Shattered Sanity

(The edge of the Northern Forest, Randy’s POV)

When the huge lightning bolt initially descended, and Riven finally stood tall over his fallen enemies, Randy felt hope surge through his heart.

Hope that the son of Duke Dawnriver, the great Riven Dawnriver himself, was finally going to single-handedly save all of them from this mess by unleashing Storm powers nobody knew he possessed.

From where Randy lay restrained against the muddy ground, he could see Gary and Cyrus writhing several meters away, their clothes scorched and their bodies so badly injured that either of them might have been on the verge of death.

However, he did not give a solitary fuck about how bad they were beat up, as long as they were still alive.

Instead, a huge smile spread across his face, as after watching Gary beat Riven senseless and seeing the Second Years dismantle the rest of them with humiliating ease, the sight of Riven standing tall again felt like salvation.

’That’s more fucking like it!’

Randy thought, as he strained against his restraints and watched the bluish-purple electricity crawl across Riven’s body while Sky-Cleaver rested within his grasp.

For several glorious seconds, Randy genuinely believed this was the start of an epic comeback story.

Then the illusion shattered, as one moment Riven smiled, and the next, he was gone.

Randy never saw Riven accelerate or Sky-Cleaver swing, nor did his eyes catch even the faintest shadow moving between Riven and the three Aureate Second Years approaching him.

SPLAT!

SPLAT!

SPLAT!

Blood exploded into the rain.

One moment, three Second Years had been standing there.

The next, Royo’s head was separated from his shoulders, another student’s body had been sliced apart across the waist, while the third collapsed in two grotesque halves after being split vertically down the middle.

Randy stared.

Blood sprayed across the muddy road as entrails spilled from the mutilated corpses, yet despite witnessing every gruesome result from only a short distance away, Randy could not understand how any of it had happened.

He had seen Riven disappear.

Then he had seen three people die.

However, there had been nothing in between.

’Death... inside the Imperial Academy.... But by who?’

Randy wondered, as the excitement inside his chest disappeared so completely that for several seconds he almost forgot about the ropes restraining his body.

Black Week was violent.

Everyone understood that.

Randy himself had barely suppressed the urge to beat people unconscious on several occasions today, but this was different... Those students weren’t unconscious.

They were dead.

’Boss... is this your doing?’

Randy wondered, as his eyes searched frantically through the rain until he finally located Riven again.

And unfortunately for him, what he saw made his stomach drop.

Riven was closer to him now.

Only moments earlier, he had been standing near the edge of the Northern Forest beyond the three Second Years he had killed, yet somehow he now stood only a few meters away from where Randy lay restrained.

Once again, Randy hadn’t seen him cross the distance.

However, more importantly, Randy realized with growing dread that Riven wasn’t looking like himself at all, as his unnatural bluish-purple eyes had now settled upon the remaining Aureate students gathered across the forest grounds.

There were sixteen of them still standing.

One was the last uninjured Second Year from Cyrus’s original group, while three were the injured Aureate students who had escaped from the Northern Forest earlier and had recently been ordered to find rope.

The remaining twelve were the prisoners Riven and his crew had captured inside the forest, all of whom had been freed after Gary and the Second Years defeated their captors.

Moments earlier, those sixteen students had believed the fight was over and that House Aureate had secured an overwhelming victory, yet none of them looked victorious anymore as Riven’s glowing eyes slowly passed across the group.

”D-Dawnriver....”

One of the Aureate students stuttered, as several of those standing around him instinctively moved closer together while keeping their attention fixed upon Riven.

”We’re your colleagues,” he continued, his voice trembling as he cautiously stepped backwards. ”This is just Black Week. It’s part of Academy life. There’s no reason for you to hurt us.”

Riven responded by tilting his head slightly, studying the speaker with the same alien expression he had worn ever since rising from the ground.

None of the Aureate students attempted to attack him, as the gruesome remains of the three Second Years scattered across the mud had made it painfully clear what might happen if anyone raised a weapon.

”We’re not your enemies,” another Aureate student said hurriedly, as fear began creeping into his voice. ”We’re students just like you, Dawnriver. This was only a competition, that’s all.”

”I’M FROM THE EAST!”

The desperate scream came from deeper within the frightened group, drawing Randy’s attention towards an Aureate student who pushed himself forward despite the terror visible across his face.

”My family serves House Dawnriver!” the student shouted, as he looked desperately towards Riven for some sign that the name still meant something to him. ”I’m your father’s subordinate! My Lord, I serve the Duke and you!”

Randy desperately wanted Riven to react upon hearing that.

He wanted to see something familiar return to his expression, even if it was only the arrogant amusement Riven usually showed whenever somebody desperately tried to appeal to his status.

Instead, Riven continued staring at the group while bluish-purple lightning twisted within his glowing eyes, showing no indication that the mention of his father or House Dawnriver had reached whatever part of him was currently in control.

’Boss...?’

Randy thought, as something cold settled inside his stomach.

’He is not listening to us....’

He realized, as—

CRACKLE!

Riven disappeared once again, at the same time as a lightning bolt struck the ground.

KABOOOM!

Randy unconsciously flinched against the ground, the lightning making him curl up in a ball on instinct, until something warm unexpectedly struck his cheek.

’Huh? Did the rain temperature change?’

He wondered, as another warm droplet followed.

Then another.

Randy blinked as warm liquid splattered across his forehead and lips, contrasting horribly against the cold rainwater already covering his face.

He knew what it was before he smelled it.

Blood.

For several seconds, Randy didn’t move.

He didn’t want to look.

Yet with his body still restrained against the ground, he slowly forced his head sideways and looked towards the place where the Aureate students had been standing.

His breathing stopped.

Every single one of them was dead.

Bodies covered the forest in front of him, some collapsed exactly where they had stood while others lay torn apart across the mud, their blood spreading through the rainwater until the ground itself appeared stained red.

Nothing resembling a battle had taken place, as Randy had heard no exchange of spells or desperate struggle while staring directly towards them.

’What the fuck...?’

Randy wondered, as droplets of someone else’s blood continued sliding slowly down his face.

Only minutes earlier, he had wanted Riven to get back onto his feet.

He had wanted his House Lord’s son to show Gary and Cyrus exactly why nobody fucked with House Dawnriver.

He had wanted Riven to save them.

Now, lying restrained among the corpses while the rain washed their blood across the forest grounds, Randy found himself staring towards Riven with the same terror he had seen in the Aureate students moments earlier.

Because for the first time since choosing to follow Riven Dawnriver as the group leader, Randy wasn’t certain that being one of his men meant Riven was going to spare him.