Witchbound: My Power Grows With Every Trial

Ren steadied his breathing, already knowing what he had to do. The memory of Haruki's words stayed fixed at the center of his thoughts, and with it, the certainty became stronger.

He wouldn't settle for either of those two doors. He wouldn't compromise anymore like he had done so many times in the past. There had to be a different way.

He raised his hand and pressed his thumb against Akariwake. He wasn't sure the ring would listen to him. Until now, he had only used it in its simplest function, that of letting it guide him toward places that matched his state of being. Also, Kagami had warned him that it could become dangerous past a certain point, but this was the only way he could think of breaking the pattern.

The ring vibrated in waves that rippled around his finger, growing stronger with each pass.

This time, though, the particles didn't scatter off in a different direction like they used to. Instead, they closed in on him, curling around his hand, wrist, and finally the rest of his body. The vibration grew even sharper, biting into his skin until he realized the ring was sinking deep into his flesh.

The metal cut deep into his finger and burned terribly as if hot iron had started to melt into it. At first, Ren tried to pull back, but the more he resisted it, the deeper it went.

He gritted his teeth hard, barely containing the pain.

Purple trails bled across his skin, turning black as they climbed up his hand and forearm. The lines spread under the skin, forming shapes that made no sense to him at first. But slowly, he realized it was a tattoo of sorts. The shapes resembled smoke swirls, yet they were crafted in calligraphic patterns, with the outline of a closed eye at their center.

He screamed. The pain had become unbearable, and he was afraid he might pass out from it.

The sound of it echoed against the walls and reached the two keepers who had been standing there all along. The scene didn't faze them at all, though, not even now. They simply stood at their posts like witnesses to the entire event.

Ren dropped to one knee, clutching his arm as the tattoo completed itself.

Then, as the lines finally settled into his skin, the ring's power surged outward, forming a thin layer above the tatami floor. The squares that formed it slowly moved apart, sliding like pieces of a puzzle, and giving way to something from underneath. A new structure assembled itself piece by piece, with thin purple trails of the Akariwake ring following its edges. It was a third door. It almost looked like it was painting itself, much like the tattoo that had been carved earlier across Ren's arm.

He then forced himself up, still feeling his body shake from the pain in his flesh. As he started walking towards the newly formed door, he also glanced towards the keepers. They both lowered their heads in a silent bow, in acknowledgment of what his choice had been.

Ren's palm pressed gently against the wood, and the door slid open with no sound at all. He staggered through and fell forward, still having trouble maintaining his balance. As he entered, darkness swallowed him entirely, and he landed hard on the floor.

Or at least what he thought was the floor, because he suddenly realised it wasn't solid at all. The surface rippled under his weight like water. It was a shallow lake that somehow held him up. His reflection kept ondulating beneath him, distorted by every movement he made.

He looked around. Darkness and silence everywhere.

There seemed to be no immediate threats, so he took the time to inspect the wound on his arm. He turned it to the side and finally saw it in full. The skin was bruised and raw, while the black tattoo was carved deep and bleeding in places. The sight shocked him.

He didn't have time to properly process it, though, because suddenly, a voice cut through the dark.

"You're slower than I thought you'd be."

Ren turned around quickly, startled by it. He pushed himself to his knees, searching in the dark, until he saw a figure standing only a few steps away.

It was a girl. Maybe fourteen or so. Long black hair fell straight down her back, while her eyes glowed faintly golden. Ren recognized those eyes immediately.

"Kagami," he whispered.

She didn't move, only watched him.

"But no... you're not her," he said at last, after a short pause during which he inspected her.

"You're clever," the girl answered with a tone that was somehow amused by it all.

"Then what are you?"

"I'm a Remnant."

He dragged himself up a little more, finding balance by pushing his other hand into the lake's surface.

"That's just too vague. Be more specific... Everything here just keeps building more questions without giving me a single real answer."

He was visibly frustrated, no longer making any effort to hide it.

"Am I supposed to fight you? Is this the final Rite?" Ren asked, confused by it all.

The girl laughed.

Yeah, that was Kagami's mocking attitude, alright.

"Why is it that youngsters like you always look forward to fighting?" she asked lightly.

Ren blinked at her, not understanding.

"I'm not going to fight you," she explained calmly. "Though I can't say the same for what's waiting down the path you've chosen."

"What do you mean?"

She then became more serious.

"I'm a shard of Kagami left behind in this place. A Remnant. What you see before you is the closest form to this place you would recognize. She made this trial herself and left me here as a part of it."

"Kagami," Ren said, completing her words.

"Kagami," she repeated with a nod.

He breathed in deep, still shaking from the pain in his arm.

"So this trial wasn't supposed to kill me in some weird way or play with my head like all others tried to."

"No. It was never about fighting you. This trial was meant to test you, to draw out who you are from within."

As he let her words sink in, the girl moved closer. Ren was still on his knees, so when she stopped before him, he had to tilt his head to look up.

"You did better than the others who came before you," she said.

For a moment, he didn't know how to answer.

"Oh," he mumbled, because nothing else really seemed to make any sense.

The girl's gaze then dropped to his arm toward where his wound was still raw and bleeding. She crouched before him, raising her hand.

"Hold still."

Ren didn't move. He braced himself as her hand lowered over his arm.

The moment her palm touched the wounded skin, he felt a wave of something warm and soft pouring in. Little golden particles flew in the air around the area, following the lines the tattoo had carved into the skin.

Then the bleeding stopped. The bruises faded as well until only the ink remained, carved clean into his skin. The eye at the center of the design slowly opened as the golden particles settled in its iris.

As she finished her procedure, the girl studied the artwork and then smiled.

"That's better."