The Warning –Chapter 5

Darkness. A dense, heavy void that crushed him. Only him. Renji.— “…Where… where am I…?” The question burst out of him, trembling, his voice short and agitated, broken by echoes.From the abyss of the void, something began to take shape. Black smoke slowly gathered, like snakes intertwining, giving birth to a tall body. A deformed silhouette, faceless, with only two red eyes burning like embers in the dark mist.Renji flinched and his steps froze, trembling, his heart pounding violently:— “Wh… what is that…?” he whispered, voice barely escaping, mouth dry, hands trembling with fear.The shadow swayed, approaching, and Renji stepped back, leaning on the air as if he wanted to flee, but his legs betrayed him:— “D… d… did I die…?” he stammered, his voice losing all control.The voice of the shadow resounded, cold and sharp, making him tremble from head to toe:— “No… Renji. You are not dead. Don’t you remember me? I am the one who saved your life. I am no longer just a voice in your head.”Renji covered his face with his hands, trembling, nearly suffocating, eyes wide with terror:— “Why am I here, what happened…? Wh… what do you want from me…?”The shadow continued, but this time with a brutal yet clear tone:— “You’d be too lucky to die now. I pulled your consciousness because you are a stubborn fool. And because it is time you listen to me.”Renji scoffed, forcing a bitter smile, trembling and biting his lip:— “So… you made me faint… just to lecture me… again? Great… Airi is probably… desperate right now, and you…”The voice struck again, cold, brutal:— “Shut up. Airi doesn’t matter. No one matters. Only you. And if you want to keep breathing in this world, stay away from the Imperials. Especially Kaizen. I am telling you this for the last time.”Renji clenched his fists, trembling, breath ragged, eyes wide and scared:— “You… you keep repeating this nonsense without telling me why… Kaizen knows something about me… If I have to risk it… I’ll risk it. Better to learn the truth than to live blind, led by a shadow who thinks he owns me…”The mysterious silhouette vibrated, its red eyes burning brighter. The air grew heavy, almost suffocating.— “Fool… Kaizen doesn’t want to give you truths. He wants to break your will, to crush you, to put you in chains. You will not become the man you seek to be. You will become a dog. His dog.”Renji bit his lip and gritted his teeth.— “Better a living dog than the pawn of a cursed necklace. I choose, not you.”A dry, rasping laugh echoed from the mysterious silhouette.— “You choose, yes… but every choice has a price. And yours will be blood. I told you, I will not repeat it. If you go towards Kaizen, your path ends in a grave.”The mysterious silhouette dissolved, scattering into the abyss of the void. Silence swallowed him.— “Renji! Wake up!” Airi’s panicked voice broke into his mind, pulling him from the darkness.With difficulty, he opened his eyes. His breathing was heavy, his forehead wet with sweat. He saw Airi, eyes teary, holding him tightly in her arms.Renji swallowed hard, words escaping barely as a whisper:— “Damn shadow…”Airi stared at him, bewildered.— “Shadow? Renji, what are you talking about? You scared me to death! You just collapsed and were burning up like fire… if you stayed like that a little longer, I’d have run home to call my father.”Renji slowly sat up, trying to regain his balance. He looked at Airi and forced a weak smile.— “No… no need. I’m fine. Just an episode… it passes quickly.”But his mind was far from Airi’s shop. The voice from the necklace, the so-called “mysterious silhouette,” still echoed in his head. And suddenly, without warning, his vision darkened again.Airi staggered beside him, her voice becoming a distorted echo:— “Renji…? Hey, not again…!”A wave of cold seized his heart. The shadow reappeared, its body of black smoke materializing once more, only for him. The red eyes shone even more intensely, piercing his soul.— “I said I wouldn’t repeat myself… but it seems I must open your eyes another way. If you still don’t believe me… look, Renji. Look at Kaizen’s true face.”The air around the shadow twisted, like a broken mirror. From the smoke, a living scene was born, as if he were right there.Renji saw a small village, without walls. Simple houses, peasants with tired faces. Then, suddenly, a band of armed men stormed through the huts. At their head, clearly, was Kaizen. His face carried a cruel smile, and the sword in his right hand was already stained with blood.The peasants fled desperately but were caught immediately. Supplies were thrown into sacks, houses ransacked, and women dragged forward brutally, crying and struggling. Kaizen laughed, giving merciless orders, while fire began to consume the huts.Renji felt his stomach twist.— “No… this… this isn’t…”The mysterious silhouette leaned closer, whispering venom into his mind:— “Do you still want to idolize him? Do you still want to follow him? This is the man you exalt in your thoughts. A monster. A predator who feeds on the blood of the weak.”Renji clenched his teeth, his eyes shaking between anger and doubt.— “No… Kaizen… he wouldn’t…”The shadow chuckled briefly, metallic.— “Wouldn’t he? You have the proof before your eyes. How long will you refuse to see, Renji? How long will you keep seeking your death?”The image kept unfolding: the village consumed by flames, peasants lying dead, women dragged into the forest. Kaizen raised his sword, ordering the final assault, his face lit by fire like a demon of war.Renji’s hands trembled, and a voice burst inside him:— “If this is the truth… then… Kaizen must…”The mysterious silhouette leaned toward him, as if smiling through the smoke:— “Exactly. Now you’re starting to understand.”Renji stared at the burning village, fists clenched until his knuckles cracked. His heart pounded madly, blood pulsing in his temples.The mysterious silhouette drew closer, its voice echoing coldly:— “Do you like what you see? Do you like the truth that tears you apart?…”Renji bit his lip, clinging to reason.— “If it’s true… then Kaizen is… a monster.”The mysterious silhouette leaned back, savoring the moment, its red eyes flickering with satisfaction.— “I’ll tell you something, Renji. I’m no longer just the voice from the necklace you wear. No. I am more now. From the moment you accepted me without wanting to… I became part of you.”Renji flinched.— “Part of… me? What the hell does that mean?”— “It means you are no longer alone. Everything you feel… everything you think… reaches me. Your rage, your fear, your desires. They flow through your veins, but I taste them first. Your emotions burn in me like fire. But I cannot feed on them, cannot move, cannot do anything else but watch. I am condemned to observe, to follow you… every moment.”Renji felt his stomach tighten.— “So… you stalk me like a parasite? Like a shadow stuck to me?”The shadow tilted slightly, its smoke dancing like tentacles.— “Exactly. And that is what should terrify you, Renji. For there is no place to hide from me. No dream you can have without me seeing it. No secret of your heart unknown to me. I am here. Always. Every moment.”Renji turned his gaze away, heart gripped between anger and disgust.— “Then… if you’re so tied to me, why don’t you do something? Why don’t you control me completely?”The silhouette’s eyes flared, its voice thundering in his mind, sharp but heavy with frustration it didn’t bother to hide:— “Because I can’t. My power is locked inside you. All I can do is watch and whisper. You are the master of your steps, but I… I am the unseen executioner who follows you. And if you choose the wrong path, I will be the first to feel your end.”Renji looked into the red eyes burning like embers and for a moment felt a pain in his chest, like a smoky claw gripping his heart.— “So… you feel everything I feel… and you can do nothing but watch. Then that means we are both cursed.”The mysterious silhouette grinned, its form beginning to dissolve again.— “Cursed. Exactly. You to live your illusions, me to taste your torment. And don’t forget: every wrong step you take, Renji… I feel it too. So tread carefully. For if you burn, I will burn too. And I don’t plan to die with you.”The image of the looted village collapsed into smoke, and darkness swallowed him again. When Renji regained his senses, he was once more in Airi’s arms, who shook him gently, crying.— “Renji! Hey! Don’t do this again, please! I thought I lost you…”He looked at her, still trembling, the shadow’s words pounding in his mind. Then Renji ran a hand through his hair, trying to steady his breathing. Airi still held him tightly, as if afraid he might collapse again.— “Renji… tell me what happened. You collapsed all of a sudden, and I…” her voice trembled, eyes wet with emotion.He put a hand on her shoulder and tried to smile reassuringly.— “I’m sorry, Airi. I shouldn’t have scared you like that. It’s nothing serious… I probably still haven’t fully recovered after the mission with Kaizen in the forest. I pushed myself too hard back then and my body is still paying the price.”Airi studied him carefully, as if trying to see if he was lying. At last, she took a deep breath and bit her lip.— “You should have told me! You suffer alone and… and I don’t even know how to help you.”Renji smiled warmly.— “Just the fact that you’re here, Airi, is enough for me. You don’t realize how much it matters… You always manage to bring a drop of light even in the ugliest days.”The girl immediately blushed, averting her gaze and laughing shortly, embarrassed.— “I don’t know if it’s really like that…”Renji watched her in silence for a few moments, leaving the unspoken words to himself.If it were up to me… I’d want Airi to be my girlfriend. She has something no one else has. Her blonde hair, falling gently to her shoulders, shines every time as if it catches the sun in its strands. And her face… her face is like a ray of light that warms your soul even when everything is cold and grim. She’s naïve, yes, but that’s what makes her so sweet… a pure soul in a dirty world.He gently shook off his thoughts and stood up, taking a deep breath.— “Airi… I think I should go. It’s almost night and I don’t want to keep you longer. Thank you for your care.”She nodded, though her eyes showed she wanted to stop him.— “Take care of yourself, Renji… please.”He smiled at her one last time, then stepped out of the shop. The cool evening air struck his face, mixed with the smell of dry leaves and damp stone.The road home was quiet. Sparse lanterns flickered faintly, the long shadows of the trees stretching over the beaten earth. Renji walked with his hands in his pockets, letting his thoughts fade one by one, when, near his gate, he saw a silhouette.A man stood there, leaning against the fence. He seemed to be looking at the sky, but his gaze was empty, lost somewhere far away, as if he hadn’t even noticed Renji approaching. His black, tangled hair fell over his forehead, and his worn cloak hung carelessly from his shoulders.Renji slowed his steps.— “Kaede…?”The silhouette stirred slightly, as if the name had torn him from a dream. He slowly turned his gaze toward Renji, and his gray, deep, tired eyes fixed on him.— “Renji.” His voice was grave, sharp, yet strangely drained.He paused, shaking his head slightly, as if trying to gather his thoughts.— “You have a habit of showing up… when you shouldn’t.”Renji raised an eyebrow, frowning.— “Was that supposed to be a joke? Or a reproach?”Kaede remained leaning on the fence, lost again for a few seconds, then muttered:— “Maybe both.”He straightened his back, though he still didn’t seem fully present. He looked at Renji, then past his shoulder, into the distance.— “You’re… changed. I don’t yet know if it’s good or bad. But the path you’re walking… is slippery.”Renji felt a brief shiver, but bit his lip and avoided Kaede’s gaze. He didn’t want to show what he felt at that moment.Kaede sighed shortly, raising his shoulders slightly:— “Be careful where you step… and who you think you can follow.”His gaze drifted again, gray eyes lost far away, as if seeing something Renji couldn’t.— “And… that’s it?” asked Renji, a little irritated and intrigued at the same time.Kaede only gave a brief, enigmatic smile, without blinking, then stepped aside and disappeared into the shadows of the evening, leaving behind the cold air and a heavy silence.Renji was left alone on the road, feeling slight unease. He wondered what Kaede had really meant to tell him, and why he felt, even in that short meeting, that the man was lost in his own thoughts.With slow steps, he continued toward his door, carrying with him both the silent warning and a strange sense of unrest.Almost at his door, he drew a deep breath, bracing himself for the quiet of his home. He opened the door and stepped inside…And then, suddenly, a heavy object struck him right in the forehead.— “Aaaaah!” he shouted, jumping back and staggering.A pot lay on the floor, and behind it stood his sister, her face red with fury. Her eyes sparkled and her fists were clenched.— “Renji! Are you insane?! You left at dawn and you’re only coming back now?! I thought you were gone for good!” she roared, raising a hand ready to strike again.Renji rubbed his temple, eyes wide open, trying to suppress a grin.— “Hehe… yeah, yeah, I know, I’m late… but I had reasons.”His sister frowned even more, ready to scold him again, while Renji stepped inside, trying to shield himself from the next blow with a hand raised instinctively.