Riven saw Null turning towards them. He had finally noticed their arrival. Null walked towards them — he grabbed a sword and a set of armor hanging on the walls.
Null continued walking until he was right in front of Riven then he extended his hand towards Riven and said.
"Take this — you are going to need this for our mission."
Riven didn't say a word, he took the armor and sword. He examined the sword by touching its tip and when he did his finger began to bleed.
"It's sharp."
The armor and sword were of high quality and he got them for free.
But he still wasn't sure about one thing.
Just what this mission was about — though he had a rough guess but he wasn't sure.
"What's this mission about?"
Null paused briefly and added a heartbeat later.
"The Vrekhar military manufacturing base where you were enslaved —we're going to destroy it and you're going to act as our guide inside since you have spent months there working as a slave."
Riven's expression darkened. The mission was exactly the thing that he dreaded the most. That was returning to the place where he had spent months trying to escape from it.
And then a question rose in his mind, which was how the hell did Null even know that he worked there as a slave for months? Was Null spying on him all that time?
That shouldn't be possible due to the high security of the base, and if Null were really there, he wouldn't need him as a guide.
So how did Null know his identity as a Slave? He wasn't sure, so he decided just to ask. He stared directly into Null's eyes and said.
"How do you know that I was a slave?"
Null ignored his question and said.
"You know a safe route to the base — one where no Vrekhar spots us? Countless soldiers are guarding the perimeter and I'd prefer to finish this without anyone knowing we were there."
Riven didn't speak. Instead, he made his voice louder and repeated his own question once again.
"I repeat, how did you know that I was a slave?"
This time, Null turned towards him, glaring at him from behind the mask for a heartbeat before he said only a single sentence.
"I know everything about everyone present in this room."
Riven's eyes narrowed. What did he mean by that? Whatever he made of it, he wasn't going to cooperate until he answered his question.
And as the tension in the room grew, Gravitor interrupted and said.
"Listen, kid. From our observations, it was obvious you were a slave. Your clothes were torn, and your body bore months of physical abuse. More importantly, you were running away from the Vrekhar base while Awakened Vrekhar were actively hunting you. That alone gave it away."
Riven's eyes narrowed as he stared at Gravitor. Could he trust his words? When he thought about it, he realized that if anyone had the same information as they did, they would also probably put him in the same category as he did.
Just then Null's impatient voice echoed through his ears.
"Now are you satisfied? Answer my earlier question."
Riven showed no remorse whatsoever since he believed his behavior was completely justified.
Nonetheless, he didn't dwell on this matter anymore and asked.
"Why destroy it? That place is so heavily guarded that even a fly couldn't get in — and even if we managed, there are countless Vrekhar warriors and a high number of Awakened ones. We won't make it out alive."
Just then Forest Princess walked towards him and patted his shoulder several times a second then she whispered.
"Don't worry about the Vrekhars — I promise. You just focus on your part. I'll tear them limb from limb, rip out their intestines, and use their comrades' bones to destroy the rest."
Riven froze as he heard her words, he didn't say a word but he knew that she really meant what she said. She fell into the category of people who could kill people with a smile on their face.
So maybe they could fulfil this nearly impossible mission and he would be more than glad to help to do anything that would harm them since he had a personal grudge against the Vrekhar.
Then Riven took a few steps back as he thought for a moment. There was a path that met their criteria but it was the place of his past traumas that he never wanted to see again.
But if he didn't lead them there wasn't any other path that fit their criteria. So Riven thought for a moment then he took a deep breath as his face turned grimmer and said.
"I know a path…"
****
Riven glanced down as the wolf galloped forward — armor covering him all the way to his waist, sword sheathed at his waist.
Then he looked down at his hands. In his palms sat a box of what looked like paper-wrapped sticks. He tore one open, put it in his mouth, and bit down on the hard surface.
This was called Iron Biscuit — a special military ration from the Empire. Each bar was packed with energy, designed to last for months.
As Riven ate, he glanced behind him. Null and the Forest Princess sat quietly, while Gravitor tried to strike up a conversation. The Forest Princess simply ignored him, a playful glint in her silence.
He pretended he didn't hear anything and focused on eating, that is when the wolf stopped dead in its tracks.
Riven raised his eyes and saw debris, scorched earth so burnt that it had turned black and there were the ruins of countless buildings all around him.
He looked to his right and saw the other side of the same mountain that housed the base of the Vrekhar's that he had escaped from. On that mountain was a waterfall from which the water fell into the river.
From the corner of his eyes, he saw the river tainted red with what looked like the crimson color of blood.
Riven's face darkened as a tear threatened to fall from his eyes. But he wiped it clean before anyone saw him as it was a sign of weakness. His eyes drifted to the ruins of buildings and then he mumbled in a cracked voice.
"I have finally returned… to my birthplace."