There were no stars that night.
Only a low mist creeping across the mountains, and the sound of wind whispering secrets between the trees. In the heart of the Uchiha estate, behind the garden, behind the barriers, behind the seals... Ren watched him sleep.
She didn't blink.
She didn't breathe loudly.
She simply stared—silent and unmoving—at the boy who defied fire, fate, and the future.
---
Moments Before Midnight
Sora lay curled beneath the woven blanket Ayame had stitched with chakra threads, arms folded beneath his head, his body still humming from the day's training. The flames he'd summoned earlier had taken their toll—his chakra coils were swollen and raw.
He hadn't meant to fall asleep outside the house, but exhaustion had claimed him beneath the open sky, beside the koi pond that shimmered in moonlight.
Ren stood a few feet away.
Hands clasped loosely in front of her. Barefoot.
Watching.
Studying.
"He twitches when he dreams," she murmured to herself. "Rapid eye movement. Accelerated heartbeat. But no fear."
She tilted her head.
"He doesn't fear his nightmares. He devours them."
---
Inside Her Mind
Ren did not dream.
Not in the way others did.
She relived—layers of memory collapsing in on each other, pieces of the future flickering like shattered mirrors.
And in each version she saw of Sora's fate… he always changed something.
Sometimes for better. Sometimes for ruin.
In one path, he burned Konoha to ash.
In another, he stood against the Ōtsutsuki like a fallen star.
And in one future, he died—young, betrayed, and alone.
She hated that one the most.
"But this timeline…" she whispered, kneeling beside him, "this one is different."
---
Midnight – Her Fingers Trembled
Ren reached toward him slowly.
Her pale fingers hovered above his cheek. Close, but never touching. Her chakra flared faintly—silver threads like starlight weaving through the air.
She whispered a seal. A small one.
One Ayame would've scolded her for.
"Yume no Kage – Shadow of Dream."
The seal allowed her to gently brush the edges of Sora's mind. Not enough to alter. Not enough to read deeply.
Just enough… to watch.
And what she saw made her breath catch.
---
Inside His Dream
He wasn't a boy in this dream.
He was something more.
A being cloaked in flame and shadow, walking through a battlefield of giants. Chakra beasts fought in the distance. The sky cracked with lightning that bled.
But he didn't run.
He consumed it all.
A shinobi screamed his name—not in terror, but reverence.
"Kami Sora!"
"God Sora!"
And in the dream, he turned toward the voice…
…and met Ren's eyes.
For the first time in her strange, fractured life, he saw her inside the dream.
He blinked.
He spoke.
"Why are you crying?"
She gasped—and the seal broke.
---
Back to Reality
Ren stumbled back, chest heaving.
She hadn't cried in years.
Not since Ayame found her broken in the ruins of that Root lab. Not since her mind splintered from the chakra Kaguya left behind.
But now—now tears slid down her cheeks.
Silent.
Hot.
Real.
She looked at Sora.
Still sleeping. Still unaware.
And in her chest, something new bloomed.
Fear.
Not of him.
But for him.
---
Ayame's Return
Ayame stepped into the garden, eyes already glowing with suspicion. She had sensed chakra stirrings. And Ren's chakra always left a trace like a dying star—both beautiful and volatile.
"What are you doing?" Ayame asked flatly.
Ren didn't turn.
"I watched him dream."
"Did you touch him?"
"No."
"…Did you change anything?"
Ren's lips barely moved. "No."
Ayame stood beside her now, looking down at Sora.
He looked peaceful.
Too peaceful for the weight he carried.
Ayame narrowed her eyes.
"Stay out of his dreams," she whispered. "He has enough demons awake."
Ren's voice barely rose above the wind.
"He's not afraid of demons."
She turned slowly.
"But you are."
---
Later – A Quiet Confession
Sora stirred just before dawn.
He sat up, rubbing his eyes—and paused when he saw a folded piece of parchment by his side. Not chakra-infused. Not sealed. Just old, hand-made paper.
On it was a message written in small, strange handwriting:
> "You are more than you think.
But less than you hope.
Until the day you choose what kind of god you will become,
I will watch from the garden."
—R.
He read it twice.
Then smiled faintly.
"Creepy," he muttered, pocketing it. "But… kind of sweet, too."
---
Elsewhere – The Clone Awakens
In the Root facility beneath Konoha, the Ōtsutsuki-blooded clone opened its eyes.
White pupils.
Crimson sclera.
A mutated dojutsu, incomplete but deadly.
Danzo stood before it.
"We found the flame," he said. "Now it's time to test if a god can bleed."