The chamber trembled. Dust swirled through the air, sunlight filtered through cracks in the ceiling, but it barely pierced the thick shadows. The army of kneeling silhouettes waited silently, unnatural and precise. They were dark, imposing, and yet eerily obedient — and all eyes, unseen or visible, were on Riven.
He stood beside Azael, newly awakened, black-gold energy coiling around him like a living storm. For the first time, Riven felt power not as a threat, not as pain, but as possibility.
Azael's wings twitched at his back, feathers trembling with residual fury. His silver eyes, still glowing faintly, tracked the stranger across the room.
Riven exhaled slowly, the black-gold aura pulsing with each heartbeat. "I… I control this now," he murmured, voice low and steady. He had no doubt — his memories, his power, his very essence surged back fully.
The stranger laughed softly, gold eyes gleaming. "Ah… so the Eternal One awakens fully. Tell me, do you feel it yet? The hunger, the history, the authority you were born to wield?"
Riven's gaze swept over the kneeling figures. They were ready to kill or obey at a thought. He could feel their allegiance. He could feel the weight of his own name in the air, as if the walls themselves recognized him.
And then he turned to Azael.
"Stay close," he said, a sudden, raw command leaving his lips. The black-gold aura coiled tighter around him, tendrils brushing Azael, pulling him in a protective, magnetic hold. Azael's breath caught, eyes wide — not with fear, but with something deeper, more intimate.
Riven felt it too — the bond between them, older than centuries, hotter than fire, raw and unbreakable.
The stranger's smile sharpened. "He trusts you," he said softly. "Even now."
"Do you?" Riven asked, voice like steel wrapped in velvet. "Because you should know — no one touches him."
Azael's breath hitched. For the first time, he felt **Riven not behind him, not protected, but equal — and more terrifying than he had ever been.
The stranger's amusement faltered. "Bold," he said. "I expected hesitation. I expected fear. But you…"
Riven stepped forward, aura flaring. Shadows and black-gold light spiraled outward, lifting dust and fragments of stone into a tornado around him. The kneeling army shifted slightly, acknowledging the command that radiated from him, pulsing with authority that could bend wills.
Riven raised his hand. The room quaked as his aura lashed outward. The kneeling soldiers straightened — allegiance absolute, ready to obey without question.
The stranger's eyes widened. "Interesting… so he truly is the Eternal One."
Azael moved, black wings slicing the air, ready to strike. But Riven placed a hand on his chest.
"Not yet," he said softly, voice low but carrying an unmistakable weight. "Watch me."
The black-gold aura coiled around Riven, then shot upward in a surge of light and shadow, forming intricate sigils and seals in midair. They floated around him, spinning, living, breathing with a pulse that matched his own heartbeat.
The stranger's power hit the chamber like a wave, attempting to destabilize Riven. But the Eternal One held — calm, fierce, unshakable.
Riven's mark blazed brighter than ever, responding to his will, not fear. The kneeling army shifted closer, surrounding the stranger, surrounding Riven's enemy with silent precision.
"Do you see now?" Riven's voice echoed, resonating through the room, dark and magnetic. "I am not your pawn. I am not your weapon. I am the one who decides."
The stranger staggered, caught off guard. He raised his hands, summoning shadow energy like a storm, but Riven pulled it toward himself, bending it, reshaping it. Energy met energy, and a shockwave slammed through the chamber, lifting Azael slightly from the floor.
"Riven!" Azael shouted, eyes wide. But Riven only smiled, black-gold aura wrapping both of them like a cocoon of power and promise.
The stranger's storm faltered, energy twisting unpredictably. "Impossible…" he whispered, shock and admiration in his golden eyes.
Riven's gaze softened slightly — a lightning strike of intimacy and possession — as he turned to Azael. "I am not afraid anymore," he said. "And neither are you."
Azael's chest heaved. Wings flexed. Heart pounded. In that moment, all the centuries of longing, protection, and hidden love flared between them, unspoken yet undeniable.
The kneeling army shifted again, acknowledging the new command. The Eternal One stood fully awakened.
And Riven — fully himself, fully alive — finally embraced his destiny.
The stranger's smile faded into a hard line. "So be it," he murmured, and raised his hand, ready to strike again.
Riven's aura flared like a living star. Shadows twisted into serpentine forms around him, coiling around the intruder.
"I will protect him," Riven whispered, voice low, feral, magnetic. "And no one… no one… touches Azael."
The chamber erupted in darkness and light, power clashing violently.
This was not just a battle for survival.
This was the awakening of the Eternal One, the rise of Riven — and the beginning of a war that would reshape worlds.
And through it all, Azael remained by his side — wings unfurled, shadow coiled — their bond unbreakable, their hearts tethered across centuries.
The Eternal One had risen.
And nothing would ever be the same again.