The unending darkness finally receded in shards of fractured light, and Riven's senses stirred sluggishly, like waking from a deep, restless sleep.
His eyelids fluttered open to a ceiling of shimmering crystalline panels, glowing softly with a pulsating hue that shifted between violet and gold. The air was thick with a strange, electric hum, and the scent of ozone tinged everything with a sharp tang.
He was alive?
Does that mean that whatever the hell he'd just experienced wasn't hallucinations?
Somehow, he was alive again—reincarnated
into this peculiar, shimmering world. But the moment of relief was short-lived. His body felt stiff, unfamiliar. His limbs ached with a strange weight, and every breath seemed heavy with unfamiliarity.
A voice cut through the ambient hum, clear and commanding.
"Welcome to the camp, Lord Riven!" the voice said.
Riven blinked, trying to focus.
Lord Riven? Are they referring to him?
Was he still dreaming after all?
Wait! Hold on a damn minute! Why is he in a freaking gold carriage? Is this some fairytale dream on his way to the afterlife?
Before Riven could gather his thoughts, a figure approached him—a tall, lean person clad in sleek, armor-like attire, their eyes sharp and assessing. Behind them, a group of kids—some with glowing tattoos, others with metallic limbs, a few with wings folded neatly against their backs—gathered around, whispering and pointing at him.
"Welcome, my lord! This is obviously a first for you." the figure stated, his voice tinged with a mixture of respect and authority.
"We're very pleased to have the Duke's son with us this year..." the figure continued. "I am the Commander and well, this is our Youth Training Camp. Here, you'll learn to harness your gift—if you haven't got any yet, we'll figure it out together"
Riven's mind scrambled to piece together what little memory he had. The last thing he remembered was a deal—an exchange—an escape from death. He'd been told to make the Duke proud, to impress a crush so that he would have a second chance to live.
Is this what the creepy voice meant when it said he was to live for him?
The him with long hair?
Who exactly was the him in this body?
And what gifts was the voice talking about?
Before Riven could make sense of anything, the other kids gathered around him, their eyes expectant.
"Hey! New kid, what's your gift?"
A blonde girl with electric-like-energy crackling around her fingertips asked eagerly.
Riven hesitated. His mind raced scrambling for an answer. He recalled that voice—the one that had spoken to him in the void, the one that seemed to be the real owner of this body. And then, a fragment of a memory surfaced, trembling and fragile.
"Don't ever let anyone find out that you have more than one gift"
The words echoed in his mind, and he froze. His name was also Riven—whoever he was—he had also kept this secret, and it seems like a dangerous one at that.
Suddenly Riven subconscious knows what it means to have multiple powers. It was something no one in this world was supposed to have.
He opened his mouth, about to provide an answer he didn't even have when suddenly, a different voice cut in authoritatively.
"He's not from around here. I heard he doesn't understand English very well, so someone else should do the talking now."
The words were spoken with an authoritative edge, and Riven's eyes flicked toward the speaker—a broad-shouldered guy, a taller older kid with a devilishly handsome face, grinning right at him like they've known each other all their lives.
"You heard Vaelorian! Someone else should do the talking now. We haven't got all day, chop, chop!" the Commander spoke clapping his hands.
"Wait, what?" Riven thought, confusion swirling. Who is that guy? Why was he speaking for him? And why did he seem like he knew something about him—something he hadn't even shared?
At the Commander's words, the crowd's whispers grew louder, but the older kid with the devilishly handsome face grinned and walked towards Riven, offering a half-smile.
"Ignore them, I got you!"
Riven heard a calm and gentle voice beside him but there was no indication that somebody was speaking. He turned sharply towards the older kid beside him but nothing seemed out of place.
"This is your first time here, right? I'm Vaelorian. And don't worry, I'll help you settle in. No one's going to bother you if you stay by my side."
The voice spoke again and Riven finally understood what was happening after a while of looking around.
The voice he's hearing is in his head and it belongs to the guy standing right next to him. However, his mouth wasn't moving and he wasn't looking at Riven. So how was he talking to Riven?
Could this be his gift?
"You don't have to say anything with your mouth, just think about what you want to say to me and I'll hear it."
Riven heard Valerian's voice in his head again andhe found himself nodding slowly, still trying to process what exactly is going on as the crowd continued chatting animatedly amongst themselves.
A few hours ago Riven was dying and now he's here, in this strange place. He might actually still be on his earth with a serious head injury while the doctors are trying to save his life. For all he knows, this a just a weird dream. Regardless, he really has nothing to lose at this point so why not just go with the flow?
Why had this Vaelorian guy spoken on his behalf anyway? Did he know something or was he just being a good guy?
After the long introduction, everyone was shown to their rooms.
In the camp's dormitory, Riven was led to a luxurious room with two beds and he was surprised by the neatness of the place but he was even more surprised when Vaelorian
walked behind him into the room and claimed the other bed and before Riven could say something, two men made their way into the room with boxes and arranged them neatly on the side that Vaelorian had claimed.
"That's the last of everything,Your Highness. Would you like me to get you something to drink?"
The larger one of the two men spoke to Vaelorian and the latter waved him off saying he didn't want anything so the two men left after bowing their heads.
"Your Highness? What are you, some kind of royalty?"
Riven asked turning to Vaelorian with a raised eyebrow.
"Right! You heard that. I hate when they call me that just because my father is the Leader so forget you heard anything."
"Your father is the Leader of what?"
The clueless Riven asked promoting Vaelorian to be the one raising his brows now. Was Riven just acting clueless or did he really not know who Vaelorian is?
"Um...the Leader of this Empire?"
"Huh, that's a sweet gig!" Riven exclaimed before adding, "So, your a Prince?"
"No, I'm not a Prince!" Vaelorian rebuked a little too loud making Riven confused.
"Hold on, lemme get this straight!" Riven began with a completive look. "You probably have servants and live in a place that can only be described as a castle while your father is the Leader of an Empire. Am I getting this right?"
"That's correct!"
Vaelorian replied with a slow nod and Riven bursted into fits of laughter while slapping his thighs repeatedly.
"I don't see how that's funny." Vaelorian voiced his confusion looking up at Riven from the bed.
"You don't see what's funny? Dude! You're a fucking Prince!" Riven managed to say through his fits of laughter and Vaelorian winced.
"I'm not a Prince and don't cuss, please!"
Vaelorian replied calmly but there was something in his demeanour that seemed to have shifted and Riven had missed it.
Vaelorian really hated it when people spoke using cuss words.
"You live in a castle with God knows how many servants and your father literally governs people for a living. Dude, I'm going to hold your hands while I say this, alright? You. are. a. Prince!"
Riven finished talking while punctuating the last part with a Cheshire Cat grin.
"I'm going to give you some space to get settled in."
That was the only thing Vaelorian said as he stood up from the bed and walked out of their shared room without looking back.
"I think I pissed him off!"
Riven said out loud before going to seat on the edge of his new bed while staring at the unfamiliar walls.
He thought about his exchange with the 'not-Prince' and the real Riven's secret crush and gifts.
Was it really that important that he kept his gift a secret? And, how the hell is he supposed to impress a secret crush while being stuck here for a whole fucking year?