Chapter 35: Ren Akari P2
~35.2~
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Kye clenched her fists, thinking of ways she could have prevented his disappearance. "I should have just flooded the place with mana the moment I clocked his abnormal mental state."
Sanae shook her head. "No. There's no point in what ifs." She turned to Layla. "We're gonna need to talk to a handful of people."
"Yeah," she replied. Her tone said she was ready to do whatever needed to be done, but her face said she was in shambles.
Alethea put her hand on Layla's shoulder. "Go get some rest. Lay down, sit, whatever. Go rest for a bit. Don't try to start taking care of anything right away. It can wait an hour or two."
She didn't say a word, rather; she turned and started to walk away. Before she made it out of the door, a hand grabbed her wrist and stopped her. She turned and found that it was Ren.
"I'm sorry your son disappeared."
Layla smiled slightly.
"I have a lot of resentment built up for my father. He's the reason I had a nightmarish life before now. But I longed for my mother… and my brother… and the rest of you…" She shook her head. "I'm not sure what I'm trying to say, and I know I can replace him for you… but… I can be-"
Layla pulled the girl into an embrace. "You don't have to say anything, sweetie. I'm more than glad to have you. I was there the day you were born and I'm so very glad you're here now. The moment the palace was cut off from communications, you were the first one I thought about. You were just a five-month-old baby just half an hour ago." She pulled away and smiled at her. "And now look at you. You're a grown woman and you're very beautiful. Welcome home, Ren, I love you very much."
A pair of arms suddenly wrapped around Ren. "I love you, too, my sweet baby girl," Ranna cried. "I'm so glad you're okay. I'm so sorry for what you went through. If only I had taken you went me to brunch. You would never have gone through any of it. I'm so sorry, Ren sweetie!"
"Mom…" Ren held her mom's hand and turned around. "Mom, it's okay. None of that matters now. I'm back, and…" She eyed Kye, who had just walked up next to them with everyone else. "I'm free, right? I don't have to go back?"
Kye reached out and patted the girl on her head. "Ren, I will do whatever you want to make you feel safe again."
She teared up and grasped Kye's arm. "You mean it? I can… I can stay? I don't have to-"
"You are safe. Whatever you want, whatever you need, I will make sure you have it."
She looked away, hesitant to believe it. "But… he's so scary. The man I was forced to work for… and his boss. That… phantom."
Kye's eyes narrowed. "Ren, you are safe. I will tell you this as many times as you need to hear it. You are home, you are safe, and Phantom cannot reach you anymore. I promise you this." As she spoke, her eyes and body glowed in a myriad of colors. Her rainbow mana surfaced."
Sanae reached out and took Kye's and Ren's hands. "I promise as well, Ren." Her body and eyes began to glow rainbow as well. At the same time, the sisters engulfed both Ren and Ranna in their rainbow mana.
""On my name, Elysia Alexandria, and my role of King of the World and The Creator, I grant upon these souls my blessing. So long as they wish for safety under my watch, this blessing will never fail them. Anytime they are in danger, they may call me to their rescue and I will come." The rainbow light intensified until the two could no longer be seen beneath it, then slowly faded away.
Ren looked up into her aunts' eyes. "You really mean it. I feel it in my heart… in my very soul. I feel the security you want me to have." She smiled brightly and hugged her mother. "Mom, I'm back and I think everything is going to be okay. The warm feeling their power gave… it feels safe now."
"It's okay, Ranna sweetie. It really is okay. You're safe, my beloved daughter." After a moment, Ranna felt Ren's body go limp, and she quickly grew worried before realizing the girl had fallen asleep in her arms. Ranna smiled at them and scooped up her daughter. "I'll take her to…" A frown took over her face.
"My residence," Kye said without hesitation. "You, Ren, and Kenji will come stay in my residence. This palace will be sealed." She turned to the butler. "Gather all the staff and have them report to Avalon. My attendants will sort you out."
"Yes, Your Highness." Given the situation, the butler dared not disobey.
"Aliana, take them. Prepare one of the empty bedrooms."
"Yes, Princess." Aliana reached her hand out to Ranna. "Take my hand when you are ready. I will transport you to Avalon, where you and your daughter can rest. I will have Rei bring Kenji to you as well."
Ranna nodded, but couldn't take her hand. "Go ahead. I can't exactly take your hand like this."
Aliana nodded and teleported them away.
Once they were gone, Layla told them she was going to go rest and left as well.
Only Kye, Sanae, Alethea, and Yami remained. Three of them were deep in thought, but one of them was very confused. The white-haired girl turned to her sisters, "What just happened?"
Kye looked at her, but wasn't sure what to say, so Sanae tried to answer instead, "A mess. Let's see if I can wrap it up nice and tight… Zen seems to have his mind corrupted by Phantom, he sent Ren away who was taken in by Shiro Shikigami and Phantom, and she was forced to work for them for the better part of three centuries, but was returned to this time and place for an as-of-yet unknown purpose."
"The corruption is serious," Alethea said. "We've seen it before and it's always bad. Not once has a corrupted person returned to normal. Every single time we know of, we had to use origin magic to restore them, but that also killed them. And only the three of us, Eve, and my mother can even do that. Nobody else, not even Elysia's brothers, can do it."
"Ren was likely delivered to different places and times. She likely didn't venture far from the present day, but stayed in the same handful of years. If we look in different worlds, we'll probably find her in several of them at once." Kye grimaced. "That's really bad." She looked at Sanae, who knew exactly what Kye was worried about.
"Soul Darkness. Like how our souls are saturated after twenty-four worldlines, if she hopscotched through time a bunch of times, her soul will be much heavier now." Sanae shook her head. "We need to talk to her about this right away. It can't wait. Once she's rested and examined, medically speaking, we need to ask her about her life."
"I'll catch up when I wake up…" Yami said.
"Don't worry too much about trying to keep up with all of this," Alethea said with a smile. "You should focus on your studies and your pregnancy. We'll take care of Ren and Zen."
Yami smiled and nodded. "I trust nobody more than the three of you to do that."
Kye and Sanae hugged the white-haired girl together, and the group of four returned to Avalon Palace.
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Revision: 2024-11-6