Rain crashed endlessly across the shattered rooftop.
Wind roared through broken concrete while blood slowly mixed with water beneath countless bodies.
And in the middle of it all—
Riven collapsed motionless in Ivan's arms.
A hole pierced directly through his chest.
No movement.
No sound.
Ivan froze completely.
For the first time in years—
Fear entered his eyes.
The six-star Ascendant slowly lowered his hand after delivering the fatal strike.
Then suddenly—
The atmosphere changed.
No.
It didn't change.
It collapsed.
Every Ascendant present instinctively stopped breathing.
An overwhelming pressure descended from above so suddenly that the rooftop itself cracked beneath it.
Then—
A figure appeared.
No one saw him arrive.
One moment the sky was empty.
The next—
He was there.
Standing silently beneath the torn heavens.
His black clothes moved gently with the storm while his eyes calmly swept across the battlefield.
Angry.
Not loudly.
Not violently.
Just…
Angry.
One of the remaining hunters stepped forward shakily.
"L-Leave… this has nothing to do with y—"
He stopped.
His body suddenly twisted unnaturally.
Bones folded inward.
Flesh compressed violently.
And within seconds—
He became nothing more than a pile of mangled meat.
Silence.
Pure silence.
The horrifying part—
The man hadn't even moved.
Ivan slowly looked upward.
And his expression changed instantly.
"…Aarion."
The name alone froze everyone present.
Several hunters immediately lost color from their faces.
"A-Aarion…?"
"No…"
One man stepped backward trembling violently.
"That guy is Aarion…"
Fear spread faster than the rain itself.
"Why would someone like him come here?"
"No no no—"
Another hunter's breathing became unstable.
"That's not the point…"
His voice trembled.
"If he came here…"
He looked toward the others in pure horror.
"…what's going to happen to us?"
Nobody answered.
Because deep down—
They already knew.
Aarion ignored everyone completely.
His gaze remained fixed on Riven.
Then slowly—
He kneeled beside him.
Ivan instinctively tightened slightly.
But Aarion simply placed one hand over Riven's chest.
And suddenly—
The world exploded with aether.
Massive amounts of glowing particles flooded toward Riven from every direction.
The storm itself seemed to bend around Aarion.
The hole in Riven's chest slowly began healing at a visible speed.
Bones reformed.
Flesh regenerated.
Blood reversed itself unnaturally.
The healing was so overwhelming that even Ivan's own injuries started recovering simply from being nearby.
Ivan looked at his own hands silently.
Even he—
A Kaelthorn—
Couldn't understand what he was witnessing.
The hunters looked even worse.
One of them suddenly panicked completely.
"We have to run!"
Another shouted desperately:
"If we escape now maybe—"
"No!" another interrupted in terror. "If he decided to come here then we're already dead!"
Then suddenly—
One desperate Ascendant roared madly.
"Kill him while he's distracted healing the boy!"
And every remaining hunter moved together.
More than fifty Ascendants rushed forward simultaneously.
Then—
They stopped.
Mid-air.
Frozen.
Like invisible hands had grabbed reality itself.
Aarion slowly turned his head slightly.
Just a side glance.
Nothing more.
And then—
BOOM.
Bodies exploded.
Blood painted the rooftop.
Organs scattered across broken concrete.
The rain itself turned red.
Ivan remained completely silent.
Not because he wasn't used to death.
But because none of this felt real.
The most horrifying thing—
Aarion still hadn't shown even the slightest emotion.
After several moments—
Riven's breathing stabilized.
The wound across his chest disappeared completely as if it had never existed.
Aarion finally spoke.
His voice was calm.
"He will be fine."
Ivan looked toward him silently.
Then Aarion's gaze shifted toward a nearby tree growing beside the rooftop edge.
He raised two fingers slightly.
Two leaves floated gently toward him.
Aether slowly gathered around them.
The leaves began glowing faintly.
Aarion handed one toward Ivan.
"This leaf will protect you from anyone in this world."
His voice remained frighteningly calm.
"Even if a god descends…"
The glowing leaf rested quietly in Ivan's hand.
"…you will not be harmed."
Then Aarion raised the second leaf slightly.
"Give this one to Riven when he wakes up."
Ivan stared at the leaves silently.
Even he couldn't properly sense what kind of power existed inside them.
Then Aarion slowly stood up.
The storm continued raging around him.
Yet strangely—
At this moment—
He no longer looked like a being standing at the pinnacle of existence.
He looked…
Human.
Like an older man worried about someone precious to him.
His gaze shifted briefly toward Ivan.
"You are a good friend."
A faint pause followed.
"Thank you for standing beside him."
Ivan opened his mouth slightly—
But no words came out.
And before he could respond—
Aarion disappeared.
No aura.
No distortion.
No trace.
One moment he was there.
The next—
Nothing remained.
Like he had never existed at all.
Silence returned to the rooftop.
Only rain remained.
Ivan looked down at the unconscious Riven lying beside him.
Then glanced toward his shattered communication device nearby.
Broken.
Destroyed during the fight.
Ivan sighed softly.
"…Great."
He looked at Riven tiredly.
"Now I can't even call my servants because of one reckless idiot."
Riven obviously didn't answer.
He just lay there unconscious peacefully.
For several seconds—
Ivan simply stared at him quietly.
Then softly—
Almost unconsciously—
"…Thanks for staying alive, idiot."
Later that night—
Rain had weakened slightly.
Ivan walked slowly through the empty streets carrying Riven on his back.
The city looked quieter now.
Almost exhausted after the chaos.
Riven remained unconscious while Ivan walked beneath flickering streetlights.
And for some reason—
Ivan started talking.
Mostly because the silence felt strange.
"You know…"
He adjusted Riven slightly.
"You really caused problems even before becoming an Ascendant."
A faint smirk appeared briefly on his face.
"I still remember when you punched that senior in school because he insulted your lunch."
Silence.
Ivan sighed.
"…And somehow I got dragged into that fight too."
He kept walking slowly.
Rainwater dripped from his hair quietly.
"And that teacher…"
A faint laugh escaped him.
"She genuinely thought I was the dangerous one."
Ivan looked sideways toward Riven briefly.
"…Actually no. She was right."
Another few steps passed.
Then more silence.
"You know…"
His voice became quieter now.
"…you're the only person who talked to me normally after learning who I was."
Streetlights flickered overhead.
"Everyone else either feared me or wanted something from me."
A faint pause followed.
"But you…"
A small tired smile appeared on his face.
"…you were just stupid."
He continued walking through the silent street.
Then suddenly—
Ivan stopped.
A wine shop stood near the corner.
Warm light glowed from inside.
Ivan looked at the shop.
Then at unconscious Riven.
Then back at the shop.
Silence.
A deep sigh escaped him.
"…How exactly am I supposed to explain this to your mother?"
END