Shattered Sanity

’What... What the hell was that?’

Riven wondered, staring at his trembling fingers as bright arcs of electricity continued dancing across his skin, occasionally leaping towards the bedsheets and nearby furniture.

Although he had already awakened from the terrifying nightmare, his heart continued pounding violently, while the stranger’s emerald-green eyes remained vividly etched into his memory.

Everything about that encounter had felt real, from the overwhelming pressure that had nearly crushed him to the excruciating pain he had experienced when the mysterious man touched his forehead.

And yet, when he looked around his bedroom, there was no trace of the stranger anywhere.

’Was that really a dream?’

Riven wondered, struggling to understand what had happened as another violent surge of electricity erupted from his fingertips.

CRACKLE!

A brilliant spark struck the wooden frame of his bed, leaving behind a small blackened mark and the faint smell of burning timber.

”YOUNG LORD!”

A frightened voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts as the bedroom door swung open, revealing Alicia rushing inside with an expression of unmistakable alarm.

”Young Lord! Please, you must control your Aether! The bedsheets are already beginning to scorch, and if this continues, you could set the entire room on fire!”

Riven blinked, momentarily startled by her sudden arrival before glancing towards the faint wisps of smoke rising from the edge of his blanket.

”Ah... Right.”

He muttered, realizing that his uncontrolled discharge of electricity was becoming increasingly dangerous.

Immediately, he clenched both fists and closed his eyes, concentrating on drawing the wild currents of Storm Aether back into his body.

Ordinarily, controlling his elemental energy required considerable focus, particularly when he attempted to suppress an overflow of power.

However, as he directed his attention inward, Riven suddenly realized that something felt fundamentally different this time.

The electricity surrounding his arms began retreating almost immediately, flowing back beneath his skin as though it had been waiting for his command, while the violent crackling gradually subsided until only a few fading sparks remained around his fingertips.

”Young Lord? Are you alright?”

Alicia asked nervously, remaining near the doorway as she inspected the scorched bedsheets.

However, Riven barely heard her.

Because the moment he had directed his consciousness towards his Soul Vessel, he had sensed something that should have been impossible.

’Wait...’

His eyes widened.

’What is this?’

He concentrated harder, allowing his awareness to descend deeper into the mysterious reservoir of Aether that existed within his body.

And what he discovered left him utterly speechless.

”There’s no fucking way...”

Riven muttered, feeling a strange mixture of disbelief and excitement beginning to rise within his chest.

’By Minerva’s grace .....’

His Soul Vessel had changed.

Not merely in the subtle manner he had grown accustomed to after weeks of training, when small improvements in his control or capacity could occasionally be detected through careful meditation.

This was something far more substantial.

The vessel itself had expanded considerably, its internal boundaries stretching far beyond what he remembered, while the walls surrounding it had become noticeably thicker and more resilient.

Even the Storm Aether circulating within seemed different, possessing a richness and density that he had never experienced before.

However, the most astonishing change was the state of the Aether itself.

Previously, whenever Riven examined his Soul Vessel, the energy within had resembled a pot of boiling water, with unstable Aether constantly evaporating, condensing, and falling back into the reservoir in an endless cycle.

This was one of the fundamental characteristics of an Ember Rank Ascendant, whose Soul Vessel had yet to develop the stability necessary to retain Aether in a fully condensed state.

But now, that familiar turbulence had disappeared.

Instead of constantly boiling and evaporating, the Aether within his vessel had settled into a stable liquid state, its surface remaining remarkably calm despite the tremendous amount of energy contained beneath it.

There was no longer any visible evaporation, nor did the familiar cycle of condensation and dispersal continue disturbing the reservoir.

’I... I’ve broken through?’

He thought, his breathing growing increasingly rapid.

’Spark Rank?’

For several seconds, Riven remained completely motionless, repeatedly examining his Soul Vessel as though expecting the changes to disappear whenever he looked away.

However, no matter how carefully he inspected it, the signs remained undeniable.

His Soul Vessel had expanded, its walls had strengthened, and the Aether within had undergone the stabilization associated with the Spark Rank.

He had genuinely advanced.

But that realization only raised an even more bewildering question.

’How?’

Riven wondered, opening his eyes as his expression gradually shifted from astonishment to confusion.

’How the hell did I break through? I wasn’t even close to reaching the threshold!’

He realized as although he had been training diligently since returning to the White Castle, he knew perfectly well that his accumulation of Aether had remained insufficient for a breakthrough.

Even with his excellent Soul Vessel and extraordinary Storm affinity, advancing to the next Rank was supposed to require considerably more preparation.

Ordinarily, an Ascendant attempting such a breakthrough would need to both consume an appropriate advancement potion and enter a specially prepared meditation chamber where the surrounding concentration of Aether was sufficiently high.

As without those advantages, the process became significantly more difficult, particularly because the Soul Vessel required a tremendous influx of energy to complete its transformation.

Yet Riven had done neither.

He had consumed no breakthrough potion, entered no meditation chamber, and performed no special circulation technique before retiring to bed.

In fact, the ambient Aether within his bedroom should have been nowhere near sufficient to support the transformation he had just undergone.

And despite all that, he had somehow advanced while sleeping.

’This makes absolutely no sense.’

Riven thought, staring down at his hands as he attempted to recall everything that had happened before he woke up.

The heavy rainfall.

The horrifying visions of his dead friends.

Mary’s terrified expression.

And then...

Those emerald-green eyes.

Riven suddenly stiffened.

’That man... Could he have caused this?’

Riven wondered, feeling a chill travel down his spine.

’But how could someone I met in a dream possibly change my Soul Vessel?’

He had heard stories about powerful Ascendants entering another person’s consciousness through specialized techniques, although he had never encountered anything suggesting that such an interaction could directly induce a breakthrough.

And the stranger had claimed something even more disturbing.

He had called Riven his descendant.

’My bloodline...’

Riven thought, remembering the man’s unmistakable emerald-green eyes.

’Who the hell was he?’

For a brief moment, he considered whether the stranger might somehow be connected to Duke Drew’s ancestry, although the thought did little to explain the terrifying power he had witnessed.

After all, the man had spoken as though the entire modern system of Ascension was beneath his consideration.

And the pressure he had released...

Riven shuddered involuntarily.

Even remembering it made his chest tighten.

”Young Lord?”

Alicia called again, sounding increasingly concerned as she approached the bedside.

”Are you feeling unwell? Should I summon a healer?”

Riven finally looked towards her, realizing that she had been watching him sit motionlessly for quite some time.

”No... I’m alright.”

He replied absentmindedly, although his expression suggested otherwise.

Alicia frowned.

”Are you certain? You were screaming loudly enough to wake the servants, and then all that electricity suddenly began coming out of your body.”

She glanced towards the blackened marks on his bedframe.

”I’ve already asked someone to inform the guards, but perhaps we should also notify His Grace.”

Riven opened his mouth to respond, only to hesitate.

He had no idea how to explain what had happened, particularly when he himself could barely understand it.

How was he supposed to tell someone that a mysterious man had appeared in his dreams, threatened to kill him, and somehow caused him to advance an entire Rank?

’What the hell just happened to me?’

He wondered again, staring at the faint sparks that continued occasionally flickering across his fingertips.

’And who the hell was that man in my dreams?’

However, before he could give Alicia an answer, hurried footsteps suddenly echoed through the corridor outside.

A moment later, the bedroom door swung open once more.

And standing in the doorway was Archimedes.

The elderly librarian entered with an unusually serious expression, his eyes immediately sweeping across the scorched bedsheets before settling upon Riven.

For someone who ordinarily carried himself with such a calm and unhurried demeanor, the speed with which he had arrived was enough to make Riven realize that something was wrong.

”Riven.”

Archimedes called, his gaze narrowing slightly as he examined the faint traces of Storm Aether lingering around the boy.

”What exactly happened here?”