Chapter 24: Escalation

Thump…

…silence.

Thump… thump…

The rhythm was faint, distant at first like hearing someone else's pulse underwater.

Yet with each beat, it drew closer, louder, until it was no longer simply sound but a pressure reverberating in his chest.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

The tempo quickened just as his ribs tightened with every echo, each strike against his ears heavier, sharper, until it seemed the world itself beat in time with it.

Then came the whispers.

At first, they were no more than scratches in the silence. It came as a hiss and a murmur. Too faint to completely make out, yet it was impossible to ignore. Like voices pressed against the walls of his skull, speaking from behind a curtain the words were without form.

"…nnnot… yours…"

"…back… always back…"

"…eyes… open… always watching…"

The shadows lengthened around him, stretching thin like black veins across his vision.

And then he saw them… again.

Those eyes.

Pitch black as the void itself, yet gleaming with the faintest reflection as if the abyss itself had learned to stare. They weren't just looking at him.No. They were him, a face that mirrored his own emerged faintly in the dark, pale and hollow, lips unmoving, but the whispers surged louder all the same.

It's him.

THUMP-THUMP! THUMP-THUMP! THUMP-THUMP!

Riven's eyes flew open as he shot upright in bed, his lungs dragging in air as though he had just escaped drowning. Sweat slicked his skin and his heart still hammering against his ribs like it wanted out.

The room was quiet save for the sound of his breathing.

He sat frozen for a few moments, listening to the hollow ring in his ears, before finally collapsing back against the bedframe with a groan.

"…What the hell was that?" he muttered, dragging a shaky hand across his face.

"That's a peculiar way of waking up, don't you think?"

The voice didn't belong in the silence.

Riven jerked his head toward it.

March sat casually on the windowsill, leaning against the frame with his eyes closed and a grin tugging at his lips, as though he'd been there the entire time.

"…Why are you here?" Riven asked flatly, still catching his breath.

March placed a hand dramatically over his chest, feigning offense. "Wow. That's how you greet me? I'm hurt." He grinned wider, tilting his head. "Can't I just come visit my new source of entertainment?"

Riven gave him a look that was equal parts tired and irritated. "…Don't you have work to do?"

"Meh," March shrugged, waving a hand dismissively. "Work is for those who view it as a necessity. I don't like necessities. Besides…" His grin sharpened, eyes still closed. "This is the free time I'll get before my hands are full. Damn terrorists, above all that nonsense, really."

Riven blinked at him. "…Riiiight."

The two sat in silence for a stretch before March broke it again, casually, as though commenting on the weather. "I heard about your trials. I gotta say… I'm shocked you were able to resist little Borah's aura."

Riven's eyes widened in realization at what he forgot. "Shit, the trials—"

"—have ended," March cut in smoothly.

"Oh," Riven muttered allowing the tension to slip from his shoulders.

March chuckled lowly. "Still… I'm surprised." His smile twisted sharp, and this time he cracked his left eye open a little revealing a glint of something dangerous. "I didn't expect such a performance from someone who just had their awakening. If I didn't know better, I'd say you've been awakened all along."

Riven stared back at him with an unreadable face, before finally glancing at the ceiling. "…Yeah. I would think so too."

March let that hang before shrugging. "Enough about that. Tell me, how do you feel right now?"

Riven straightened on the bed. "I feel… fine. I guess."

The words had barely left his mouth before the windowsill was empty.

"Hmmm."

Riven's blood went cold. The voice came from behind him. He spun, finding March standing there, hand on his chin, gaze running over him like a scalpel.

"…When did you…"

"Your body's functioning well," March said casually, ignoring his reaction. He tilted his head, studying Riven with unnerving focus. 'Though I wonder… is he really a new tier one minor? Or something else entirely? And that lumen quality of his, it's—

"Oh relax." He broke off his own thought, waving it away with a smirk. "I was just checking something."

Riven's tensed shoulders loosened slightly, though his eyes remained narrowed.

"Anyway," March went on, strolling leisurely back toward the window, "you should start your preparations."

"Preparations for what?" Riven asked cautiously.

"The news," March replied, almost sing-song, "about the new development. You're about to get a change in environment."

Before Riven could ask more, a knock came at the door. He glanced over instinctively and when he turned back, March was gone.

The door swung open.

"Don't make this a habit," Kevan said as he stepped in with his arms crossed. His tone was light, but the jab was clear. "Meeting you in a hospital bed isn't exactly comforting you know."

Lynn followed, her sharp eyes scanning Riven quickly before softening. "At least you're awake and alright. That's… something."

"…What happened after I blacked out?" Riven asked, sitting up straighter.

Lynn folded her arms. "That's what we wanted to ask you. What was that?"

Riven blinked. "…What was what?"

Kevan said, leaning against the wall. "Don't play dumb. You manifested your aura, Riv."

Riven froze. "…What? That's not possible. I'm still a minor tier one I'm not a even a true tier One."

The two exchanged a glance.

"Well, whatever it was," Kevan said finally with a small grin, "we all passed the trials."

"…Us?" Riven asked carefully.

"Yeah," Kevan said, grin widening. "Us three. Leo, and—" He stopped short, glancing at Lynn.

"Ceyric," she sighed, rolling her eyes.

Riven groaned, rubbing his face. "Of course he passed."

"So… what about the third trial?" he asked after a moment.

Kevan's expression turned grim. "There's been a change in the exams. All qualified students from the minor schools are to be transported to Eryndor Astralis Academy in two days."

"…Huh?" Riven stared.

Lynn nodded. "Our Veylin Institute of Vorath, Caelora Institute of Caelith, and Gravenholt Institute of Mornveil. We were told the final trial will commence there."

Kevan muttered under his breath, "…Something's definitely wrong. This hasn't happened before."

Lynn's tone was steadier, though her eyes darkened. "It might have something to do with the attacks in Mornveil. And the increasing corridors. Six opened in the past week alone."

Riven's head snapped toward her. "Six? That's… more than in the past two months combined." His eyes narrowed, a chill creeping into his veins. 'Wait. Is it because of that…?'

His mind flashed back to the void, the eyes, the whispering nothingness.

'No. It can't be.'

"…Can't be what?" Kevan asked, raising a brow.

Riven shook his head quickly. "It's nothing. So… we only have two days before Astralis, huh?"

"It would seem so," Kevan said with a shrug.

Riven leaned back on the bed, exhaling. "…Well then. Let's enjoy the next few days while they last."