Hell of the Mind — Chapter 47

Author:
Hello, I started "The Fall of the Imperial Light" 2 months ago, when I began to write/post I had something different in my mind, that it was a good idea to post 1 chapter daily and not have the debut with several chapters on the same day but I was wrong... During these 2 months I enjoyed writing my story and reading your feedback but unfortunately every beginning has an end, when I started to write I expected to get feedback from readers at each chapter but it was not as I thought.. in the end I ignored that and continued to write and eventually I got a few more feedback messages on Discord related to my chapters which motivated me to continue, even if I was assaulted by bots sent by other users I did not give up... what made me give up at this moment is the lack of interest of the people who matter to me, every reader is important to me but it is obvious that the feedback of a close person would give me a greater motivation to continue, everything started beautifully but over time I felt that I was left alone and I lost morale and I can’t continue anymore... in the end I decided that it is time for a break for my story, I wanted to give up writing completely when I reached chapter 35 but even if I was demoralized I tried to write 12 more chapters for you. Thank you to everyone who believed in me and who spent their time with my book, I hope to come back soon because the story right now is not even 30% complete and I still have much more to tell.

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— “Renji?! What’s happening?!” she shouted, but her voice was lost in the noise of the vibration that filled the room.

Renji opened his eyes for a moment. His pupils were no longer human. A deep, almost liquid shadow stretched beyond the iris and fine cracks appeared on his skin, like fissures through which a reddish light leaked. A distorted smile flickered for a moment on his lips, but it wasn’t his.

The voice that came from his mouth was not his own. It was cold, deep, full of an echo that made the air vibrate.

— “You are weak, Renji. Every time you try to rise, I must pull you back.”

Megan froze. It was no longer Renji speaking.

— “The demon…” she murmured, feeling her heart stop for a moment.

Renji’s body trembled violently. The dark energy around him gathered at his left arm, the same one that had suffered in battle. His veins swelled and his skin vibrated as if under unbearable pressure.

Megan took a step toward him and noticed that the seal on Renji’s neck, the one Eris had made, was starting to come apart. The lines engraved on his skin glowed red and slowly bled, each heartbeat deepening the wound.

— “No… it can’t be…” she whispered, feeling the air around her grow thicker.

Ubik laughed briefly through Renji’s mouth. The laughter was distorted, almost inhuman.

— “You feel it, don’t you? The seal is breaking. He can’t hear you anymore. He’s not here.”

Dark energy flowed around his body, lifting his hair and making the seal beneath him vibrate with a sharp sound. The light in the sanctuary dimmed gradually until only Ubik’s red eyes lit the room.

— “Renji… Fight… please…”

But his body suddenly collapsed, limp, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Silence settled again over the sanctuary.

Megan stood still, trembling, as the blood on Renji’s neck kept flowing.

— “Renji… please, Tiberku needs you…”

Renji’s consciousness fell into the depths. He was no longer in the sanctuary. He was nowhere. Only an empty space, without color, without sound. The air was dense and each breath was an effort. Here there was no time. No life. Only him.

Renji lifted his gaze and saw that he was standing in a field of ash. The sky was black, the ground cracked and cold. In the distance, a reddish mist rose slowly and in its center a silhouette approached.

— “Renji…” a voice said, making his skin crawl.

Ubik.

The demon walked slowly, his eyes glowing red. He had no fixed form. Sometimes he seemed human, other times a shadow with claws and fangs. Distorted images flowed from him: battles, blood, screams.

Renji brought his hand to his chest, trying to breathe.

— “Why am I here? What do you want from me?”

Ubik smiled without warmth.

— “To show you the truth. Not the one you tell others, but the one you hide from yourself.”

Renji clenched his fists.

— “I have nothing to hide.”

Ubik raised a hand. From the black ground rose the image of the battle. Demons screamed, their claws slashing the air. Renji was trapped, his arm deeply pierced. Tiberku’s scream echoed in the background, unconscious, lying a few meters away. The demons drew closer.

Renji stared at the scene without blinking. He knew every detail. Every second.

The blade in his hand, the sudden cut, the blood that spurted. The pain. The freedom.

And then him, throwing himself between Tiberku and the approaching demons.

Ubik laughed softly.

— “Your heroism is a joke, Renji. You cut your arm off, but you saved nothing. You thought pain would redeem you. You thought your blood would stop death.”

Renji closed his eyes. He could feel his missing arm throbbing.

— “I did what I had to do.”

— “You did what made you feel less guilty. That’s all.”

Ubik stepped closer. His gaze was deep and cold.

— “Tiberku was already lost. You just wanted to convince yourself it wasn’t your fault. You cut the flesh, you let the blood flow, to feel like you were paying a price. That’s all you are, Renji. A wound that never heals.”

Renji fell to his knees. He breathed heavily, as if every word struck him in the stomach.

— “I did everything I could. I didn’t stand aside.”

— “And what did you gain?” Ubik’s voice lowered, almost a whisper. “A lost arm. A dead friend. A broken mind. What kind of savior are you?”

The ground trembled. Around them rose shadows. The shadows of the lost. Tiberku, Miyu, Kaede, Airi. The fallen. All looked at him without expression.

Renji brought his hands to his head.

— “No…”

Ubik watched him silently for a moment, then leaned closer and whispered:

— “Everything you touch dies, Renji. And when you are left with no one, I’ll be the only one still talking to you.”

Renji felt anger burn in his chest. A faint light flickered deep inside him.

— “No. I chose to fight. I chose to suffer for others, not to let them die without trying. Maybe I lost, but I didn’t give up.”

Ubik stepped back.

— “Words. That’s all you have.”

— “Words and will. That’s all I need.”

The light in Renji’s chest intensified, but his body trembled uncontrollably. In the sanctuary, Megan held him by the shoulders, tears running down his face. The mark on Renji’s neck pulsed and the blood flowed faster.

The door of the sanctuary burst open. The elf rushed in, covered in dust and sweat. He had just returned, alerted by the magical vibrations coming from where Renji was lying.

— “What happened here?” he asked, looking at the circle of light forming around the young man’s body.

— “The demon is pulling him inside,” said Megan, her voice trembling. “I don’t know what to do!”

The elf approached and knelt beside them. He raised his hands above Renji’s chest and the air around them trembled slightly. Ancient lines of a spell formed on the stone floor, glowing blue.

— “There’s still a chance,” he murmured. “But if you want to save him, you must go after him. Enter his mind. Your bond is the only gateway.”

Megan placed her hand over the mark on Renji’s neck.

— “As long as I can help him, it doesn’t matter what happens to me.”

The circle’s light flared suddenly. Everything expanded and the world broke. Megan felt herself falling into the void, passing through layers of darkness until she opened her eyes in a field covered in ash. The sky was red and the ground cracked under her feet. At that moment, she and the elf were completely inside Renji’s mind, ready to help him resist the manipulation and terror of the demon.

The elf focused, scanning the darkness. “We are in his mind, but not at the center. It’s… a labyrinth of pain. What we see now are the edges of his hell.”

The field twisted under their feet. The ash seemed to rise in living waves, as if each fragment was a painful memory. Shadows passed by fleetingly, contorted faces screaming, crying, or stabbing the space, then disappearing as quickly as they appeared. Megan felt an unseen pressure squeeze her heart, the air itself seeming heavy and full of guilt.

— “It’s too much…” she murmured. “I’ve never felt such deep… such real pain before.”

The elf looked around, his cold eyes reflecting the red darkness. “This is Renji’s mind. Every loss, every sacrifice, every suffering is here, materialized. The demon turned everything into a hell that keeps him prisoner. If we don’t know where to step, we will be trapped too.”

Forms began to emerge from the ash: silhouettes of people he had lost, shadows of those he had sworn to protect. Their faces were distorted, eyes empty, each raised hand or shout a mute reproach: “Why couldn’t you save us?”

Megan felt her tears flow, but had no time to wipe them. Every step forward seemed to sink them deeper into Renji’s pain. Her heart was tight, and the voice in their minds, though silent, was almost unbearable: the echo of a boy carrying the world’s guilt on his shoulders.

— “Not only has he lost those dear to him,” whispered the elf, looking at the shadows that dissolved and reformed. “He felt that everything he touched died, that he couldn’t protect anyone. He is trapped in infinite torment, and the demon exploits every fiber of his pain.”

Megan took a deep breath, feeling that each step forward was not only physical but a struggle not to be overwhelmed by the suffering that dominated this realm. Renji’s hell was greater than anything she had prepared for, yet they had to move forward. Every corner of this darkness enveloped her, showing how fragile the soul they were trying to save was.

As they advanced, the shadows began to organize, taking clearer shapes. Claws, fangs, contorted faces whispering reproaches and threats. It was as if Renji’s hell was becoming aware of their presence and trying to stop them.

— “Look,” said the elf, pointing to a silhouette emerging from the ash. It was a large creature, with a thin elongated body and eyes that seemed to absorb light. “The demon is sending his guards. He doesn’t want us to reach Renji.”

Megan felt a wave of fear but raised her hands, concentrating. Magical light erupted from her palms, cutting the creature into fragments that evaporated into the red air. Other shadows rushed immediately, but Megan destroyed them all with quick, calculated movements, each attack preserving her energy.

The elf took a step forward, wings slightly spread, guiding her through the ashen void. “We must stay focused. Everything you feel here… his guilt, his pain, his fear, is real for him. But we must not lose ourselves in it.”

Each step brought more signs of mental hell: fragments of twisted memories, images of lost battles, echoes of the screams of the fallen. Megan felt her blood pulse in sync with the rhythm of Renji’s pain. It was a direct link, and with each moment she felt more clearly how much he had been tortured mentally.

— “Look there,” said the elf, pointing to a crack in the ash. From inside came short groans, sounds of suffering, like distorted echoes of Renji. “The center of his hell starts there. It’s close, but the demon will try to defend it with everything he has.”

— “We have to hurry,” she murmured.

As they advanced through the ash that rose like living waves, Megan and the elf saw a figure in the distance. It was Renji, kneeling, his body trembling, seemingly torn by pain. Darkness pulsed around him and shadows rose from the ground like claws, responding to every groan.

— “Renji!” Megan shouted, but her voice seemed to vanish in the void. She tried again, this time with all her strength, but there was no response. Renji could not hear her, trapped completely in his inner hell and under Ubik’s influence.

The elf spread his wings, showing her the path through the darkness. “We must reach him. This is the center of his hell, but the demon will do everything he can to stop us.”

Each step forward made the darkness denser, heavier, and the shadows moved faster. Megan felt her connection to Renji pulse violently, the echo of his pain making her heart tremble.

Suddenly, the space around Renji seemed to separate from the rest of the field. The ashen realm twisted, the ground rising around him, forming black waters and contorted cliffs. In moments, the place where Renji was turned into an isolated island, floating in an ocean of darkness and ash. Shadows began to detach from the waters, ready to harass anyone approaching.

— “The demon…” murmured the elf, observing how the demon shaped the realm to his will. “He created a barrier between us and Renji. Everything here is meant to keep us away.”

The island seemed small from a distance, but every step they tried to take was against gravity and air pulling them back. Shadows gathered at the shore, growing in size, and every wave of ash hit like arms trying to pull them back. Megan and the elf ran, feeling Renji’s mental hell stretch like an invisible trap, forcing them to fight not only the shadows but the sense that they would never reach him.

— “We can’t lose him here,” said the elf. “Every second counts. We must touch him, break the demon’s influence.”

The floating island drew closer, shadows became more aggressive, some taking clear demonic forms with long claws and red eyes tracking their every step. Megan and the elf sprinted, ready to face anything to save Renji.

From the dense darkness of mental hell, a noise echoed. Shadows twisted and from them emerged a massive creature, with curved horns and claws throwing sparks of ash. his eyes burned with intense red light, and the air pulsed with threatening energy.

The creature lunged with surprising speed, claws cutting the air. Megan and the elf reacted instantly. Megan raised her hands, channeling her magic into pure light cutting through the shadows.

— “Run to me!” shouted the elf, flying beside her, striking the shadows with his wings.

The creature struck with His claws, but Megan countered with a quick palm strike, releasing an explosion of energy that threw it back. The elf intervened, pushing her slightly aside and attacking with a blade of light that disintegrated the demon’s limbs.

The demon let out a deafening roar, but Megan and the elf gave it no chance, shattering his form until it evaporated into a rain of red ash.

— “It’s done,” said Megan, breathing heavily, feeling her link with Renji’s hell still burning in her soul.

— “The demon will send more,” the elf replied, his eyes sparking. “We must go.”

Megan and the elf continued running through the ash that pulsed like a living being. Waves of shadows and ash moved against them, trying to pull them back, but each step brought them closer to the island where Renji was. Gravity seemed to shift, the ground twisted, the air grew dense and heavy, but they did not stop.

— “We are close!” whispered the elf, guiding her to the center of the floating island. Megan felt her heart beating fast, her connection to Renji pulsing like an alarm.

As they approached, the shadows twisted, and from the ash emerged a larger demon, sent by Ubik to stop them. His body was covered in spines, eyes red as fire, long claws cutting the air with metallic sounds.

— “We won’t leave him alone!” shouted Megan, channeling magic into her palms.

The demon lunged at them. The elf intervened, pushing her toward the edge while his light attacks pierced the shadow’s body. Megan attacked simultaneously, her energy flowing like a pure blade, cutting the demon’s claws and throwing it back into the waves of ash.

The creature no longer had the strength to touch them. Megan and the elf ran further, avoiding the last shards of collapsing shadow. In moments, the floating island became fully visible, and at his center, Renji lay kneeling under Ubik’s control.

— “There he is…” murmured Megan, feeling the intensity of their link. “We must reach him.”

Megan and the elf reached the center of the island. The cracked ground creaked beneath their feet, black water rising in threatening waves. Before them, Renji knelt, his body trembling under Ubik’s shadow hovering above him like an unavoidable presence.

— “Renji!” Megan shouted with all her voice, trying to break the demon’s barrier. Her eyes shone with determination, even though her body trembled under the mental hell’s pressure.

Ubik laughed shortly, the echo reverberating across the floating island.
— “They think they can save him? Pathetic. This realm, this island, isn’t theirs. It’s his mind, and I am the master here.”

Renji trembled, but there was no reaction, no recognition of their presence. Megan felt her heart tighten from his pain, the echo of his suffering striking her directly.

The elf spread his wings, ready to repel any attack, and murmured:
— “We must break the chains the demon placed.”

In moments, they approached close enough to see Renji’s pain clearly. His left arm was attached to his body, the old wound still visible, a mark of his sacrifice for Tiberku.

Ubik laughed from a corner, his voice cutting into their souls:
— “You are nothing, Renji. You have done nothing worthy of a good man until now.”

Renji pressed his head between his hands, trying to stop the wave of thoughts drowning him. He tried to fight back mentally, but everything seemed futile. Every memory of sacrifice, fallen friends, his wound became a knife cutting him from inside.

In a corner of his consciousness, a thread of light trembled. At first barely perceptible, but it was there. A familiar, known whisper… the voice of his sister:

— “Renji… never give up. Don’t let yourself be defeated.”

Renji’s heart leapt. A point of clarity opened in the darkness surrounding him. Ubik’s shadows wavered. The air grew lighter and pain was no longer the only reality. In a moment of lucidity, Renji opened his eyes and for the first time saw the real presence of those trying to help him.

Megan and the elf were there, before him, translucent bodies glowing faintly in the dark. Their eyes conveyed hope and determination. He was no longer alone.

— “I am not alone…” he murmured, voice trembling but with new determination.

Ubik screamed, trying to pull him back into despair, but Renji gritted his teeth. His link with Megan and the elf pulsed through his mind like a wave of light, pushing the shadows back. He felt his will growing with every breath, every moment of resolve: he was no longer just a victim of the demon’s manipulation.

— “I chose to fight,” Renji said, voice sharp, rising to his feet, his missing arm more than painful now, a symbol of resistance. “Not for me… but for those who care for me. You will not control my mind, Ubik!”

Renji felt the entire universe in his mind start to shake, as if Ubik’s hell were collapsing from within. The shadows that once gripped him broke apart, the noise of screams and echoes turning into a faint wind fading gradually.

Waves of energy erupted from his chest, light flowing in clear waves that shattered the dark structures the demon created. The gray sky cracked and the floating island collapsed into the abyss of ash, carrying away the last traces of Ubik’s manipulation.

Megan and the elf felt their link to Renji’s mind suddenly weaken. In a moment, their pale light withdrew, and they were back in the sanctuary. Before them, Renji’s body still trembled, but his eyes were clear.

— “I think he made it…” Megan whispered, looking at him with a mix of relief.