Chapter 29
Silence came first and not the peaceful kind.
The heavy kind that presses against the chest and refuses to move.The hospital room was quiet.
Too quiet.
Beep
Beep
Beep ...
Machines beeped softly beside Lily's bed, steady and slow. White curtains moved gently as cold air flowed from the vent above
Renji sat beside her bed doing what a brother does
Lily layed down against the pillows, her body wrapped in tiny bandages and thin sheets. Her face looked pale, tired. Her eyes were open, staring at the ceiling, but neither of them spoke for a long time.
Sigh!!
Renji was the first to break the silence.
"You scared me today you know? ," he said quietly.
Lily turned her head slightly toward him. "…Sorry."
Renji shook his head slowly. "That's not what I meant."
She waited.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, fingers loosely clasped. You need to understand something Power like yours, he said, it doesn't just scare enemies."
Lily's brow furrowed. I don't understand big brother?
Renji looked at her properly now, "Look I learnt it the hard way but being strong doesn't mean you're invincible, it only means the cost is higher when you fall.
Lily didn't answer but her fingers tightened slightly against the bedsheet.
Renji continued, his tone steady.
"When I was younger, and when I first my powers I....I thought power meant I could stop anything. Save anyone."
He exhaled slowly. "I was wrong."
Lily finally spoke, her voice low. "You're saying… I'll fail?"
"I'm saying," Renji replied, that power doesn't protect you from pain. Or loss. Or even fear.
He paused. "It just makes the consequences bigger."
Her chest felt tight... I feel afraid but of myself.
"…I didn't feel invincible," she admitted. "I felt like… if I slipped even once, everything would break."
Renji nodded. "That feeling doesn't go away."
Another silence.
This one heavier.
Renji leaned back slightly, his eyes drifting toward the window. His expression darkened—not with anger, but with confusion.
" But I still don't understand something there's something that just doesn't make sense," he said.
Lily glanced at him. "Big brother choji?"
"Yes."
Renji's jaw tightened.
"For months," he continued, "we couldn't trace him, even cross worlds or different universes
His fingers twitched slightly. "Then suddenly… he appears. Here. Now."
Lily listened carefully.
"Too many things are moving at once," Renji said. "Too fast."
His voice lowered. "The echoes. Azerin's silence. Choji's return."
He frowned.
"Are they connected?" he murmured. "Or is something else pulling the strings?"
Lily hesitated.
Her head throbbed faintly. Memories felt blurred, like fragments drifting just out of reach. But one thing… one moment… stood out clearly.
"…Big brother," she said softly.
He turned back to her. "What is it?"
She took a slow breath.
"When big brother hoji looked at me… he didn't look shocked because of Rajah."
Renji's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"He thought…" Lily paused, choosing her words carefully. "He thought I was something else."
Renji straightened slightly. "Something else?"
Lily nodded.
"I can't really remember but he said I was a threat," she continued,but not because of Rajah
Her eyes met his. "He thought I was the vessel of Vendova."
The room went still.
Renji's eyes widened.
"…Vendova?" he repeated lily nodded again. "Yes."
Renji stood up slowly, disbelief written all over his face. "That's not possible."
She frowned.. I know which is why it's confusing
"To even learn a spirit beast's power," Renji said, "takes millions of years. For normal beings, it's impossible."
He shook his head. "And Vendova's power is.."
"I know," Lily cut in gently. "That's what I thought too."
Renji turned back to her sharply. "Then why—"
"Because that rule doesn't apply to me," Lily said quietly.
Renji froze.
She continued, her voice steady despite the fear in her chest.
Sigh!!!
You need to know that I'm just a vessel am an avatar Rajah, she said. "That's why my growth is different."
Vessels are tools used by the spirit beasts, they give you their power with a portion of your life force till you slowly die
But avatars are one with their spirit beasts in body soul and mind
Meaning if I die rajah also dies but she said it's impossible, if we achieve full synchronization we'll become immortal. She swallowed. "If Choji sensed a spirit beast inside of me… and didn't recognize Rajah immediately…"
Renji's expression darkened.
"…Then he mistook you for Vendova," he finished.
"Yes," Lily said.
Renji clenched his fist slowly.
"That means…" he muttered, "…another vessel could exist."
Lily nodded once.
"Here," she said softly. In Japan and right here In tokyo
The weight of it settled between them.
Renji lowered himself back into the chair, running a hand through his hair.
"This is getting worse," he said quietly. "Much worse.
It will lead to more bloodshed I guess it's inevitable
Lily watched him, her fear deepening—not from his words, but from his silence.
"…Renji," she asked, "am I… in danger?" If I am then it means others around me will be to
He looked at her
"Yes," he said. but not because you're weak.
She nodded slowly.
"I figured."
Renji softened slightly.
"But listen to me," he added. "Power isn't what defines you. Control does. Choice does."
He met her eyes. "Don't let fear rush you forward."
Lily exhaled.
"…I won't," she said. "I promise."
Renji leaned back, staring at the ceiling now.
Too many questions,threats and many things moving at once.
Is mother right? he wondered.
Is this the turning point?
Now slowly in the realm Without Direction
Step
Step
Step
Step!!!!
MY LORD
Choji knelt out of loyalty and instinct
The place he stood in had no sky. No ground. No horizon.
Just layers of rotting darkness, folding into themselves like a wound that refused to close.
The air felt thick, shapes drifted in the distance, half-formed silhouettes screaming silently before dissolving back into the void. Corruption wasn't spreading here
It was the VOID OF TRIBULATION a dimension solely created by azerin himself as an extension through his consciousness
At the center sat a presence.
Not a throne.
Not a body.
Just a mass of shadow, pulsing slowly, as if the realm itself breathed around it. Darkness clung to it unnaturally, bending inward, devouring light before it could exist.
Azerin.
His voice didn't echo.
It pressed.
"You were summoned," the King said. Calm. Empty. Terrifyingly patient.
Choji smiled ...as always.
But this time, the smile was careful.
"Tokyo was… eventful," Choji replied lightly. "An anomaly surfaced."
"....An anomaly you say
This realm existed between universes—outside causality, outside perception. No coordinates. Or resonance.
Even beings who could see across infinity couldn't touch this place.
It was a realm made from his corruption and dirtiness and that was why they had vanished.
That was why no one could find them.
Azerin did not move. Yet the darkness tightened.
"Report," he said.
Choji straightened slightly.
"The girl survived," he admitted. "And she neutralized my strike."
A pause.
Choji continued, slower now. "Privately speaking… she is dangerous."
The shadows shifted.
"But," Choji added smoothly, "she is not Vendova's vessel."
For the first time, something changed.
The corruption rippled.
"Explain."
Choji's smile thinned my Lord her core belongs to another and from what I saw she has become the perfect for one of your greatest potential enemy
He looked up.
"RAJAH"
The realm reacted.
Darkness warped violently for a brief moment—like something ancient had been disturbed.
"So," Choji said carefully, "she remains a threat. One that will grow, and even rival you my Lord
Silence again.
Then—
"Continue observing," Azerin commanded.
"No intervention. Not yet."
Choji bowed once more.
"As you wish… my king."
And then... The darkness swallowed him whole.
Back in Japan tokyo screamed, not with sound but with noise.
Giant roadside screens flickered to life across the city.
A TV reporter's voice filled the streets.
"—a sudden large-scale attack occurred earlier 19:00 hours today in the Tokyo District. Authorities confirm that while no lives were lost, multiple civilians were critically injured."
He kept talking.
Too fast. Too much.
"And now a new video footage has been making waves shows massive shockwaves originating from an unknown hunter. Emergency services are still assessing structural damage—"
Images flashed.
Lily.
Mid-strike.
Eyes burning.
Choji smiling across from her.
"—this individual appears to have intervened during the incident, preventing further casualties. However—"
The screen split.
Another reporter, standing knee-deep in debris.
"We still don't know who she is. No hunter registry matches. No affiliation confirmed."
And no statement has been from the hunters bearu presently
Cut.
Another road. Another screen.
"Was this reckless heroism—or an uncontrolled weapon?"
Cut again.
Six reporters.
Six locations.
Voices overlapping.
Cameras shoved into civilians' faces.
A man snarled into the mic " Everytime it's the same, more destruction and more blood
When does it end.. you call yourself heros and hunters and yet you bring your failures into our lives and we pay the bloody price the government isn't doing shit and people keeps on dying.. houses keeps getting destroyed well you know what I'll say???
FUCK HUNTERS!!
Another woman clutched a blanket, shaking. "She saved us. I don't care what anyone says. I'd be dead."
A younger man whispered, eyes darting. "Was she even human…?"
An older woman scoffed. "Monster or not—Tokyo's still standing."
Another reporter spoke through
..Whispers has been spreading not of praise but questions and fear
"Was that girl a monster… or a protector?"
Back in the Hospital
The screen's glow filled the room.
Lily sat frozen.
Her head slowly dropped tears dropped
"…I wasn't thinking," she whispered. "I was angry. I didn't care what happened around me."
Her eyes burned.
"I just attacked."
Renji watched the screen quietly.
"Humans fear power," he said at last. Because power brings pain. Destruction. Responsibility.
Lily clenched her fists.
Renji smiled faintly—and pointed.
"Look."
The screen shifted.
Another reporter knelt beside a woman with a bandaged arm.
"She pulled me out," the woman said firmly. "I don't care what they call her. She saved my life and my daughter's, I would have been dead today whoever you are thank you!!
Lily's eyes widened.
Renji's smile softened power does bring fear," he said and pain
He looked at Lily.
"But it also brings comfort. Safety. Peace."
He met her gaze fully now.
"It's you who decides what that power becomes."
U can either choose to protect the weak or bully the weak
A beat.
Then quietly
"So… what will you do?"