Part II Princess Luria's POV
I woke to warmth.
A warmth I hadn't felt in weeks.
When I opened my eyes, the ceiling was blurred… but there was movement—someone approaching me. Her silhouette was familiar. Dark hair, steady steps.
Riven !
Behind her… a shadow stood.
Tall, formless, twisting like smoke.
I wanted to speak—ask her what that thing was—but my lips wouldn't move. My body wouldn't move.
My heart barely fluttered.
Riven climbed onto the my bed, her face calm, almost gentle. Her golden eyes met mine, and for the first time in days… I didn't feel afraid.
Her palms pressed over my chest.
Warm. Steady.
"Don't be afraid," she said. "You'll be alright."
Her words settled over me like a blanket.
Then—pain.
Cold. Burning.
A darkness inside me twisted, screaming, as if it had been waiting for this moment.
I felt something pulled out—forcefully—like claws being torn from my heart.
My vision warped.
Suddenly, I wasn't in my room.
I was standing—no, floating—in a void of absolute darkness.
Chains rattled in the cold air.
My heart—my actual heart—hung suspended in front of me, surrounded by black layers of magic like thickened tar.
I screamed for help.
And she came.
Riven appeared in that void like a storm—eyes glowing red, hair floating around her like a burning halo. Power rolled off her in waves that shook the darkness.
She reached for my imprisoned heart without hesitation.
Her hands glowed, burning through the chains as if they were nothing.
The darkness shrieked.
The entire realm shuddered.
Then a blinding light exploded—so bright it swallowed everything.
When I opened my eyes again… I was in my room.
The ache in my chest was gone.
The cold was gone.
I could breathe.
Color returned to my skin. My fingers twitched.
My parents' arms wrapped around me, trembling with sobs of relief.
I turned my head—
And saw Riven standing a few steps away, her expression peaceful but faint.
Too faint.
Her knees buckled.
"Wait—!" I tried to shout, but my voice was still too weak.
She smiled… a tired smile.
"I'll lose consciousness now… don't worry , everything will be fi…
And she collapsed.
My parents caught her just in time as her body went limp. I tried to lift my head, tried to reach out to her, but all I could do was whisper her name.
Riven …
And as my strength finally returned, hers disappeared entirely.
The last thing I saw before exhaustion took me was her unconscious form in my father's arms—
and the shadow behind her fading into thin air.