Chapter 100: Light in the Darkness

Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Light in the Darkness

"No man is an island, entire of itself." — John Donne

Month Seven brought no sun, but the warded sanctuary somehow felt brighter than it ever had before.

A quiet routine had settled into the hidden cavern.

Most mornings began with sword drills. Afterward came footwork practice, maintenance, hunting, and whatever other tasks were necessary to keep their small sanctuary running.

It wasn’t much of a life.

But after seven months in the abyss, it felt almost peaceful.

Riven sat beside the campfire, cleaning his sword with a soft flannel cloth. he slowly worked along its edge, checking for even the smallest imperfections.

He glanced at the sigil on his arm.

It had remained sealed for seven long months.

Riven stared at it for several seconds.

He started to pour his mana into it.

"What is it?" Elora asked.

She was sitting nearby against a stone pillar, repairing a worn leather strap on her shoulder guard. The warm firelight brought out faint ash brown highlights in her hair.

Riven looked down.

"Nyx."

Elora paused.

"My friend?"

"Yeah."

"I sealed her away when the rift pulled me down here."

Elora raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

Riven was quiet for a moment.

"I didn’t want her to see me like that."

Elora’s expression softened.

Riven looked toward the fire.

"During those first few months... I wasn’t myself. I could barely think. I stopped talking. I stopped keeping track of time."

His fingers tightened slightly around the pouch.

"I was scared that if Nyx saw me like that, she’d be afraid of me."

Elora slowly put down her needle.

"Riven."

He looked at her.

"You were dying."

She moved closer and placed her hand over his.

"You weren’t becoming a monster. You were trying to survive."

Riven didn’t answer immediately.

Elora gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Nyx probably cares a lot more about whether you’re alive than whether you looked good while surviving."

A faint smile appeared on Riven’s face.

"Probably."

"So let her out."

For a few seconds, he simply touched the mark.

Then he nodded.

"Okay."

He funneled his mana into the sigil.

Pop.

A dense cloud of black smoke spilled across the floor.

It spread outward like liquid darkness before rapidly gathering into a single shape.

A small pair of wings appeared first.

Then four clawed feet.

Then a long, narrow body covered in impossibly dark scales.

Nyx stepped out of the smoke.

The young wyvern was roughly the size of a large dog now, her sleek scales so dark that they seemed to absorb the firelight around her. Small wings unfolded from her sides with a sharp snap before settling against her body.

Then her violet eyes opened.

She saw Riven.

For several seconds, she simply stared.

Riven’s expression softened.

"Hey, Nyx."

Nyx’s ears twitched.

Then she launched herself at him.

"Whoa!"

Riven barely had time to brace himself before the wyvern slammed into his chest, knocking him backward onto his bedroll.

Nyx immediately began making a series of loud, indignant chirps.

She pushed her snout against his neck.

Then his cheek.

Then his chin.

Her tail wrapped tightly around one of his legs.

"Okay, okay."

Riven laughed quietly as he tried to keep up with her frantic movements.

"I’m sorry."

Nyx chirped angrily.

"I know."

Another chirp.

"I know."

Nyx pressed her head against his chest.

Riven’s expression softened completely.

"I’m sorry, Nyx."

He wrapped both arms around her neck.

"I’m here now."

Nyx settled against him, releasing a deep vibrating purr.

Riven closed his eyes for a moment, resting his cheek against her cool scales.

He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her.

Elora watched them from beside the fire, a warm smile slowly spreading across her face.

"She missed you."

Riven glanced at her.

"Yeah."

Nyx suddenly lifted her head.

Her violet eyes turned toward Elora.

Elora froze.

Nyx stared at her.

Elora stared back.

Neither moved.

Three seconds passed.

Then Nyx climbed off Riven and walked toward her.

Elora raised an eyebrow.

"Uh..."

Nyx stopped directly in front of her.

She sniffed her hand.

Elora slowly extended her fingers.

Nyx leaned forward.

Then, without warning, she placed her enormous head directly in Elora’s lap.

Elora blinked.

Riven stared.

Nyx released another deep, satisfied purr.

Elora looked down at the wyvern.

Then back at Riven.

"Well."

Riven couldn’t help smiling.

"Looks like she likes you."

Elora carefully ran her fingers across the smooth scales between Nyx’s eyes.

"She’s surprisingly friendly."

"She’s selective."

Elora looked at him.

"Meaning?"

Riven leaned back against the stone wall.

"She doesn’t trust people easily."

He glanced toward Nyx.

"But she trusts people who protect me."

Elora’s fingers paused.

Her expression softened.

"Then I guess I made the list."

Riven gave her a small smile.

"Looks like it."

Nyx shifted slightly, curling her body around Elora’s legs.

The fire crackled quietly.

For several minutes, nobody spoke.

Riven simply watched Elora pet Nyx.

There was something strangely peaceful about the scene.

Seven months ago, he had been alone in the dark.

He had barely remembered his own name.

Now he had a warm fire.

A safe place to sleep..

And someone sitting beside him who had pulled him back from the edge of death.

The realization settled heavily in his chest.

He cared about Elora.

More than he had expected.

More than he had allowed himself to admit.

She had become part of his daily life so naturally that imagining the abyss without her felt almost impossible.

But another image surfaced in his mind.

Silver blonde hair.

Sharp eyes.

A royal garden beneath the moonlight.

Lyra.

Riven’s smile faded slightly.

He remembered the way she looked at him.

The way she had trusted him.

The promise he had made to come back soon.

He didn’t know how long he had been gone.

He didn’t know if she believed he was dead.

The thought hurt more than he expected.

Elora noticed the change in his expression.

She didn’t ask what was wrong.

Instead, she shifted slightly closer until her shoulder rested against his.

Riven glanced at her.

She was looking into the fire.

"Whatever is waiting for us up there," she said quietly, "we’ll deal with it when we get there."

Riven looked at her for a moment.

Then he looked down at Nyx.

The little wyvern was already half asleep in Elora’s lap.

A quiet laugh escaped him.

"Yeah."

Elora reached over and took his hand.

Her fingers curled around his.

For once, neither of them needed to say anything else.

Outside the sanctuary, the abyss remained cold, endless, and filled with things that wanted them dead.

But inside the warded cave, there was warmth.

There was light.

And for the first time in seven months, Riven didn’t feel like he was waiting to die.

He was waiting to live.

"So am I," Riven said quietly.

Elora looked at him.

Riven gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Glad I found you."