Ren walked down the road, passing by each food spot they could find tasting each dish with.
By the end of it they looked… rather full, his stomach was practically protruding, the face was plump and he walked slower than usual.
'We should probably head home, I have to get up in the morning early.'
Ken did not seem to mind for he himself was tired, he didn't even come up with a retort.
Ren looked at the sky and saw the dazzling stars, the moon bright as day…
Before he knew it he was remembering last night and how much fun it was to eat all that delicous food for her was standing in the snowy forest as the sun started to raise.
"REN WAKE UP!"
'What is this idoit talking about… and why can't I hear his words, they seem sluggish even, wow this snow looks beautiful, I wonder how good it would feel to sleep here.'
"REN… P!"
"Re-"
"…"
Eventually Ren lowered himself to the snow, the voice of Ken was disappearing into the background, and now only his situation became visible to Ren, not because he was not looking at Ken but rather because his mind kept drifting off to the comfortable snow, the silhouette simply became background information that Ren's mind had thought should be there.
Ken did not try to move to Ren, neither did he interfere physically with Ren's sleeping body.
"Damn it, his mind is still too weak and tired for this… UGH I'm going to have to do THAT aren't I? No, there's multiple ways to stop or break through illusions, the mere fact that I still exist means that the illusion isn't meant to attack the soul, but rather the mind, whoever is doing it is trying to make him a hollow of sorts.
"Five minutes, that's the amount of time I have to find a way to break the illusion unless I want to use that."
Ken dashed deeper into the forest, ignoring the pelting snow, he ran to where the trees were thicker, where the snow was heavier, and above all else the main way he found the direction to the illusion was through knowledge and experience.
Every illusion is similar to another in some way or another, for if not then they would have different names. The main similarity between illusions that all the know skills in the world are that in order to be placed on someone, it requires a goal and time.
For if an illusion didn't have one or the other, illusions would be as easy to break as breathing. an illusion needed time to break the … or mind, and it needed a goal as the root of what the illusion would be about, this illusions goal was easy to find, it was to bring Ren into a familiar location where he would feel safer for it was the unknown that made people wary.
Thats why right in front of Ken's feet, was a hovering sphere of snow it was relatively small like a baseball, it was pristine white almost tantalizing, it would have been if not for the knowledge that ken new.
"Why does the most beautiful things have to be the deadliest…"
A memory popped up in his mind, it was a figure that stood in front of him in a grass meadow, all around them was people welding swords and sheilds, they seemed tense for a reason.
The memory was pushed down but not before leaving a bitter taste in Ken's mouth.
"I already knew it would happen but I believed I could change it… I wasn't able to."
With that he stepped on the sphere of snow, it crumbled rather easily, and with it came the destruction of the snowy forest.
There Ren's eyes opened wide, it was now the middle of night where he was laying on the ground.
"Ken what… just happened."
"Well its obvious idiot, your mind is so weak that it fell for such a simple… You truly are pathetic, can't run properly, can't flirt properly, cant think properly, and you can't even live properly.
Ren frowned, still trying to gather his thoughts as the cold night air pressed against his body. His mind felt sluggish, like it had just been dragged through something heavy and unfamiliar.
"What… was that?" he muttered, his voice quieter now, lacking the earlier confusion and replaced with unease.
Ken let out a small sigh, clearly annoyed, but his tone carried a hint of seriousness beneath it.
"It was an illusion," he said. "And a weak one at that. The fact that you nearly lost yourself to it just shows how unprepared you are. Illusions don't just appear randomly, especially not ones structured like that. Someone had to cast it, and that means someone was watching you, observing you closely enough to create something your mind would accept."
Ren slowly pushed himself up, his legs still unsteady. He glanced around, the quiet of the night suddenly feeling heavier than before.
"So someone targeted me…" he said, more to himself than to Ken.
Ken didn't deny it.
"Yes," he replied. "And not without reason. Illusionists don't waste effort unless they have a purpose. Whether it was to test you, lure you, or simply see how you react, I can't say for sure. But what I do know is that you made it far too easy."
Ren clenched his jaw slightly, frustration creeping in.
"Then what am I supposed to do if it happens again?" he asked.
Ken tilted his head slightly, his expression sharpening.
"You need to start paying attention," he said. "Your surroundings, your thoughts, your instincts—everything. Illusions prey on familiarity and comfort. The moment something feels too perfect or too aligned with what you want, you should question it. Don't accept anything at face value."
Ren let those words sink in as he looked down the empty road ahead. The silence of the village felt unnatural now, like something was missing from it.
"And the person casting it?" Ren asked after a moment. "How do I find them?"
Ken gave a faint, almost amused smile.
"No one is perfect," he said. "Even illusionists leave traces, whether they realize it or not. Movement where there shouldn't be any, inconsistencies in space, patterns that don't belong—things like that. You won't notice them if you keep drifting through everything like you have been."
Ren exhaled slowly, trying to steady himself. This time, when he began walking back toward the village, his steps were more deliberate.
He paid attention.
Every sound. Every shadow. Every shift in the wind.
At one point, something caught his attention—a faint movement near the edge of a building. His body reacted before his thoughts fully formed, and he quickly moved toward it, his pace picking up.
But when he turned the corner, he stopped.
There was nothing there.
Only a dead end, closed off by wooden walls and undisturbed snow.
Ren stood there for a moment, his breathing slightly uneven, before letting out a quiet breath.
Either he had imagined it… or whoever was watching him was already gone.
He didn't stay there long.
Turning back, he walked more quickly now, a subtle tension lingering in his body as he made his way through the village. By the time he reached his room, he shut the door behind him and leaned against it, letting out a slow breath. His eyes scanned the space carefully, checking for anything out of place.
Everything looked normal, But that didn't mean it was.
He moved to the bed and sat down, his thoughts still racing as he tried to process everything.
An illusionist. Someone watching him.
A world far more dangerous than he had assumed.
He tried to piece it together, to think through what it all meant, but his exhaustion began to take over. His body felt heavy, his mind slower with each passing second.
His thoughts became scattered, harder to hold onto.
And before he could fully process anything—
He collapsed back onto the bed and drifted into sleep.
"This lazy bum…"
And so the night continued to drift quietly in the small room, unaware to ren the world was already moving.