A dream of the past

Ren Claude was the only child of his family and was an introverted boy, who had difficulty talking to others. He went to school normally, and tried his very best to fit in... But what he received from trying his best was ridicule, his classmates bully him because of his introverted nature, thinking he was fun to pick on because he never fought back. His other classmates would just watch as he is spit on, and kicked by the bullies.

His parents have complained a bunch of times, but every time they did so, the bullying simply got worse. Ren was now scared of going to school, he didn't want to leave his room. That was when he found online games, anime, and manga. A world where he who was a coward, who could not talk to anyone but his parents was able to be someone that could do anything. He could be a vampire hunter, he could go to outer space to kill aliens, he could be a hero of light to beat the demon lord. Video games, anime, and manga gave Ren a world where he felt he could belong.

Ren's character slowly changed as he found himself experiencing different worlds, he became somehow braver. After a period of time, Ren finally found the confidence to move forward. His parents especially his mother was delighted to see Ren come out of his room, after months of not coming out.

When Ren came back for the next school year, he was still an introvert, but when the bullies attacked him something else happened. Ren who watched a bunch of anime, and absorbing what he saw, had somehow became a bit violent. So when the bullies tried to hurt him, he fought back, which had him suspended.

His parents didn't know what to do anymore, so they tried homeschooling Ren. Turns out Ren was easy to teach and he understood the lessons quite quickly, even with his gaming addiction, he was still able to pass his G.E.D and got his diploma.

That was the point when things turn for the worse, his parents wanted him to do something in his life, aside from gaming and watching anime. Still Ren had an irritation of the outside world, more specifically on other humans.

The worlds inside his games, his novels, his anime where worlds that made him the hero of the story. It was a world that was somehow more fair to him than the real world.

With his unwillingness to go outside and experience life, his parents felt disheartened. Ren's mother would always talk to him, about her own wonderful experiences, like when she got her first job, when she met his father, how she spent her youthful days like one of those characters in Ren's anime.

Ren explained to his mother he could experience all that, within his room playing his games. He didn't like going outside as he couldn't understand other people. If he loses too much the people will think his a pushover, and if he wins too much he gets scolded and shunned by others.

When his mother heard Ren's reason as to why he didn't want to go outside, she started crying. She beg her son for forgiveness, for not being able to raise him properly. When Ren's father heard his wife crying and asking Ren for forgiveness, he punched Ren's face and started shouting.

"How dare you make your mother cry! You unfilial son, you even made her ask for forgiveness! Why don't you kneel down and ask us for forgiveness! We raised you up, we fed you, sheltered you, and only hope for the best for you! Not only do you do nothing to repay us, but you actually made your mother cry!"

When Ren's father was about to hit him again, his mother tried to shield him. Ren's father realizing that he was about to hit his wife tried to stop his punch, but was unable to. The punch hit Ren's frail mother on her head, making her stagger and trip on the wires in Ren's room, losing her balance she tripped and hit the back of her head.

When his mother's head started bleeding, he heard his father screaming at him to call an ambulance.

Ren was confused and couldn't react on time, Ren then noticed that the surroundings got darker, he looked around and saw nothing but darkness. His father's voice started echoing in his head.

"Because of you, your mother never wakes, she sleeps in pain because of you."

His father's face suddenly appeared in front of him and shouted.

"Because of you..."

"RAGNA!"

Ragna was jolted awake, he saw Elise and Reki looking at him worriedly. He was cover in his own sweat. His breathing was heavy, he felt an extreme sadness attack him, he wanted to cry, but before he could do so he heard Elise's voice.

"Are you ok Big brother Ragna?" Ragna looked at the worried Elise. When he saw Elise's anxiety as well as Reki's, Ragna finally snapped out of his nightmare.

Ragna started stabilizing his breathing before answering Elise. "Yeah I'm ok it was only a dream... No it was simply a nightmare nothing more."

This was the first time the girls saw Ragna so weak. What kind of nightmare could make such a monster sweat in fear?

Elise and Reki hugged the shaking Ragna, and softly said "it's alright, we're here with you." When Ragna heard there voices he felt warm, it was the same warmth his mother had given him. Ragna wanted to cry even more now, but before he could do so, a familiar ring sounded in his head.

'Ding' "System upgrade completed."