Ren's consciousness returned sluggishly, like a computer rebooting after a forced shutdown.
His body felt strangely heavy, as if it had been submerged in molasses, and a dull, insistent pain throbbed behind his forehead.
He groaned softly, taking deep, steady breaths to regulate the discomfort. Panicking wouldn't solve anything. His mind was foggy, but his instincts told him to assess before reacting.
The last thing he remembered was being thrown into that pit, the cold touch of the stone floor beneath him, and then a sudden burst of light.
And now, here he was, somewhere else.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, immediately taking in his surroundings with methodical precision.
The room was simple, almost eerily so. The walls were a soft, muted blue, utterly featureless, giving the space a sterile, artificial feel.
There was a single bed, plain and unremarkable, with neatly arranged white sheets. No decorations, no furniture beyond the essentials.
No windows.
His sharp mind immediately flagged that as significant.
This wasn't a hospital. If he had been rescued after the ritual, there would be medical equipment, at least some indication of treatment.
But the lack of windows suggested something deliberate. Either this place was underground, or whoever had brought him here wanted to limit his perception of the outside world.
That alone confirmed something crucial; the ritual hadn't been for execution.
If they had wanted him dead, he would be dead. Instead, he had been transported somewhere. But where?
Pushing aside the headache, Ren swung his legs off the bed, standing up to test his body's condition. No wounds, no dizziness beyond the initial grogginess.
Good. He ran a hand through his silver hair, exhaling as he walked toward the only door in the room. If there were people watching, it was best to let them know he was awake.
He raised his hand, about to knock, when suddenly, the air behind him twisted.
A brilliant eruption of grey light flared in the center of the room, swirling like liquid metal, distorting space itself.
Ren froze. His analytical mind went into overdrive, instantly cycling through possibilities. Some kind of energy manifestation? A portal? A sentient force taking form?
From within the light, a figure emerged.
At first glance, Ren thought it was a man—broad-shouldered, tall, and effortlessly imposing. But when the light receded, the truth became clear.
The person before him was a woman; an impossibly beautiful one. She exuded an aura of unearthly grace, her long, flowing grey hair cascading past her waist like strands of silk woven from moonlight.
Her features were sharp, elegant, dangerously enchanting, as though sculpted by an artist who had no concept of imperfection.
Yet there was an undeniable fierceness in her deep, stormy eyes, a presence that demanded attention.
Her voluptuous figure was wrapped in an intricately embroidered black coat, partially unbuttoned at the top, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of smooth, pale skin.
The way she carried herself, the way she simply existed in the space around her, radiated absolute confidence and authority.
Ren did not move. Not out of fear, but because his brain was working at the speed of light. In a fraction of a second, his mind linked the pieces together.
The fact that a ritual had been performed on him meant something about him was "special."
He had been transported, not killed, which meant there was a purpose to all this.
Also, the sudden manifestation of this woman inside a locked room suggested some kind of teleportation ability.
And the fact that she appeared alone, without guards or ceremony, suggested he was not seen as an immediate threat.
Lastly, she wasn't surprised to see him—meaning she had either expected him to wake up or had been monitoring him.
Conclusion?
This world had magic. And it was kept hidden from normal civilians. If magic was public knowledge, then someone like him—a common "demon" from a sacrifice ritual—would have already known about it.
The people of that town hadn't believed in magic, or at least, hadn't understood it. That meant it was controlled. Restricted. Hidden.
And whoever controlled it had just found out that he possessed some kind of potential.
Ren blinked. 'Huh. That's awesome!'
The woman, meanwhile, had been silently scrutinizing him, her gaze cold and analytical. After a long pause, she finally spoke.
"You look too weak to be a hybrid."
Ren frowned slightly. Hybrid? He immediately analyzed the term. It implied a mix between two different things.
A fusion. But of what? Magic and non-magic? Some kind of bloodline distinction? He could make a hypothesis, but without more data, he decided to remain silent and observe.
Instead, he asked the most direct question. "Where am I?"
The woman's lips curved slightly, as if amused. "What do you think?"
Ren narrowed his eyes. She was testing him. That much was clear. But that also meant she wanted to gauge his intelligence.
He had already built a mental framework of the situation. Now, he simply had to present his answer in the most logical way possible.
"The evidence suggests that I was never meant to die in that ritual," he began, voice calm, measured.
"Instead, I was selected—likely due to possessing an uncommon trait or ability. The presence of a teleportation technique and your deliberate lack of explanation indicate that magic is not openly known to the world.
"That means I've been inducted into something beyond normal human society. Given your authority, this is likely an evaluation phase. Meaning..."
His silver eyes locked onto hers. "I am about to be tested before being initiated into the magic world."
For the first time, the woman's expression shifted, just slightly. The faintest flicker of surprise crossed her face before she sighed, shaking her head.
"You're a strange one."
Before Ren could respond, she moved.
One moment, she was standing several feet away. The next, she was right beside him.
His breath hitched for just a second. Instantaneous movement. Not teleportation, there had been no spatial distortion this time.
Superhuman speed?
Before he could process it fully, she placed a hand on his shoulder, her touch unnervingly cold. "Don't resist," she said simply.
In the half-second before he could ask resist what?, the world around him exploded in light.
A blinding flash of grey engulfed them both, and in the blink of an eye, the room vanished.
The world twisted, folded, and then snapped back into place.
Ren barely had time to process the sensation of teleportation, or whatever strange phenomenon had just occurred before his stomach violently rebelled against him.
His knees buckled, and before he could even think about dignity, he doubled over and vomited onto the cold, stone floor.
The sound of his retching echoed uncomfortably in the eerily silent room. Thick, oppressive air pressed down on him like an invisible mountain, suffocating and overbearing.
It was only after he wiped his mouth with the back of his cloth that he realized something deeply unsettling.
He was being watched.
Ren slowly straightened, his breathing unsteady, and took in his surroundings. The room was enormous, though the lack of proper lighting made it difficult to see its full scale.
What little illumination there was came from flickering, ethereal blue flames floating in midair, their glow casting long, distorted shadows against the imposing figures seated before him.
There were eight of them—old, ancient-looking people, each radiating a presence so intense that Ren instinctively knew, without any prior knowledge, that these individuals were monsters in human form.
Their very existence seemed to distort the air around them, their mere presence more suffocating than anything he had ever experienced.
Some were draped in regal robes, others in sharp, military-like uniforms, and all of them bore eyes that gleamed with dangerous intelligence.
They weren't simply looking at him. They were studying him.
Every little action, every twitch of his fingers, every breath he took was being analyzed.
Ren forced himself to remain calm, his mind pushing back the lingering nausea.
What was this place? Who were these people? What did they want from him? He had no answers—yet.
He was a scientist, and scientists worked with evidence. Right now, his priority was gathering data.
Then, finally, one of them spoke.
Unlike the suffocating aura of the others, this individual's presence was gentler, warmer.
A kind-looking elderly woman with white hair pulled into a meticulous bun, her gaze filled with something that almost resembled... concern?
"How are you feeling, child?" she asked softly.
Ren hesitated. His body still felt weak, his mind foggy, but nothing was broken, and apart from his momentary sickness, he was unharmed. He decided not to waste words and simply nodded.
For a brief second, there was silence. Then, the woman turned her gaze towards the others and gave a slight nod of her own.
"He has potential for both paths," she stated firmly.
Ren's brain immediately latched onto that. Potential for both paths? What did that mean?
The murmuring of the gathered figures filled the air. A few stroked their beards thoughtfully, while others glanced at Ren with renewed interest.
And then the conversation shifted.
"We need to measure the degree of his attunement."
Ren wasn't given the chance to process what that meant before one of the older women raised her hand.
A wave of power surged through the room, crackling like static in the air. The moment it touched Ren, something inside him responded.
A rush of sensation flooded through his body, like stepping into an electrified pool. His nerves tingled, his heartbeat quickened, and something deep within him shifted.
He couldn't explain it, but there was a sudden, undeniable clarity, as though part of him had been asleep all his life and was only now opening its eyes!
Then, just as quickly, the sensation split.
Two distinct forces stirred within him—one wild, raw, unshackled, a primal energy coiling in his muscles, promising the strength to shatter mountains.
Warrior's power.
But then there was the other force.
It was vast, intricate, limitless—a web of unseen connections stretching into infinity, threads of pure logic and power intertwined.
The sensation was far greater than the first, overwhelming in its sheer complexity. It was as if the entire universe whispered secrets into his soul, urging him to weave them into existence.
The murmurs grew louder. Then, one of them finally spoke.
"Divine Attunement for Weaving. Special Attunement for Carving."
Ren didn't know what that meant, but from the way the atmosphere shifted, he could tell it was a big deal.
Then—chaos.
The calm, measured atmosphere exploded as the women in the room began arguing.
"He would be better suited at Star Breaker Academy—"
"Nonsense! With attunement like this, Celestia is the only place for him—"
"If he attends Celestia, he'll be limited! The Grand Scholars of—"
"Limited? Do you think a Weaving genius of this level should be left in the hands of a third-rate—"
Ren blinked, staring at them.
Wait. Were they... fighting over him?
For several minutes, the argument raged on, with none of the women or men willing to back down. It was a bizarre situation.
One moment, Ren had been a demon scheduled for execution, and now, people were battling over which prestigious institution should take him.
Then, suddenly, a presence crushed the room into silence. The bickering stopped immediately as all eyes turned to one woman.
She hadn't spoken once during the argument, but the sheer force of her existence demanded obedience.
She was tall, regal, and carried herself with the dignity of a queen. Her robes were adorned with azure sigils that glowed faintly, marking her status as someone far above the rest.
She raised a single hand.
And then, in a voice that resonated with absolute authority, she spoke.
"Azure Decree."
The moment those words left her lips, an invisible force swept through the room, like the weight of fate itself settling into place. The meaning was clear.
She had claimed him.
The other representatives stiffened, their faces darkening in clear displeasure. But none of them objected. Because they couldn't.
The Azure Decree wasn't something they could challenge.
Ren barely had time to process what had happened before the woman turned to him.
"If fate permits it, we will meet again at the Academy," she said simply.
Then darkness.
A wave of energy washed over him, and his vision blurred. His limbs felt heavy, unresponsive, and before he could even think about resisting, his consciousness faded.
He didn't have a say in his fate.
But somehow, he had just been thrown into a world where his very existence had become something extraordinary.