Chapter 385: Caught In The Hand Of Inevitability, Giving In To Despair

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Slob’s remains slowly began to reform into his original appearance. Sweat ran down his face, and he looked tired. He bent forward as his body pulled itself back together, clenching his teeth until the last of his scattered remains returned to him. Even standing seemed to take more effort than he wanted to admit.

"Oof...! I’m still too young...! Damn it, I need to eat more!!!" Slob groaned in annoyance and frustration. He wiped his forehead, only to find that his hand was shaking. That made him even angrier. His hunger had not gone away, but his body was already struggling to keep up.

As he roared angrily, Chatterer and Desire moved closer, but the King kept them at bay with his sword while Riven supported him. Neither of them could afford to stop. Every time one enemy backed away, the other tried to close the distance, forcing the King to keep his blade raised.

At the same time, they drew closer and closer to the portal. They were almost there. Riven glanced toward it, then back at the enemies in front of them. Just a little farther, and they could get out of here.

However.

FLASH!

A black flash shot forward and stopped before them. It was the one who had stayed out of the fight this entire time, doing nothing and saying nothing.

Crow.

"..."

He stared at them in silence as his aura surged. Countless black feathers spread everywhere, and a single black wing grew from his left shoulder. Riven slowed at the sight of him. Crow had let the others fight until now, so why was he moving when they were so close to escaping?

He reached for his blade, and a calm smile appeared on his lips.

The Divine King of the Cold Star realized that there was something different about this one compared to the rest. His grip tightened around his sword. He tried to move between Crow and Riven, but Crow was already reaching for the hilt.

"Hm? That man...! He’s not like the rest...?!" he gasped.

But it was too late.

SLAAAASH!

A single black slash cut through the Divine King of the Cold Star as Crow drew his blade. Crow appeared behind him, and the Divine King’s body was... sliced into three pieces. For a moment, Riven could only stare. The King had been standing right beside him, still fighting, still keeping the others away. How had Crow gotten past his sword so easily?

"G-Gaaha...?! T-This power...! He is Riven’s...?!" he muttered in disbelief.

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly turned into ice and shattered into countless pieces. Riven reached toward him, but there was nothing left to grab. Fragments of ice fell into the void below, leaving Riven utterly flabbergasted and empty inside.

"Wha...?! Divine King?!" he screamed.

Seeing this, his eyes widened and his hands trembled.

While Riven panicked, Nihil took the opportunity to trap him inside a Cube of Emptiness once more, directing his power toward him in a single heartbeat.

"And that’s as far as you’ll get," he said. "Now, let us proceed. I don’t want any more variables."

"Fine, fine~!" Chatterer snapped his fingers, and chains surged around Riven, completely restraining him and the horse. Riven tried to pull his arm free before the last chain closed around it, but he was too late. The horse struggled beneath him, pulling against the restraints until the chains stopped it too. Even if Riven could somehow free himself, he couldn’t leave it behind. He couldn’t even turn to see where Nihil was.

"Fufufu, it won’t hurt, I promise." Desire appeared by his side and leaned in to kiss his cheek before he could turn away. Her promise only made him more afraid. None of them had asked what he wanted, and none of them seemed to care.

"Can I have a bite too?" Slob asked, licking the other side of Riven’s face. Riven could hear him right beside his ear. He wanted to tell him to get away, but the words wouldn’t come.

The chains held Riven in place, and Desire’s kiss left his body completely paralyzed. He tried to tighten his fingers around the reins, desperate to do something, anything, but they wouldn’t respond. He could still hear the others speaking as if he weren’t right there, listening to every word.

Then...

Nihil appeared behind him, digging his long claws into Riven’s head. Riven tried to jerk away. Nothing happened. He was still trapped, unable to stop whatever Nihil intended to do next.

Crack, crack...!

"W-What...! What are you doing to me...?! S-Stop...! STOP!"

Riven screamed in horror as Nihil forced his skull open with his claws, exposing his brain, the representation of his entire consciousness. He could hear his own screams, but Nihil didn’t stop. Was he even listening? Riven had no way to fight him off, and begging wasn’t making any difference.

"It’s vast, larger than I expected. But a welcome surprise. With this, you could harbor all our power at once. You can become our vessel..." Nihil said. "With the power you’ve inherited from her, we will be unstoppable." Riven heard that word and wanted to scream again. A vessel? Was that all they saw when they looked at him? They weren’t planning to let him go. They wanted to stay inside him.

He reached into Riven’s exposed mind, probing deeper and deeper, rearranging his thoughts, his memories, everything he was. Riven tried to hold on to a single thought, something Nihil couldn’t take from him.

He had to get out. He had to keep fighting. But each time he tried to focus, his thoughts slipped away before he could finish them. He still knew his own name. Riven. He repeated it to himself, afraid that if he stopped, he might not remember it again. Nihil kept going, giving him no chance to recover.

"S-Stop...!" he screamed.

Darkness began to consume him completely as Riven felt his own sense of self start to fade away.

"Stop...!"

The longer they continued, the more he felt himself forgetting who he was. He tried to remember what he had been fighting for, but even that was becoming harder.

Thoughts he had been holding on to disappeared, and he couldn’t bring them back. He knew something was missing. That was the worst part. He could feel them taking things from him without knowing what he had already lost.

However, just as they were about to seize his most precious memories, those of Elisa and his mother... he felt them slipping away too. No! Not them! He couldn’t let these monsters take them from him.

He tried to remember their faces, refusing to let go of what little he still had. Those memories belonged to him! Whatever these monsters wanted from him, they had no right to touch them.

"STOOOOOOOOP!!!"

RUMBLE!

"!!!"

"?!"

"...!"

An explosion of psychic energy erupted, shattering every restraint that had kept him weakened and sending all Five Hands of Inevitability flying. Riven could move again, but he barely had time to realize it.

He raised his hands, expecting the restraints to pull them back. Nothing stopped him this time. The power kept pouring out of him, even after the chains were gone.

BOOOOOMMM!!!

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