[Location: Camelot – Lower Chambers, Night]
The air in the chamber was thick with dust and candle smoke. Merlin adjusted a copper ring etched with old runes, trying to align it with the chalk symbols Ren had drawn on the stone floor. The pattern wasn't purely magical — half the lines followed geometry, not glyphs.
Ren crouched nearby, scanning a set of notes. "If this works, it should compress my mana field just enough to stop the fluctuations. No more uncontrolled spikes."
Merlin frowned. "You sound too sure for someone who nearly burned a hole through the forest last week."
Ren smirked faintly. "Confidence is the only thing keeping this from exploding."
Merlin sighed. "That's not comforting."
They had chosen a forgotten storeroom beneath the castle, far from the guards and Gaius's prying questions. The torches flickered, the light uneven. For days, Ren's energy had been growing harder to hide — small bursts of blue static around his hands, faint distortions in the air when he was upset. Gaius called it "mana sickness." Ren knew better — his quantum mana was adapting, changing faster than the world could stabilize it.
Merlin handed him a small silver crystal. "This should act as a grounding node. Focus through it."
Ren nodded and placed the crystal in the center of the formation. The symbols began to pulse faintly.
[Location: Camelot – Lower Chambers, Minutes Later]
Ren sat cross-legged, closing his eyes. His breathing slowed, matching the faint rhythm of the mana circle.
He could feel the world pressing against him — not rejecting, but resisting. His power didn't belong here; even after months, this world's mana felt heavy, sluggish compared to his energy's fluid pulse.
He started the process carefully — channeling inward, folding the current of his energy into itself like compressing an unstable wave.
Merlin's eyes widened. "It's working… I think."
But then the lines of the circle brightened — too quickly. The ground began to hum. Ren clenched his jaw. "No, the containment ratio's off—"
The light surged.
A shockwave rippled through the chamber, throwing Merlin back. The torches went out instantly. For a few seconds, only the glow of Ren's body lit the room — blinding, violent, chaotic.
Then the light dimmed, and Ren fell forward onto his hands, coughing. His fingers were smoking.
Merlin scrambled to him. "Are you—?"
Ren looked up, eyes still faintly glowing blue. "I'm fine. Mostly."
The containment circle was destroyed. Half the runes had been burned into the floor permanently.
Merlin stared at him, half amazed, half horrified. "That wasn't magic. Not any magic I've seen."
Ren wiped his face, still breathing heavily. "It's not. It's me trying to make my energy fit this world. But the resonance isn't stabilizing anymore."
Merlin looked uneasy. "Then you can't stay here long. Whatever that energy is, the kingdom will notice."
Ren gave a tired laugh. "Yeah. I'm starting to notice it too."
[Location: Upper Courtyard – Same Night]
A guard rushed through the courtyard toward the great hall. His armor clanked as he shouted for the Captain. "There's been a surge, sir — in the lower chambers. Blue light, like a spell gone wrong."
Inside, Gaius looked up from his desk, frowning. "Blue light," he repeated softly, already knowing what it meant.
[Location: Camelot – Morgana's Quarters, Same Night]
Morgana woke suddenly, her pulse racing. The air in her room shimmered faintly — like a ripple in still water. She could feel it in her bones: Ren's energy had changed again.
She went to the window, staring toward the castle's lower levels.
Something was different about him. Stronger. Wilder.
Her hand brushed the pendant around her neck — a druid charm Aglain had once given her. It glowed faintly in response.
"Whatever you're doing, Ren," she whispered, "you're running out of time."
[Location: Camelot – Lower Chambers, Later]
Ren sat slumped against the wall, hands trembling slightly. The floor still smoked. His chest hurt where the energy had pushed too hard.
Merlin was pacing, muttering. "If Uther finds out—if anyone felt that—"
"They did," Ren interrupted quietly. "Half the castle probably did."
Merlin stopped, looking at him. "Then we'll need a story."
Ren gave a dry smile. "A story won't matter. When the king decides someone's guilty of magic, the story writes itself."
They sat in silence for a moment. The faint hum of the energy had subsided, but it still lingered — like an echo stuck between worlds.
Ren leaned his head back against the wall. "Next time," he said softly, "I'll get it right."
Merlin glanced at him, unsure if he meant the spell — or something else entirely.
[End of Chapter 33]
Author's Note:
This chapter marks a turning point in the Merlin Arc. Ren's energy is now destabilizing the local mana field, making his presence harder to hide. The "Forbidden Spell" represents his attempt to adapt scientifically within a mystical system — foreshadowing his eventual ejection from this world and the start of his next arc in The Invisible World.