Rain continued pouring across the rooftop.
Cold wind swept between broken buildings while distant sirens echoed faintly through Velkhar.
Riven stood there breathing heavily.
Blood mixed with rainwater beneath his feet.
Bodies surrounded him.
Some unconscious.
Some not moving at all.
And in front of him—
Ivan stood calmly with his hands inside his pockets as if none of this chaos bothered him in the slightest.
For several seconds—
Neither of them spoke.
Then Ivan glanced at the destroyed rooftop around them before sighing softly.
"…You really know how to make a mess."
Riven let out a weak laugh before immediately regretting it as pain shot through his ribs.
"…Good to see you too."
Ivan's eyes narrowed slightly after properly seeing Riven's injuries.
Bruised ribs.
Torn shoulder.
Blood everywhere.
"…You look terrible."
"Very comforting."
"I wasn't trying to comfort you."
"…Fair."
Rainwater dripped from Riven's hair as exhaustion slowly caught up to him.
Now that Ivan was here—
His body finally started realizing how tired it actually was.
Ivan stepped closer quietly.
Then his gaze lowered briefly toward the blood covering Riven's trembling hands.
Silence lingered for a moment.
"…First time?" Ivan asked calmly.
Riven looked at his hand too.
The rain slowly washed the blood away little by little.
But somehow—
It still felt heavy.
"…Yeah."
Ivan remained silent for a few seconds.
Not judging.
Not comforting either.
Just understanding.
Then he spoke quietly.
"If you hesitated…"
His eyes drifted toward the bodies nearby.
"…you would've died instead."
Riven clenched his jaw slightly.
He knew that.
That was the worst part.
---
A flash of lightning illuminated the rooftop briefly.
Ivan finally looked back toward him properly.
"Now explain," he said calmly, "why half the underground world suddenly wants your head."
Riven exhaled slowly.
Then he told him everything.
The call.
The fake kidnapping.
The station.
Ardyn.
The trap.
The bounty.
Ivan listened without interrupting once.
Completely silent.
And the more he listened—
The colder his expression became.
By the time Riven finished—
The rain somehow felt heavier.
Silence lingered.
Then Ivan closed his eyes briefly.
"…You really are an idiot."
Riven frowned tiredly.
"I know."
"No," Ivan continued calmly, "I genuinely underestimated how stupid you could be."
"…Can you insult me later?"
"I am insulting you later."
Despite everything—
Riven almost smiled.
Almost.
---
Ivan leaned slightly against a broken wall.
"Think about it properly," he said.
"Your father is Deputy Director of the CSD."
Riven's eyes shifted slightly.
"The Association has strict laws regarding high-ranking government officials. Forget kidnapping one…"
Ivan looked toward the distant city lights.
"Even touching them recklessly creates political consequences."
Riven stayed silent.
Because now—
After calming down—
It sounded obvious.
Painfully obvious.
Ivan continued quietly.
"Ardyn knew you didn't understand the political structure yet."
"…So he used that against me."
"Yes."
Riven laughed bitterly.
"…I actually fell for it."
"You were emotional."
Riven's expression darkened slightly.
"He mentioned my father."
Silence.
Then quietly—
"…I got scared."
That sentence felt strangely heavy leaving his mouth.
Not because he was ashamed of it.
But because it was true.
For the first time since becoming an Ascendant—
He wasn't scared for himself.
He was scared for his family.
Ivan looked at him silently for a few seconds.
Then finally said:
"…Good."
Riven frowned.
"What do you mean good?"
Ivan's voice remained calm.
"It means there's still something you want to protect."
The rain continued falling quietly around them.
And somehow—
That simple sentence settled something inside Riven's chest.
Ivan looked toward the distant city lights quietly.
Then he spoke again.
"…The Vaelcrest family isn't something you can challenge right now."
Rainwater slid down the side of his face as lightning flickered across the sky.
"You saw it yourself," Ivan continued calmly. "One message from them moved half the underground."
Riven leaned tiredly against a broken concrete structure.
"…Yeah well," he muttered while holding his ribs, "next time remind me not to challenge psychopath nobles."
Ivan glanced at him.
"You challenged Ardyn before even knowing his family."
"…Details."
"That level of stupidity should honestly be studied."
Riven scoffed weakly.
"At least I didn't walk around acting emotionally dead all the time."
Ivan looked genuinely thoughtful for a second.
"…That's fair."
Riven blinked.
"…Wait you admitted that too easily."
"You look terrible enough already. No need to hurt you further."
"…You literally watched me get hunted through the city."
"And yet," Ivan replied calmly, "you survived."
Riven looked down at his torn clothes.
"…Barely."
Ivan's gaze shifted toward the deep cut on Riven's shoulder.
"You should be unconscious by now."
"Well," Riven muttered tiredly, "I'm built different."
"No," Ivan answered immediately.
"You're just too stubborn to collapse properly."
"…That actually sounds accurate."
For the first time that night—
A faint laugh escaped both of them.
Small.
Tired.
But real.
Then suddenly—
Ivan's expression changed.
Instantly.
The atmosphere shifted.
Riven felt it too.
Aether pressure.
Every direction.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Lightning flashed across the sky—
And over a hundred figures appeared across the surrounding rooftops.
Some stood silently beneath the rain.
Some carried weapons.
Others simply radiated overwhelming aether pressure.
The rooftop instantly became surrounded.
Riven's exhausted body tensed immediately.
"…You have got to be kidding me."
One figure stepped forward slowly.
A tall man wearing a dark cloak.
His eyes settled on Ivan first.
"Young Master Kaelthorn," he said respectfully. "This matter does not concern you."
Ivan sighed softly.
"…I was hoping for at least five more minutes of peace."
The man continued calmly.
"Leave the boy behind. No one here wishes to offend the Kaelthorn lineage."
Ivan glanced sideways toward Riven.
Then casually said:
"…Unfortunately for all of you, he's my friend."
The atmosphere became colder instantly.
Another man standing behind the crowd suddenly laughed loudly.
"Hahaha! Friend or not, who cares?"
Several people frowned immediately.
The man grinned wildly.
"We'll just say we didn't recognize Young Master Ivan during the fight!"
His eyes gleamed greedily.
"Take the money and settle in another country afterward!"
Several hunters nearby actually considered it.
Riven stared at them in disbelief.
"…Your world is insane."
Ivan looked strangely calm.
Then casually leaned slightly closer toward Riven.
"…By the way."
"Hm?"
"There are at least six or seven-star Ascendants here."
Silence.
Riven slowly turned toward him.
"…You decided NOW was a good time to tell me that?"
"I thought honesty was important in friendships."
"…I'm going to die."
Ivan looked toward the surrounding hunters.
"Well," he said calmly, "given your luck until now…"
A faint smirk appeared on his face.
"…of course we'll survive."
The next second—
The rooftop exploded into chaos.
---
Aether erupted everywhere.
Hunters rushed forward from every direction simultaneously.
Riven forced his exhausted body forward immediately.
Kethra Vein Art—
Second Move: Silent Pulse Step.
His body blurred through the rain.
A punch slammed directly into a one-star Ascendant's throat.
Crack.
Another attacked from the side—
Riven redirected the strike and shattered the attacker's knee with a brutal counter.
Meanwhile—
Lightning exploded across the rooftop.
Ivan moved calmly through the battlefield.
Every flicker of lightning meant another body falling.
Another scream.
Another hunter collapsing.
The difference between Ivan and everyone else felt terrifying.
Even while surrounded—
He looked completely in control.
---
Bodies quickly began piling across the rooftop.
One-star.
Two-star.
Even several three-stars died within minutes.
Rainwater carried blood across the cracked concrete.
But eventually—
The real fighters moved.
Four-star Ascendants entered the battle.
The pressure instantly increased.
Riven blocked a strike—
Pain exploded through his injured ribs immediately.
Another attack came from behind.
He twisted barely in time—
But a blade still cut across his side.
Blood sprayed again.
Riven staggered slightly.
Ivan appeared beside him instantly and electrocuted the attacker into unconsciousness.
Then calmly asked:
"…You moved up to three-star recently, right?"
Riven coughed painfully.
"…Yeah."
Ivan blasted another attacker away with lightning before speaking again.
"You know," he said calmly, "those sudden emotional power-ups usually only happen in movies."
Despite the chaos—
Riven actually laughed weakly.
"…Maybe I'm the main character then."
Ivan looked genuinely thoughtful.
"…Lucky for you."
Another explosion of lightning erupted.
"Because those kinds of power-ups rarely work in real life."
---
The battle intensified further.
Riven's body was reaching its limit.
His vision blurred repeatedly.
Every breath hurt.
Every movement burned.
Yet he kept fighting.
Because stopping meant death.
---
Then suddenly—
One of the six-star hunters lost patience completely.
A monstrous amount of aether exploded outward.
The rooftop shattered beneath the pressure alone.
Ivan's eyes narrowed instantly.
The man rushed forward violently—
Straight toward Ivan.
Fast.
Too fast.
Even Ivan looked slightly surprised.
And then—
Riven moved.
Instinct.
Pure instinct.
He stepped between them.
The attack landed.
Silence.
For one horrifying second—
Everything stopped.
Rain continued falling quietly.
Then—
Blood slowly spilled downward.
A massive hole had been torn directly through Riven's chest.
Ivan froze.
Completely.
Riven looked downward weakly.
Then toward Ivan.
A faint laugh escaped him painfully.
"…You…"
Blood slipped from his mouth.
"…you're such a liar."
His legs finally gave out.
And his eyes slowly closed.
---
Ivan didn't move.
Didn't speak.
For the first time—
His mind went completely blank.
Then memories suddenly flooded him.
School hallways.
Riven casually throwing an arm around his shoulder while everyone else stayed terrified of him.
Riven arguing with teachers.
Dragging Ivan into stupid situations.
Talking to him normally despite knowing who he was.
Maybe because he was ignorant.
Maybe because he simply didn't care.
But regardless—
Riven had become his first real friend.
And now—
That same person was dying in front of him.
Something inside Ivan broke.
---
At that moment sky darkened unnaturally
Then suddenly—
Space distorted.
The clouds twisted violently.
And a massive tear ripped open across the sky itself.
END