Rain fell softly through the trees.Each drop shone weakly, reflecting specks of silver light bleeding from Riven’s skin.He woke with a sharp gasp, his body covered in sweat and mud. His head pounded, his breathing was shallow. For a moment, he couldn't recall where he was only the echo of Lyra's voice in his mind.Find me when the next eclipse rises.The forest was somber, without a sound. Mist curled around blackened tree trunks, and the acrid scent of ash seemed to ghost through the world. He felt the world had changed overnight or maybe it was him that had changed.Riven pressed his hand against his chest. Beneath the surface, his veins pulsed with that same silver rhythm slow, steady, alive. He could still feel her energy there, woven into his own heartbeat.A sudden rustling snapped his attention to the left. His hand moved from instinct to reach for his sword only to find the hilt fused with molten metal, half destroyed. He cursed under his breath and crouched low, muscles coi

The ruins of Mirath were ablaze.The red lightning clashed with the silver fire, tearing through stone and sky; every stroke shredded the air itself, leaving behind ripples of blinding light.Riven's breath came ragged. His skin shone faintly under the smoke veins alive with power that wasn't entirely his. Every movement felt heavier, faster, too strong for his human body.Serath's voice cut through the chaos.“You think you’re the first to bear his light?”Riven swung, the force shaking the ground. “I’m the last who will!”Their swords met again crimson steel against silver flame and for an instant, the clash illuminated something in Serath's eyes.RecognitionLyra, encasing herself within a barrier of moonlight, froze mid-chant. “Riven! Don’t!”Too late.Serath twisted his blade, and Riven was disarmed with inhuman speed. His hand shot forward, clasping onto Riven's chest right above his heart. Time froze.A searing pain tore through Riven's body as his vision flared white. The voic

The light from the Second Eclipse had scorched the horizon.The air shook as if the heavens were screaming.When the light finally dimmed, the world was wrong.The stars were gone. The moon was stationary, lodged in the sky at its midpoint, neither full nor broken.And Riven Kael was no more.She stood at the very center of the ruins, where the Vein was pulsating faintly under her feet, alive with the residue of divine blood. With every heartbeat, a rumble as of thunder echoed in her ears."Riven." she whispered. Her voice cracked. "Where are you?"No answer. Only the whisper of the wind, and the faint hum of energy that felt almost… conscious.She dropped to her knees. Her fingers brushed against the surface of the glowing fissure, and instantly a flood of visions filled her mind: temples burning, gods screaming, a man with silver eyes falling into endless darkness.She gasped and jerkily withdrew her hand.“He’s trapped…” she whispered. “Inside the Vein.”A shadow stirred behind her

There was no air.No sound.Only the slow heartbeat of the universe.Riven drifted in darkness. He wasn't falling not exactly. He was unmade, scattered across light and shadow, his thoughts fragments of something ancient.The last thing he remembered was Lyra's voice her scream breaking through the collapsing world.“I didn’t save the world for it, I saved it for you.”That voice lingered, pulling at what little remained of him.He opened his eyes.Above, there was no sky whatsoever, but rather an expanse of black glass, billowing with constellations that blinked in and out of existence. Beneath him, the ground was ash cracked, trembling with faint veins of red and silver light.He was standing in the Underrealm of the Gods, the place where fallen divinities go once their faith fades.And yet, the place seemed to breathe with his own pulse.Riven looked down. His hands were streaked with shifting veins of light one red, one silver. The two halves of the god still fought within him.Th

Glassy air seemed to shimmer.She stepped back, her heart racing, as Riven's reflection began to move of its own accord.It turned toward them, its features identical to his… except the eyes.Whereas Riven's were storm gray and alive, this version's glowed with pure, devouring void.“Who” Lyra began, but her voice caught.The shadow spoke first, and its tone was calm, yet heavy with an old, terrible authority.“I am what he buried.”Riven's hands clenched. "No," he said quietly. "You're what they made me bury."The shadow smiled, slow and cruel. "And what are you now, Riven? A broken god masquerading as human? You traded ruin for weakness.The plain around them pulsed. The Vein reacted to their confrontation, lines of molten gold cut across the ground. Lyra could feel it: their energies colliding and distorting reality itself.“Riven, stop,” she whispered. “It’s feeding on both of you.”He didn't move. His gaze was fixed on his other self. "If I don't kill him, he'll destroy everythin