A gentle breeze drifted through the silence.
The air felt heavy with tension after the stranger's reply.
Prime stood still, his eyes narrowed, blood slowly trailing down from his forehead.
'Raven Blade… the most wanted man across all five kingdoms. It would be best to avoid him ', he thought.
His jaw tightened as his fist clenched.
"He is mine. None of this has anything to do with you," Prime said, his teeth grinding with restrained anger.
The stranger, Riven, released Null's face and rose to his feet. His eyes, staring beneath strands of hair, locked onto Prime.
A faint smile slowly crept across his face.
"How about you try and come take him from me?" Riven replied, a hint of excitement lacing his voice.
For a moment, nothing moved.
Then, Prime exhaled quietly.
The pressure in the air faded. There was no winning this, he knew.
"The kid is bad luck," he uttered with animosity. "Better you get rid of him now."
With that, his body slowly levitated off the ground. Using the effect of his magic, he ascended, retreating into the sky until he vanished from sight.
Silence returned.
On the ground, Null let out a weak breath of relief. But it didn't last. He had escaped Prime… Yet if someone like Prime was afraid, then just what kind of person had he fallen into?
A chill crept through him.
Null tried to speak, his lips parting slightly, but his voice never came.
He was interrupted.
"Hun… he ran away, huh?" Riven's voice carried a strange sadness; he sounded almost disappointed.
"Coward!! kkk."
The sound that Riven had made after his statement confused Null, but he shook his head, trying to focus.
Null frowned, confused, his thoughts struggling to keep up. Slowly, he pushed against the ground, trying to sit up despite the pain tearing through his body.
Riven turned his attention back to him. This time, fully.
"Why did you save me?" Null mustered with every bit of energy he had left.
Riven shrugged while sitting in a lotus position. "Save?" He chuckled.
"More like preserve..." he said with a weird grin.
"Huh?" Null looked as confused as ever.
"You see.." He stared at the sky
"I can always tell whenever someone is strong or has the potential to be strong. And when I find someone strong…" His grin got wider. "…I just want to fight them till one of us is left standing."
He had a weird look of pleasure on his face. "The excitement…kkk"
Null looked more confused than before, trying to figure him out.
Then Riven suddenly had a more serious look. "I sense in you the potential to be strong, to possibly be my strongest rival yet."
He stood again. "So I can't let you die yet. " His cold eyes stared at Nul's own .
"You have to live and become stronger so we can have the best battle in all of history." His voice was now more serious than ever.
But all Null did was laugh uncontrollably. A bitter laugh escaped his mouth until he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Then he whispered under his breath, "Strong, huh… never thought someone would ever say that to me."
Riven suddenly turned his head, staring into the distance for a while before looking back at Null.
"Someone is coming. " He walked past Null.
"They should take care of your injuries. I have to go now."
He continued walking.
"Till we meet again. DONT DIE!!" He waved lazily
Null stared as he left, and while he was still confused about what type of person Riven was, he couldn't help but be inspired by his words.
"I will live and become the strongest there is to be." He gritted his teeth.
"In this world, only the strongest gets to decide their fate." Clenching his fist. "I will become stronger than everyone and grab my freedom with my own hands," Null said to himself, as he passes out.