Ren wakes up in his room, the faint morning light filtering through the curtains and casting a soft glow across the walls.
Ren is lying on the bed, his heart pounding slightly, groaning as he shifts on the bed.
Huuuh, my head hurts. He rubs his temples. The events from last night are hazy, and as he glances down at himself, he realizes he's still in his Incubi outfit.
I didn't even take these off? He mumbles, I must've been really out of it.
He yawns, sitting up, the fabric of the outfit rustling against the sheets. He stretches his arms, feeling his muscles relax as he stands up and strips off the outfit, folding it neatly.
Better put this away... wouldn't want Lina walking in and seeing me in this. He tucks the costume into the back of his closet before throwing on a simple shirt and jeans.
The room is still, quiet. And outside, Lina is up, seated at the dining table, a plate of toast in front of her as she casually flips through the channels on the TV. The air is filled with scent of coffee.
She looks up as Ren enters, her eyes narrowing slightly but then softening.
"Hey, Ren. You're finally up," she says, a teasing tone in her voice. "You slept like a rock last night."
Ren shrugs, pulling out a chair and sitting across from her. "Yeah, I was beat. Didn't even notice the time."
Lina raises an eyebrow, amused. "You alright? Feeling okay now?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ren replies, grabbing a piece of toast from the plate. They chat for a while, the morning passing by lazily. The usual small talk flows between them, a casual, comfortable routine.
As Lina takes a sip of her coffee, she suddenly frowns, setting her mug down with a soft thud.
"Ren, don't you have some work for me to do? It's been two days since we came to this apartment, and I became your secretary. I'm bored, sitting around all day."
Ren leans back, thinking for a moment. "Hmm... yeah, you do." He grins, leaning forward with a playful glint in his eyes. "It's to enjoy your life with me. That's what you are supposed to do."
Lina rolls her eyes, crossing her arms. "Ren, I'm serious. I'm really bored."
He chuckles, reaching for another piece of toast. "But I don't have anything for you to do yet. Just do whatever you like. Spend some time with your friends or... me, your boss and lover." He winks, his grin widening. "You can go shopping if you want."
Lina gives him a deadpan look, but there's a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "You're impossible, you know that?"
Ren leans over the table and plants a soft kiss on her forehead. "I know. And I'm going to my room now. Don't come in, I'll be... umm, doing man stuff." He stands up, giving her a playful look. "Bye."
Lina shakes her head, amused. "Yeah, yeah, have fun with your... things."
Ren smirks and heads toward his room, locking the door behind him. The soft click of the lock echoes in the quiet space as he leans against the door, his playful expression fading into something more focused.
Now... time to think.
Ren stands in his room silently, rubbing his chin. "What now?" he murmurs, glancing around his cluttered space. Sunlight trickles through the window, casting soft beams across the walls.
His room is quiet except for the low hum of the city in the distance. The faint scent of the coffee Lina made earlier still lingers in the air. He feels the weight of the day ahead, and something within him itches—an urge to push further, to explore his abilities.
"Maybe some more telekinesis practice, like usual... Or," he pauses, a slight smirk curling at his lips, "I could try what I've been thinking of. If it works... Oh man, I'm gonna have so much fun." He chuckles to himself.
The idea has been brewing in his head for some time—
Invisibility.
But how? His thoughts swirl around the problem. "Invisibility... Not something I can just do because I want to," he mutters. He looks at his hands, flexing his fingers.
I only have telekinesis and healing. Those powers emerged naturally, born out of necessity. Could invisibility be any different?
"But what if..."
An idea sparks, a small epiphany. "Telekinesis means control… and invisibility is just the reflection of light particles. Right?" He tries to recall the vague bits of science he remembers.
"That's how they explain it, anyway." His brow furrows, though, doubts creeps in.
But aren't light particles, Photon too small for me to even see, let alone control.
His mind races. Millions of photons, scattered in all directions, bouncing off everything in the room. "I can't even perfectly control five objects at once yet..." He sighs, realizing the weight of the task.
"This idea is a no-go."
His gaze drifts as he leans back on his bed, eyes catching the small black box sitting beside him.
"Ahh, the box I took from those thieves last night," he recalls. The chaos of the night is still fresh in his memory, though he had been too tired to investigate the contents of the box properly.
Ren grabs the box, opening it with a click. Inside is a strange, fist-sized green metallic object.
"Huh... What's this?" He turns it over in his hands, examining the smooth, shiny surface. It's glowing faintly in the light, almost pulsating.
"Some kind of stone... Or metal?" He isn't sure, but its odd, almost otherworldly details intrigues him.
"Hmm, looks cool, though. I'll keep it." He places it back on the table beside his bed and shrugs off the thought for now.
"Where was I? Ah, yeah, invisibility." He shakes his head with a disappointed grin. "Forget that for now. Back to telekinesis."
He gets up and sets a bundle of pens on the floor. With a deep breath, Ren stretches out his hand and focuses. Slowly, five pens lift into the air, hovering steadily before him. He feels the familiar pull of his power, his mind focusing on each object. For a few moments, he moves them around with ease, shifting them in unison. But that's not enough.
Ren narrows his eyes and concentrates harder. He moves the pens in different directions, one darting left while the others glide right. "It's hard, but doable," he mutters. "Now… let's push it."
More pens rise from the floor, ten in total now. His eyes narrows as he tries to control them all, each pen taking on a life of its own.
They float in different directions, wobbly at first, but steadying as his concentration sharpens. His mind strains as he focuses on the independent movements, his thoughts trying to manage each object separately.
Minutes pass, and his focus deepens, the effort becoming more taxing as time drags on. By the end of two hours, he's mentally exhausted, his muscles tense from the strain of concentration.
He laughs, proud to be able to manage to control all ten pens, moving them in separate directions, but the complexity of it is overwhelming. Each time one pen moved, another loses momentum.
"It's not about the strength..." Ren mutters, panting as he lets the pens fall to the floor. "It's the focus. I have to imagine each one moving on its own… all at the same time."
He sits onto the bed, drained mentally. "Ahh… it's kind of fun to push myself like this, but damn, I'm beat." He closes his eyes for a moment, letting his body relax.
A small grin spreads across his face. "But hey, that's good progress. Last time, I could only move five independently. Now, I can handle ten. It's double." He laughs softly. "Guess I'm a genius, after all."
"But it's strange. I feel strangely focused today. And my control feel better as well, like it is improving at a fast pace."
His thoughts linger on the strange improvement. It's odd though, he reflects. I shouldn't have improved this fast. Last time I barely added one more… but now it's like a leap.
He rubs his temples. "Maybe it's just a fluke, more improvement than before. Or I'm pushing harder than usual… yeah, that's probably it."
His eyes grow heavy as fatigue sets in. "Anyway, that's enough for telekinesis today. Next up is healing. But first..." Ren yawns. "A little rest."
As his breathing steadies and his mind drifts off, something strange occurs around him.
The strangely beautiful metal he placed down beside his bed earlier—the green stone—starts to change. A faint shimmer crosses its surface as if it were reacting to something unseen. Its vibrant green color begins to fade, and a small part of its corner crumbles, turning to dust.
But Ren, deep in his rest, remains unaware of the mysterious transformation happening beside him.
The room is still. Silent. Whatever force lies dormant in the stone continues its slow, subtle work as Ren drifts into sleep, oblivious to the strange phenomenon taking place at his bedside.