped his hand tighter.
"Ren…? Are you awake?"
She quickly called for the doctor.
The medical team rushed in.
"Impossible! His heart isn't stable. How can he move?" one of them shouted.
Then it happened—blue light erupted from Ren's right side, where his second heart pulsed. The glow surrounded him, stabilizing his condition and restoring his body.
The doctors froze, unable to believe what they were seeing.
"This shouldn't be possible… yet his body is perfectly normal now…"
Ren's eyelids fluttered open. His eyes scanned the room before settling on Yume and the doctors.
"Yume… what happened? The last thing I remember… we were in the cave. I was covered in blood. Where are Captain Haru and the others?"
Yume broke into tears of relief.
"You're awake! Ren, you've been unconscious for nearly eighteen hours."
Ren blinked in confusion.
"It's been that long? What happened in the cave…?"
Yume looked at him in shock.
"You… you don't remember anything?"
Ren shook his head.
"No. Just blood. The ground… my body… then nothing."
"Ren!" Yume's voice cracked. "Do you know how much you worried us?!"
She punched him lightly on the forehead, knocking him back onto the bed.
"Miss Yume!" the doctor shouted. "He just woke up! He's still injured!"
Yume flinched, realizing what she'd done.
"I-I'm sorry…"
The doctor laid Ren back down carefully.
You are a lucky guy. With that many wounds I think no one can survive.
The doctor replied.
But Yume's eyes stayed locked on him.
"Ren… tell me. What really happened inside that gate?"