The walk home with Itami and Li Wei was a strange blend of ancient revelation and modern awkwardness.
Itami, still visibly shaken but buzzing with questions, peppered them with theories about parallel dimensions and secret government agencies.
Li Wei answered with a calm, almost detached precision, her explanations just vague enough to sound fantastical but too coherent to be dismissed as mere delusion.
Ren, meanwhile, remained mostly silent, his mind reeling.
General Li Wei. Here. It was a miracle, a terrifying, exhilarating confirmation that he wasn't alone in this cosmic nightmare.
They parted ways at the corner of Ren's street, a silent agreement passing between Ren and Li Wei to speak again, to plan. Itami, still babbling about "Awakened zombie ninjas," waved goodbye, promising to research everything he could about ancient empires and shadow cults.
Ren pushed open the front door of his "home," the familiar scent of dinner wafting from the kitchen. He tried to compose himself, to smooth the ruffled edges of his emperor's soul back into the semblance of a normal high school student. But the lingering ache in his arm, the throbbing in his side where the Awakened had struck, made it difficult.
"Ren? Is that you, sweetie?" his mother's voice called out, warm and inviting.
He stepped into the brightly lit living room, and immediately, his mother's cheerful expression dissolved into a gasp of alarm. "Ren! What happened to you?"
He looked down. In his haste to appear normal, he hadn't fully assessed the damage. A dark bruise was blooming on his left arm, where one of the Awakened had gripped him like iron.
A tear marred the fabric of his school shirt at the shoulder, and a faint smear of dirt streaked his cheek.
"I... I fell," Ren mumbled, the lie feeling clumsy on his tongue. He, Emperor Kaelen, reduced to such pathetic excuses.
His mother rushed forward, her hands fluttering over his arm. "Fell? Where? You're bruised! And your shirt! Oh, Ren, you need to be more careful!" Her concern was genuine, almost suffocating in its intensity. He was accustomed to the stoic, practical care of imperial healers, not this emotional outpouring.
Just then, Maya appeared from the kitchen, a plate of what looked like fried chicken in her hand. Her eyes widened as she took in his appearance. "Whoa, Ren! What did you do, fight a bus?" she joked, though her voice held a note of genuine worry.
"It was nothing," Ren insisted, trying to pull away from his mother's ministrations. He felt exposed, vulnerable. This body, this world, offered so little protection.
"Nothing? Look at that bruise!" His mother gently guided him to the sofa. "Come on, let me get some ice. Maya, can you get the first aid kit?"
As his mother bustled away, Maya approached him, her expression serious. "Seriously, Ren. What happened? Did those guys from the cafeteria try something again?"
Ren hesitated. He couldn't tell her. She wouldn't understand. She would think he was mad. "No. It was... an accident. I tripped."
Maya stared at him for a long moment, her eyes surprisingly perceptive. He saw a flicker of doubt, a hint that she didn't quite believe him.
But then, she sighed, shaking her head. "Alright, if you say so." She reached into the pocket of her school bag. "Oh, by the way, I found this in the living room this morning. You must have dropped it."
She held out a small, rectangular device. His "phone." He had completely forgotten about it in the chaos of his new life. He took it, the smooth, cold surface feeling alien in his hand.
"Thanks," he managed, a genuine note of gratitude in his voice. This device, Itami had shown him, was a gateway to information, to communication. Perhaps it could be a tool in this new war.
His mother returned with an ice pack wrapped in a towel, gently pressing it against his arm. The cold was a sharp, welcome sensation, dulling the ache. "You need to be more careful, Ren. You're always so... distracted lately."
Distracted. He almost laughed. He was an emperor, fighting a war across dimensions, and they thought he was merely distracted.
As his mother continued to fuss over him, and Maya returned to her dinner, Ren looked at the phone in his hand.
It was a mundane object, yet it held immense potential. He could use it to contact Li Wei, to coordinate. He could use it to research this world, to understand its hidden currents, its weaknesses.
The bruises on his body were a stark reminder of the physical vulnerability of his new form. But the phone, the presence of Li Wei, the unwavering loyalty of Itami – these were new resources.
He was no longer a king without a kingdom. He was a general, gathering his forces, preparing for the next engagement. The quiet suburban home, filled with the comforting sounds of family, felt like a temporary respite, a strategic retreat before the true battle began. Valerius had made his move. Now, it was Ren's turn.