Ren was enjoying the rest with the survivors, he found that the snake was edible, prompting him to start a barbecue feast. Of course, the others were hesitant to try it, but the delicious aroma broke down that wall in no time.
"Jun, wipe your mou-"
*DOOM!* Ren froze, a deep chill was sent throughout his body, he felt like he was being watched by something. This was a feeling Ren has never felt before, he felt like an ant, being watched by an existence beyond his understanding.
"Huff... Huff..."
Ren's breathing became heavy as he endured the feeling, every second seemed to drag on forever. Excusing himself from the party, Ren struggled to walk away, intending to find the source.
'Ren, I think we should run.'
Ren felt surprised, this was the first time he heard total fear in King's voice. However, Ren shook his head.
'There's no point, I doubt we can escape with that large group.'
Ren looked back at the party, the happy smiles on their faces were a rarity during the collapse. Determined, Ren turned back around to look for the source, he didn't want to run anymore.
King looked at Ren's determination and resigned himself, he knew he couldn't talk him out of it no matter what he said. Silently concentrating, King used all of his power to buff Ren, alleviating the pressure on his body. Ren looked at King with gratitude as he felt his body get lighter, allowing him to move more freely.
'Inside the building.'
King's voice trembled with fear as he told Ren where the source was, he was truly afraid of the entity inside. Ren looked towards the building and felt fear, his body was screaming to get away. However, Ren couldn't, he had a once in a lifetime chance and he couldn't be the coward anymore, what good was living if you were the only one left?
Step by step, Ren came closer and closer to the source of this pressure, his heart was threatening to beat out of his throat.
"Gulp..."
Ren readied himself and opened the door to the inside of the building, reversal aura covered him head to toe. As Ren peered into the store, he felt the pressure lessening.
'Is that you King?'
Ren looked down at his arm for answers, but King had a look of surprise just like him. Ren raised his head back up, looking for any answers inside the store. The store was a mess, the items were all over the floor, making the room look like a hurricane came through.
'You see anything?'
Ren took King's silence as a no, and kept looking around. The store's isles seemed to be destroyed, which seemed strange to Ren, how did the survivors manage to destroy the metal isles? As Ren kept looking for clues, foot steps echoed through the store.
*Clomp, Clomp, Clomp* the sound of boots hitting the ground echoed, Ren felt more and more tense as the steps got closer. *Clomp, Clomp, CLOMP." A figure was rounding the isle, Ren readied himself to defend as he waited to see who it was.
"Elios?"
As Ren looked at the familiar face, Ren felt both a sense of relieve and confusion. He didn't even know Elios left the party, Why was Elios here? As Ren kept his eyes on Elios, King felt alarms going off in his head.
'Ren, that kid is slightly larger...'
Ren's eyes widened in surprise as he finally noticed this detail, him and Elios used to be the same height, but now Ren had to look slightly up to meet his eyes. Ren warily looked at Elios as he slowly walked towards Ren, acting as if everything is normal.
"What's wrong Ren? Scared to go to the bathroom alone?"
Elios smiled mockingly as he walked past Ren, pushing him aside.
"Hey Elios, anything happen in here?"
Ren was certain the pressure was from Elios now, he knew for a fact that he had the reversal technique on, but Elios still moved him. Ren turned to face Elios, almost couldn't believe a person could change so much in a few hours. Elios seems to be a few centimetres taller, his body could barely fit in his clothes anymore.
Elios turned around and flashed a perfect smile, a smile he never showed until now.
"Nothing happened Ren, same old, you know?"
With a wave as he walked away, Ren watched Elios's back from inside the building, fear and suspicion filled his mind.