The Pocket Dimension had evolved.
What started as a sterile white room was now a lush, fifty-meter square sanctuary. A simulated sun hung in a digital blue sky. A small, modern villa—courtesy of the System's "Base Building" shop—sat in the center, surrounded by a patch of soft green grass.
Ren stood on the lawn, shirtless, holding a wooden bokken (practice sword).
Opposite him stood Maggie, Andrea, and Amy. All three were sweating, dressed in athletic gear Ren had provided.
"Again," Ren commanded.
Maggie lunged first, her knife technique sharp and aggressive. Ren sidestepped without looking, catching her wrist and redirecting her momentum so she stumbled past him.
Andrea fired a crossbow (unloaded) at his chest. Ren caught the bolt mid-air.
Amy tried to sweep his legs. Ren simply jumped, defying gravity for a second too long, and landed softly behind her.
"You're relying on your eyes," Ren lectured, tossing the bolt back to Andrea. "In this world, your eyes will lie to you. Shadows hide teeth. You need to feel the intent."
He wiped his face with a towel. "Break time."
The women collapsed onto the grass, exhausted but smiling. This place... it was magic. No smell of rot. No fear. Just training and... Ren.
Maggie crawled over to him, resting her head on his thigh. "You're impossible to hit."
"I have cheat codes," Ren smirked, stroking her hair.
"Ren," Andrea said, drinking from a water bottle. "How long can we stay in here?"
"Time flows the same," Ren explained. "But supplies are finite. We need to go back out. The prison needs managing. And..." his eyes darkened, "...guests are coming."
[System Alert]
[Perimeter Breach Detected: Sector 4 (Forest Line).]
[Entity Identification: Survivor (1). Walkers (12).]
Ren stood up, the playful demeanor vanishing instantly. "Suit up. We have a visitor."
The Gates of Hell
Back in the real world, the prison sun was high and scorching.
Ren, Rick, Daryl, and Carl stood on the guard tower catwalk. Ren held binoculars to his eyes.
A figure was stumbling out of the tree line. A hooded person, dragging two armless, jawless walkers on chains. The figure was moving erratically, clearly injured.
Behind them, a pack of wild walkers followed, hungry for the fresh blood dripping from the stranger's leg.
"Who the hell is that?" Daryl grunted, squinting. "And why do they have... pets?"
"Camouflage," Ren noted. "Smart."
The stranger reached the fence and collapsed. The pack of walkers closed in.
"We have to help!" Carl shouted, raising his pistol.
"Save the ammo," Ren said. "Watch."
Ren climbed onto the railing of the guard tower. It was a thirty-foot drop.
"Ren, don't!" Rick yelled.
Ren jumped.
He didn't use a rope. He plummeted, landing in a crouch outside the fence with a heavy THUD that cracked the concrete. His Super Soldier legs absorbed the impact effortlessly.
The walkers turned toward the new noise.
Ren stood up. He didn't draw his sword. He raised his right hand.
[Skill: Telekinesis]
"Get back."
Ren thrust his palm forward.
An invisible wall of force slammed into the group of twelve walkers. It was like they were hit by a semi-truck. Their bodies flew backward, limbs flailing, smashing into trees and exploding on impact.
The stranger on the ground looked up, eyes wide under the hood.
Ren walked over. He looked at the two "pet" walkers.
"Disgusting," Ren muttered.
He flicked his finger. Snap. Snap. The necks of the two pet walkers twisted 180 degrees instantly.
Ren offered a hand to the stranger. "You look like you've had a bad day."
The stranger hesitated, then reached up. A woman.
Ren pulled her up effortlessly. She groaned, clutching her side. A deep gash.
"Name?" Ren asked.
She pulled back her hood. Dreadlocks. Intense eyes. A katana strapped to her back.
"Michonne," she rasped.
[Target Acquired: Michonne Hawthorne.]
[Potential: S-Tier Combatant.]
Ren smiled. "Welcome to the Citadel, Michonne. I'm the Sovereign."
Inside the prison infirmary (Cell Block C), Hershel stitched Michonne up while Ren, Rick, and Daryl interrogated her.
"I saw the helicopter," Michonne said, wincing as the needle pierced her skin. "It went down. Three miles west. Smoke."
"A helicopter?" Rick asked, hope flaring. "Military?"
"Maybe. But someone else found it first," Michonne warned. "Men in trucks. Well-armed. They took the pilot. They didn't look friendly."
Ren leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Woodbury."
Michonne looked at him sharply. "How do you know that name?"
"I know the players on the board," Ren said. "The man running that town... he calls himself the Governor. He's charming, he's efficient, and he's a psychopath."
"We need to check the crash site," Rick said. "If there are survivors..."
"If the Governor has them, they're already dead or being tortured," Ren said. "But we need to go anyway. Not to save them. To assert dominance."
Ren stood up. "Daryl, you're with me. Rick, hold the fort. If I'm not back by sundown, lock the gates and trust Maggie. She knows the protocols."
"Why just Daryl?" Rick asked.
"Because," Ren looked at Daryl. "I think he's going to see a ghost today."
Daryl frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Pack your gear, Dixon. Let's go hunting."
The Crash Site
The helicopter wreckage was a smoking ruin in a clearing.
Ren and Daryl approached silently through the brush. Ren's Grandmaster of Warfare skills allowed him to move without making a sound. Daryl was a natural tracker.
"Tracks," Daryl whispered, pointing to the mud. "Boots. Deep treads. Heavy load."
"They took the pilot," Ren confirmed. "Heading south."
"Wait," Daryl froze. He sniffed the air. "Cigarette smoke. Cheap stuff."
"Ambush," Ren noted calmly.
He didn't whisper. He spoke at normal volume. "You can come out now. I know you're there."
Daryl looked at Ren like he was crazy, raising his crossbow.
From behind a large oak tree, a man stepped out. He wore a improvised bayonet on his stump of a hand.
"Well, well, well," the man rasped, his voice like gravel. "Ain't this a family reunion."
Daryl lowered his crossbow, his face draining of color.
"Merle?"
Merle Dixon grinned, showing yellow teeth. "Heya, baby brother. You look like you seen a ghost. Or did you think I bled out on that roof in Atlanta?"
Daryl stepped forward, trembling. "We went back. You were gone."
"Yeah, I was gone!" Merle spat. "Cut off my own hand while you pricks were sipping lemonade! But I found new friends. Better friends."
Four other men stepped out from the trees behind Merle. They wore tactical vests and carried assault rifles. Woodbury guards. Martinez and Shumpert were among them.
"Drop the weapons," Martinez ordered, aiming his rifle at Ren. "The Governor wants to know who's poking around his crash site."
Ren looked at the rifles. Then he looked at Merle.
"Merle Dixon," Ren said. "I've heard about you. The racist drug addict with a chip on his shoulder."
Merle bristled. "Who the hell is this pretty boy, Daryl? Your boyfriend?"
"He's the guy who's going to let you keep your other hand if you lower your weapon," Ren said.
Merle laughed. "You hear that, boys? He's a comedian."
Merle raised his pistol. "I think I'll just take your stuff and bring you to the Governor in pieces."
Ren sighed. "I hate repeating myself."
[Skill: Telekinesis (Force Pull)]
Ren snapped his hand back.
Merle's pistol flew out of his hand, soaring through the air and slapping into Ren's palm.
"What the..." Merle stared at his empty hand.
Martinez panicked. "Fire!"
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
Three rifles opened fire.
Ren didn't dodge. He extended his hand.
[Skill: Telekinesis (Barrier)]
The air in front of Ren shimmered. The bullets hit an invisible wall, flattening into lead pancakes and dropping to the dirt.
Daryl ducked behind a tree, eyes popping out of his head. "Ren!?"
The Woodbury men stopped firing, staring in horror at the floating bullets.
"My turn," Ren said.
[Skill: Lightning Bolt]
A jagged arc of blue electricity shot from Ren's finger. It hit the engine block of the Woodbury truck parked nearby. The truck exploded, sending Martinez and Shumpert flying.
Ren walked toward Merle. The fire from the truck illuminated Ren's face, making him look like a demon.
Merle backed up, tripping over a root. "What are you? What the hell are you?!"
Ren stopped fast, towering over Merle.
"I'm the Sovereign," Ren said.
He looked at Daryl, who was coming out from cover.
"Daryl," Ren said. "This is your brother. He's trash. But he's your blood."
Ren looked down at Merle. "You have two choices, Merle. One: I melt your brain right here. Two: You get up, shut your mouth, and realize that the Governor is a small man in a small town. And I am a god."
Merle looked at the burning truck. He looked at the bullets on the ground. He looked at Daryl.
Survival instinct kicked in. Merle was a cockroach; he knew how to survive.
"I ain't dying for Philip Blake," Merle stammered.
"Smart choice," Ren said.
He turned to Martinez, who was groaning on the ground, burned and battered.
"You," Ren pointed. "Go back to Woodbury. Tell Philip Blake that the prison is mine. Tell him if he comes near my walls, I will bring the sky down on his head."
"Go!" Ren shouted, adding a telekinetic push that sent Martinez skidding across the dirt.
Martinez scrambled up and ran into the woods, abandoning his team.
Ren turned back to the Dixon brothers. Daryl was helping Merle up.
"He... he tried to kill us," Daryl said, conflicting emotions warring in his eyes.
"He's family," Ren said. "We fix family. Or we bury them. Let's see if Merle can be fixed."
[Quest Completed: The Dixon Reunion]
[Outcome: Merle Recruited (Tentative Loyalty).]
[Reward: Daryl Loyalty (Max), 1x Weapon Upgrade Token.]
The Interlude: Woodbury
Philip Blake sat in his private study, looking at the severed heads floating in his fish tanks.
The door burst open. Martinez stumbled in, soot-stained and terrified.
"Sir... we lost the team. Merle... he switched sides."
The Governor turned slowly. "Switched sides? To whom?"
"A man... at the prison," Martinez gasped. "He... he stopped bullets, Governor. With his mind. And he threw lightning. He blew up the truck with his bare hands."
The Governor stared at Martinez. He stood up and poured a glass of whiskey.
"Lightning?" The Governor asked softly. "Telekinesis?"
"I swear!"
The Governor walked over to Martinez and patted his cheek. "You're tired, Martinez. Shock does strange things to the mind."
"But—"
"Shh."
The Governor looked out the window at the idyllic street of Woodbury.
"A man at the prison," The Governor mused. "Taking what is mine. Rally the militia. I don't care if he's a wizard or Jesus Christ himself."
The Governor's eye twitched.
"Nobody takes from me."
The Return
Ren returned to the prison at sunset, flanked by Daryl and a sulking, terrified Merle.
The gates opened. Rick ran out. "You're back. Who is... oh god. Merle?"
"He's with us," Daryl said defiantly. "Ren said it's okay."
Ren walked past them. "Lock him in Block D. If he causes trouble, throw him to the walkers."
Ren didn't stop. He walked straight to the isolation cell where he had kept the captured Saviors' weapons. He had work to do.
He entered the Pocket Dimension.
Maggie was waiting for him in the villa kitchen, cooking dinner with ingredients grown in the dimension.
"You're back," she smiled, though she saw the tension in his shoulders.
Ren walked over and hugged her from behind, burying his face in her neck.
"War is coming, Maggie," Ren whispered. "Sooner than I thought."
"We're ready," Maggie said, turning in his arms. "You made us ready."
Ren kissed her forehead. "Not yet. I need to make a trip."
"A trip? Where?"
"To another world," Ren said. "I need better weapons. Guns won't stop an army of fanatics. I need... monsters."
"What kind of monsters?"
Ren pulled away, his blue eyes glowing.
"Titans."
[System Notification]
[World Sync Rate: 100% (Achieved via Dominance Display at Crash Site).]
[World Jump Available.]
[Destination: Attack on Titan (Paradis Island - Year 845).]
[Objective: Acquire Titan Serum. Recruit Mikasa Ackerman (Optional).]
Ren looked at the System screen.
"I'll be back," Ren told Maggie. "Time moves differently there. For you, it will be a second. For me... it might be months."
"Promise me," Maggie gripped his hand. "Promise you'll come back."
"I always do."
Ren stepped back.
"System. Initiate Jump."
The world dissolved into white light.