Chapter 6
Ren didn't know he was at Sylva's apartment. He just knew he felt warm before he felt pain.
For one second, it was nice. Then reality hit.
All of it. At once. Heavy and eaverywhere.
"…Ghh…!"
His eyes snapped open, then slammed shut again. The room spun. His fingers twitched against the sheet under him.
"Don't move."
The voice was calm. Right next to him.
Ren forced his eyes open. Slower this time. Ceiling. Plain. Unfamiliar. "…Where… am I…?" His voice sounded like gravel.
"You're safe."
He turned his head Pain ripped through his neck and ribs.
"Ah…!"
"I told you not to move."
His vision cleared. And there she was. Sylva. Looking completely unbothered, peeling an orange like they were at a picnic.
"…You…" Ren managed, narrowing his eyes. "…you're that…"
She popped a slice in her mouth. "Mhm."
"…That psycho…"
She stopped chewing. Slowly looked at him. "…Excuse me?"
"You killed him," Ren said, swallowing hard. "You didn't even hesitate."
Sylva just stared. Then sighed. "…That's what you're going with? Really?"
Ren frowned. "…What do you mean?"
"I just saved your life," she said, pointing the orange slice at him like it was evidence. "At least say thank you before calling me names."
Ren opened his mouth. Closed it. His hands curled into fists. "…You knew my uncle."
Something in Sylva's face shifted. Barely. "…Yeah."
Ren's chest got tight. "…I see. But… he's dead…"
"…Yeah. I know."
Silence fell it was thick and awkward. Ren looked at the ceiling again. His brain felt slow. "You were with him… that night…"
Sylva rubbed the back of her neck. "…You're really stuck on that, huh?"
"What was that you did earlier?" Ren snapped, even though his voice was weak. "Because last I checked, normal people don't…"
"You think your life has anything 'normal' left in it?"
Ren looked at her. Really looked. She didn't look dangerous though
Just a woman eating fruit. But his body remembered. That pressure. The way the world went quiet when she moved.
"…Who are you?" he asked, quiet.
Sylva leaned back. "…I told you already."
"No," Ren said. "You gave me a name."
A pause. "…That's not the same thing."
She watched him. Then sighed. "…You're smarter than you look."
"Answer the question."
"…No."
Ren blinked. "…No?"
"No," she said, at least not yet."
Ren exhaled, frustrated. "…Then at least start with something."
Sylva tilted her head. "…Like what?"
Ren hesitated. His head was full of noise, but one thing stuck out. "That guy… he called me something."
Sylva said nothing.
"He said… Kuroōkami."
Silence.
This time she didn't brush it off. "…Did he?" she said quietly.
Ren noticed. "You're not denying it."
"Well, I'm not confirming it either."
"…So it means something."
Sylva leaned forward. "…It means trouble a trouble you arent ready for ."
"That's not an answer."
"True. But it's the only one you're getting right now."
Ren's jaw clenched. "…Do you answer every question in riddles? That's right, you also said something else."
Sylva's eyes lifted.
"…Omega."
Sylva exhaled slow. "…You really don't know anything, do you…"
"I'm really lost here. I was attacked by a vampire dude, so can you please explain."
She looked at him for a long time. Then shook her head. "…No. And there's no such thing as vampires."
Ren almost laughed. It hurt. "…You've got to be kidding me."
"I'm not. Because the moment I explain it…" She stood up. "…your life gets worse."
Ren stared. "…It already is."
Sylva looked back. For a second, she was dead serious. "…You have no idea."
"…Then why save me?" Ren asked, quiet.
She didn't answer right away. She walked to the window, pulled the curtain back a little. Night outside.
"Because I was told to," she said.
"By who?"
She glanced over her shoulder. Small smile. "…That's question number three."
Ren clicked his tongue. "…So you do have a limit."
Quiet. Sylva let the curtain fall back. "…Rest. Your
body's still catching up."
Ren's eyes were already heavy. "…This isn't over…"
His breathing slowed. Exhaustion won.
Sylva watched him. After a beat, her voice went soft. "…Things are about to get complicated."
Ren didn't sleep well. Not real sleep. Just broken chunks pain, flashes of the fight, that pressure. Every time he almost settled, something yanked him back.
Eventually his eyes opened. The room was darker. Night had fully settled.
He just stared at the ceiling. _Still alive._
He lifted a hand. It shook, but it moved.
"…Still here…" he muttered.
Chair creaked.
"You're finally awake."
Ren turned his head. Carefully. Sylva was still there. Same room. But she wasn't relaxed anymore. Alert. Like she hadn't slept either.
"How long was I out?" Ren asked.
"A few hours," she said. "Not long."
Ren tried to sit up but Pain shot through his ribs and shoulder.
"…Tch…"
"Don't force it," Sylva said, sharp. "Your body isn't normal, but it's not invincible either. It'll take a while."
Ren froze. "…Not normal?"
Sylva didn't answer right away. She stood, put a glass of water by the bed.
"You survived multiple direct strikes from a high-output Omega," she said. "Most humans wouldn't even leave a body behind."
"Take. Drink this water."
Ren took it slow. Drank.
"…That guy," he said quietly. "He called me Kuroōkami."
Sylva's eyes narrowed. Just for a second. Then relaxed.
"You heard correctly."
Ren set the glass down. "…So it's real. What is it?"
Sylva looked away. "its not something you can understand right now."
"That's not an answer."
"but its the only one that keeps you alive."
Ren stared at her back. "…Why do you keep saying that."
"Because it's true," she said.
"…You knew my uncle because of this," Ren said.
Silence.
"…He chose his path," she said finally.
"That's still not an answer."
Sylva turned to him. "Do you want the truth, or something that makes you feel better?"
Ren said nothing.
Sylva stepped closer.
"The Kuroōkami isn't a title given to people," she said. "It appears when the balance between worlds starts to fracture."
Ren frowned. "…Balance between worlds?"
She nodded.
"And Omega?"
"Think of it like a lesser weapon classification," she said a human but also not a human.
Ren paused. "…That explains why he wasn't human?"
Sylva gave a small nod.
Ren leaned back, trying to process. Too many holes. "…And me?" he asked. "…What am I?"
Sylva went quiet.
"…You're something that shouldn't exist."
Ren stared at her. "…That's not comforting."
Wind moved outside.
Sylva's gaze flicked to the window. Like she felt something.
"…They'll notice what happened," she said quietly.
Ren frowned. "Who?"
She looked back at him.
"…The ones above Omegas. And they don't make mistakes when they come for something," she added.
Ren clenched his fist despite the pain. "…Then they'll just have to deal with me."
Sylva watched him. Then smiled. Faint.
"Funny. That's what your uncle said too."
Ren froze. "…He did?"
She nodded.
"And it's exactly why he's dead."
Ren went quiet. The words didn't land right away. They just echoed.
That's what your uncle said too. And it's exactly why he's dead.
"…Say that again," Ren said, quiet.
Sylva didn't move. "You heard me."
"No," Ren said. "About my uncle. What exactly did he say?"
Sylva hesitated. Just a second. Then exhaled.
"…The last time we saw each other was the very first time I saw you grown," she said. "He already knew he wasn't going to survive much longer."
"I don't think you understand the ultimate sacrifice he made for you."
Ren's eyes narrowed.
"He said he had been watched. Not once. Multiple times. By the higher hierarchies."
Silence.
Ren's expression shifted. "…Hierarchies?"
Sylva nodded once. "He didn't explain everything. He couldn't. But he said it was only a matter of time before they made a move."
Ren looked at his hand. "…So he knew."
Sylva's voice softened. "He always knew."
Ren's jaw tightened. "…And he still stayed."
"He had no choice," she said. "Or maybe he did, and just chose you anyway."
That hit different. Ren didn't respond right away. "Me?"
Sylva looked straight at him. "Yes."
Ren stood still as it sank in. Confusion all over his face.
"What do you mean?" he asked quietly.
Sylva sighed. Tired. "Your uncle had been a man unlike any other. He possessed a rare ability — one that allowed him to see two days into the future. With that power, he was always a step ahead of the Hierarchies. Never caught off guard. Always moving with certainty through events others couldn't even anticipate."
"He was the greatest person one could ask for," Sylva said softly. "That ability is how he survived for so long… and how he kept so many people alive."
Then her face darkened.
"But on your seventeenth birthday, he saw something he couldn't change."
Ren's breath caught.
"He saw your death," she continued. "Not as a possibility. As something that was always inevitable."
The room felt heavy.
"And your uncle…" Sylva paused. "He refused to accept it. So he searched for a loophole. Any way to defy what he saw."
Ren's eyes widened. Chest tight.
"In the end, he found only one," she said quietly. "He extended your life by a year."
Her voice dropped lower.
"But it came at the cost of his own life. His final words to me were to protect you at all cost."
Ren looked up. Sylva's face didn't change, but her voice carried pain.
"He said if anything ever happened to him, you would be the only thing left that still mattered."
Ren's grip on the sheet loosened.
"…Why," he said. "I didn't even know any of this existed. I didn't know any of this."
Sylva stepped closer. "That was exactly his point."
Ren frowned. "…What?"
"You were never supposed to know," she said. "Not yet, anyway. He wanted you to live a normal life."
Then, firmer: "All of this… isn't your fault."
Ren let out a slow breath.
"…My family," he muttered. "What else don't I know?"
Sylva didn't answer right away.
That silence hit different this time.
Ren looked back at her. "…Don't dodge it."
Sylva clicked her tongue, like she was deciding something she didn't want to say yet.
"…There's a lot about your family you don't understand," she said finally. "And most of it was buried for a reason."
Ren's eyes narrowed. "Because it's dangerous."
"Yes."
Another pause.
Then Ren spoke, quieter now. "…Then tell me what Kuroōkami is. Please don't answer with riddles."
Sylva looked at him. Didn't answer right away.
"You need to understand something first, Ren."
She stepped closer.
"This world isn't all peace and order like you think."
Ren stayed quiet. Listening.
Sylva's expression hardened. "There are things that exist above what normal people call reality. And when those layers start breaking…" She paused. "Something like Kuroōkami appears to correct it."
She shook her head slightly. "But it's not a blessing."
Her voice lowered.
"It's a consequence."
Silence again. Ren stared at her for a long moment.
"…A consequence of what?" he asked.
Sylva didn't answer that part.
Instead, she looked away slightly. "That's enough for now. The rest comes later."
Ren frowned. "So you're still hiding things."
Sylva glanced back at him.
"I'm not hiding it from you. You're not just ready for everything your family is tied to yet."
Ren didn't respond right away. But his face changed.
"…Then I'll get ready," he said.
Sylva studied him.
Then, faintly: "Yeah," she said. "That's what he said too."