Deep beneath the river.
Darkness swallowed everything.
No sound.
No light.
No pain.
Riven's body continued sinking.
Deeper.
And deeper.
And deeper.
His consciousness flickered like a dying candle.
He no longer knew whether his eyes were open or closed.
Whether he was alive.
Or already dead.
Then—
A faint glow appeared before him.
Tiny.
Golden.
Gentle.
The leaf.
The leaf Aarion had given him.
It floated before him.
Unaffected by the water.
Unaffected by the darkness.
Riven stared at it.
The leaf trembled.
Then slowly dissolved into countless particles of golden light.
His eyes widened.
The particles drifted toward the pendant hanging around his neck.
The pendant began glowing.
Brighter.
And brighter.
And brighter.
CRACK.
A sound echoed through the darkness.
Not within the river.
Within something else.
Something ancient.
Something sleeping.
The pendant swallowed the final particle.
Then the world shattered.
Riven opened his eyes.
Darkness stretched endlessly around him.
Yet unlike before—
This darkness felt alive.
Ancient.
Watching.
The air itself felt different.
Then he saw her.
A woman sitting alone beneath a sky filled with stars.
Beautiful.
Silent.
Unmoving.
She wore a black robe adorned with silver constellations.
Long silver hair flowed behind her like a river of moonlight.
Her eyes remained closed.
As though she had been sleeping for an eternity.
The glowing leaf floated before her.
Slowly spinning.
The woman opened her eyes.
The stars above trembled.
Riven froze.
For a brief moment—
He felt as though the entire universe had looked at him.
The woman studied the leaf.
Then smiled faintly.
"I suppose..."
"It's finally my turn."
Her voice was calm.
Gentle.
Yet impossible to ignore.
Then she looked toward Riven.
Directly at him.
For the first time since entering this strange space—
Fear appeared in his heart.
Not because she seemed dangerous.
Because she felt incomprehensibly ancient.
Ancient enough to make Transcendents seem insignificant.
The woman observed him quietly.
Then asked:
"Do you wish to save them?"
Riven's eyes widened.
The battlefield instantly appeared within his mind.
The Team Leader.
Mira.
Darius.
Lyra.
Everyone.
Everyone who had fought.
Everyone who had sacrificed themselves.
Everyone who was dying.
"Please."
The words escaped immediately.
"Please save them."
The woman remained silent.
She continued studying him.
As though examining something interesting.
Then she asked:
"You are willing to surrender everything..."
"For strangers?"
Riven froze.
Strangers.
A few days ago—
That description would've been correct.
But now?
The Team Leader wasn't a stranger.
Neither was Mira.
Or Darius.
They had entrusted their lives to him.
They had burned away their futures for people they didn't even know.
Riven lowered his head.
"They aren't strangers."
The woman raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
Riven clenched his fists.
"They're idiots."
A weak laugh escaped him.
"They're all idiots."
His voice trembled.
"They knew they couldn't win."
"They knew they were going to die."
"Yet they still fought."
The images returned.
The Team Leader smiling.
Mira handing him her beacon.
Darius joking while burning away years of his life.
The woman listened quietly.
Then she smiled.
A genuine smile.
"Interesting."
Silence followed.
Then she stood.
The stars above shifted.
Entire constellations moved.
Galaxies rotated.
The universe itself seemed to react to her movements.
Riven unconsciously stepped back.
Then the woman spoke.
"Give me your body."
Silence.
Riven froze.
His body?
The woman calmly continued.
"You requested salvation."
"I can provide it."
"At a price."
Riven remained silent.
Every instinct told him this was dangerous.
Every instinct told him he should refuse.
Yet...
The faces of the Association members appeared once more.
The Team Leader.
Mira.
Darius.
Lyra.
Everyone.
Dying.
Waiting.
Tears filled his eyes.
Then he lowered his head.
"Please save them."
The woman stared at him.
For several seconds.
Then she smiled.
"As you wish."
Back on the battlefield.
The battle had already progressed.
Entire mountains of rubble surrounded the village.
Deep scars stretched across the earth.
The sky itself appeared cracked.
Evidence of a battle no ordinary being should have witnessed.
At the center of the destruction—
Two figures faced each other.
The Cult Leader.
And the Qilin Spirit.
The Cult Leader's robes had been reduced to rags.
Deep wounds covered his body.
A spear wound pierced his shoulder.
Blood dripped continuously from his chest.
Yet his eyes shone brighter than ever.
For the first time in centuries—
He was enjoying himself.
"Hahaha!"
His laughter echoed throughout the battlefield.
"Wonderful!"
"After all these years..."
"I finally found a worthy opponent."
The Qilin Spirit remained expressionless.
"This vessel is weak."
"Otherwise crushing you would require little effort."
The Cult Leader grinned.
"Perhaps."
Then he looked toward the altar.
Toward the countless sacrifices.
Toward the massive ritual formation.
His smile widened.
"But strength isn't the only thing that matters."
The Qilin Spirit frowned.
For the first time.
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
The Cult Leader slowly knelt before the altar.
His expression became reverent.
Devoted.
Fanatical.
"My Lord."
His voice echoed throughout the Rift.
"Your faithful servant calls upon you."
The air froze.
The sky darkened.
Even the Qilin Spirit's eyes narrowed.
The Cult Leader lowered his head.
Then spoke once more.
"The sacrifices have been gathered."
"The path has been prepared."
"Grant me the strength..."
"To welcome your descent."
Silence.
For one brief moment—
Nothing happened.
Then—
The heavens screamed.
CRACK.
Space shattered.
Reality itself split apart.
And something began pushing through from the other side.
The Qilin Spirit's expression finally changed.
"...Troublesome."
Far above the battlefield—
A gigantic hand emerged from beyond the broken sky.
A hand large enough to blot out the heavens themselves.
The moment it appeared—
The entire world trembled.
The Cult Leader laughed.
The Qilin Spirit tightened its grip on the spear.
For the first time since possessing Lyra—
It understood.
This was no longer a battle between mortals.
And this was only the beginning.
End