Ren felt time snap back into motion like a broken cord whipping against his skin.
The frozen memory shattered.
Screams flooded the air—real screams, raw and desperate—and the temple around him lurched violently as if the past itself had finally lost patience with him watching from the sidelines.
The First Sealbearer staggered.
Ren felt it happen inside his own chest.
Fear spiked.
Not the god's fear.
The man's.
"I can still hold it," the First Sealbearer gasped, blood spilling freely from his nose now, dripping onto the glowing sigils carved into his chest. "Just—just stay back!"
But no one listened.
They never did.
Ren felt dozens of emotions crash together inside the man—panic from the priests, terror from the soldiers, hope from the people who still believed. The seals reacted to all of it at once, feeding on the chaos like starving animals.
The Ninth Seal screamed.
Not out loud—but inside Ren's bones.
—This is where it happens.
"No," Ren whispered desperately. "Stop. You need to stop pushing—"
The First Sealbearer clenched his fists.
And pushed harder.
The platform beneath his feet cracked wide open. Light and shadow exploded upward as the sigils flared, one after another, until the chamber shook so violently Ren thought it would collapse entirely.
The god stirred.
Not fully awake.
But aware.
The pressure was unbearable.
Ren dropped to his knees in the memory, gasping as the First Sealbearer's lungs struggled to draw air. Blood streamed from his eyes now, blinding him.
"I won't fail," the man choked. "I won't let you hurt them—!"
—You already are.
The god's voice wasn't cruel.
That made it worse.
The Ninth Seal surged.
And then—
It broke.
Not the seal itself.
The balance.
Fear tipped into despair.
Despair into rage.
And rage—
Rage cracked the door wide open.
Shadow burst outward from the First Sealbearer's body like a tidal wave. Ren screamed as the memory forced him to feel everything—the heat of tearing flesh, the crushing pressure of divine power ripping free, the sound of bodies hitting the ground too fast, too hard.
People vanished.
Not died.
Vanished.
Erased by shadow and pressure, reduced to nothing but echoes that screamed and then went silent.
Ren sobbed. "Stop… please…"
The First Sealbearer screamed too—one long, broken sound as the shadows tore through him from the inside. The sigils across his chest shattered one by one, exploding outward in fragments of blinding light.
The Ninth Seal was last.
It pulsed once.
Twice.
Then cracked with a sound Ren felt deep in his soul.
The god roared.
The world ended.
Ren was ripped backward so violently he thought his mind might tear apart completely.
He slammed into stone, gasping, clawing at the ground as the memory finally released him. The ruined temple reformed around him, shaking, dust raining from the ceiling.
He curled onto his side, choking on air.
"No… no… no…" he whispered. "That's… that's what happens…"
Yurei was there instantly, dropping to her knees beside him. Her hands hovered, unsure, trembling for once.
"You saw it," she whispered.
Ren laughed weakly. "Saw it? I felt it. Every second."
She swallowed hard. "That was the moment the god shattered."
"And the moment the man died," Ren snapped.
Silence stretched between them, thick and heavy.
"He thought he was strong enough," Ren said hoarsely. "He thought caring would save him."
Yurei's voice cracked. "He didn't have a choice."
"He always had a choice," Ren said, pushing himself up shakily. "He chose to carry everything alone."
The temple trembled again, reacting to his anger.
The god's presence pressed against Ren's thoughts, furious now.
—You judge what you do not understand.
Ren clenched his fists. "I understand exactly enough."
Yurei stood slowly, her expression conflicted, raw. "Ren… listen to me. You are not the First Sealbearer."
"No," Ren said. "I'm worse."
She flinched.
"I'm already cracking," he continued. "I feel it. The seal pulls harder every time I'm afraid. Every time I doubt. Every time I care."
"That's why you must accept it," Yurei said softly. "Acceptance brings stability."
Ren shook his head. "No. Acceptance makes it comfortable."
The seal surged in anger.
Cracks spread across the temple floor like veins.
"You don't want to save me," Ren said quietly. "You want to save the resurrection."
Yurei looked away.
"That silence says everything," Ren whispered.
She clenched her hands. "I loved him."
"I know," Ren said. "But you're trying to turn me into him."
The god whispered, sharp and cold now:
—She weakens you. She delays perfection.
Ren laughed, breathless. "You mean Ayaka."
Yurei stiffened. "Don't say her name."
Ren looked straight at her. "She's the reason I didn't disappear in that memory."
The seal recoiled violently.
"Every time I hear her voice, the seal hesitates," Ren said. "Every time she touches me, it loosens its grip."
Yurei's eyes darkened. "She is a flaw."
"She's my anchor," Ren snapped. "And the First Sealbearer didn't have one."
The temple shook harder now, stones cracking loose.
"You want me to accept the seal," Ren continued. "But I won't accept becoming that."
Yurei stepped forward, desperation breaking through her composure. "Ren, if you reject it fully, the god will force Overtaking. You'll lose yourself faster."
Ren's voice shook—but he didn't back down. "Then I'll fight it awake."
She grabbed his arm. "You'll die!"
"Then I'll die as me," Ren said, ripping his arm free. "Not as history repeating itself."
Light burst from his chest—raw, unrefined, human. Not shadow. Not moonlight.
The seal screamed.
The god roared.
The temple began collapsing, memory burning away as Ren tore himself free from its grip.
Yurei staggered back, staring at him in shock. "You're rejecting the Ninth completely—"
"I'm choosing myself," Ren said.
The world shattered.
Ren woke with a violent gasp.
Real air burned his lungs.
Hands grabbed him.
"REN!"
Ayaka.
Her voice cut through the chaos like a blade through fog. Ren choked out a sob and grabbed her, burying his face against her shoulder as she held him upright.
"I'm here," she said fiercely. "I've got you. Don't you dare leave me."
He shook violently. "I saw how it ends."
She held him tighter. "Then we don't let it end that way."
Ren pulled back just enough to look at her. "The Ninth Seal destroys anyone who carries it alone."
Ayaka met his gaze without flinching. "Then you won't carry it alone."
Tears burned Ren's eyes. "I choose you."
Something inside his chest recoiled in fear.
For the first time—
The Ninth Seal was afraid of its vessel.