"Riven, are you sure about this? We're not talking about sealing your powers for a few hours; you're wanting to seal it until those girls are adults." Gilgamesh questioned worriedly.
"Not adults, Gilgamesh, just until they can stand on their own feet." He corrected.
"But then what? You don't know who their father is, and it can be you and another guy. What are you going to do if it's you?"
"I don't know," Riven replied with a smile
"You need to know. The Omniverse needs Doom in more ways than one. You are an equilibrium force; you can't just say I quit." Gilgamesh almost shouted, frustration radiating off his being.
"I've thought it through, alright. You don't have to worry. I'll make a clone to take my place, and I'll even come back every six Earth months to clean anything up."
He argued, his arms crossing over his chest. "Six Earth months is enough time for twenty system eras in your home universe, even more outside. You can't seriously expect everything to go well."
"It will. Doom is something that comes for all. It's a conceptual force that existed well before I became it. You're worrying too much."
"That doesn't—"
A sigh echoed through space, followed by a frustrated voice, "Ugh, enough already, you two are going to make my ears bleed with this constant back and forth."
"Sir, we apo—"
"Enough! Don't apologize, and stop with all this formal business. Aren't we friends? Go back to calling me by name." The Aeon of Origin, interrupted.
"Now Gilgamesh, I understand your worries, but you don't have to worry as long as Riven is alive, and even if he dies, everything will remain the same."
"I.." Gilgamesh sighs. "I understand."
"Good." Origins looks back at Riven, "Riven, go ahead and follow the path before you, but promise me this: you won't ever make the same mistake twice."
"Thank you, Jaylen, and I promise you I won't." Riven nods, his gaze filled with resolution.
"Good. The Orpheus family has a motto: When one rises, we all rise. No matter where you are, you will always be one of us, and we will be there if you need us.
"Thank you for the kind words." He thanked with a small bow.
"Don't thank me, my mother came up with it," Jaylen said, waving his hand, his expression a bit sorrowful.
"Then thank her for me." Riven requested with an understanding look.
"I will. Now, go. Don't you have matters to attend to?" As he said that, Riven waved goodbye before vanishing on the spot
Just as Gilgamesh was going to leave as well Jaylen's voice rang out, "Gilgamesh, stay." He stiffened, knowing exactly what was coming.
Riven reappeared deep within the depths of a massive castle, where a large cavern sat. Molten light bathed the cavern walls.
Stalagmites climbed toward the ceiling like jagged fangs, connecting with stalactites in stony defiance. Rivers of lava pulsed through the cracked earth, casting dancing shadows across heaps of gold and scattered gems.
A moat of lava surrounded an elevated platform with a large circular indentation.
"I'm Home," he quietly whispered.
The resting place of Riven, or in more actuality, the Eclipse Dragon. A living nightmare whose serpentine body was said to wrap around universes, it didn't, though his body at most could warp around two large galaxies.
But that didn't matter. He wasn't here to debate and debunk all the myths about his body or actions. He was here to create his replacement.
He took a deep breath, savoring the moment before slowly exhaling, letting the tension melt away. Gradually, his robe and hair began to levitate. A massive magic circle appeared in the air above the elevated platform.
His mouth remained closed, yet his voice–Deep and sacred—echoed through the cavern. "Briinah do Krein," (Creation breathes, and life is drawn.)
"Zennun Laas." (Illusions wake, and lies are born.)
"Morah ni Mey," (I forge the mask.)
"Vothmaar do Gein." (From thought unmade—)
"Koraav Viid." (A clone now walks the path I've laid.)
Riven spoke, his voice back to normal as he finished, "Mimic's visage."
A bright light rapidly expanded out from the magic circle, before shrinking back in. Once it vanished, in its place a large creature with a long serpentine body moved in a circular motion.
Dark scales encased its body, and three toes with elongated claws dangled from its four legs. Its eyes remained closed, proof of its deep slumber.
"It's been a while since I've seen my truest form. I can't believe I used to sleep like that. I mean, it looks cool, and it was comfortable, but my whole body moving in the pattern of an orb. No wonder I slept for so long."
Riven shook his head, walking closer to his clone. He shouted, "Clone! Your duty is to remain here and oversee that Doom is brought to all equally and is not interfered with by anyone, especially those who have systems."
Its eyes cracked open, glowing a faint violet gleam that pulsed like a heartbeat–once, twice–before vanishing behind its closed eyelids.
"Hmp, how arrogant," he said jokingly as he walked away from his clone. His figure vanished, reappearing seated on his throne within the throne room.
Almost instantly, five figures appeared in front of him, kneeling. "My lord," they all shouted.
"Speak, Dutch. I can see you fidgeting."
Left his head to look at Riven, he spoke, "My Lord, I do not wish to change your mind, but what is it, we horsemen should do in your absence?"
"You will all come with me to Earth while you thralls handle everything else. There is no need for the true forms of the horsemen to be active."
"Your thralls will do just fine. Is that an acceptable answer?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Good, now all of you prepare your thralls, and then let's be on our way," Riven said, waving them off.
"Yes, my lord!" they all shouted once more, jumping off in different directions. The throne room emptied.
Riven sat alone, his presence dimmed, and for the first time in eons, the divine pressure weighing on him lightened.
"And… they're… back." As soon as his voice fell, the horsemen reappeared in the throne room.
Rising from the throne, slowly walked down the stairs and across the hall, his robe fluttering behind him. As he passed by the Horsemen, they stood and turned around, following behind. As they arrived at the end of the door of the throne room, they vanished.
They then appeared just outside the walkway to enter Riven's mansion. Their outfits had seamlessly changed into suits matching their titles.
Pestilence—Dutch—wore his signature dark green suit. War, known as Kyle, stood in velvet red. Sylvia, the horseman of Famine, wore a crisp white suit. Astella, Conquest, donned a muted tan—she wasn't allowed to wear a golden one. And Lazaria, Death, as always, wore midnight black.
Riven, naturally, had returned to his signature suit. "Let's head in. We should be the last to arrive."
Walking into the mansion, Riven led them down the hall into one of the main rooms, the living room. There, everyone was gathered: Sera and the twins, Herta and April, and finally his mom, Kira.
Herta was the first to speak, seeing him walk into the room. "Get to the point, Riven. I have important research to handle." She sat with her legs elegantly crossed. Her fingers danced in the air above the chair, tapping out a steady rhythm that seemed to echo her thoughts, each beat a reflection of her impatience.
"Alright, Herta, I'll be quick. Lazaria, introduce yourself."
Lazaria walked forward, bowing before everyone. "It is my pleasure to meet you. I am Lazaria Winterlight, also known by the moniker Horsemen of Death in the business world."
Placing a hand on her should Riven looked and called out to the twins, "Aria, Nyra. Lazaria will be helping as your personal Shadow. In simple terms, your servant. When Sera or another trusted adult isn't with you, she will be.
Even if we are there, she'll be with you. If one of you isn't in the house, she'll be with you. This is about keeping you safe—especially since Sera won't be available as much now that she is planning to start her business. Understood?"
Both Girls nodded. "Good. Lazaria, go stand behind them." Lazaria walked toward the girls, nodding to both before standing behind them.
"Haaa, Astella, go stand behind Herta."
"Yay." Astella skipped over with a bounce. "It's good to be with you again, Miss Herta."
Herta allowed a small smile. "Likewise, Astella."
"That's Astella Darktangle. Her moniker is Horsemen of Conquest." Kyle said, stepping forward. "And I'm her brother, Kyle Darktangle. The Horsemen of War."
Riven addressed his mother, "Mom, Kyle will be with you as well as Dutch when he's not doing something for me."
Kyle stepped over, kneeling to gently kiss her hand, then moved to stand behind her.
"Finally, Sylvia, go stand behind Seraphina." Sylvia nodded before going to stand quietly behind Sera.
She then introduced herself. "Hello, Lady Seraphina. I am Sylvia Yggdrasil, Horsemen of Famine."
"Umm, Nice to meet you. Sera is fine." She replied, slightly nervous.
"In most cases, the horsemen will be with you, but today they will be helping me with something and will be with you all in a few hours." As he said this, the Horsemen walked out of the room, their destination unknown to those in the room.
Alright, I'll be going. Thank you for letting me take up your time. Not waiting for any of them to respond, Riven swiftly left the room, vanishing down the hall and appearing hundreds of miles away.
Riven appeared in a place more important to him than anywhere else in the universe, his main temple and the true resting place of his prophetic verse. The Temple of Doom was located on Earth in a region that no human was able to reach on the new continent.
The new continent was the 8th continent, which suddenly appeared not far off the coast of what was Hawaii, until it was sunken due to tsunamis caused by the continent's appearance.
On this Continent, not only lay his home nation but also his temple and other dangerous regions.
But those places were stories for later. For now, Riven walked down to the deepest depths of the temple. He passed murals showing his truest form, the horsemen, and many of the disasters he's caused. Crumbling statues of beings who used his powers stood in different locations.
Their statues no longer showed their visage. Instead, three claw marks remained present on every statue. A reminder of their failure to control their powers to use Doom.
A quiet sigh escaped his lips. He had gotten to know all of them, and that's why it hurt even more when he had to…
He shook his head. Now was not the time. They all died as heroes fighting the greatest evil: The bringer of Doom, The Eclipse Dragon.
As he walked, the quiet sound of rocks and pebbles falling accompanied him. The temple seemed like it was falling apart, but it would fix itself once the month was over, like always.
After walking for a while, Riven stood before 2 massive doors that completely dwarfed even his true form. As he placed his hands on the doors, ready to push them open, he realized he was still in his suit.
"Woops." Snapping his fingers, his suit instantly changed into his robes. "I guess this is the last time I'll wear these for a while."
Putting his hands back on the Door, he exerted a bit of strength pushing the door open slowly till he could walk in. Once he was in, the door slammed shut behind him, trapping him in darkness.
He took one step forward—and the chamber came alive.
Torches ignited in sequence along the curved walls, casting golden light across a solemn hall of stone and shadow. A narrow walkway stretched out before him, suspended above a chasm of quietly rippling water.
On either side, towering statues of the Horsemen stood as Eternal sentinels–three to the right, two to the left—each rendered in Divine detail.
But it was not the statues alone that watched him.
At the end of the walkway, their living counterparts stood waiting, cloaked in their armor, heads bowed. First War and Conquest, kneeling across from one another. Then Pestilence and Famine. And last, always last, Death.
Eagerly awaiting their lord just as they always had done. Even if he is no longer Doom, he would always remain their lord.
At the end of the chamber, a wide circular platform rose above the walkway, backed by the statue of a dragon—his dragon from—so lifelike it might begin to breathe.
The ritual basin waited beneath it, carved from obsidian and ringed with divine script.
Riven approached in silence.
He ran his hand on the rim of the basin, then looked up—one last glance at the face carved in scales and stone, his own true self.
Then he began to speak, "Seal Thy Nature, and let one remain true."
The Horsemen chanted along, "Mend the art, that the soul may renew."
"Cast off the salted wounds of yore—"
"Let not the world break asunder anymore."
"Heal the broken and still their cries,"
"For Doom's great time has passed the skies."
"Seal thou deep, till one remain—"
"A man reborn, in mortal chain."
As they finished, an orb of light escaped from their chests, floating away into each of their statues, and sealing away all but one percent of their power.