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I woke to the taste of iron and the hum of magic thick in the air.

A barrier.

Not just any barrier—this one bit at my skin, crawled along my veins like fire ants. I stretched my hand against the translucent surface, and my palm hissed as if pressed to a forge. I jerked back, teeth gritted. My chest rose and fell, more with anger than fear.

"What is this?" I demanded, my voice echoing unnaturally in the shimmering cage. "A joke? You think chaining me in light is funny?"

They were there. All of them. Gathered in the dim-lit hall like a tribunal: Ayame with her blade resting against her shoulder, eyes sharp and unreadable; Akane with arms folded, jaw set in that athletic, tomboy defiance; Mei leaning lazily against the wall but her smirk missing for once, replaced by sharp calculation; Rin, tail curled nervously but ears upright, determined; Elira, serene but watchful, hands folded around the staff humming faintly with power; and Sora—gentle, trembling Sora—her hands wrung together, though she stood with the others, not with me.

The sight of her there—of all of them united against me—ignited something hot in my chest. I snarled.

"You've lost your damn minds," I spat, pacing the inside of the barrier like a caged beast. "Why? Why do this to me? To Ren?"

No one answered. Silence, heavy, thick. Then I let out a laugh, mocking and sharp.

"What? Nothing to say? You're condemning me and can't even tell me why?"

I turned my eyes, predator sharp, to the one who always seemed the softest—Sora. Sweet, tender Sora. The one who cried at Rin's breakdown, who baked bread when Mei got cranky, who was more heart than blade.

I softened my voice deliberately, pressing my palm against the barrier nearest her. "Sora," I said, almost pleading, almost gentle. "You know me. Better than anyone here. Tell them. Tell them I'm not…whatever they think I am. Tell them I'm still me."

Her lips parted, trembling. Her eyes glistened. For a moment, I thought—no, I knew—she would step forward, argue, defend me. She always defended Ren.

But her gaze flickered, then dropped to the floor. Her hands clenched. And when she spoke, it was with a voice I barely recognized, small but firm.

"No," she whispered. "You're… not him."

The words punched harder than the barrier. I staggered a step back, anger clawing up my throat.

"What?!" I snapped, fury cutting away the pretense. "What makes you think I'm not who I say I am? What proof do you have besides paranoia and fear?"

That was when Akane stepped forward, her arms still crossed, eyes burning into me. "Proof?" she said flatly. "You've been for a while now. The way you talked, the way you looked at us—it wasn't Ren."

"Ren teases, but he never sneers," Mei cut in, sharp as a dagger. "He flirts, but he doesn't… claim. The way you spoke to Ayame earlier? That wasn't him. Not even close."

I scoffed, tossing my head back. "So what? You're condemning me because my tone was different? Because I dared to be more honest, more raw?"

But Elira's voice slipped into the air, calm and precise, cutting through my rage like silk wrapping around steel. "Not just your tone. The rhythm of your words. The posture. Even the way you looked at each of us—it was wrong. At first I thought perhaps exhaustion, or strain. But when Rin transformed…"

She looked to Rin, and the fox girl nodded, hesitating before speaking.

"That night… when I changed, when I lost control…" Rin's voice shook but steadied with each word. "Ren calmed down. He acted like himself. But when I turned back, he started acting… strange again. It was like… like he was a totally different person."

"Enough!" I slammed my fists against the barrier, the sound cracking sharp like thunder. "You think you're clever? You're chasing shadows! Strange? Posture? Words?!"

But they weren't done. Mei pushed off the wall, stepping forward with that smirk returning, crueler this time. "What gave you away completely wasn't any of that," she said. "It was when you asked Ayame out in front of all of us."

My mouth twisted. That had been bold, yes. But why would that betray me?

"You think Ren would humiliate Ayame like that?" Mei sneered. "Put her on the spot in front of everyone? No. He might tease, might test boundaries—but he wouldn't corner her. That was you."

"And the kiss," Akane added flatly.

The memory sparked heat in my chest. The kiss had been perfect, intoxicating. She hadn't pushed me away. She had kissed me back. That meant something.

But Ayame's voice cut through, colder than steel. "That kiss was not victory," she said. "It was the snare. While you were distracted, while you thought you were winning, I marked you."

Her eyes narrowed as she tapped her fingers against her sword hilt, tracing invisible lines. "The tracing on your chest—it wasn't affection. It was spellwork. And when you burned, when you fell, the mark revealed itself. Proof."

The realization hit like ice water. My stomach dropped. That kiss… that soft press of lips I'd thought was conquest… had been a lie. A blade wrapped in silk.

I staggered back a step, shaking my head. "No. No. You're twisting this. You're—"

But Elira's voice rose again, calm and relentless. "When Ayame checked her spell from that night in the courtyard, she found something else woven into it. A duplication. That was the night you were born. You're not Ren. You're his shadow. His reflection. His… mistake."

Duplication.

The word clanged in my head like a bell.

I was silent for a long moment, chest heaving, eyes darting from one to the other. They were all watching me, eyes sharp, wary, united. Even Sora, who wouldn't meet my gaze. Even Rin, her tail low but her resolve higher.

---

I stared at them through the shimmering barrier, every angle of my prison reflecting their determined faces back at me like a cruel mirror. The air hummed with their magic, tense and alive, like static crawling over skin. And yet… I smiled. Slow, deliberate. My lips stretched into a grin that wasn't joy, but something far darker.

Then, with a mocking calm, I began to clap.

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

The hollow sound echoed against the barrier walls, bouncing back at them.

"You think you've figured it all out," I said, voice low but sharp, cutting through the heavy silence. "You think your little midnight scheming, your whispers, your chanting, your… teamwork makes you clever." I tilted my head, eyes scanning each one of them like prey. "But you're not clever. You're desperate. And desperation always reeks."

Elira's chin lifted, but I could see her fingers tighten on the edge of her robe. Sora stood just behind her, hands balled into trembling fists. Akane's stare was the hardest—steel behind it, a warrior's refusal to yield. And Ayame… oh, Ayame, the very one who had opened the door for me, even if she didn't realize it. She wouldn't meet my eyes now.

"Let me enlighten you," I continued, pacing inside the barrier, running a hand along its shimmering surface. Sparks of resistance flared where my fingers touched. "I am not something you can 'banish' with a few pretty words. I'm not some spirit you can bottle or a shadow you can chase away."

I leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "I am Ren now. The one you've lived with, laughed with, trusted. The one you've kissed. The one you almost… believed in." My gaze cut to Ayame, sharp and deliberate. She flinched. "And the Ren you're looking for? He's gone. Buried. Lost so deep in me you'll never claw him out. He belongs to me."

Mei scoffed, arms crossed, but I could hear the edge in her tone when she spat, "You're bluffing."

I only chuckled, low and rumbling. "Am I?"

I let the silence linger, my grin widening, and I saw the uncertainty flicker across their faces. Beautiful cracks.

"You can't kill me," I pressed on, voice rising now, resonating against the magical walls. "You can't undo me. I'm not some passing mistake. I am inevitable. I had you all wrapped around my finger. You didn't even notice. I moved in your world, breathed your air, wore his skin, and you let me."

I pressed a hand over my chest and laughed, sharp and unhinged. "Ren will never come back."

The words hit the room like poison. I saw Sora's breath hitch. Rin shifted uneasily, hugging herself as her tail flicked behind her. Mei's smirk had vanished entirely now. Even Akane's jaw tightened, just slightly.

That's when Ayame moved. She stepped forward, expression unreadable, but her presence radiated command. The others seemed to draw strength from her.

Without a word, she reached out—and Elira's hand found hers. Then Mei's. Then Akane's. Then Sora's trembling fingers joined, closing the chain. Rin stood outside, unable to lend magic, but her green eyes burned with determination as she nodded at them, silently urging them on.

The air thickened.

"What…" My smile faltered, just a fraction. "…What are you doing?"

The barrier began to hum louder, vibrating under their shared energy. Their voices overlapped, soft at first, then rising into a unified chant that pulled at the very air around us. Ancient syllables of binding, of purging, of reclamation.

"No," I hissed, my hands pressing against the barrier. It sparked hotter, burning my palms. "Stop this."

They didn't. Their chant grew louder, fiercer, each word slamming against my ears like a hammer.

"I said stop!"

My chest ignited—searing pain, raw and unbearable. I screamed, stumbling backward as the burning spread like wildfire through my veins. The very core of me, the false root of my existence, was being ripped apart thread by thread.

I clawed at myself, nails raking down my chest where Ayame's runes still glowed faintly beneath the skin. "No—NO! You don't know what you're tampering with!"

But they didn't falter.

Sora's voice cracked, but she kept chanting. Mei's sharp tone cut through like knives. Akane's strength held them steady. Elira's regal voice carried power and weight. And Ayame—the center of it all—her voice burned with steel and resolve.

The hum became a roar.

I collapsed to my knees, the screams tearing out of me no longer controlled, no longer deliberate. My vision blurred, the barrier closing in, every ounce of me unraveling.

"You—" I choked, reaching toward them through the shimmering wall, fingers grasping at nothing. "You think you've won? You think he'll thank you? He won't! He'll hate you for what you've done! You'll see—you'll all—"

The pain spiked white-hot, swallowing the rest of my words.

My last scream tore through the mansion as darkness surged up to meet me.

And then, nothing.

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