A gasp tore from Lena's throat as her eyes snapped open.
She was back—
Back in the room where Riven's chains had shattered.
Back in reality.
Or at least…
What was left of it.
---
Something is Watching
Everything was wrong.
The air felt thicker, suffocating—like the atmosphere itself was pressing down on her chest. Shadows stretched unnaturally along the walls, moving when they shouldn't.
And Riven—
He was on his knees, breathing heavily.
But he was here.
She had pulled him back.
A wave of relief flooded through her—until she saw his eyes.
The darkness in them hadn't vanished.
It had grown.
Lena's heart pounded as Riven lifted his head, locking gazes with her.
A chill ran down her spine.
His pupils were gone.
Only black voids remained—bottomless, shifting like liquid shadows.
But for a split second—just before he blinked—
She saw something else moving inside them.
And it was looking back at her.
---
A Voice Not His Own
"Lena…"
Riven's voice was barely above a whisper.
But it wasn't just his voice.
There was something beneath it—an echo, deeper and inhuman, layered over his words like an abyss speaking through him.
Lena's pulse raced.
She didn't know whether to step closer—
Or run.
Kian let out a low chuckle.
"Well, well," he mused, tilting his head. "Looks like something followed you back."
Lena snapped toward him, eyes blazing. "What the hell are you talking about?!"
Kian simply smiled.
Then—
Riven moved.
---
An Unnatural Step
It wasn't just movement.
It was wrong.
One moment, Riven was kneeling.
The next—
He was standing directly in front of her.
No footsteps. No sound.
Just an impossible shift, like reality had skipped a frame.
Lena froze.
Her instincts screamed.
This wasn't Riven.
Not entirely.
His breath was slow and deliberate, his lips parting slightly—
And when he spoke, his voice was lower, colder.
"You shouldn't have done that."
Lena's blood turned to ice.
"Done what?" she whispered.
Riven's expression didn't change.
But something in the room did.
The air shivered.
The walls curved inward.
A presence—vast, unseen, endless—pressed against the edges of existence, peering into reality like a hand hovering over glass.
And then, Riven smiled.
Not his smile.
Not a human one.
Something borrowed.
Something watching.
And for the first time since she met him—
Lena felt afraid.
---