Shattered Sanity

(Principal Boseman’s Office, Riven’s POV)

For a while, Riven told them everything regarding the circumstances that had eventually led to him being inside the Northern Forest, beginning with the preparations his group had made several days before Black Week even started.

He explained how they had anticipated being targeted once the competition began, which was why they had prepared several traps throughout the Northern Forest in advance, intending to lure anyone pursuing them into terrain where the advantage shifted back into their hands.

When Black Week finally began and a group from House Aureate pursued them into the forest, their preparation worked almost exactly as intended, allowing Riven and his companions to gradually separate their pursuers before capturing twelve Aureate students between their two groups.

Throughout the explanation, the Truth Orb remained completely unchanged.

Vice Principal Chadwick watched it carefully from behind Principal Boseman, searching for even the faintest change in colour as Riven explained how the two groups eventually reunited before beginning their journey back towards House Argent with their prisoners.

However, the first significant complication had come when they finally emerged from the Northern Forest and entered the Northwatch Grounds.

”That’s where we encountered Gary, Cyrus and the other seniors who were defending Northwatch for House Aureate, sir. Gary was standing out in the open when we arrived, while the others revealed themselves shortly afterward, and once they surrounded us, I knew immediately that we weren’t going to win that fight.”

Riven explained, as Boseman listened without interrupting while Chadwick continued watching the Truth Orb.

”There were six of us and six of them, but that didn’t make the fight equal. Most of us were First Years, while the people surrounding us were considerably more experienced, so I told my friends that if any of them found an opening to escape, they should take it and make reaching House Argent their priority.”

The Truth Orb remained unchanged.

”I decided that our best chance was to break through Gary, so I rushed towards him while everyone else tried dealing with the seniors surrounding us. However, it didn’t work. The others were overwhelmed almost immediately, while Gary managed to overpower me as well.”

Riven continued, as the memory of the fight gradually returned more vividly inside his mind.

”He knocked me onto the ground and pinned me there while my weapon fell out of my hand, and from that point onward, there wasn’t much I could do against him.”

Riven paused briefly, although his hand remained positioned above the Truth Orb as Boseman waited patiently for him to continue.

”The last thing I clearly remember is Gary standing above me with his fist raised while Cyrus stopped him from knocking me unconscious.

Cyrus told him that it was better to keep me awake because they wanted to bind me and march me through House Aureate while I was still conscious.”

Riven’s expression tightened slightly.

”He said it would be more humiliating that way, and after that....”

Riven paused, hesitation evident in his voice.

”After that, I don’t remember anything, sir.”

Riven finished, as the Truth Orb remained completely unchanged.

A strange silence settled throughout the Principal’s office as Boseman leaned back against his chair and slowly rubbed his chin, seemingly digesting everything he had just heard, while Sir Roderick continued stroking his long grey beard with an almost absent-minded expression.

Chadwick, however, appeared considerably less satisfied.

His lips tightened as he glanced towards the perfectly clear Truth Orb before looking back at Riven, almost irritated that the artifact had stubbornly refused to expose even the smallest inconsistency throughout his entire testimony.

Unfortunately for him, there was nothing to challenge, as the Truth Orb had instead lent legitimacy to every word Riven had spoken so far.

Yet rather than easing Chadwick’s suspicions, that only seemed to make him more restless as he stepped closer towards the table, his brows furrowing while he mentally returned to the final portion of Riven’s story.

”If Gary did not knock you unconscious, then how exactly did you lose consciousness, Dawnriver?”

Chadwick asked sternly, as Riven turned towards him before helplessly shrugging his shoulders.

”I don’t know, sir. Maybe Gary changed his mind afterward and ended up hitting me anyway, and I simply don’t remember the final punch because it knocked me out. Or perhaps something else happened to me entirely, but I genuinely don’t know what it was.”

Riven explained, as his gaze briefly dropped towards the Truth Orb.

”Everything after Cyrus stopped Gary until the moment I woke up again is completely blank inside my memory. There isn’t anything there for me to remember.”

The Truth Orb remained unchanged.

Principal Boseman released a deep sigh as he leaned farther back into his chair, while some of the tension that had accompanied him throughout the testimony now seemed to be gone.

So far, Riven’s testimony had only strengthened the possibility that he had been another victim of whatever happened at Northwatch.

Everything he described had been accepted by the Truth Orb, while the final moments he remembered placed him beaten and helpless beneath Gary with several considerably stronger Aureate students surrounding him.

Nothing about the story explained how that same boy could have suddenly slaughtered almost everyone present.

However, there were still several crucial minutes missing from Riven’s account, and regardless of what Boseman personally believed, an investigation involving this many dead students could not be concluded on assumptions.

”What happened after you woke up?”

Boseman asked, as Riven’s expression immediately changed.

His teeth pressed against his lower lip while the hand suspended above the Truth Orb began trembling again, causing Boseman to notice the sudden shift in his demeanor almost immediately.

”It’s all right, son. You don’t need to worry.”

Boseman assured him, as his voice softened considerably.

”Just tell us what you saw after you regained consciousness. Take your time if you need to, but try to remember everything clearly, and the sooner we’re finished here, the sooner you can put this conversation behind you.”

Riven remained silent for several seconds as the images he had spent the entire afternoon trying to suppress returned once again, before he finally released a deep, unsteady breath.

”I.... The first thing I noticed was blood pooled behind one of the boulders nearby, so I went around it to see what was there.”

Riven began, as his voice gradually started to crack.

”That.... Th... that’s where I found Mary.”

His fingers trembled harder above the Orb.

”She was already dead when I reached her, sir. I fell to the ground beside her because for a moment I couldn’t even understand what I was looking at, and when I finally realized she was gone, I became angry.”

Riven swallowed painfully before continuing.

”I started shouting and screaming for whoever had done it to come out, because I wanted to know who had killed her. I looked around the grounds trying to find anyone who might still be there, and that was when I noticed Cyrus and Gary lying farther away on a patch of blackened earth.”

Boseman’s expression remained solemn as Riven continued speaking, while Chadwick’s eyes repeatedly shifted between the boy and the Truth Orb.

”The smell of burnt flesh was still in the air when I reached them. I checked Cyrus first because he was closest to me, but he wasn’t responding, so I moved over to Gary and realized that he was still showing faint signs of life.”

Riven’s voice steadied slightly as he reached the portion of the memory involving Gary.

”I didn’t know what had happened to either of them, and I didn’t know how long Gary had left, so I picked him up and carried him here as quickly as I could.”

Riven took another deep breath before looking directly towards Principal Boseman.

”That’s it, sir. That’s all I know.”

He tried to finish, however, for the first time since he had begun speaking, the Truth Orb reacted.

The translucent sphere flickered and a faint shade of purple slowly spread through its previously colourless center, immediately drawing Chadwick’s attention as Riven stared down at the device in confusion.

Because according to the Truth Orb, that was not the complete truth.

”Purple.”

Chadwick muttered, as his expression immediately hardened upon noticing the faint colour spreading through the previously transparent Truth Orb.

”That means you’re partially lying, Dawnriver. That’s not all you know.”

His earlier frustration disappeared almost instantly as he stepped closer towards the table, finally receiving the reaction from the artifact that he had been waiting for throughout Riven’s testimony.

”What are you hiding from us? Why do you feel the need to hide anything regarding this matter?”

Chadwick demanded, as his voice rapidly grew louder while Riven instinctively stiffened within his chair.

”Speak! Speak at once!”

”Easy there, Vice Principal.”

Boseman interrupted, as he pointed a careful finger towards Chadwick, his calm voice carrying enough authority to immediately prevent the man from pressing Riven any further.

”The boy might simply have forgotten to mention something. There’s no need for the accusatory tone.”

Chadwick’s jaw tightened, although he reluctantly stepped away from the table as Boseman returned his attention towards Riven, whose gaze remained fixed upon the faint purple glow inside the Truth Orb.

”I’m sorry for his behavior, Dawnriver, but there is clearly something more you know that you haven’t told us.”

Boseman said, as his expression remained considerably gentler than Chadwick’s.

”So take your time, think carefully about everything that happened, and finish your testimony. Nobody here is going to condemn you because you forgot to mention something the first time around.”

Riven swallowed nervously as his eyes remained upon the glowing Orb, already knowing exactly which part of his testimony he had deliberately avoided mentioning.

’Do I really have to tell them about the blackouts?’

Riven wondered, as an uncomfortable tightness formed within his stomach.

Until now, he had deliberately avoided explaining that this was not the first time he had lost control of his consciousness, because admitting that similar gaps had appeared in his memory before made the situation considerably more difficult to explain.