Chapter 10 — A Man Beyond The World
The forest did not breathe.
Riven realized that only after several long seconds passed without the faintest sound—not a bird, not an insect, not even the whisper of leaves.
Silence ruled this place.
He stood at the edge of the glowing path, heart beating slow and heavy, eyes fixed on the man who called himself Aetherion.
A name too heavy to belong to a living person.
"You're giving me a choice," Riven said carefully, "but it doesn't feel like one."
Aetherion's gaze shifted to the shadow creature standing beside Riven.
The creature stiffened.
Not in fear.
In instinctive caution.
"Choices," Aetherion replied calmly, "are rarely comfortable. If they were, they would not shape fate."
Riven clenched his fists.
"You blocked the trackers. You brought me here. And now you're telling me to decide as if this just… happened."
Aetherion's eyes glimmered faintly.
"Do you believe fate is passive?"
Before Riven could answer, the pressure in the air shifted.
The world bent.
Suddenly, they were no longer standing among trees.
---
The World Between Breaths
Riven gasped.
The forest vanished—replaced by an endless void of floating stone platforms suspended in shimmering darkness. Streams of golden energy flowed like rivers through empty space, humming softly.
The sky above was fractured—stars cracked like broken mirrors.
Riven staggered, instinctively reaching for balance.
The shadow creature stayed perfectly still, eyes wide, tail lowered.
"Where—" Riven started.
"A memory," Aetherion said. "Or perhaps… an echo."
He raised a hand.
The space shifted again.
Images appeared in the air—vast battlefields, broken continents, oceans boiling under clashing energies.
Riven's breath caught.
He saw three colossal figures, their forms shrouded in shadow and divinity—faces unseen, power absolute.
Dark Gods.
And standing against them—
One man.
Silver-haired. Calm. Unyielding.
Aetherion.
"You fought them," Riven whispered.
Aetherion nodded once.
"Three of them."
The scene played faster.
He saw the clash—reality tearing apart, laws collapsing, divine screams echoing across realms.
One god fell.
Then another.
Then—
The final explosion blinded Riven.
When his vision cleared, the world burned.
Aetherion stood alone… kneeling.
Blood—golden and luminous—spilled from deep wounds across his body.
Riven's throat tightened.
"You won… but you were dying."
"Yes."
The void dissolved.
They stood again in the forest.
Aetherion looked… older now. Not weaker—but quieter. Like a star nearing the end of its life.
"I came here," he continued, "to die where no one would find me. Where the heavens would not interfere. Where the remnants of gods would not reach."
Riven swallowed.
"And then I arrived."
Aetherion met his eyes.
"And then you arrived."
---
The Crescent Truth
Aetherion stepped closer.
"The mark you bear—" he said, gesturing to Riven's chest, "—is not merely a curse, nor a blessing."
Riven tensed. "Then what is it?"
"A key."
The word echoed.
"To what?" Riven asked.
Aetherion did not answer immediately.
Instead, he turned to the shadow creature.
Its body rippled uneasily.
"You," Aetherion said softly, "should not exist."
The creature growled low—not threatening, but defensive.
Riven stepped forward. "Don't talk about him like that."
Aetherion's gaze flickered—surprised.
"…You've already bonded."
Riven hesitated. "I didn't choose it. It just… happened."
"Nothing that happens around you is accidental," Aetherion replied.
He raised a hand.
The crescent mark pulsed once.
The shadow creature shuddered—and then, slowly, its form stabilized. Its edges sharpened, its presence deepened.
Riven felt it instantly.
Their connection strengthened.
"What did you do?" Riven demanded.
"Nothing harmful," Aetherion said. "I simply allowed the bond to align properly."
Riven looked at the creature.
It nudged his hand, calmer now.
"…Thank you," Riven said quietly.
Aetherion studied him carefully.
"You are reckless," he said. "Undertrained. Unprepared."
Riven nodded. "I know."
""You protected something you didn't understand," Aetherion said.
"Most people would have tried to control it. Or destroy it."
Riven looked away.
"I don't want power if it turns me into someone cruel."
Aetherion nodded slowly.
"Then you'll need enough power to make that choice possible.
"The world won't be gentle with you," Aetherion said.
"If you stay weak, someone else will decide who gets hurt."
"Power isn't the danger," Aetherion finished.
"What you do without it is."
Riven swallowed.
Aetherion's voice dropped.
"Then you will need it."
---
A Dangerous Offer
The forest trembled subtly.
Aetherion's presence intensified—not aggressive, but absolute.
"I will not train you," he said.
Riven stiffened. "What?"
"I do not have the time," Aetherion continued calmly. "Nor the strength."
Riven's heart sank slightly.
"But," Aetherion added, "I will prepare you."
He waved a hand.
A massive stone platform rose from the ground, etched with ancient runes that hummed with restrained power.
"You are leaking your presence," Aetherion said. "That is why they find you."
Riven clenched his jaw. "I know. I just don't know how to stop it."
Aetherion's eyes sharpened.
"Then you will learn."
He placed a hand over Riven's chest—directly over the crescent mark.
Riven gasped as searing pain exploded outward.
His knees buckled—but he did not scream.
The shadow creature roared, shadows flaring.
Aetherion's voice remained steady.
"Focus. Do not resist."
Images flooded Riven's mind—energy pathways, seals within seals, layers of presence folded inward like a sleeping star.
His breathing steadied.
The pain faded.
The crescent mark dimmed.
Not gone.
Hidden.
Riven's eyes snapped open.
"I… I can't feel it anymore."
Aetherion stepped back.
"You will," he said. "But now, you control when others do."
Riven stared at his hands.
"They won't be able to track me?"
Aetherion nodded.
"Not unless you allow it."
---
The Price of Survival
Riven met Aetherion's gaze.
"What do you want in return?" Riven asked.
Aetherion was quiet for a long moment.
"Nothing," he said at last. "I just want to see if someone the gods want erased can keep living."
Riven breathed in slowly.
"Then I will," he said. "No matter how hard it gets."
Aetherion smiled faintly.
"Good," he said. "Because the world will never make it easy for you."
The forest shifted again.
Paths unfolded.
The hidden domain breathed.
Aetherion turned away.
"Rest," he said. "Tomorrow, we begin correcting your foundations."
Riven blinked. "Tomorrow?"
Aetherion glanced over his shoulder.
"I did not say I would abandon you."
Riven exhaled slowly.
For the first time since the crescent mark awakened…
He felt something close to hope.
---
Chapter 10 — END