While Lara was negotiating with the Regalcrags, Ren was nearing the end of his meditation. Ren has been absorbing the natural mana floating around the forest of mist. While he was doing this, for the past two days, he kept on seeing visions of different people all of them powerful.
He couldn't understand why he was being shown such things, but those visions and the people in them felt so familiar. There were five visions of five different men, that caught his interest the first one was about a boy who looked no older than seventeen years old.
The boy stood before an army wounded and weaponless. One of the men inside the army started shouting at him.
"Why are you doing this Sir Krimen?" The boy looked at the soldier and smiled.
"Are you guys idiots? Why am I doing this? Isn't obvious it's to protect this girl." Behind the boy was a small girl barely seven years old, trembling terribly.
The soldiers looked ashamed but held great resolve. "You do know what will happen, if we don't give her to the God of destruction."
"Of course I do." the boy answered.
"Then why? Why Sir Krimen, you who the king granted the second name, twin blades, the kingdom's saint. You are the hero of the people, you who protected many, have saved many, why do you betray us now?" The soldier looked at his hero feeling betrayed.
"I did not betray you, guys. I just want to save this girl. I think this is right while you guys think what you're doing is right. We're all doing what we think is right. I do not plan to scold you or anything I just don't like the idea of sacrificing an innocent girl to save my ass." The boy showed a ferocious smile toward the army.
"You would sacrifice the world, for just one girl? I can't believe I called someone like you a hero."
"Hey I don't plan on sacrificing the world, I'll save both the world and this girl! How can I claim to be able to save the world if I can't even save one measly girl! Also hero? You people are the ones who gave me that title, I never asked for it, I just did want I wanted to do!"
"I guess, there really is no convincing you. Men apprehend him, if you cannot do so, do not hesitate to kill. Also the girl must come with us unharmed." The soldiers surrounded the boy, they all knew his abilities. Even if wounded and weaponless, he was someone they cannot take lightly. A wounded beast is even more ferocious.
The soldiers have no plan to capture the boy, the person they called a hero would never allow such a thing to happen. So the only option they had left was to kill him. Though all of them didn't want to do this, they had no choice, it was either the girl or the world. The soldiers from the back started firing arrows.
Rei, evaded and caught some of the arrows, but the others pierced his skin. Rei was now looking like a porcupine with arrows sticking out of his body. The arrows he caught he threw them back at some of the archers. The arrows hit all of its targets, yet he hit them just to immobilize them.
The vanguard unit was nearing him. the boy charged forward, and with his bare hands cut the tendons of his opponents, he even cut their wrists. Even with all his strength and ability the battle was difficult. The soldiers are out to kill him, while he fought just to immobilize them.
As the battle dragged on, the boy accumulated numerous wounds, but was still smiling. The commanding officer spoke to the boy as he was fighting.
"Why do you still smile in such a desperate situation? Why do you always gamble your life for others?" The commanding officer was one who spent a great deal of time talking to the boy, back when he just came to the kingdom.
"Why do I smile? If I show a desperate face now, how can I prove to you guys I can save you all and this girl. Why do I gamble my life for others? Simple because the people I save, have more important lives to live, than I who has been stained by the blood of thousands."
The boy spoke while fighting, his body was battered and bruised. He had a lot of holes made by arrows, his cuts were numerous, but still he claimed that he could save everyone. All who heard his answer started to cry, even the soldiers who fought couldn't stop their tears from flowing. Yet even with that they still needed to do this.
Noticing the change of atmosphere, the boy screamed for everyone to hear.
"Even if it is the God of Destruction, I care not! I will fight till the end for everyone's happiness!"
...
That vision of that boy was similar to some of the heroes Ren had faced, but the way he acted, the way he looked, the way he did whatever he wanted, using force to prove his point was similar to Ren himself. Yet that wasn't the only vision he saw as he was meditating. Ren also saw another person fighting for revenge that he discarded his allies like pawns. In the end he was able to kill a demon lord, but in exchange he died full of regrets.
This person was also similar to Ren and somehow felt similar to the other people in his other visions.
...
The other vision he saw was that of a man fighting a dragon, with a smile on his face. The weapons he was using was similar to the twin blades he saw at the weapon shop where he acquired Silika. This man who fought the dragon had flawless swordsmanship, and even in the face of such an overwhelming opponent like a dragon, he was smiling viciously. He looked like he was toying with the dragon.
The apex predator, an entity who has been strong by birth a dragon, was being toyed around by a single man. The man Ren saw felt exhilarated by the battle. Ren knows that must be the exact same face he shows as he enjoys the battle. The man waited until the dragon has shown all his cards, and when it had nothing left to offer the man finished Dragon.
What surprised Ren in this vision was what the man said afterward, "thanks for the battle." This line and the way he said it was exactly the same as what Ren says after defeating a formidable opponent.
...
Ren saw many other visions of different people, but the next one that caught his interest was that of a person, who was facing a horde of monsters. This person even in such a dire situation had a smile on his face, surrounded on all sides and no hope for survival, the boy who looked to be around twelve years old smiled a joyous smile as he faced his enemy. With a longsword and a staff at hand he faced the horde of monsters and shouted.
"I'm not going down without a fight!" The moment he said those words, he saw a girl who had flowing black hair, skin white as snow and ruby red eyes. She was wearing something like a black kimono, the kimono was short which allowed a glimpse on her thighs , it also showed her bare shoulders. She was enchanting that even Ren who was simply seeing this vision was mesmerized, and felt something nostalgic about her.
The girl jumped down from the stone ruins, and gracefully landed in front of the boy who was holding his sword. As if he has forgotten everything, he stared at the girl and was mesmerized by her beautiful facial features. The girl then said something that Ren felt was important. He didn't know what was said but Ren felt that the girl said something that altered destiny itself.
...
Ren wanted to learn more about that girl he saw and that boy who was in a dire situation, but he couldn't control the visions, as it moved on to the next. The last vision he saw as he was deep in meditation was the one that caught his interest the most.
It was another man who was also fighting against something beyond understanding. Most of the visions Ren saw were about different men that felt familiar to him. They were all fighting against beings that were far beyond what any mortal could face. Sometimes it was Dragons, other times they fought Gods, and other times they fought monsters that existed since the beginning of creation. Yet even with all those things, the being this man was facing was beyond all of those opponents.
Ren couldn't describe what kind of being the man was facing. All Ren knew that this was something no one could ever hope to win against. Yet like all the others in Ren's visions, the man faced his opponent with a vicious, gleeful smile on his face. Ren couldn't help but feel excited as well.
'I wish to fight such a being.' Those were Ren's honest feelings as he watched the man fight. He couldn't see the whole fight, since the vision didn't allow him to. He wasn't sure what happened, but he had a feeling that no matter the result that battle had, the man he saw was satisfied.
...
Ren couldn't understand why he was seeing these visions of these different people. They were all different, from different races, and different ages. They were all different but at the same time the same. Most of all to Ren the men in his visions felt familiar, they all felt almost similar to himself. The way they fought, the way they felt excited to be in such dire battles. To the smile they show as they faced the impossible. They resonated with him, since they might look different but deep down, they were all the same, their core felt as one.
Ren couldn't understand what the vision meant, why they were being shown to him. Still seeing those people made Ren feel something deep within. It felt like his soul itself was hiding something powerful.