Ren finally opened his eyes and drew in a deep breath. He wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious, but the dull ache that coursed through his body told him enough—it hadn't been a dream. The events from a week ago were real, and he was still far from fully recovered.
He turned his head to the side and let out a quiet sigh of relief when his eyes landed on his little sister, fast asleep on the bed beside his. She was curled up, clutching the small brown teddy bear their foster father had given her on her seventh birthday.
Ren was glad that his sister was safe, she was the only family he had left. He stared up at the ceiling, letting himself be lost in his thoughts. Now that both his parents were dead, he wondered what his next step would be. Would he have to go back to the orphanage with his sister?
"No… no, I can't go back there," he whispered, his voice barely audible.
He wanted to come up with a plan, to figure out what to do next—but exhaustion clung to him like a heavy blanket, clouding his mind.
He closed his eyes for just a moment.
But sleep took him before he could think of anything else.
——————
'It was a fact that their power was extraordinary. Even though we never fully measured the extent of their abilities, we knew that the power they wielded had the potential to be disastrous when wielded by an insane Viran. But who would have thought that one person could wield this much power, that a clash by just two of them could destroy an entire city. This is just insane.' Kevin thought, his eyes fixed on screen of his computer. It displayed the images of the recent disaster that befell district 6.
Kevin sighed as he picked up his phone that had been ringing on the side of the table.
"Hey Ange, what's new?"
"I just got word that the survivors from the incident a week ago are already awake. The little girl is mute but you should be able to get something from the boy" she replied.
"Okay, thanks a lot. I'll be heading over to see them in a bit. Get ready too, you'll be coming with me."
Kevin set his phone down on the table with a sigh, then turned his attention back to the remaining details on his computer screen.
"Does this mean that all Virans are capable of reaching this level of power?" he muttered. Adjusting his glasses, he stood up, took his coat and started heading for the door.
—————————-
KNOCK KNOCK
The door opened and two people walked into the hospital room.
The first was a man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties. He wore round glasses and had a sharply defined face, accented by a neatly trimmed mustache resting just above his upper lip. His long brown hair was tied back with a strip of black fabric that was barely visible. Dressed in a blue uniform, it was clear he was an officer.
Walking behind him was a beautiful woman with black hair tied in a ponytail. She wore a fitted black turtleneck and matching black trousers. As she entered the room, a frown quickly formed on her face.
"Woah, it's cold in here," she whispered, her eyes scanning the room.
She glanced at the air conditioner and her frown deepened when she saw that it wasn't even turned on.
The boy on the bed simply stared at her in silence, his expression unreadable. The little girl on the adjacent bed turned her back to them, clutching her bear tightly. It was clear she wasn't in the mood for visitors.
The man cleared his throat and took out an ID.
"Good day Ren, Anya. I'm officer Kevin and this is my assistant Ange. I'm just here to ask a few questions, i promise i won't take much of your time and i apologize for doing this while you are still recovering. Do you mind if i sit?"
Ren stared at him silently for a bit before nodding.
Kevin sat on the chair beside Ren and nodded to Ange who took out her pen, clicked it and rolled over a page of the small booklet in her hand.
"How are you by the way Ren?" Kevin asked, his tone genuinely concerned.
Ren stared at Kevin for a long moment without responding. The silence stretched, and Kevin couldn't help but notice the room growing colder. Strangely, the chill didn't unsettle him. Instead, it brought a strange sense of calm—like the quiet stillness one feels while sitting beside the ocean.
"Peaceful," Ren finally spoke. His voice calm and distant
Kevin glanced at Ange, who simply shrugged in response. Turning his attention back to Ren, he opened his mouth to speak—but before he could, Ren spoke again.
"Water, please ."
Kevin paused, then turned to look at Ange again.
"Could you please get him some water?"
Ange nodded then left the room. A minute later, she returned with a glass of water. Ren sat up grimacing. He took the glass, drank it down in one go, and handed the glass back to her
"Please, more water" he said softly.
Ange frowned, eyeing him for a moment before turning to leave again. But before she could take a step, Kevin stopped her.
"Bring it in a bigger jug this time. Looks like he needs more than a glass."
Ange didn't know why Kevin said that, but something in his tone made her listen. She glanced at Ren once more, then nodded and left the room.
When she returned with the jug, she began to pour it into the glass, but Kevin gently took the jug from her hands.
"It's fine," he said. He handed the jug directly to Ren.
Without hesitation, Ren lifted it and drank straight from it, finishing the entire jug in one go. He handed the empty jug back to Kevin.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
Kevin set the jug down on the table beside the bed. After a brief silence, he spoke again, his tone calm but serious.
"You and your sister are the only survivors of the Viran incident that happened last week. Can you tell us what happened—and how you survived?"
After a minute or so of silence, Ren finally spoke, his voice low and steady.
"It was Anya's birthday. My family and I were at the park. We were just about to head home when a strange man approached Mom. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but it looked like they were arguing.
"After a while… the man did something. I don't know what it was, I still can't explain it—but everything changed. The clouds suddenly turned dark, and it started to rain.
"At first, it just seemed odd. But then we realized—something was wrong with the rain. It was red. Thick.
"And when I looked up… I understood. The sky wasn't dark because of clouds. It was covered—shrouded in a veil.
A veil of blood."