Dust hung in the air.
Riven coughed, one hand pressing against the broken ground beneath him. His chest burned where the impact had landed.
Fragments of the shattered wall slid down behind him.
For a moment—
He didn't move.
Then—
That feeling returned.
Deep inside.
Unstable.
Awake.
Footsteps echoed.
Slow.
Measured.
Ivaan.
He stopped a few steps away.
Lightning flickered faintly around his leg—quieter now, but not gone.
Watching.
Waiting.
Riven pushed himself up.
Unsteady.
But standing.
His eyes locked onto Ivaan.
Confusion still there.
Anger rising behind it.
"…What the hell was that?"
No answer.
Only those eyes.
Cold.
Sharp.
Searching.
"You are not Riven."
The words came again.
Flat.
Certain.
Riven clenched his jaw.
"…Ivaan."
A step forward.
"I'm right here."
"No."
A pause.
"You're not."
Lightning flared.
A sudden burst—
Ivaan moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
His strike came straight toward Riven—
Riven reacted instinctively.
His body shifted—
Barely.
The attack grazed him.
Still enough.
The force sent him sliding back across broken ground.
Riven steadied himself.
His breathing uneven now.
"…you're serious."
No response.
Ivaan stepped forward again.
Pressure filled the space.
Riven felt it—
That force inside him reacted.
His muscles tightened.
His breathing shifted—
Not by choice.
Crack.
The sound echoed faintly.
Both of them froze.
For a fraction of a second—
Everything stilled.
Ivaan's eyes sharpened.
Not suspicion now.
Recognition.
"…there it is."
Riven frowned.
"What?"
Ivaan stepped closer.
Slower now.
More controlled.
"You can't even hold it in."
A pause.
"It's leaking out of you."
Riven's brows tightened.
"…what is?"
A brief silence.
Then—
"…Energy."
The word landed.
Heavy.
Unfamiliar.
But not entirely.
Riven exhaled.
"Energy…?"
His hand tightened slightly.
"You mean this… feeling?"
Ivaan studied him.
Closely.
Then—
"…You really don't know."
A pause.
Short.
Sharp.
"Are you a new Ascendant?"
Riven didn't answer immediately.
His mind raced.
Ascendant.
So it had a name.
So this wasn't just him.
He exhaled slowly.
Then met Ivaan's gaze.
"…If I tell you something…"
A pause.
>"…you don't involve anyone else."
Ivaan didn't respond immediately.
His eyes stayed fixed.
Measuring.
Judging.
Then—
"Talk."
Riven nodded once.
And he spoke.
The walk.
The strange pull.
The pendant.
The wolf.
The attack.
The moment everything should have ended—
"And then… nothing."
Silence followed.
"When I woke up…"
Riven's brows tightened.
"…I was standing in front of my house."
The tension in the air didn't fade.
But it changed.
Ivaan didn't interrupt.
Didn't question.
Just listened.
Every word.
Riven hesitated briefly.
Then added—
"Before that… I met someone."
Ivaan's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Who?"
"…Aarion."
Silence.
Heavy.
Different.
For the first time—
Ivaan's expression shifted.
Not shock.
Not fear.
Something deeper.
Recognition.
Caution.
"…You said Aarion?"
Riven noticed immediately.
"Yeah."
A small pause.
"You know him?"
Ivaan didn't answer right away.
Instead—
"Be careful saying that name."
The tone was quiet.
But firm.
Riven didn't push further.
"He gave me a technique."
A lie.
Placed carefully.
> "I don't know why."
> "I don't even understand it fully."
That part wasn't a lie.
Silence stretched.
Long.
Heavy.
Then—
Ivaan exhaled slowly.
The lightning around him dimmed.
Controlled.
"…You shouldn't have survived that."
Riven let out a quiet breath.
"Yeah."
A faint smirk.
"I figured."
A beat passed.
Then—
Ivaan spoke again.
Different now.
Less hostile.
More grounded.
"You're not the only one."
Riven's eyes narrowed.
"…What?"
"My family."
A pause.
"We deal with things like this."
Riven stared at him.
Processing.
"…Ascendants?"
A small nod.
"…and worse."
Silence settled.
But now—
It wasn't distance.
It was alignment.
Riven straightened slightly.
Pain still there.
Pressure still there.
But his mind—
Clearer.
"…so what now?"
Ivaan looked at him.
Direct.
"Now?"
A short pause.
"You stop pretending you're normal."
Riven didn't respond.
Because he knew—
He wasn't.
Ivaan turned slightly.
The fractured space around them flickered.
Unstable.
''And you learn control."
His gaze shifted back.
Sharp again.
"Because if you don't…"
A pause.
"Next time—"
A faint spark of lightning cracked in the air.
"You won't survive it."
Silence.
Then—
The space collapsed.
Reality snapped back.
The broken world vanished.
The street returned.
People walked past.
Unaware.
Unchanged.
As if nothing had happened.
Riven stood there.
Still breathing.
Still processing.
Beside him—
Ivaan adjusted his sleeve.
Calm.
Controlled.
"…Come with me."
Riven looked at him.
"Where?"
"Home."
A pause.
Riven stared at him for a second.
Then—
"…You just kicked me through a building."
Ivaan didn't react.
"You survived."
Riven blinked.
"…That's not the point."
A small pause.
Then Riven dusted himself off, wincing slightly.
"You owe me."
Ivaan glanced at him.
"For what?"
Riven pointed behind him.
"For that wall."
A beat.
"And this."
He tapped his chest.
"And whatever internal damage you just caused."
Ivaan looked at him.
Completely serious.
"You're welcome."
Riven froze.
Then let out a short laugh.
"…Unbelievable."
They started walking.
After a few steps—
Riven spoke again.
"Also… that kick?"
"What about it?"
"Illegal."
A pause.
"Next time I'm returning it."
Ivaan finally glanced sideways.
"Try."
Riven smirked.
"Oh I will."
A beat.
"Might even upgrade it."
__
"You can't even control your energy."
__
"…Details."
Silence.
But this time—
It wasn't heavy.
Riven muttered quietly:
"Still… you hit pretty hard."
Ivaan's lips moved—barely.
Not quite a smile.
"You're just weak."
Riven scoffed.
"Keep talking."
They walked on.
Side by side.
The world hadn't changed.
Not yet.
But for the first time
Riven wasn't facing it alone.
End