When he opened his eyes again, he felt strange, unattached. He looked down and saw his own body on the ground. His hands, rough and worn, weren't his. The realisation hit him hard; now he was in the hot dog vendor's body.
His breathing was heavy, almost hysterical. "Just like yesterday," Akondo thought. "I'm in someone else's body again… How is this even possible?"
He dropped to his knees, his hand reaching out tentatively toward his true body. He cupped his borrowed hand under his nose and felt the faint, reassuring warmth of breath. His body was still alive.
The crowd around them began murmuring; concerned faces trying to make sense of the situation. Akondo, in the hot dog vendor's skin, tried to piece it all together. "The same thing… Heart pain, that hologram telling me to 'swap body'… This is exactly what happened with Mom. But how can any of this be real?"
People were closing in, forming a tight circle around his real body. He could feel their eyes, their curiosity ripening into anxiety. Akondo had to think fast.
"What would the hot dog guy do in a situation like this?" he asked himself as he felt the pressure build up. He strained to take a deep breath and steady his voice before hollering, "Somebody call an ambulance! Please, call an ambulance!".
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In a black luxury car, Ren sat, looking out the window. The road was crowded with people, and as they passed by, his eyes lit up with a golden glow; he could see their souls.
"The moment I realized I had supernatural powers yesterday, I thought it was pretty cool," he said wistfully. "Now it's just useless. I see people's energy everywhere, and from what I've deduced so far, I guess I can sense who's lying, and also understand people's emotions if I focus this power on them."
He scowled and said to himself, "But it doesn't even feel real. Even if it is real, what good is it? At least I know I've got something no one else has."
He turned away from the window at his right. There, he saw a woman with long dark hair sitting in a black dressy gown and gloves and glasses.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.
"Nothing, Mom. Just some junk stuff," Ren said.
"I still don't understand why you wanted to study in the Virevale. I just feel so awful about it," she replied.
"If I go to school in my country, I won't be treated like a normal student," Ren explained. "I want to be treated like everyone else. I would've left sooner, but the man-made royal family rules in the country never allowed me to. Now I'm eighteen, and I couldn't wait any longer."
"Queen Maxima, we're entering the forest area," the driver announced. "Please don't be alarmed."
Ren gazed out the window and noted that they had left the city behind; they now drove along a road with trees flanking them.
"Spooky," Queen Maxima commented.
"Maxima, if I might suggest it, we did indicate that an escort car could accompany," a man with his coat on black, seated beside the driver, indicated.
"I desired to do so, but Ren informed me wished us to bring no additional fanfare here to this little excursion."
"Don't be afraid, Mom. Uncle Marou is here. Nothing will happen to us," Ren said, pointing to the man beside the driver.
"You can rely on me," Marou said to her. "I would rather die than let anything bad happen to you."
"I know, I know," Maxima said, though her voice was firm.
Ren looked at Marou and was surprised to see his soul glowing red.
"What th'… Why's his soul red? Did he lie about something?" Ren wondered in his mind but had no time to pursue the thought as Marou suddenly got up and yanked two guns from his coat. He pointed one at the head of the driver and the other at Ren and Maxima.
Ren and Maxima looked at him in disbelief.
"Pull over now, or I will shoot," Marou ordered.
"What?" the driver stuttered, confused.
"Laugh all you want, Marou. I'm not playing. Pull over NOW!" Marou shouted.
"What are you doing, Marou!?" Maxima screamed.
"You want to know, my dear sister?" Marou snarled, and fired twice into Ren's chest.
Maxima screamed, throwing her arms around Ren, and the third shot grazed her arm.
"Ah… I didn't want to shoot you, little sister," Marou breathed, glacial, "but you're getting in the way now."
The car swerved to a halt.
"Ren! My baby!" Maxima wept, grabbing onto Ren as his chest bled and his eyes closed.
"Ren!" she wailed in panic.
"He's most probably dead," Marou said calmly. "Now, look at me, sister."
"Why… you bastard!" Maxima wailed, struggling to surge forward towards him, but Marou shot a second time and hit her hand. She stumbled back, grasping at her arm in pain.
"Listen, sister," Marou said, his voice chillingly calm. "By now, King Rainer-I mean, your husband-should be dead. If everything went as planned, he's already been taken care of.".
A black-garbed man lay on the polished marble floor within the halls of Valloria's Palace, bleeding from his many wounds. All around him stood many dark-coated guards, on the alert and watchful. A little way off to his side, King Rainer stood with his golden hair and beard catching the dim light within the palace. His royal attire spoke of authority, though his golden eyes revealed an intensity fueled by desperation.
"By now, maybe. the queen is dead, and Marou will soon finish the job," the wounded man wheezed, fighting for words.
King Rainer's face was icy. "Tell me, why did you want to kill me?" he demanded.
The man in black refused to look up at him. "I was sent from Eraland. The president… he ordered us to kill you and your family. I—I'm sorry," he stuttered.
"Why?" the king asked, his voice cold.
"They… they were angry because you took Peraland's side. You openly denounced them in the genocide of Piraland, and now, with your support, Piraland is winning this war. Eraland sees you as the reason for their downfall," the man confessed, each word heavy with dread.
King Rainer turned to his guards. "Take him to the Black Chamber," he commanded, his voice even, but his eyes dark with resolution.
Two suited guards stepped forward and, taking hold of the man under his arms, dragged him from the room without another word.
The king clenched his fists as his mind worked quickly. *Maxima, Ren…* He whirled around to one of his aides standing nearby. "Get in touch with the president of Antherion. Tell him it's an emergency. I want them to know about Maxima and Ren right now," he commanded, his voice crisp with a sense of urgency..
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Inside the car, Marou spoke in the most arrogant tone. "And after it's done, I will be the new ruler of this land; I will ally with Eriland, and very soon they will take over Valloria."
"You can't do this!" Maxima wailed, her voice shaking with disappointment. "How could you betray me like this, Marou? You can't do this to your sister!"
"I can, and I will," Marou retorted, his eyes flashing with venom. "You'll be a nuisance if you live, so I'll have to kill you, too."
The driver, sensing the escalating danger, instinctively pushed Marou. But in a split second, Marou retaliated, shooting the driver in the head, the echo of the gunshot filling the confined space. Maxima screamed, her heart racing as she realized the gravity of the situation.
"Now it's your turn, sister," Marou sneered, raising his gun to her. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a bullet hit his hand, and the gun dropped from his fingers.
Marou turned in shock to find Ren standing there, a golden revolver clenched tightly in his grasp.
"Ren!" Maxima cried out in surprise as a mixture of relief and horror crossed her face.
Ren stood bleeding from the chest but not going down easy. "Not that easy you son of a—" He cut himself short, looking over at his mother. "No, not 'son of a bitch.' You're the bitch here," he rephrased, shooting through Marou's leg, then the other.
Marou yelled in pain as he fell into a chair, his body contorting in agony. Ren quickly took advantage, using the hard edge of the revolver to hit Marou on the head, rendering him unconscious.
Maxima hurried toward Ren, tears running down her face as she hugged him. "You're alive! You're alive, Ren!" she exclaimed, the relief flooding her.
"Don't worry about me, Mom," Ren said in a steady voice, though he was suffering. "But you're bleeding. We need to get you to a hospital fast."
As they hugged, Ren's mind was a mess. "I knew Uncle Marou was dangerous when I saw his soul was red. I had to act fast. He shot me, but I survived—thankfully, the bullet only scratched me. My gun was under the seat, and my acting worked better than I had hoped. But how did I even survive?"
Just then, Ren's phone buzzed, breaking the tension. He looked at the screen, and confusion set in as he tried to guess who might be calling now.
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The hot dog vendor sat in a hospital corridor, anxiety etched on his face as a nurse approached him. "Are you with the patient?"
"What should I say?" Akondo thought, realizing his soul was still trapped in the hot dog vendor's body.
"Sir, we need to know," the nurse insisted.
"Um... yeah, he came to my stall to buy a hot dog, then he fell to the ground," Akondo replied, maintaining the vendor's persona.
"You don't know him personally?" the nurse asked, her brow furrowing.
"No," he answered.
"Hmm, okay. What's your name?" the nurse inquired.
"Me?" he said, panic rising. "What is the owner of the body's name? I don't know that."
Just then, his phone rang from the vendor's pocket.
"Excuse me," he said, pulling out the phone. The screen displayed the name "Aresa."
"Who is this?" he thought, glancing at the nurse who was still waiting.
"Whatever it is, I should pick up," he decided, answering the call. A voice came through the receiver. "Denso, where are you? It's already twelve. Won't you come home?"
"Oh, so the hot dog vendor's name is Denso," he realized, then replied, "Who are you?"
"What? Who am I? I'm your wife. Wait, are you with another girl and pretending you don't know me?" the voice on the other end sounded upset.
"What should I say?" he thought, scrambling for a response. "I'm in the hospital. A kid came to buy a hot dog and fell ill, so I brought him here."
"Great answer," he thought, feeling a rush of relief.
"Why are you there? Come home. Don't spend money on random people," the woman insisted.
"I'm hanging up now," he said, cutting the call abruptly.
He turned to the nurse and said, "My name is Denso."
"Okay, we have news that the boy isn't waking up. We've given him saline. Can you pay for that? This is an expensive hospital, and I doubt you can afford it," the nurse replied.
"What's the cost? Is it hospital policy to ask for money like this?" he asked, his irritation rising.