Ruby exploded when Ren was stabbed, which might’ve been a nice sentiment, had she not quite literally exploded.

Merigold flames exploded out of her very skin, leaping out like an animal let out of its cage. The man above her immediately jumped off her, vaulting almost three meters in the air, but he was too slow. The dancing flames caught his robes, licking at his feet.

Ruby, now freed, slowly pushed herself up to her feet, standing like a girl possessed. Her head and shoulders hung like the weight was all too much, their burden too heavy to carry. An inferno blazed around her, the flames stretching their flowing arms up to the sky. Her short hair fluttered gently within the flames, utterly unbothered by the extreme heat that was radiating off of her. Neither were her clothes, for that matter.

The world stilled for a moment as the people gathered watched Ruby, who stood so unmoving within her cradle of flames she might’ve been dead.

That stillness shattered like a mirror when Ruby finally moved. With no warning, she fell forward slightly before catching herself with her foot. The second her foot touched the ground, she simply vanished, disappearing before the eyes of everyone present, her enormous inferno vanishing with her.

She reappeared an instant later, above the man with his sword inside of Ren. With a flaming fist raining down on the man, flames streaking off her body everywhere else, and blank eyes nothing more than glowing pits of fire, she seemed at that moment a true demon. A being of flames, risen from the pits of hell.

The man, to his credit, reacted without a shred of fear. The sword buried in Ren dissolved into smoke that raced all the way across his body and reformed at his other hand. The man swung the sword and met Ruby’s fist with a thundering clash, the shockwave generated flattening the grass around them.

Amazingly, the sword of smoke did not waver under the force and maintained its shape, though the amount of smoke flowing out of it increased noticeably.

Eventually, Ruby backed off, propelling herself off the man’s sword into a graceful backflip, before landing into a low crouch. The entire time the flames on her did not die down in the least, leaving a streak of bright orange behind every time she moved.

Despite having been repelled on her first attack, Ruby was undeterred. She burst forward again, raining fists on the man. Still, the man was unperturbed, his gray sword flashing to meet every streak of orange that came at him.

Ruby’s fierce assault, though not managing to inflict any damage on the man, did have a positive effect for the mages of the Grand Order. Forced back by the unending barrage of attacks, the man’s control of the bugs slipped, and the mages were not so amateurish as to fail to take advantage of that.

They immediately began a fierce assault on the bugs, doubling their efforts. The bugs, having lost their coherence, fell to the same traps as before. Despite their overwhelming physical advantages, without a leader, they were easily split up and mobbed to death, one by one.

On Ruby’s side, despite her sudden burst of strength, the man’s skill with his blade was still a wall too steep for her to climb. Not to mention, in her state, Ruby attacked more like a wild beast than a human. Her moves lacked grace and elegance, but each attack carried a lethality that most humans could not emulate. Her every strike aimed to kill, with no tactic or greater plan in mind.

So, despite his skill, the man was helpless to do anything but defend, locking the two in a stalemate. The rest of the gray-robed men simply watched on, unsure of what to do. They knew they could not get involved in the fight now, for fear of their own lives.

So, instead, they simply held down their respective captives, waiting to see how the situation would unfold.

Fifteen minutes or so later, however, the situation had not changed much. Ruby and the man remained locked in their stalemate, although Ruby’s moves had begun to slow down slightly as time passed. Orange and gray flashes met each other continuously, creating booms as they did.

The only progress that was made was on the side of the Grand Order mages. Slowly but surely, they were chipping away at the bugs’ numbers, and getting faster with every monster they took down. From a starting point of a bit over twenty of the abominations, they had whittled their way down to just under ten in fifteen minutes.

The person in the worst condition, however, was Ren. He lay unmoving in a pool of his own blood, pressed down still by the gray-robed man. The color on his face had been stolen by the hole in his chest, painting the dead grass underneath him instead. He breathed still, but barely, in shallow gulps. His half-open, glossy eyes held within them a fading, dim light; the look of a man gazing upon the dark doors of death.

Another five minutes passed before things finally changed. Ruby, with her exponentially slowing moves, slipped up, and it cost her dearly. The man, not one to waste such an advantage, slipped in a kick right to her gut.

Ruby flew like a kite with its strings cut, rocketing towards the wall that she and Ren had been captured behind. Like a meteorite, she drew a long streak of orange that crossed the field at breakneck speed before crashing through the wall in an explosion of dust and crumbling brick.

Finally done with her, the man breathed out a tired sigh, letting the smoke of his blade dissipate into the air.

Unfortunately for him, he did not have the luxury of taking a break. The last of the bugs had just died, and the mages did not pause to celebrate their victory. All seventeen mages immediately rushed over from their side of the field, with ten heading over to the leader and the rest going for the hostages.

The leader, realizing what they were doing, yelled out at the mages right away. “Don’t move! Or else we’ll kill-”

But it was too late. The Grand Order mages shot out beams of light from their staffs, forcing the gray-robed men to abandon their positions and dodge.

Seeing that he had lost his hostages, the man fled backward as well, the rest of his men gathering behind him.

The mages arrived in their place, protecting the hostages. Anabella was the one to arrive at Ren’s spot, immediately dropping to her knees and hovering her hands over the gaping wound in his chest.

Closing her eyes, she sat still for a moment, a soft golden glow appearing on her palms. The gentle light shone on Ren’s wound, and miraculously, the wound began to close on its own. The flesh began to regrow, as both sides of the hole expanded closer until they finally met in the middle. Within a minute, all that remained of the fatal wound was a patch of fresh, smooth skin.

Still, Ren did not regain his vitality, remaining motionless on the ground.

As the mages and the gray-robed men faced each other, their hostility plain to see on their faces, the leader of the mages approached Anabella.

“How is he?” he asked, without taking his eyes off the men.

Anabella looked up at her leader, surprise flashing across her face as if she hadn’t expected him to ask. “I’ve stabilized him, but he’s lost a lot of blood. It’s gonna take some time for him to recover his strength.”

“Can you speed it up?” the man asked.

“Yes, but-”

“Ok, then I want you to stay here and try to get him back to normal as fast as possible,” the man ordered.

“But, Leader, wouldn’t I be more useful fighting the Monarch’s men?” Anabella argued.

Finally, the man looked down at her. “Trust me, Ana. I have a hunch on this one.”

Anabella looked down, silent for a moment before nodding. “Fine,” she grumbled.

The man smiled kindly at her before looking back up. “Jess, go back to the ship and ask for the Mother Saintess. I want to know what’s wrong with him,” the man said, pointing at another woman.

Anabella jerked her head back up, clear surprise coloring her face. A sentiment shared by all the mages, including the one ordered.

The man smiled in the face of his squad’s shock. “Like I said, guys. Trust me on this one.”

Jess, a girl no older than twenty, with raven black hair tied up in a high ponytail, finally nodded, about to leave, when the man added on to his command. “Oh, and take the family up too,” he said, referring to the family of three that currently sat huddled up and crying. “The woman needs some attention.”

Jess nodded again and walked over to the family, a big puff of smoke descending on the four of them. When it dispersed, all of them had vanished.

With her gone and Anabella continuing to shine her light on Ren, the man finally faced the gray-robed men again.

“You’ve lost, dog of the Monarch. If you want to keep your rotten life, I’d suggest you tuck your tail between your legs and run,” he said to the leader, a vicious smile on his face.

The leader smiled back at him. “You idiot. You should’ve attacked us when you had the chance, instead of wasting your time on that half-dead boy and the family.” As he spoke, a dozen gray puffs of smoke appeared behind him, and out of them stepped twelve more gray-robed men, with the same red tridents drawn on their faces.

The Grand Order mages tensed as they saw the reinforcements. With them, they made for a total of eighteen, one more than them. And with the levels of strength so close, even one extra person made a world of difference.

As the tension reached its peak, the two leaders of each side eyed each other, watching for the first move. However, neither of them would be the ones to start the fight.

Instead, an orange comet that flew towards the gray-robed leader was what started it. Ruby suddenly appeared above the man, a blazing streak following her. In her hands she clutched her pole, raised above her head as she prepared to strike downwards.

Given less than a second to react, the man instantly summoned his smoke sword and blocked.

The two met with a deafening crash far stronger than their initial one. The shockwave ripped the grass around them out of the ground, sending it fluttering up violently. Wind buffeted the clothes of everyone present, even pushing a few of the weaker ones back.

This time, it was the gray-robed man who lost the confrontation. His hastily built sword was not powerful enough to handle the force, and within a minute it exploded into smoke. The flaming rod sailed right past it, crashing into the man’s face with Ruby’s entire weight behind it. The man was pushed to the ground, hitting the dirt so hard he sank in a little, creating a small crater around him and sending up a cloud of dirt.

When the dust settled, the people saw the leader of the gray-robed men lying almost unconscious in the ground, and a flaming girl with a pole standing above him. She stared down at the man with the same, glowing orange eyes that leaked fire, and not a hint of sanity on her face.

For a moment, the world was silent, save for the blowing winds. The one to break the silence was the leader of the Grand Order mages. With a loud guffaw, the man pointed forward and smiled wide. “Disciples, let's teach these dogs some manners!” he ordered, charging forward.

The gray-robed men, despite seeing their leader taken out so early in the fight, still feared the consequences of retreating over staying and fighting, so they steeled themselves and pushed forward as well.

While golden light and orange flame clashed with gray smoke, Anabella sat back and kept her hands above Ren, continuously shining him with her light. Her focus, however, was entirely on the battlefield, a longing in her eyes as she watched her fellow disciples fight against the forces of evil, as she had always wanted to do. As she had been trained to do.

Not long after the fight began, two puffs of smoke appeared beside Anabella. Out of the first stepped Jess, breathing hard as if she had run a lot. Wordlessly, she immediately leaped into the battle, without even so much as a glance towards Anabella.

Out of the second stepped an elderly woman, with a face marred with age and eyes glinted with wisdom. Her hair hung loose, each strand a pristine white that fluttered in the passing wind. She had a kind smile on her face, her wrinkles curling around it. She was wrapped up in robes similar to the rest of the mages, but on her chest was a blue crest, depicting a pair of wings with a wooden staff in the center.

She walked over slowly to where Ren lay. “Is this the boy?” she asked, her aged voice rough yet gentle.

Anabella dared not look the old woman in the eyes, keeping her head bent as she responded as respectfully as possible. “Yes, Mother Saintess.”

The old woman smiled. “You’ve done a good job healing him, child. The future of the Wings of Astros is safe in the hands of children like you.”

Anabella beamed at the praise, her face almost visibly lighting up. “Thank you, Mother Saintess.” Still, out of respect, she only looked up partially, not daring to meet the woman's eyes.

“Now, call that Leonard here. I wonder what could be so important it warranted bringing my old bones down here personally,” the old woman said, looking up at the battlefield.

However, her orders were unnecessary. The second she stopped speaking, Leonard, the leader of the mages, jumped away from the battlefield and landed before the old woman. He immediately dropped to a knee, his head similarly bent downwards. “This humble Head Disciple greets the Mother Saintess.”

The old woman smiled at Leonard, an approving look in her eyes. “Now, tell me, child. What have you called me down here for? Do I need to remind you that using our relationship for your own needs is forbidden? Your father will be quite disappointed if he hears of this.”

Leonard kept his head down as the woman spoke, waiting until she was finished to defend himself. “I promise, Mother Saintess, I called for you today not as your grandchild, but as a Head Disciple.”

The old woman raised an eyebrow. “Really? This boy is such a special case that the very Headmaster of the Wings of Astros had to come take a look?” Despite the questioning words, the woman still sounded like she was having fun.

“I do not know exactly that none of the lower members of the Wings of Astros could have handled it. However, I do know that I have never seen nor even heard of a case such as this boy, and I thought that it would be best for the most masterful healer I know to handle it.”

“Hmm,” the woman said. “And what is it that troubles you about this boy?” she asked, looking at Ren.

Leonard took in a breath. “I want to know why he can’t use Flux.”

Anabella looked up at that. “What do you mean? His Flux Core isn’t sealed, I would be able to tell if it was. And we know he’s a mage, we saw him fight that Wolfman.”

Leonard nodded. “Exactly. We know that he’s a mage, or that he was one, at least. But he cannot interact with Flux. He doesn’t absorb Flux from the surroundings subconsciously, and he didn’t Revive to save his life either.”

Anabella shook her head. “Well, maybe he just didn’t have the courage to Revive. If he can’t use Flux, how can you explain how he’s able to fight?”

“The only explanation is that he must’ve toughened up his body so much during the period when he could use Flux, that even cut off from it, the raw strength of his body carried him through. And a person like that? There is simply no way someone like that can’t Revive to save his life.”

Anabella looked down at Ren again, in thought. The old woman got down to her knees, taking a seat right next to Anabella. “Hmm,” she said again, surveying Ren’s body. “You’re right. This boy has been cut off from Flux – his body cannot interact with it at all. But strangely enough, the girl is right, too. His Flux Core has not been sealed.” She paused for a moment, lost in thought. “I must say, I don’t think I have ever heard of a case as peculiar as this before, either. Here, let me see.” The old lady moved her hands, resting her gnarled fingers on Ren’s back.

“I knew it couldn’t have been a sealed Flux Core because this planet, at best, would be a Primitive Grade planet. Considering they’ve only had access to Flux for just over a hundred years, there’s no way they could have figured out the method of sealing a Core,” Leonard added as the old woman closed her eyes and focused.

A few minutes passed before the woman finally opened her eyes again. “This is truly curious. How could such a primitive planet come up with a method of blocking a body’s ability to absorb Flux in a way that can’t even be detected by me?” Despite her words, she spoke without a trace of pride or arrogance, as if her competence was a proven fact that needed no gloating.

“Because,” came a gravelly, rough voice from under them, “you underestimate the cruelty of the people on this ‘primitive planet.’”

The three gathered looked down in surprise. With a rough groan, Ren rolled over onto his back, his eyes propped open slightly.

“What do you mean?” Anabella asked.

Ren didn’t respond, but the old woman quickly realized what it meant.

“Oh,” she said, her voice quiet. “Oh, oh no.” Her voice became haunted, disbelieving. “Oh no. You poor...did they…”

Ren didn’t respond, only closing his eyes and smiling softly.

“What?” Anabella asked. “What happened, Mother Saintess?”

The old woman didn’t respond, quietly looking at Ren with eyes choked with pain. She placed her hands on Ren’s arm, closing her eyes once again.

“Can…can you fix it?” Ren asked quietly.

“Yes, but it won’t be quick. It’ll take a few days, at least,” the woman answered softly.

Both Anabella and Leonard looked up in surprise at that. “Really, Mother Saintess? Even at your level?” Leonard asked what Anabella dared not to.

“A few days to do it painlessly, right?” Ren cut in before the woman could answer. “I don’t care about the pain. Just do it right now.”

The woman shook her head. “It doesn’t work like that. I can’t just forcefully fix you right now by causing you a lot of pain. However, I can fix you temporarily, and allow you to use Flux for just a little bit. But, it will cost you. The more you use Flux right now, the more painful it will be in the future.”

Ren smiled at that. “Sounds perfect. I just need strength long enough to teach those gray-robed dogs a well-deserved lesson.”

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll get the chance for that, kid,” Leonard began. “My men will take care of them long before-” Leonard stopped suddenly, realizing that he hadn’t been paying attention to the battlefield and that he could now sense the presence of more men on the field than when he’d left it. And knowing that his side hadn’t received backup, it could only mean one thing.

And indeed, the battle had shifted against the Ruby and the Grand Order mages. More and more reinforcements had begun arriving for the gray-robed men, and despite the Grand Order mages having a slight skill advantage, the numbers were stacked far too high against them.

Seeing the situation, Leonard chuckled awkwardly. “Never mind,” he said, his voice quiet.

The woman looked at Ren for a while in silence, considering, before heaving a sigh. “Very well, boy, if you wish to have the strength to fight, then I will not deny you that. But don’t come complaining to me when the pain is too much to handle for you later on.”

Ren grinned. “If there’s one thing I’m good at in this world, granny, it’s dealing with pain. Trust me, I can handle it.”

The two disciples present gasped at Ren’s nonchalant mentioning of the woman’s age, but the woman herself simply laughed it off. “Fine then, I will begin,” she said, placing her hands on Ren’s chest. A soft golden glow, much like Anabella’s, appeared at the fingertips of the old lady’s hands. “This will pinch a little.”

Ren didn’t respond, but very quickly his face scrunched up in pain. Still, he didn’t make a sound, and after almost a minute of nervous silence, the woman sighed and removed her hands. “There,” she said.

With a groan, Ren slowly sat up, staring at his hands as he did. “Wow,” he said, “you’re right. I can feel it. It’s…it really is Flux.”

As he spoke, a deep violet smoke began to rise off of his hands, like steam off a hot cup. Ren laughed as he felt the power flowing within his veins. “I never thought I’d feel this again,” he said with glee, his eyes betraying immense happiness.

But then, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned serious again and looked at Anabella. “You saved my life, right?”

Anabella smiled kindly at him – and for once, it was a genuine smile. “I was simply doing my duty as a disciple of the Wings of Astros,” she said.

Ren put a palm over his heart, his head dipping a little. “You have my gratitude. And I will repay my debt one day, on that I promise with my life.”

The three gathered looked at Ren, a newfound approving look shared by them, but Ren didn’t notice. His face had already reverted back to its usual relaxed state, sporting a wild grin. “Now then,” he said, pushing himself up to his feet. “Time to join the fun.”

But before he could move, Leonard stopped him again. “You may have gotten a power-up, but the Monarch’s men are no easy prey. Are you sure you can handle it?”

Ren grinned at the man. “You know what’s a funny little thing I’ve learned over the years?” he asked.

Leonard looked at him in confusion. “When you spend a long time dealing with pain,” Ren answered himself, “you end up getting really good at causing it, too.”

With that, Ren slipped past Leonard and happily made his way over to the busy battlefield, where the mages of the Grand Order barely held on.

The three watched, without much hope, as Ren entered the battle. After all, how long could one kid last in a battle between full-fledged mages? Especially a kid from a primitive planet such as Earth.

However, they quickly realized how wrong they were. They watched in wide-eyed shock and slight awe as the hooded boy dove into the crowd and instantly locked up two enemies in a fight.

They came for him first, thinking the boy would be easy prey, but Ren immediately flipped the script on them. Covered in a purple haze, he moved with ruthless efficiency, with speed so quick his enemies could barely react. His every attack carried a lethality, an intent to kill, that terrified his opponents. And rightfully so, as they would have lost their lives on multiple occasions had he held a blade instead of a dull walking stick. The two usually managed to just barely parry or dodge his attacks, but they were noticeably knocked off-kilter by his aggression. Ren attacked with the finesse of a trained killer, his every strike precise and calculated. His arms would blur with every attack, his body reaching speeds his opponents were not equipped to handle. Coupled with his expectational awareness of everything around him, the two gray-robed men were constantly forced on the back foot, despite their numerical advantage. And before long, one slipped up, letting through a jab straight to his throat. Hitting the man so hard he couldn’t breathe, Ren immediately turned to face the other, who had almost pierced his back with a spear of smoke. However, the gray-robed man was too slow, and his spear slipped just past Ren’s back as he turned. The two locked eyes and both instantly knew what the outcome of the battle would be. With his partner out, it only took three simple jabs before the second gray-robed man fell, clutching his broken ribs.

On the other side of the battle, Ruby did not lag behind. Although she was noticeably not as energetic as she had been when the fight had begun, she was still a terrifying opponent for the Monarch’s men. She attacked her opponent, whoever the unfortunate person happened to be, like a wild beast. She rained down thundering blows on her enemies, rattling their very bones. And she seemed to soak up any damage like a sponge, a spring that bounced back no matter how hard she was hit. She attacked in broad, powerful strokes that lacked Ren’s elegance, yet were no less effective than him.

“We may have been underestimating these Earthen, huh?” Leonard said, smiling as he watched the show.

Anabella shook her head. “Not really. The majority of them were pathetically weak. There were only eight that stood out somewhat, for having the courage to contend with the Monarch’s strongest. Out of eight billion of them. All others simply hid or died. These two are…exceptions.”

“Well, there’s no need to be so harsh, child," the old woman admonished. "The Earthens are mostly dead now, after all. But I do agree with you about these two. If you’d allow an old woman to speculate, I dare say those two are even fated to be grand warriors one day.”

“What makes you say that?” Leonard once again asked what Anabella could not. “I mean, I do not doubt your wisdom or experience, Mother Satintess, but it must be something more than their skill, right? They’re good for their age, yes, but they aren’t incredible.” After all, while fighting at the level of a disciple did take years of training, it was still the lowest rank of the Grand Order. And the gray-robed men were nothing but foot soldiers, cannon fodder tasked with unimportant objectives.

The old woman smiled. “In all my life, of all the powerful mages I have met, the best of the best have always shared three traits: a complete mastery over their own pain, an unflinching, unwavering resolve in the things they’ve deemed important, and a deep understanding of their own weakness. Those three traits, with a bit of luck and the right environment, will always produce a mage worthy of legends.”

Leonard and Anabella were silent, taking in the woman’s advice. The words of a person who had lived as long as the Mother Saintess were invaluable, and they were lucky to be privy to such a conversation. Under normal circumstances, even Leonard wouldn’t have the privilege of speaking with such an important figure for so long, let alone Anabella.

“And from what I’ve seen of those two, they’ve exhibited exemplary prowess in each of those departments,” the woman continued. “So I say, with a little luck and the right environment, those two will certainly become figures of great legend in the universe.” She smiled at the two sitting beside her, letting a little mischief onto her face. “And if that day ever comes, I’ll at least have two witnesses to say that I had called it from the start.”

“But grandm-Mother Saintess,” Leonard started, catching himself as the old lady fixed him with a stare. “How do you know they have those traits? You’ve only met one of them, and that was only for a little bit.”

The lady smiled at him, whispering in a confidential tone. “Because of the Planet Seal, Astros’ Threads are weak here. So it was quite easy to peer into the Truth of this world.”

Both Leonard and Anabella gasped loudly as they heard the woman, donning blank faces of shock. “But..but Mother Saintness…” Leonard began, before being silenced with a wave.

“What can I say, I was curious,” the woman said nonchalantly, chuckling. “And besides, if Astros wants to pick a fight over it, I’ll just have to remind it that I haven’t lost my edge, even if I’m old. I’ve faced its wrath before, I won’t cower before it.”

The two disciples present shook their heads in disbelief as they heard the woman. Few people in the universe could speak of Astros so lightly, but the Mother Saintess of the Grand Order of the Astros Theology was certainly one of them.

“Anyway, that’s enough from me. You should go help out your men, Leo. It’s not good for the leader of a squad to sit out a fight.”

Brought back to reality, Leonard quickly nodded. “Of course, Mother Saintess. I got too wrapped up being here.”

The old woman smiled kindly. “If you’re wondering why I don’t take care of the men for you, it’s because if I show my power on the planet, the Insect Monarch will instantly notice. And we can’t have the fight starting prematurely. The Archbishop has his plans, and they require time. Simply being on the planet is a risk, but it’s one I was willing to take. After all, a woman can only spend so long cooped up in a room.”

Leonard flushed as he realized that the woman had known precisely what he was thinking. “Of course, Mother Saintess,” he said, embarrassed. “I will go join the fight right away. Anabella, let’s go.”

With that, the two of them got up and, with one last bow to the woman, jumped into the battlefield.

The woman smiled as she watched them go, thinking. She knew that if she used her strength for offense, the Monarch would instantly notice. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t help. Although her strength was renowned across the universe, her forte was healing, after all.

And while the Monarch didn’t notice her help, the mages present certainly did. All of a sudden, any injury they sustained was instantly regenerated. Broken bones would set themselves back, and wounds would close up on their own.

Quickly realizing that they were being blessed by one of the top healers in the universe, the mages utterly abandoned their safety, attacking without a care for their lives. And no matter how desperately the gray-robed men, who now numbered over thirty, swung and stabbed, the mages of the Grand Order kept on undeterred. Like zombies, no injury would keep them down, not even a slit throat.

With such a blessing, it didn’t take long for gray-robed men to face utter defeat, despite their overwhelming numbers. And by the end of it, there was not a single scratch on anyone on the side of the Grand Order, much less any casualties.

The unconscious and dead men were quickly rounded up and teleported back up to their ship, but Ren and Ruby didn’t care for that. With the targets of her rage gone, Ruby's flames quickly died out around her and she instantly fell to the ground, knocked out cold. Ren, for his part, retained enough strength to walk back to the old woman, sporting a grimacing grin.

“Feeling the pain already?” the old woman asked, smiling.

Ren laughed in response. “Thanks, old lady. I...I appreciate what you did for me.” He paused, looking like he wanted to say more, but couldn’t find the words.

“Go to sleep boy,” the woman said as he stood there, mulling over his words. “There’s no need to say anything. Just go to sleep. Your body needs quite a lot of help.”

Ren smiled at the woman, a rare, genuine smile. “Yeah, sure.”

And with those words, his exhausted mind shut itself off, right then and there, letting Ren fall face-first onto the ground. He landed with a thud, already snoring.