**14 Earth years ago on a planet far, far away.**
Thud-clop… Creak… thud-clop… creak…
Under the harsh afternoon sun, a horse that looked as if it were made from the earth pulled a modish carriage surrounded by adventurers.
Its breath was heavy with exhaustion as it trudged down the dirt path. The coachman whipped the reins, urging it to move faster, even shouting profanities at it. "Move faster, you worthless sh*t"
Yet the horse keeps its pace, even slowing down a notch. The coachman's face flushed red as it scrunched up. Gritting his teeth tightly, he yelled, "You damn thing!" he began repeatedly whipping the reins.
The horse showed no reaction to his attempts to harm it. The coachman's face flushed a deep crimson. Reaching for his whip on his belt, he raised it high, ready to bring it down on the animal.
A hand grabbed his wrist tightly. "Wha–!" the coachman shouted in shock. His gaze shot to the rough, worn-out black glove.
From the gloves cascaded dark brown arm braces that clung tightly to the wearer. A subtle, metallic scent of iron lingered in the air. An audible gulp filled the air.
He didn't need to look at the rest of the person's figure; only one adventurer here wore leather armor still caked in blood. The only one who single-handedly wiped out attacking bandits in one night with a smile on his face.
"S-Sir adventurer, h-how could I help you?"
"Beating it like that won't make it move faster. We should stop here."
"But, Sir, if we stop here."
"It'll be fine. It's barely noon; even if we stop, we'll still arrive before nightfall."
"Alright, Sir."
Walking away from the coachman, the adventurer raised his hand to stop everyone before shouting, "We'll be stopping here."
The other adventurers stop walking forward and visibly relax, with a few setting down their bags and getting out a light snack. But none of them dropped their guards and stayed relatively close to the carriage.
But none of that mattered as he walked past them, their weighted stares following him like a second shadow. Fear, hate, scorn, and even curiosity, he could feel it all, even if they tried to hide it.
Walking closer to the forest, he sat down on a collapsed log just outside its grasp and beyond the group's span. His lips parted slightly, a soft exhale slipping loose.
"System," he whispered.
[What is it host?]
"Did I really have to take this quest? I could've better spent the time training," he grumbled softly, his eyes scanning the forest for any irregularities.
[Host: If you wish to protect those you care about, you should first learn to protect those you don't care about.]
"Bullsh*t. If it's someone I don't care about, then when all the cards are down, I can abandon them. I'm not a hero."
[That's not it, Host. Willing to protect another, even at the cost of your own life, says more about your character than you think. You don't have to be a hero, even one with the title of brave would protect others with their life.]
The adventurer smirked, "I'm guessing you wanted to learn this on the last planet, but you underestimated how fast I would grow and realized there was nothing left to threaten me. So once again, you suck at planning ahead."
[Host you–] the system abruptly stopped speaking.
"Huh, system? Hello, are you going to finish?"
[Look ahead of you, stupid Host, someone's coming.]
The adventurer looked ahead, through his bangs of overgrown hair, his red eyes scanning the cloaked figure. He huffed lightly, "What do they want?"
The figure walked closer, their brown cloak doing a poor job at concealing their pink hair. "You're a weird one," they spoke, earning them a glare which they disregarded.
"Most would have disregarded whatever was happening between a coachman and their horse, but you didn't."
"Why waste a perfectly good horse by working it to death? If you all took care of them, you would have to spend so long breeding more."
"You really are just like the rumors say."
"Do I know you?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.
"No, but I know. Riven, overlord of the night, whisperer of dawn. Your key characteristics being midnight black hair, commonly found among the demon race, and red eyes more beautiful than the purest of rubies."
"So you've done your research, cool. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be heading back to my post. We'll be leaving now." Riven said, rising from the log. Brushing past them, he whispered. "Oh, and maybe next time you could speak to me with that delicate voice and not the distorted mess."
The cloak figure watched him go, a small smile on her lips. "Truly a strange person."
Very soon, the horse rose from its resting position. Lightly stomping the ground, it tossed its head around. The coachman held the reins, his mouth ajar at the horse's actions.
Who would've thought just letting it rest one extra time would produce such results? Maybe he should start treating his horses a little better. Well, he would figure that out later; for now, it was time to get moving. After all, his passenger would probably like to not spend the night outside the city gates.
Gripping the reins tightly, he quickly whipped them, but what he didn't expect was that as soon as the reins came down, the horse darted forward. His body lurched forward, the reins nearly slipping from his grasp, before jutting back.
The adventurers were left standing at the spot, completely flabbergasted, even more so when they realized that Riven was jogging along with the carriage, matching the horse's sudden increase in speed.
It wasn't until a single voice sounded that they all came to their sense and began to catch up to the carriage. "Uh, shouldn't we catch up with them?"
Seeing the other adventurers begin to run after the carriage, a grin spread across Riven's lips. Increasing his speed until he was neck and neck with the horse. Flashing it a quick smile, he continued to speed up, passing it.
Realizing it had been passed by a human on two legs, the horse, with a swift snort, surged forward, its powerful legs driving it faster, eager to outpace the two-legged being.
Riven let out a burst of laughter as the horse passed him. His small encouragement had worked, but it wouldn't be fun to stop here, so let's continue. He thought with a smirk.
[You're really evil, Host]
***
Within the obsidian stillness of night, shadows stretched long and thin, shifting like restless smoke. Darkness pooled in corners, bleeding into every edge.
The stars, high above, scattered faint silver dust across the sky.
Down below, amber light spilled into the darkness. Every crack and snap echoed sharper in the still air. Embers pulsed like dying stars, smoke curled upward from them, vanishing into the dark.
A warmth clung to Riven's skin as he gently stoked the fire. "System, what's our next move?"
[Host, need I remind you about what you did earlier?]
"Tch, I shouldn't have agreed to those conditions. Alright, seal it away." Riven said, holding his hands out, like the system was putting handcuffs on him.
[Ding]
[For the next 24 hours, your emotional inhibitor is sealed away. Enjoy your negative emotions.]
"Great, let's try not to blow up a city."
[More like a town]
"Whatever." He said, picking the stick back up and moving the embers around.
Crack!
Riven's head snapped up, his eyes trailing the tree line. His hand gravitated toward his side, where his sword rested. "Come out now, or I'll come to you."
A hush fell over the area; no trees swayed, the fire didn't hiss, and even the bugs seemed to vanish. Riven's body slowly began to rise, from where he sat, with each second that passed, until finally.
"Wait," a voice shouted before a cloaked figure walked out from behind a tree, their arms raised high into the air.
'This woman again,' he thought, clicking his tongue before speaking. "What do you want?"
"I was just passing by and noticed the orange glow and thought I'd come over and see what's up."
"Like a moth to a flame, huh?" Riven said, picking up the stick he used to stoke the fire.
"Rude," she replied, puffing out her cheeks. She turned her head away.
"Okay, so… Women, why are you out here and not resting in town with the rest of 'em?"
Taking a seat against a tree, she set her bag down. "Thought I'd get a head start and start heading to the next town over."
"Well, seeing you've made yourself comfortable, I guess you can stay, Women,"
"Names, Eli." She says, pulling her hood off, her pink hair spilling all over her.
"Hmm, cool," he nodded absentmindedly, adding more fuel to the fire before stoking it more.
A heavy silence descended upon them, wrapping the air in an uncomfortable tension that seemed to stretch on forever.
"Sooo, this is kind of awkward," Eli said, restless, patting her lap.
"Is it now?" he remarked, grabbing a piece of jerky from his bag.
Looking at him as he ate, she couldn't help but think of something. "Let me ask you a question."
"No"
Undeterred, she asked anyway. "What's a young master like yourself doing out here?"
"What makes you ask that?" he questioned, looking at her from the corner of his eye.
She shrugged, "I don't know, you just give off this vibe. Like you've had everything handed to you, and just enjoyed this level of privilege most could never enjoy."
Riven remained silent, his focus still on the fire. But even then, Eli could see it, a small crack in his composure; his hand had stopped moving, and his eyes carried a vacant look.
With a soft sigh, she stood up and moved closer to him, a warm smile blossoming on her face. She reached out, taking his hand in hers, and gave a gentle tug, drawing him to his feet with a playful energy.
Riven's eyes opened wide in surprise.
"Come, dance with me, under this beautiful moonlight." She shouted. And as if the world heard her voice, the silver rays of moonlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating where they stood.
Though unsure about why she wanted to dance, Riven went along with it, following her lead. Their steps were uneven at first, more shuffles than rhythm, but neither cared. The night air wrapped around them, then the crackle of the dying fire, their only music.
Her hand rested lightly in his, her other on his shoulder, and for the first time in years, he allowed himself to breathe without burden, emotions unrestrained.
In that fleeting moment, it felt as though time had stretched infinitely, binding the two together in a connection that seemed to echo a lifetime. They moved together in quiet rhythm, the soft scuff of their steps blending with the night. The firelight clung to their forms, but as the world seemed to blur, the focus drifted upward.
Past the swaying shadows, past the whispering trees, the moon unveiled itself in full–a pale, watchful lantern spilling silver across the dark.
Beneath its light, Riven sat on the roof of his mansion, a lone can of beer his only company, the vestiges of the past nothing more than an echo.
He tipped the can back, the bitter taste doing little to dull the phantom ache in his chest. Leaning against the tiles, he whispered to the night, "Hey Elysia, I wonder what do ghosts see when they're not home?"
The silence answered him, as it always did.