User blog comment:SomeoneYouUsedToKnow/SYUTK's V4EFinal - Haven is Doomed - Impressions/Recap/@comment-4010415-20170207013304/@comment-25936766-20170207014625

Mmmm.....blending with the world around him, I can see. But "becoming one with Remnant"? That seems more like something to expect from a Maiden or something of the same caliber, not from a kid who was crying his heart out. It doesn't fit his personality as much, especially back then.

Blending with the world would fit his lack of importance previously. He was one with the background. This would be pretty meta.

As for what Ren did........if you ask me, it's the same as with Weiss's use of her Glyphs, especially when Summoning, though without the Glyphs. By that, I mean the act of doing X in one place (like stabbing the rapier into the ground), and the Semblance manifesting some distance away in a specific location.

Ren putting his hand on the ground is not different from Weiss stabbing her rapier into the ground every time she tries to summon. She doesn't need to do that, but she does so anyway.