When Riven heard what Luke said, he tried to step forward and force Luke into taking action, but suddenly a black fog ford and pushed him back, refusing to allow him to take a step forward.
The fog kept pushing back no matter how hard he tried. "What the hell is this? Allow to get to him, he has to change everything," Riven said, pushing as hard as he could.
"Why should he? You couldn’t do it. Why should he?" Riven heard a voice—there was no source, only a voice speaking to him.
"I couldn’t do it, and that’s why he needs to do it," Riven argued.
"So because you were weak, you want the you from the last ti to take your image and fix your own mistakes?
If you had stepped up on your own, all this would never have happened. You would not have been put in the position that you were in.
You were weak, pathetic, hopeless, and because of you, your mother..."
"STOP! ENOUGH! I know already. I know what I did, I know that I am to bear the bla for it all, but I don’t want to see him go through it again.
I want to save him at the very least, and put a stop to that monster," Riven said.
"That might be too late," the voice said, and the scene changed. It was a stormy night, the black clouds crackled with bright flashes of lightning, rain fell without end.
Luke sat inside his room, his back leaned against the door, and a book in his hand. He read diligently, like he had been tasked to do it.
As Riven laid eyes on this scene, his heart froze. He imdiately fell to his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks. "No, please, I don’t want to face it again. Please, I’ll do anything to not see this again," he yelled, crying out his heart.
"There is no escaping it. The pain that this day left in your heart has made him not know you," the voice said.
The sound of yelling reached the room. His father and mother were at it again, but this ti the yelling was unlike the other days.
It was vicious. Their voices reached the peak—it was an all-out onslaught of words. Every ti they yelled, Luke would flinch but ultimately kept on reading.
"This was the day, I recall it—the day that bastard took my mother from . The day I did nothing but sit behind the door and listen," Riven said.
"For years, I could never forgive myself for this incident, and the mories of her always gave joy and haunted at the sa ti," Riven said.
"But now that I look at it, it wasn’t your fault, Luke. You aren’t to bla. How could you have known, and what could you have done? You were a victim," Riven said. He took a step toward Luke, and this ti nothing stopped him.
He stood in front of Luke, looking down at him. He slowly bent down, glancing at the book and then looking at Luke. To his surprise, Luke looked up as well. Their eyes t and locked.
"Luke, right now, mummy is in pain. Whichever thing you choose to do, I want you to know that you are not at fault at all, and for you to live with the mindset that you did all you could," Riven said and patted Luke’s head. He felt this was the best way to go about this—not forcing Luke to do what he couldn’t.
"But I never even tried," Luke suddenly spoke, and his words surprised Riven. "I didn’t even make an attempt to help her. Do I really love Mum if I can’t even try to help?
I don’t want to give myself any excuse. I want to save Mum. She is all the world to ," Luke said and got up. He opened the door and walked out. He walked with confidence.
Riven watched his confidence and couldn’t help but be stunned. His confidence was shocking. His confidence was real.
Soone who claid they loved soone should not be scared to fight for them in the face of danger—that was what Luke was about to do.
’That is what I should have done as well,’ Riven thought. He drew a deep breath and cald himself, his eyes got serious. ’That is what I will do,’ he said and stretched out his hands. Twilight appeared in his hands, and he walked downstairs.
His entire body slowly materialized into this world now. As he got closer, the more real he beca, being able to interact with the world more. His finger ran along the wall as he ca down.
When he finally arrived, he saw Luke standing in between his mother and his father, his hands stretched out in defiance.
His father was filled with rage. He imdiately raised his hand to smack him.
"You bastard!" his father yelled and swung the hand, but right before the hand could make contact, a small silver light passed, and his hand fell to the ground.
It happened so fast that it took the three of them a few seconds to react. The father looked at the stump that once had his hand, the blood pouring from it, and imdiately he was filled with pain. He yelled out like a dying whale.
"You did well, Luke. I’ll take it from here. Mum will be safe," Riven said to Luke. Luke nodded and stepped back. "You too, it’s ti you finally face those demons," Luke spoke. His voice sounded like a child, but the advice he gave was not sothing a child could give.
Riven nodded and faced their father who was on the ground in pain.
"You... you turned into sothing that I wasn’t supposed to be," Riven said. He got ready to attack. Suddenly, a burst of black smoke ca from his father’s body. It slowly changed form into a four-headed fog snake with three eyes.
’What’s this? Well, whatever it is, I’ll kill it.’
"I can never forgive you for what you did. You deserve to rot," Riven yelled. One of the snake heads attacked, Riven sidestepped and slashed, cutting off the head easily.
He didn’t stop after the slash. He charged in, his eyes blazing with rage as he moved. "I wish that I could say that I forgive you, and free myself from the burden, but I realized that this burden is now who I am." He attacked another head and cut it down.
"Because of you, I was simply going through life, not allowing life to go through , not knowing what real happiness and adventure is.
But now that changes. Your hold on has taught to protect those that are close to and to cherish family, as well as punish people like you.
I’ll never forgive you, because the hate I have towards you drives to beco better for myself, so that I’ll protect myself and the people I love from predators like you."
He slashed again, and again, taking off all the heads. The fog slowly receded, leaving his father sprawled on the floor.
He pointed his sword at his father’s neck, his eyes empty. But then a smile ford on his face—a sick smile. He plunged the sword into his father’s throat and killed him.
"This is for and Mum. Rot in hell," Riven said. Imdiately he killed his father, everything started spinning. He couldn’t see straight. He couldn’t take a step. Within a few seconds, he passed out on the floor.
When his eyes opened again, he was back in front of the Iron Maiden. He sat up slowly, his body felt sore all over, but he was generally fine.
[Your trial went faster than I would have imagined, and the way you ended it was not the way I expected.]
"What do you an?" he asked.
[The aim of the trial was for you to forgive your past in order for you to ensure that your future will not be hindered.
The goal was for you to let go of the baggage of the past and walk into a new future. What you did was entirely different.]
"Forgive? You really believed there was a way I would forgive the man that killed my mother and abandoned imdiately after?
I might have killed him in that hallucination you conjured up, but sowhere in the real world of Earth, he is walking free, happy. There is no way I could forgive him.
But then again, this trial was not a fail for , because due to it, I finally found who I am and how I will live. I am tired of struggling under people—people who think they are above.
My father, bullies, and now the students of the Royal Academy. Now I’m going to show them all that no one will stand over . That is an oath to my soul."
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