The room was silent.
Rain tapped softly against the windows.
The fire crackled quietly inside the stone fireplace.
And for the first time in six months
Riven Thorn was awake.
His chest rose sharply.
Air flooded his lungs.
His entire body jolted upward.
"AAAHHHHH!"
The scream tore from his throat before he could stop it.
Pain.
Fear.
Confusion.
His hands immediately shot toward his neck.
Searching.
Feeling.
The wound wasn't there.
No blood.
No claw marks.
Nothing.
Yet he could still feel it.
The sensation of Aurelion's bite.
The feeling of choking on his own blood.
The horror of watching his mother die.
Again.
And again.
And again.
His breathing became frantic.
The room spun.
His vision blurred.
His heart pounded violently against his ribs.
Then
"Riven?!"
A familiar voice.
Nyss.
He turned.
The silver-haired girl had jumped from her chair so quickly it nearly fell over.
For a moment she simply stared.
Frozen.
Disbelieving.
As though afraid he might disappear if she blinked.
Riven stared back.
Neither spoke.
Neither moved.
Then tears filled Nyss's eyes.
"You're awake..."
Her voice cracked.
Riven opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because he suddenly realized something.
Nyss looked different.
Not drastically.
Not enough that a stranger would notice.
But he noticed.
Her hair was slightly longer.
Her face more mature.
There was exhaustion behind her eyes.
The kind of exhaustion that only came from waiting.
Waiting far too long.
The realization hit him.
"How long?"
His voice sounded rough.
Broken.
Unused.
Nyss's expression trembled.
"...Six months."
Silence.
Riven stared.
Six months.
Six.
Months.
The words refused to register.
His mind still felt trapped in the war.
Trapped beneath the Blood Moon.
Trapped beneath Aurelion's fist.
Yet half a year had passed.
Gone.
Just like that.
Nyss suddenly lunged forward.
Her arms wrapped around him.
Tightly.
Almost desperately.
The force nearly knocked him back into the bed.
"You idiot..."
Her shoulders shook.
"You absolute idiot..."
Riven froze.
Then slowly...
very slowly...
he returned the hug.
For the first time since waking up...
something inside him relaxed.
Just a little.
"I'm sorry."
Nyss laughed through tears.
"Don't apologize."
Then she punched his shoulder.
Hard.
Riven winced.
"What was that for?"
"You scared everyone."
Another punch.
"Especially me."
A third punch.
"And don't ever do it again."
Riven couldn't help it.
For the first time in what felt like forever
he smiled.
A small one.
But real.
Then the door exploded open.
"HE'S AWAKE?!"
Soren.
The idiot practically launched himself into the room.
Behind him came Marlis.
Then Lyra.
Then Lira.
Then Roran.
Then half the estate.
Chaos immediately followed.
Soren looked like he'd seen a ghost.
"NO WAY."
He pointed dramatically.
"HE LIVES."
Riven groaned.
"I was dead for five minutes and you're already annoying."
Soren's eyes widened.
"HE'S TALKING."
"He was always talking."
"No."
Soren pointed again.
"That sounded like an actual insult."
Let
Lyra covered her mouth.
Tears filled her eyes instantly.
Before Riven could react
she hugged him.
The kind of hug only a mother could give.
Strong.
Protective.
Relieved.
For a moment...
Riven was reminded of Tyrella.
His chest tightened.
Lyra noticed immediately.
But said nothing.
She simply held him a little tighter.
Then stepped back.
"Welcome home."
Those two words nearly broke him.
Welcome home.
How long had it been since he truly felt that?
Too long.
Far too long.
Roran approached next.
The larger warrior looked unusually nervous.
Almost guilty.
"Hey."
Riven smiled weakly.
"Hey."
Silence.
Then Roran lowered his head.
"I'm sorry."
Riven frowned.
"For what?"
"The war."
"The battle."
"I wasn't strong enough."
Riven stared.
Then laughed.
Actually laughed.
A rough sound.
But genuine.
"You idiot."
Roran blinked.
"What?"
"If you start taking responsibility for everything..."
Riven pointed toward Soren.
"Then he'll finally have an excuse."
"Hey!"
Everyone laughed.
Even Roran.
The tension eased.
Just a little.
Then Lira approached.
Arms crossed.
Expression annoyed.
Exactly the same as always.
She stared at him for several seconds.
Then nodded.
"Took you long enough."
Riven smirked.
"You visited?"
"No."
A pause.
"...Maybe."
Another pause.
"...A few times."
Soren immediately betrayed her.
"A few hundred times."
Lira's face turned red.
"SOREN."
The room erupted into laughter.
For the first time in six months
life returned to the estate.
Hours passed.
Stories were exchanged.
Updates given.
Questions answered.
Riven learned everything.
The fall of the Second Order.
The retreat of the Fourth.
The expansion of the Third.
The rebuilding efforts.
The new wall.
The countless changes.
It felt strange.
Like waking up inside a different world.
Eventually...
night arrived.
The visitors slowly left.
One by one.
Until only two people remained.
Nyss.
And Nyxara.
The Alpha stood quietly near the window.
Watching him.
Studying him.
Riven immediately noticed.
Something felt different.
The way she looked at him.
The way her aura shifted.
As though she was examining something dangerous.
Finally she spoke.
"How do you feel?"
Riven frowned.
"Tired."
"No."
Nyxara shook her head.
"I mean inside."
The room became silent.
Riven closed his eyes.
For the first time...
he focused inward.
Toward his core.
And immediately
his eyes snapped open.
Blue.
Silver.
Black.
Three colors flashed simultaneously.
His aura leaked outward.
The room trembled.
Nyss stiffened.
Nyxara's expression darkened.
Because she felt it too.
The mutation.
Riven slowly looked down at his hands.
Energy danced across his skin.
Silver.
Black.
Blue.
Moon.
Shadow.
Primal.
All existing together.
Not fighting.
Not competing.
Merged.
His voice became quiet.
"...What happened to me?"
Nyxara didn't answer immediately.
Because the truth was
she didn't know.
Not completely.
She had never seen anything like it.
Never heard of anything like it.
Not in any record.
Not in any story.
Not in any history.
Finally she spoke.
"Something changed during the war."
Riven listened.
"You are still a Night Wolf."
A pause.
"But you're no longer the same one who entered that battlefield."
The room fell silent.
Outside...
the rain continued falling.
Inside...
Riven stared at his hands.
At the unfamiliar energy flowing through him.
And deep within his core
far below the silver moonlight...
far below the blue primal energy...
something watched.
A pair of crimson eyes opened briefly within the darkness.
The Dark Shadow.
Awake.
Waiting.
Smiling.
And for the first time since the war ended
it smiled back.