The Author's POV

'What did I just see?'

Kevin felt his heart grow cold.

'T...that can't be real, right? Re..n would never do that...'

He was in a state of complete denial. But, it was at this moment that he suddenly recalled his past flashbacks of what Ren had done with Emma, and it was from there that he was able to calm himself down.

'That's not the Ren I know. It's a different Ren.'

He repeatedly told himself. Recalling the conversation he had with Ren in the past and connecting everything with his visions, things were slowly starting to make sense.

'Why is it dark?'

Following his death, the scene once again shifted. This time, the world was dark. However, upon paying close attention, he could hear the sound of birds chirping in the distance.

Chirp. Chirp. Chirp.

'Birds? What's going on?'

Kevin could faintly feel the warm, gentle sunshine enveloping his whole body.

It was then that Ren opened his eyes and Kevin found himself inside a one-bedroom apartment.

Rubbing his eyes, he blinked a couple of times and once more looked at my strange surroundings.

'This place...'

It looked familiar. Kevin couldn't just quite remember where he had seen this room before.

The room was furnished with the basic necessities that comprised a clean white bed, an old wooden spacious desk, a tall wardrobe, and a small bathroom. It was neither too big nor too small, but it seemed to have all the necessary facilities one might need when living.

'...Just why is this so familiar to me?'

Kevin thought to himself as he continued to stare at the room. It was strange, but Kevin knew for sure that he had seen this room before.

...But no matter how much he tried to think about it, he couldn't exactly remember where he had seen it.

'How odd.'

Shifting his body, Kevin's head turned to face the nearby window.

Reflected on it was a familiar face.

Jet black hair

Pale white skin

Blue ocean-like eyes

It was Ren's face...but younger. A lot younger.

'What memory is this?'

Kevin wondered as Ren's body shifted and he pressed his foot on the ground to help his body up.

"...Another failure."

Ren muttered while he stood up, and headed for the nearby desk where he sat down.

Opening the drawer beside the desk, he took out a small notebook alongside a small pen.

Grasping the pen beside him, Ren's body froze for a small second. With his eyes locked onto the pen, he slowly brought it next to his neck.

Click—!

Pressing onto the top end of the pen, the sharp tip came out.

Ren gently pressed it against his neck. Slowly, he began to put more pressure.

'What is he doing?'

Kevin wondered as he felt the sharp tip of the pen press against Ren's neck. His actions didn't make sense to Kevin at all.

'Don't tell me that he's...'

"Haaa..."

Before Kevin could come up with an assumption, Ren let out a long sigh and lowered the hand that held onto the pen. The pressure on his neck disappeared.

Casually tossing the pen on the desk, Ren reclined on the chair and emptily stared at the white ceiling of the room.

Grasping his chest with his hand, he mumbled.

"...What's the point? It's not like anything will change."

Though his words were casual, they were enough to alarm Kevin who was watching everything.

At this point, no matter how much he tried to feel the emotions Ren was experiencing, he couldn't feel anything. He basically felt like an empty shell whose sole reason for living was something that Kevin was still unsure of...but from his earlier actions, Kevin had an inkling that perhaps, just maybe, Ren didn't really want to be alive.

It was as if something was stopping him from dying. Or maybe he was just overthinking.

...but as he thought back at the moment he pressed the pen against his neck, Kevin was left uncertain about his theory.

Leaning his body forward, Ren grasped the pen he had thrown on the table and opened the book.

He then began to write something.

of emotional turmoil. Assessing the situation, I decided to terminate

through what Ren was writing, Kevin felt his blood freeze. Chills ran through his body

'I..it can't be, right?'

in a state of denial, but...he knew that everything he was

after connecting the dots from his

it was only

not be the Ren he knew, but he was still nonetheless Ren. A stinging pain started

'...Why? Just why?'

[Trial 210]

words with his pen, Ren continued to

before he comes in contact with them in this loop. Same goes

into the paper, the world started to

everywhere as corpses and limbs sprawled

enshrouded the

"Haa...haa..."

standing on top of a broken building, as the

'Where am I?'

was also then that he noticed that his right hand was missing and

It looks

seeing, Kevin suddenly

to lift his head and his eyes laid on

building, the figure blankly stared toward the sky as a cruel smile sprung up

you won't

words rang throughout the world as he proceeded to raise

come to a standstill as demonic energy gathered towards the palm of his hand, forming a

"Stay put."

the black orb could fully form, Kevin felt his

Crack. Crack.

crushed against his body,

was, the red-eyed

as their gazes met. Opening his

with your useless struggle. I've

"Shut up."

into bits. The gravity around him started to warp, and the

Rumble. Rumble.

His power was overwhelming.

a figure resembling himself standing in the

'This scene...'

"Your turn."

downwardly, Ren kept the other figure

painfully obvious to Kevin that his power wasn't enough to contain the other figure for long as he felt

are you waiting for? End

as he urged his other self who was standing in the

lips trembled after glancing at the red-eyed figure and then

outcome that you

you

brows furrowed tightly, and his voice became even

the other Kevin pointed towards the

look at the world. It's completely destroyed! Almost all of humanity has been destroyed because

clenched tightly, his

whole of humanity! What's the point

listening to the other Kevin's words, Ren slowly opened his mouth to say something. Matching his mouth, Kevin spoke inside

'Because I don't care.'

"...Because I don't care."

finally understood why felt a sense of Deja vu'

in his vision. He

"You don't care?"

out of his body was very

care about the fact that because of

"What are you doing?"

dull voice

to the

I should've done the moment I remembered

Clank. Clank.

the ground and Kevin felt them clasp

face crack when he looked at

you

but no matter how much force he applied,

how much of a predicament

did you

was watching the scene with an amused look on his face. Although he was also on the verge of death, there was a triumphant look on his

it's going to be

Kevin

"khh..."

the hue around the other Kevin's body slowly started to fade

note of his sudden actions, for the first time in a while, Kevin suddenly started to feel emotions spring out inside

End it!!!! You know full well that you're the only one that can stop him! What

'Desperation.'

was what Kevin felt as he felt his mouth open and

always the same with

more step forward, the other Kevin's feet came to a pause

Clank. Clank. Clank.

the chains wrapping around his body become

other Kevin, Kevin realized that Ren had stopped shouting and the previous emotions that were

and glaring in the other Kevin's direction, Kevin felt his

will be enough to

"I don't know."

Kevin shook

find out soon. At least for