The small woven basket from Grandma Lira swayed gently in his left hand. Inside were six pieces of bread layered with Sin Pepper, still warm from when he left the shop that morning.
"Take this, kid," Grandma Lira had said, hugging him tightly.
"And remember, this world is cruel, but there is something even crueler: living without ever saying thank you."
Ren had only nodded then, his voice as flat as ever. But inside his chest, there was a strange, small throb—not the usual anger that triggered his magic, but something warm, like the "little fire" Nana used to tell him about in Cell 402.
He stepped forward. His small, bare feet touched the volcanic rock, still cold from last night's rain. Behind him, the voices of the village children waving goodbye slowly faded.
"Big Brother ! Don't forget to come back, okay?!" one of them shouted.
Ren did not look back. He only raised his hand slightly, letting Bungee Gum appear faintly at his fingertips—thin, elastic purple threads—before pulling them back. There was no fight. It was just an old habit to ensure everything was safe.
The journey north began. Sin Beach stretched long, a "tongue of sin" jutting into the sea like a monster licking the sky. Thick mist began to shroud the distant mountains, where dense rainforests and ancient temple ruins hid behind giant trees. Ren walked with a steady pace, counting his heartbeats like he used to in the tower: one, two, three… but this time, it wasn't to avoid guards. He counted to remind himself that he was free. This air didn't smell of rust or Ethernano crystal dust. It smelled… alive.
By midday, the sun reached its peak. Sweat dripped down Ren's forehead, but he offered a thin smile—the first smile he didn't even realize he was making.
"The sun… this is what Nana talked about," he whispered softly.
His pale skin began to redden from the heat, but it wasn't the painful heat of radiation in the mines. It was warm, like Nana's embrace from long ago. He took a bite of the bread; the spicy explosion of Sin Pepper erupted on his tongue, making the Ethernano in his body pulse stronger. The Bungee Gum in his palm manifested unbidden, stretching like shimmering purple rubber under the sunlight.
But the outside world never gives without a test.
That afternoon, the sky suddenly turned dark. Black clouds rolled in from the south, bringing fierce winds that sent ocean waves crashing violently against the shore. The first rain of Ren's free world fell heavily—not the cold crystal droplets that used to freeze his bones in the Tower of Heaven, but a warm rain that soaked everything in an instant. Water drenched his black hair, soaking his mother's scarf until the fairy bird emblem seemed almost alive, its wings appearing to flutter.
Ren jogged to find shelter.
"Bungee Gum: Elastic Propulsion."
A purple thread shot from the sole of his foot, sticking to the nearest rock, then pulling his body rapidly toward a large tree by the shore. The tree was old, its trunk thick like a tower support beam, its leaves lush and dark green. He huddled beneath it, breathless.
"A storm… this is the first storm," he whispered. His small hands hugged his knees, his black eyes watching the rain fall like a gray curtain.
But he was not alone.
Through the fog of rain, a small cry was heard.
"Moo… Moo! Where are you, Mama Goat?!"
The voice belonged to a little girl, perhaps nine years old. Her body was soaking wet, and her black-and-red Sin-style robe was torn at the knees. Her natural red hair clung to her face, tears mixing with the rain. On her neck, a small Atonement tattoo glowed a faint red—a sign she had just "sinned" out of fear. The girl walked with a limp, searching among the slippery rocks.
"Mama Goat… don't go… Grandma Lira will be angry if you go missing again!"
Ren recognized her. It was little Lira—Grandma Lira's granddaughter who had been playing at the shop yesterday. He stood up, his small frame shivering as the cold began to creep in. Old logic whispered in his head: Do not interfere. New variable. High risk. But Nana's words echoed louder: Don't let your brilliance freeze your heart.
Without realizing it, Ren reached out his right hand.
"Bungee Gum: Elastic Stretch."
A thin purple thread shot from his fingertips, transparent amidst the heavy rain. Its elastic properties were fully active—it stretched long like living rubber, weaving through the wet air before sticking gently to the girl's waist. Little Lira gasped, but not out of fear. The thread was warm, like an invisible hug.
"Eh?!" Lira cried out, her eyes widening. Her body was pulled slowly but surely toward the large tree. The rain no longer pelted her as hard; the Bungee Gum formed a sort of small elastic umbrella over her head, absorbing the water and bouncing it aside.
Ren retracted his hand, the gum contracting perfectly until little Lira stood right in front of him. The girl stared at him with wet, brown eyes.
"Big Brother … you? You're the one who helped Grandma yesterday!"
Ren nodded slowly. His voice was still flat, but there was an unusual tremor in it.
"You're… lost. Your mother goat. I heard you calling her."
Little Lira wiped her tears with a wet sleeve.
"Yes… Mama Goat ran away when the rain started. She's scared of thunder. I went to find her, but now I'm lost too. Oma said the rain in Sin can bring new sins if you aren't careful." She smiled weakly despite her teeth chattering from the cold.
"But… you pulled me with… what is that? Magic? Such a pretty purple color. Like living bubblegum!"
Ren froze. For a moment, he didn't know how to respond. Back in the tower, magic was a secret to be hidden. But here… this girl wasn't afraid. Instead, she laughed softly.
"This is… Bungee Gum," Ren answered quietly.
"My magic. It can stick, and it is very elastic."
Little Lira suddenly hugged him. A small, wet, but warm hug.
"Thank you… Big Brother ! If it wasn't for you, I'd be soaked and Mama Goat would be gone forever. You… you are so kind. Like an Absolver at the temple, but cooler!"
That word again. Thank you. Ren felt a tightness in his chest. It wasn't the tightness from when Nana used to cough. This was… a strange pulse. Warm. He returned the hug with stiff arms, Bungee Gum appearing faintly on the back of his hands, wrapping their embrace in the elastic gentleness he had created.
"I'm… not used to this," he murmured. "Where I come from, people don't say thank you. They just… survive."
The two of them sat under the tree, shoulders touching. The rain grew heavier, lightning flashed in the distance, but the sound of the ocean waves felt like a strange rhythm—not a threat, but a song. Little Lira talked on and on, her voice cheerful despite being wet.
"Grandma Lira said you came from a far-off place. She said your eyes look like a child born in darkness. But now you're in Sin! Here, we redeem our sins with laughter. Look, my tattoo glowed red because I was scared. But now… it's faded a bit. Because you helped me!"
Ren listened. He didn't count the girl's words like he used to. He simply felt them. Every one of Lira's small laughs was like a spark of fire in his chest.
"Your goat's name… is Mama Goat?" Ren asked, trying to smile—a thin, silly smile, the first one without a logical reason.
Little Lira laughed out loud. "Yes! Because she gives delicious milk and is always grumbling like Grandma. Let's find her together! Can you help again with that purple magic of yours?"
Ren nodded. The two of them stepped out from under the tree as the rain began to subside.
"Bungee Gum: Thread."
A thin thread stuck to a damp tree trunk, condensing a bit of Ethernano so Ren could launch himself higher, his eyes scanning the beach.
"Over there," he said, pointing toward a rocky crevice.
"I see a white shadow. Your mother goat is trapped in a crack."
Quickly, he used "Bungee Gum: Sticky Binding."
A sticky thread shot out, attaching to the horns of the frightened goat, then pulling gently without causing harm. Little Lira ran over, throwing her arms around the goat's neck.
"Mama Goat! You're safe! Big Brother saved you!"
The goat bleated softly, rubbing its head against Ren's arm. The boy smiled again—wider this time.
"No… I only… stretched my hand."
They took shelter in a small cave hidden in the coastal cliff as night fell. Little Lira lit a small fire with a pocket Lacrima she carried—a warm orange light dancing on the cave walls. They shared the bread from Ren's basket, the spicy flavor mixing with the scent of wet earth. Conversation flowed like the rain from earlier.
"Big Brother… where are you actually going?" little Lira asked while chewing.
Ren stared at the fire.
"I… am looking for the light. Nana said true light doesn't come from crystals. It comes from a fire that keeps burning in the middle of a storm. I didn't understand it then. But… today, I felt a little bit of it."
Little Lira leaned her head on Ren's shoulder.
"I know! That fire is like Oma's hug. Or like when we help people. You helped me today. So your fire must be burning very brightly right now."
Ren remained silent. But inside, something cracked—the ice of logic that once froze his heart was beginning to melt. As the night grew late, little Lira fell fast asleep, her head in Ren's lap. The mother goat huddled in the corner of the cave. Ren took out his mother's scarf, staring at the fairy bird emblem under the light of the small lacrima he had found in the cave.
Tears fell silently. Not the cries of a baby in the crystal ruins. These were warm tears. He touched the symbol with his small finger.
"Mother… Nana… is this what you meant? Not the Bungee Gum magic. Not the power to destroy. But… the warmth of a little girl's hug who says thank you. This pulse in my chest… it's not anger. It's… fire."
For the first time, Ren whispered to himself in the darkness of the cave, his voice quiet but full of resolve.
"I will keep walking. Through these little storms. Because now I know… true light is born when you give, even when you yourself are soaking wet."
Ren's Final Monologue:
I, Ren Chicle, was born from cries at the bottom of a crystal hell. I used to only count steps, count odds, and count lives as variables. But this storm… this warm rain wetting my skin for the first time… this little girl who hugged me without fear… the words 'thank you' that I never heard in the tower… it all makes the little fire in this chest ignite.
Nana, you were right. True light doesn't come from cold blue crystals. It doesn't come from a power that can stretch gum to infinity. It comes from a heart that is beginning to learn how to feel. I will carry this fire wherever my Bungee Gum takes me. Until I find the meaning of the fairy bird on this cloth. Until I know what true freedom is. And one day… I will return, not as a cold boy, but as Ren who can laugh in the middle of a storm.