Chapter 98: Downtime

Chapter 98: Chapter 98: Downtime

"The wound is the place where the Light enters you." — Rumi

The air in the warded sanctuary was thick with the scent of melted wax, clean leather oil, and roasted root vegetables bubbling over the small campfire.

Riven sat cross legged on a smooth basalt slab near the back of the cave, his dark eyes following Elora as she arranged a set of precision leatherworking tools across a flat stone table.

Beside her restedthe midnight black armor he had recovered from the cache weeks ago.

Elora ran her fingers across the supple void drake hide, examining the seams and enchanted plates.

"The armor is high grade pre imperial work," she said. "The kinetic absorption and auto repair are incredible."

She lifted one section of the armor and frowned slightly.

"But whoever wore it originally was much broader than you. The ribs are loose, and the shoulders give you more room than you need."

Riven stood and walked over to the workbench.

"Can you fix it?"

Elora looked up at him and smiled.

"Easily."

Riven removed his frayed undershirt, revealing a lean, scarred torso shaped by months of survival in the abyss. Thin silver scars crossed his ribs and shoulders, reminders of wounds that had nearly killed him.

Elora picked up a measuring tape woven from silver silk.

"Stand still."

"I am standing still."

"You moved."

"By about an inch."

"Exactly."

Riven gave her a flat look.

Elora laughed quietly.

"Hold still."

She stepped closer and began measuring his shoulders and chest. Her movements were calm and practiced, and Riven remained still as she worked.

When her fingers brushed against one of the scars along his ribs, she paused.

"This one?"

"Old."

"From the abyss?"

"No. Before that."

Elora didn’t ask further.

She simply continued measuring.

"Raise your right arm."

Riven lifted his arm.

Elora examined the armor against his side before marking the excess material with a thin piece of chalk.

"Your movement is going to be restricted if I leave this much here."

"So remove it."

"That’s the plan."

She reached for a specialized rune carved knife and carefully began cutting into the excess material.

The blade moved through the hide with surprising ease.

For the next hour, the cave filled with the quiet sounds of leather being trimmed, tools clicking against stone, and Elora occasionally explaining what she was doing.

"My master used to obsess over armor balance," she said. "He always said a swordsman shouldn’t have to think about his equipment."

Riven glanced toward her.

"Sounds reasonable."

"He’d spend hours adjusting something by a few millimeters."

"That sounds less reasonable."

Elora laughed.

"He would have liked you."

Riven raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because you complain about almost nothing."

"I wasn’t complaining."

"Exactly."

A faint smile appeared on Riven’s face.

By the time Elora finished, the armor looked completely different.

She stepped back and looked over her work.

"Try it."

Riven slipped into the vestments.

The armor settled against his body immediately.

The loose sections around his ribs were gone. The shoulders sat perfectly, and the enchanted hide seemed to almost mold itself around his movements.

Riven flexed his arms.

Nothing caught.

He twisted his torso.

No resistance.

He drew his sword.

The movement was completely natural.

Elora folded her arms.

"Go ahead."

Riven stepped backward.

His body disappeared into a blur.

Phantom Step.

He reappeared several feet away, immediately transitioning into a vertical slash before twisting into a second movement.

The vestments moved with him perfectly.

There was no bunching.

No resistance.

The kinetic absorption weave dispersed the force of his movements without slowing him down.

Riven stopped and looked down at the armor.

Then he looked at Elora.

"It’s perfect."

Elora’s smile widened.

"Good."

She wiped a small streak of black leather dye from her cheek.

"Because I wasn’t doing it again."

Riven gave her a faint smile.

"I’ll try not to destroy it."

"You’d better not."

She gathered the remaining tools and carried them back toward the workbench.

"Tomorrow, we’ll take it outside and see how it performs against something that actually wants to kill you."

Riven looked at her.

"Something?"

Elora glanced over her shoulder.

"You’ve been down here long enough to know there are plenty of somethings."

"Fair point."

Elora walked over to the fire and picked up two wooden bowls filled with thick, steaming broth.

She handed one to Riven.

Their fingers briefly touched.

Neither of them moved for a moment.

Elora looked up at him.

Her expression softened.

Then she pulled her hand away.

"Here."

"Thanks."

Riven sat beside her near the fire.

For a while, neither spoke.

The silence was different now.

It wasn’t the suffocating silence of the abyss.

It wasn’t the silence that had once been filled with phantom voices and memories.

This silence was comfortable.

Safe.

Riven took another spoonful of broth.

Elora stared into the flames.

"You’ve changed."

Riven looked at her.

"Have I?"

"When I found you, you barely looked human."

Riven lowered his eyes toward the bowl.

"I don’t remember much of that."

"I do."

She was quiet for a moment.

"You wouldn’t even let me near you."

"I thought you were going to kill me."

"You growled at me."

Riven looked at her.

"I was sick."

"You still growled."

A small smile appeared on his face.

"Maybe I was embarrassed."

Elora laughed softly.

"That’s the first time I’ve heard you admit to being embarrassed."

Riven shook his head.

"Don’t get used to it."

She smiled and looked back toward the fire.

For several minutes, they simply ate.

Then Elora spoke again.

"You actually think we’re getting out of here?"

Riven looked toward the cave entrance.

Beyond the wards, the abyss stretched into endless darkness.

"Yes."

Elora studied him.

"You’re sure?"

Riven was quiet for a moment.

Five months ago, he would have answered immediately.

Now, he thought about it.

"I’m not sure."

Elora’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

"But I’m going to keep trying."

He looked at her.

"And I’m going to get you out too."

Elora’s expression softened.

"You don’t even know if there’s a way out."

"We’ll find one."

She stared at him for a few seconds before quietly smiling.

"You’re stubborn."

"I’ve been told."

"More than once, I imagine."

Riven took another bite of his food.

"Probably."

Elora leaned back against the stone wall.

For the first time in three years, she wasn’t sitting alone beside the fire.

And for the first time in five months, neither was Riven.

The abyss was still waiting outside.

Its monsters were still hunting.

Its darkness hadn’t changed.

But something inside the cave had.

Riven looked down at the perfectly fitted black armor beside him.

For the first time since falling into the abyss, the future didn’t feel like something he was merely surviving long enough to reach.

It felt like something he could actually fight for.

And tomorrow, they would begin.