Chapter 56: Teleporting into Trouble
[Ren POV]
After the briefing, I caught Jean before she could vanish back into the medbay and Luna before she could pretend she had somewhere else to be.
Jean looked at me, then at Luna.
Her face said she already knew this was not going to be a normal talk.
"Yeah," she said. "Sure."
Luna crossed her arms. "I was not done asking questions."
"I know." I grabbed Jean's wrist, then Luna's sleeve. "That is why both of you are coming."
"Wait, what are you doing?"
I teleported us to the canyon before Luna could finish complaining.
The dry heat hit first. Then the open air. Then Jean stumbled half a step and glared at me like she had already prepared a lecture and was only waiting for her stomach to settle.
Luna recovered faster, but her hand still went to her weapon.
She looked around the canyon, then back at me. "You really like kidnapping people."
"I prefer forced privacy."
"That is not better."
"It is shorter."
Jean rubbed her forehead. "Ren."
I froze for half a second.
She caught it.
Of course she caught it.
Jean's eyes narrowed, but there was no panic there. No fear. Just that quiet healer focus she used when someone tried to lie about where the knife went.
"Yeah," she said softly. "I thought so."
I sighed. "You figured it out?"
Jean crossed her arms. "Your body is different. Your face is different. Your voice is close, but not the same. But the way you move, the way you talk, the way you act like teleporting people away from a hallway argument is normal? That is Ren."
Luna stood very still beside her. "So it is true."
I looked at her.
Her face had gone pale under the anger. Not weak. Just hit too hard and trying not to show it.
"You are Ren," she said.
I held her gaze. "Yes."
The word sat there between us.
Jean exhaled slowly. Luna did not move.
Then Luna's face cracked.
Not completely. Just enough.
"So you are really alive."
"I am."
Her eyes shone, and that made my shoulders tense. I did not want her crying. Anger I could handle. Crying made the whole thing messy.
Jean stepped closer to Luna. "Luna."
Luna wiped at her face with the heel of her hand, angry at the tears before they even fell. "I thought you were dead."
"Most people did."
"That is all you have to say?"
"What do you want me to say?"
"I do not know," she snapped. "Something. Anything."
I looked away first.
That annoyed me.
Jean's voice sharpened. "Ren."
"Don't."
"You cannot just drop this and then act like she is wrong for reacting."
I turned back to Luna. "You disappeared."
Luna flinched.
"I know what you said before," I continued. "I know Riley threw you away. I know messages got blocked. I know it was not simple. But from my side, you were gone. No letter. No warning. Nothing."
Luna swallowed hard. "I tried."
"I know."
"Do you?"
"I am trying to."
That stopped her for a second.
Jean looked over my horns, my eyes, and the patches of scale near my face. Her jaw tightened.
"Was this your choice?" she asked.
"No."
Luna's expression changed.
Jean's hands curled at her sides. "They changed you without asking?"
"They did."
"That is not okay."
"I know."
"Ren."
"I know," I said, sharper this time. "It was not right. It happened anyway. And somehow, it worked out. I have a family now. I have siblings. I have a mother who actually acts like one. I am not defending the method, but I am not throwing away the result either."
Jean opened her mouth, then closed it.
She was angry. Not at me. That made it worse.
Luna stared at me like she did not know where to put all of it.
"You are not human anymore," she said quietly.
"No."
"What are you?"
"Half-demon."
Jean watched me for a second too long, like she knew I had cut that answer short.
I rubbed my face. "Look, I did not bring you here for a full medical report. Jean figured me out. Luna was already halfway there because apparently I talk too much when I am angry. So yes. I am Ren. I am alive. I am not human. I am not going back to the Bell family, and I am not asking either of you to pretend this is normal."
Jean looked at me for a long moment.
Then she walked forward and punched me in the shoulder.
Hard.
"Ow."
"That is for making me think you were dead."
"Fair."
She punched me again.
"Ow. What was that one for?"
"For making me figure it out myself."
"That seems less fair."
"It is not a court."
Luna made a sound that might have been a laugh if it had not broken halfway through.
I looked at her.
She wiped her face again, then straightened. "I do not know what to say to you."
"Then don't. Not yet."
Her lips pressed together.
"We can start small," I said. "Friends, maybe. Or people who do not attack each other in hallways."
"You kidnapped me yesterday."
"You threw fire at me."
"You kidnapped me first."
"Details."
Jean sighed. "You two are related."
"Do not insult me."
Both of us said it at the same time.
Jean stared.
I hated everyone.
After a while, the anger thinned out enough for hunger to sneak in. Typical. My life could be falling apart with three different emotional fires burning around me, and my stomach would still ask whether there were dumplings nearby.
"I am getting food," I said.
Luna blinked. "Now?"
"Yes. Emotional trauma is easier with dumplings."
Jean's mouth twitched. "You have not changed."
"I got horns. That counts."
"Not what I meant."
"I know."
I reached for a place near Kriti. A market I had passed during the base transport, or at least somewhere close enough to grab food without starting another international incident.
Space folded.
Then the air changed.
No salt. No dry canyon heat. No Human Realm military stink.
The sky above me burned darker, heavy with the red-gold glow of the Demon Realm. Towers rose in the distance, all black stone, steel bridges, and lines of rune-light crawling through the city like veins. The air tasted warmer, heavier, familiar in a way that punched me in the ribs.
I stared.
"No."
The word came out flat.
I turned once, slowly.
This was not Kriti. This was not the canyon. This was not even the Human Realm.
I had crossed worlds.
Without the Sazanami Gate.
"Oh, that is bad."
For a few seconds, I just stood there like an idiot.
Then someone shouted at me from a food stall.
"You buying or blocking the line?"
I looked at him.
He looked at me.
I looked at the steaming trays behind him.
"Well," I muttered, "I am already here."
Five minutes later, I had two bags full of food and a growing headache.
The shadow at my feet twisted.
Lina stepped out of it, then stopped.
She stared at me.
I stared back.
For once, Lina looked genuinely confused.
"Ren?"
"Hi."
She looked past me at the Demon Realm street, then at the food bags, then back at me. "Why are you here?"
"I wanted lunch."
"That does not answer the question."
"It answers one question."
"Ren."
"I accidentally teleported here."
Lina went very still.
Not scared. Lina did not scare easily. But the kind of stillness that meant every thought in her head had lined up and drawn knives.
"You crossed from the Human Realm to the Demon Realm by yourself?"
"Yes."
"Without the Sazanami Gate?"
"Yes."
"On purpose?"
"No."
Her eyes narrowed. "You aimed for Kriti."
"I aimed for food."
"That is worse."
"I got food."
"Ren."
"What? I was already here."
She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I felt the shadow link pull wrong. For a moment, I thought someone dragged you across realms."
"No one dragged me. Unless dumplings count."
"They do not."
"Shame."
Lina stepped closer and touched my shoulder, looking me over with sharp eyes. "Any pain?"
"No."
"Dizziness?"
"No."
"Soul Power strain?"
"A little."
"How much is a little?"
"The kind of little where Jean will make me sit down if she notices."
"She should."
"Traitor."
Lina ignored that. "This must be reported to Uwe and Leah."
"After lunch."
"Ren."
"There are two emotionally unstable women waiting in a canyon, and one of them is a healer. If I go back without food, the lecture gets worse."
"That is not how priorities work."
"It is how mine work."
Lina sighed. "You crossed realms by accident."
"I noticed."
"You understand how serious that is?"
"Yes."
"Do you?"
I looked away.
The Demon Realm city moved around us like nothing strange had happened. People walked past. A cart rattled over stone. Somewhere nearby, someone argued over prices. Normal life. Meanwhile, I had just stepped across the line between worlds because my stomach wanted lunch.
"Yeah," I said. "I do."
Lina's voice softened slightly. "This means your Soul Power is adapting faster than expected. Maybe faster than Leah thought."
"Lovely."
"Do not keep doing it just to test yourself."
"I was not planning to."
"Good."
"I might accidentally do it again."
"That is why we report it."
"After lunch."
Her mouth flattened.
I lifted the bags. "Do you want some?"
"No."
"That sounded like yes with discipline."
"It was no."
"Your loss."
Lina stared at me for another second, then shook her head. "Go back carefully. Aim for the canyon. Not the feeling of food. Not the people. The place."
"I know how teleporting works."
"You just crossed realms by accident while looking for dumplings."
"Point taken."
She stepped back into my shadow. "I will tell Uwe you are alive."
"Tell him I am also fed."
"I will not."
"Coward."
Her voice came from the shadow, dry as old paper. "Go back before I drag you."
"Love you too."
I focused on the canyon this time. Dry heat. Rock under boots. Jean's healer stare. Luna looking like she wanted answers and a weapon at the same time.
Space folded.
I landed back in the canyon hard enough that dust kicked around my boots.
Jean was already standing.
"Ren?"
I lifted the bags. "Food."
Luna stared at me. "Where did you go?"
"Wrong market."
Jean's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"
"It means I got food."
"That is not an answer."
"It is the answer with dumplings."
She looked me over. Healer eyes. Annoying eyes.
"You look strained."
"I teleported twice."
"You have done worse."
"Still strained."
Jean did not look convinced. "Sit down."
"I am fine."
"Sit."
I sat.
Not because she ordered me.
Because the rock was there.
Luna watched the whole exchange, her expression unreadable.
Jean knelt in front of me and checked my pulse like she had done a thousand times before. Her hand paused.
I saw it.
She felt the difference. Not human anymore. Not the same body. Same habit, wrong skin.
Her face tightened, but she kept working.
That hurt in a quiet way.
After a few minutes, Jean finally let go of my wrist.
"No major issue," she said. "You are reckless."
"That was not medical."
"It was accurate."
"Rude."
"You keep saying that when people tell you the truth."
"I know."
Luna looked at the food bags. "You still got food."
"Yes."
"You vanished, came back looking annoyed, and still brought lunch."
"I said I was getting food."
Jean closed her eyes for a second. "Of course you did."
I opened one of the bags and handed Luna a box.
"Eat."
She took it. "You are bossy."
"Yes."
Jean accepted hers with a tired look. "Some things really did not change."
"Rude again."
We ate in silence for a little while.
Not comfortable silence. More like everyone had too much to say and no one wanted to start the next explosion.
Jean started anyway, because of course she did.
"Luna," she said softly, "maybe you should tell her the rest."
Luna looked down at her food.
"I already told her some."
"Tell me properly," I said.
Luna took a slow breath. "Riley caught me with a girl from my academy program. She sent me to Europe and cut me off. I tried to contact you. At first through family channels, then military ones after you enlisted. Nothing worked."
"Owen?"
"Everything had to go through him or Riley. You were in a restricted unit. No direct contact, no normal posting, no public line. People knew you existed, but reaching you was another matter."
I stared at my food.
That was news to me.
Jean's expression tightened. "I knew parts of your file were locked, but not that badly."
"Of course they were."
Luna's voice went quieter. "I should have tried harder."
"Yes."
Jean looked at me. "Ren."
"What? She should have."
Luna flinched, but she nodded. "I know."
I put my food aside. "But trying harder does not mean it would have worked."
Both of them looked at me.
I hated when people looked at me like that.
"I am not forgiving everything in one conversation," I said. "Do not start smiling at me like I became emotionally healthy."
Jean's smile died before it fully formed.
Good.
"But," I continued, "I do not hate you the same way I did yesterday."
Luna's eyes lowered. "That is more than I expected."
"We can be friends. Start there."
"Friends," she repeated.
"I do not know you anymore. You do not know me. Sister is too much right now."
"I understand."
"Good."
Jean looked relieved enough that I pointed at her with my chopsticks.
"And you. Do not push it."
"I was not going to."
"You were thinking about it."
"I think about many things."
"Bad liar."
She smiled.
I looked away before that got too warm.
A few bites later, Jean glanced at me. "What is the Demon Realm like? I know I was there a month ago, but you did not show us around that much."
I shrugged. "Not that different in the ways people expect. Cities, politics, annoying nobles, better food in some places, worse animals in others. The wild areas are dangerous. Resources are better. People hit harder."
Luna raised an eyebrow. "That is your summary of another realm?"
"Yes."
Jean laughed softly. "Still terrible at explaining things."
"I explain important things."
"No, you threaten them until they become simple."
"That works."
Jean looked at me again, more carefully this time. "What happened to your warehouse?"
I poked at my food.
"My old one?"
"Yes."
"Two theories. It self-destructed, or Liny did something to it."
Jean's eyebrows rose. "Are you going to find out?"
"No."
"Ren."
"I moved on."
"It has only been..."
"Jean."
She stopped.
Good.
Luna looked between us. "Who is Liny?"
"Old problem," I said.
Jean gave me a look but did not push.
Smart.
Then she pulled out her phone.
"Since we are digging up old problems anyway," Jean said, "Luna, you should see this."
"What is it?"
"Old photo."
My instincts screamed.
"Jean."
She turned the screen toward Luna.
It was me.
Old me.
Human me.
Younger, smaller, glaring at the camera like I wanted to execute whoever had invented photography.
Luna stared.
Then her eyes widened.
"Holy shit."
"Exactly," Jean said, far too pleased with herself.
I reached for the phone. "Delete that."
"No."
"I will teleport it into the ocean."
"I have backups."
"Of course you do."
Luna kept staring at the picture. "That is not a glare. That is a declaration of war."
Jean nodded proudly. "Her old glare was terrifying."
"My new eyes are scarier," I muttered.
Jean looked at me over the phone. "No."
"What do you mean, no?"
"They are strange. Pretty, in a dangerous way. But the old glare had more murder."
Luna nodded slowly. "I hate that I agree."
I stared at both of them.
"You two are already becoming a problem."
Jean smiled. Luna looked down, but there was a small smile there too.
That was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Jean tucked her phone away and stood. "We should spar."
I blinked. "What?"
"Spar. Two against one. No teleporting."
I looked around the canyon, then down at my empty hands.
"You do realize none of us brought gear, right?"
Jean paused.
Luna looked at her.
Jean sighed. "Fine. We go back first."
"Look at that. Planning. Growth."
"Do not make me regret suggesting this."
"Too late."
Luna tilted her head. "Why no teleporting?"
Jean answered before I could. "Because if she teleports, the fight is over before it starts."
"That is not true."
Jean stared at me.
I sighed. "Fine. Mostly true."
Luna looked at Jean. "You fought with her before?"
"Not like this," Jean said. "But I saw enough."
"She used to use daggers," Jean added, looking back at me. "Two of them."
"I upgraded."
"To swords?"
"To several swords."
Luna frowned. "Several?"
I smiled.
Jean narrowed her eyes. "That is not a good smile."
"It is a great smile."
"No. That is the smile you had before doing something stupid in training."
"Then let's go get our gear and find out."
Jean looked at Luna.
Luna looked back.
Something passed between them. Not words. Not yet.
But enough.
I grabbed both of them before they could overthink it and reached for Kriti.
The canyon folded away.
Engines, boots on concrete, distant orders, and salt air hit us all at once as we appeared near the barracks.
The Human Realm remembered it was a military base and immediately became annoying again.
Jean adjusted her coat. "You could warn people before doing that."
"I did. Yesterday."
"That does not count."
"It counts a little."
Luna looked toward the training field, then back at me.
Her face was still a mess of questions, but now there was something steadier under it.
Good.
Questions could wait.
Gear first.
Trouble after.