In front of him, the woman and man began to stir. Both groaned in unison, shifting under their ragged blankets before sitting up groggily.
The man scratched his head, yawning with a stretch that popped his shoulders.
"Damn, I slept like a rock," he mumbled—his voice oddly familiar, like an echo wrapped in static.
"No one asked," the woman shot back, her tone sharp and automatic. She waved a hand around her side, instinctively reaching for something that wasn't there.
Then they both froze.
A second later, they recoiled simultaneously, hands flying to their faces.
"Ugh—what the hell is that smell?!" the man gagged, eyes snapping open wide.
"Renji, did you fart again?" The woman called out, as if knowing Renji's name.
Renji stood stunned for a second, before taking a step back. He recognized their voices. Their personalities and responses.
It can't be. No way.
The man's eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight, and he let out a shriek. His body shot out of the stray bed, but just as Renji had, his foot slipped on the rough floor. He lost balance and fell face first on the ground with a grunt.
The woman gasped, clutching the ragged blanket to her chest.
"Stay back, creeps!" she shouted, eyes wide with panic.
Renji didn't move. His brain was already churning, gears spinning in overdrive.
The man was up again, patting his waist like he was reaching for a weapon.
A weapon?
"…Kairo?" Renji asked cautiously.
The man froze. His eyes snapped toward Renji, locking in.
No response—just a stunned stare.
He looked nothing like Kairo. Blonde, brittle hair. A face spotted with acne and red rashes.
But the posture. The instinct. The voice.
That was Kairo.
The girl was standing now too, tucked behind the straw bed, scanning the wooden walls like she was waiting to wake up from a nightmare.
"…Yuna?" Renji said, softly.
Her head whipped toward him. Their eyes met.
She swallowed once—then gave a small, shaky nod.
Kairo turned to Renji, fists clenched.
"Who are you? Where the hell are we?!"
Renji glanced around again. Small wooden walls. Barebones shack. The stench likely from a trash heap out back. Definitely not the capital. Definitely not luxury.
Through the cracks in the wood, he could just make out the outside—dusty roads, littered toys, barefoot kids wandering around in rags.
The slums.
"Answer me dammit!" Kairo barked, his voice raw. He spun toward the girl. "You! Say something! Who are you?!"
Yuna sighed, gathering herself.
"From that overly dramatic reaction… you've gotta be—"
"Kairo," Renji cut in.
He looked him dead in the eye.
"…It's you, isn't it?"
Kairo froze again. His hands shot toward his head, clutching his hair in frustration. "Yes! It's me—But it can't be me!"
Renji let out a deep sigh and examined his own body. He was wearing a faded, rough linen robe with several holes through the torso area and waist. His arms were significantly smaller, and he couldn't sense any magic.
Yuna too, looked completely different. Her golden ratio of proportions was gone, replaced by a significantly smaller cleavage and a wider waist. Her face was average at best, but it was definitely the best out of the three.
Renji nodded in understanding and looked up from his calculating gaze. "Alright. I think… I get it."
Kairo raised his arms to shoulder level, gesturing him to continue. "Get what?" He asked, still panicking.
Yuna nodded, as if already catching on. "I see. That's what's up? But… why?"
Renji just shook his head. "I'm not sure. Maybe the work of the Cultists."
Kairo let out a frustrated groan. "What the hell are you two bozos ranting about?! Tell me already!"
Yuna rolled her eyes. "Well, you're definitely Kairo, if you still can't figure it out."
"So tell me then!"
Renji let out a sigh. "It seems that… we've changed bodies." He declared bluntly. "Or atleast, that's my theory."
"What? Changed bodies? Why?" Kairo asked, walking back to his straw bed and sitting down.
Renji shook his head. "I don't know."
"The Wizards' Cult has been on our asses since day one" Yuna commented. "This feels like their brand of twisted forbidden magic."
Renji shrugged. "Could be, but a body swap spell would take a lot of time, preparation, and obvious signs — mana trails, glyph marks, a ritual circle... something, and plus, with our resistance, that would make the whole thing a hundredfold harder to pull off."
Kairo closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "So what? Some god did this or something?"
"I didn't say that." Renji let out a sigh. "But that very well be the case with the level of the spell required for this."
Kairo let out a laugh, except it wasn't that of humor. Yuna walked toward him and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's gonna be alright. We're still us. We can still undo this spell." She offered, clearly trying to lift his spirits.
"And sitting around isn't gonna help with that." Renji said, shifting the mood. "We need to get a move on. Looks like we're in the slums. I think we should go to the closest Royal class doctor and get ourselves checked out."
"What about the funds?" Yuna asked, helping Kairo up from the bed.
"Don't worry. I've got a stash only I know about — we'll be covered." Renji assured.
Kairo seemed to have calmed down, quietly inspecting the room. "What, like a few hundred gold?" He muttered, tapping the wooden wall skeptically.
Renji cleared his throat. "Maybe 20." Renji answered.
"Twenty gold isn't too bad." Yuna commented, her tone hopeful.
"I guess it's not as bad as twenty silver." Kairo agreed.
"It isn't." Renji declared, before walking over to the front door. "I'll get the money. You guys should… do what you guys do. I guess." He said, shrugging.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuna protested. She huffed. "I'm coming along."
"I'm not staying all alone in this disgusting place either." Kairo added, walking over to Renji.
Renji took one step back and gagged. "Yo, six feet, man. You're gonna bring Covid to this world with that stench."
Kairo's eyebrows raised in surprise, as he sniffed his own shirt, then let out a gag. Yuna giggled and Renji walked through the door.
The duo left the shack a moment later. Renji stood a few meters ahead, examining the sight.
The slums was exactly as it sounded. Slumy. Random mountains of trash that no one had bothered to clean up in the distance. Random pieces of garbage littered across the street. Kids and adults alike walking in robes or tattered clothes, barefeet.
Depressing, Renji summed up.
Yuna jogged to Renji's side. "So where is this stash of yours exactly?" She asked curiously.
"In the catacombs of the Royal palace." Renji answered.
Yuna continued to stare out at the distance for a moment. "The catacombs, huh?" She paused for a second. Her eyes widened in disgust. "THE CATACOMBS?!"
Renji shrugged. "That's why I said I'll go alone."
Kairo stopped beside Renji. "Nice going, dude. The one place that's the filthiest, stinkiest in the whole kingdom."
"Also safest." Renji added.
Yuna rolled her eyes. "I hate when you're so rational." She grumbled, looking toward the streets. Her eyes widened for a second. "Renji," she said, slowly. "Look over there…"
Renji looked toward her with a curious expression. She pointed off to the distance, where there seemed to be a large circular pedestal, as if for a statue.
"Isn't that…" Kairo's voice faded as his gaze landed to where Yuna pointed.
Renji's voice caught in his throat. His sight sharpened, focusing only on that particular spot.
A few kilometers east, a wide circular gap cut through the heart of the slums. Buildings hunched around it, while people walked by like it was just another scar on the land. The gap was at least 20 feet wide.
There was a stone stand, as if to hold something up.
Renji recognized it—not from any deep knowledge of slum history, but because that spot once remembered him
That was a pedestal to hold up a statue. His statue.
His breath hitched. His mind froze, trying to process what could've happened.
Something stirred in his chest—a quiet sting, almost like grief. Heartache, he realized.
"T-that's… where my statue…" His voice faded off.
"That's impossible though." Yuna said, frowning. "The slums don't have nearly enough funds or manpower to move something that big."
Kairo nodded, humming in thought. "Maybe an attack on the slums broke it," he offered. "That way, they would just have to clean up the rubble. That makes more sense."
Renji shook his head slowly. "No. There haven't been any attacks on the slums since we—" He stopped. "Since I freed it."
"Hogging all the glory again?" Kairo teased, but it fell on deaf ears.
Renji took a deep breath and closed his eyes, memories flooding up.
A year ago, Renji had taken on the task of toppling a corrupt feudal lord who enslaved and tortured the slum-dwellers. Not for some noble cause, though—he just wanted information. But in the end, he accepted their thanks. Let them build the statue.
He had many other statues, all around the vast country of Laide, but yet, even missing one made him sting. Truly, he was a greedy person.
"You think our statues are gone too, Kairo?" Yuna asked, half curious, half wary.
Kairo shrugged, ignorant to the mental battle inside Renji's head. "Maybe yours. I'm too hard to take down." He smirked.
Renji scoffed. "Can you not rub it in for once?" he muttered. He took another calming breath, before exhaling.
Yuna rolled her eyes. "Alright Mr. Greed." She said, half teasing. "Gonna cry over one statue? You literally own the richest company in Laide. You know more than every scholar combined. But–"
"Just shut up." Renji cut off. "You wouldn't get it."
Yuna blinked. "I wouldn't get it?" she repeated, tone sharp.
Kairo sensed the tension spike. He stepped between them, easing them apart. "Alright, alright. Clearly, he has a reason for liking that statue." He said, his tone calming. "Let's just cool down."
Yuna scoffed and crossed her arms, turning away. A sly smirk tugged at her lips. "I like a man who knows when to break it up," she murmured, licking her lips.
Kairo cleared his throat. "How about we ask the locals?" he said, eager to change the subject.
Yuna shrugged, still smirking. Renji opened his eyes and nodded slowly. "Okay. Yeah."
"Just try not to—" Yuna began, but Kairo cut in.
"Nope. That's enough teasing, Yuna. There's a fine line."
She raised her hands in surrender, grin never fading, and turned on her heel toward a nearby shop.
Kairo glanced back at Renji, laying a hand on his shoulder. "It's cool, man. I'm sure there's a logical reason."
Renji swatted it away, jaw tight. "Logic's got nothing to do with it."
He didn't wait for a response. He just walked after Yuna, his footsteps quiet, but heavy.
Kairo let out a sigh, staring at the empty pedestal in the distance.
"You're welcome," he muttered. Then, under his breath—
"…statue or not, someone's messing with us."
And with that, he jogged to catch up.