Chapter 196: When You’re Stripped Of Everything You Have, What Remains Behind? Just You

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Elisa began thinking quietly, without saying a word. Riven could tell that she wanted to express something important, yet she seemed to lack the courage to put those thoughts into words. When he gently asked if she wanted to grow stronger, she responded with mild surprise.

Although he had yet to gather all the necessary ingredients, thanks to the Investment Authority she had been healing rapidly — at least her arms and upper torso. She was also slowly regaining control over her Mana and Spiritual Energy. Even if she was still bound to a wheelchair, unable to fully move, and with nearly all of her previous strength sealed away, she was beginning to forge something new. And it was thanks to him.

"Grow stronger?" she repeated softly, almost to herself. Then she slowly shook her head. "That’s impossible... I... My Authority, Lady Skadi, has abandoned me. I have nothing left... Mana and Spirit Energy on their own can hardly help me do anything meaningful..."

Riven shook his head firmly. "No. I think you can still grow from here. Start anew if you have to. I will find a cure for the poison as well, but until then... why not try? I’ll be there with you, one step at a time. I just want you to be happier. And I know this is something you secretly wish for as well."

Elisa let out a long, heavy sigh and shook her head again. "No... It might seem that way from the outside, but... I really desire something... beyond strength. Growing stronger and fighting... truth be told, I was never truly a fan of it."

"...?" Riven looked at her in genuine shock. He had always believed Elisa loved hunting and the thrill of battle.

She asked him to take her further away so they could speak more privately. He gently guided her wheelchair through the soft grasslands. As they moved, she reached out and touched the long stalks of grass and the small wildflowers growing between them. Dragonflies and bees drifted lazily through the air around them, completely undisturbed by their presence.

Once they were far enough from the others, Elisa smiled faintly as she looked out toward the vast horizon. The gentle wind brushed against her face, carrying the clean scent of earth and green life.

"I know that it is through strength that we can achieve salvation, just as you said," she began quietly. "But... ever since I was a child, I only ever did what my parents wanted."

"...Really? You didn’t want to become strong?" Riven asked, his voice soft.

"Oh, I did, Riven. I wanted to be strong so I could protect myself, protect my family, my parents... and my big sister," she muttered, her voice growing quieter. "But as I look at this vast greenery, I can’t stop thinking that there is so much more to life than this endless pursuit. So much more than seeking power relentlessly... Look at this place. Don’t you realize the miracles you’re capable of creating? An entire world... It’s so beautiful. Full of life... full of nature..."

"...!" Riven’s eyes widened slightly as her words sank in.

"There’s more to life than strength," she continued with a quiet sigh. "The years I spent tormented by the fact that I lacked it have somehow also helped me understand how much we rely on these tools to shape our entire lives. But what are we when none of that remains? When... you’re stripped of everything you once were — the strength that shaped your image, the way people saw you, the way the world perceived your worth?"

Riven looked out on the same horizon as he listened carefully to every word she spoke, finding it surprising how much she expressed herself, this was a facet of Elisa he had never seen before in his previous life, in the ruined future he came from, where he lost her.

"When you’re stripped bare of what you used to be," she said, "you realize that strength was often the only thing others truly cared about... not you. Not the person you actually were. Not the Elisa sitting here right now."

"..."

"Perhaps... not even my parents really cared about that part of me," she admitted, her voice growing heavier. "That harsh truth has tormented me for many years... But... you’re different."

She turned her head and looked into his eyes with a faint, genuine smile. "You saw me for who I was and loved me regardless," she said, her eyes bright as Riven felt his heart skipping a beat. These words meant so much to him. No, they meant everything.

Riven’s heart skipped a beat. His eyes grew slightly wet, though he quickly held the tears back. "Elisa..."

"I did everything my parents asked of me," she continued. "But now I realize they only ever saw my strength as something valuable — not the daughter they actually had. They discarded me so easily. Even now, I still find it hard to believe they were the same parents who once claimed they loved me unconditionally... the same parents whose so-called love drove my sister to go out of her way to destroy my life and my future."

"..."

"But don’t you think it’s quite ironic?" she asked after a short silence. "I’ve heard about the world that existed before the Gates appeared. It was a world where, aside from money and status, every human being was simply that — a human being. The richest man on the planet would still die one day, just like the poorest. Everyone was mortal in the face of that world. Nature itself was fair. But that purity has been stripped away. Power, as a concept, has completely warped humanity’s perception of themselves... don’t you think?"

Riven remained silent for a moment as her words settled over him. He recalled the fight from the previous day, the way men had been willing to commit such horrible acts purely for the sake of gaining more power, even when it meant the sacrifice of countless others.

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