Shattered Sanity

’What the fuck? Is this guy mental or what?’

The thought flashed through Gary’s mind as he watched Riven use sheer physical strength to bend his longsword, seemingly unconcerned about the gruesome injury he was inflicting upon himself in the process.

’Does this bastard not feel pain?’

Gary wondered, as his disbelief only deepened as he noticed the blood pouring down Riven’s wrist, because if this were anyone else suffering an injury like that, they would probably have been screaming in agony or desperately trying to pull away by now.

Yet Riven did neither, as he simply stared straight into Gary’s eyes without so much as a whimper, displaying such complete indifference towards the pain that Gary momentarily struggled to comprehend what kind of opponent he was fighting.

Riven was injured, trapped against the arena wall and holding a sword through his bleeding palm, yet somehow Gary was the one who suddenly felt uncomfortable beneath the other boy’s unwavering gaze.

’And what the fuck does he mean I’m not worthy of seeing him use a spell?’

Gary wondered, as between the bizarre insult, the longsword bending before his eyes and Riven’s complete indifference towards an injury that should have left him screaming, Gary’s concentration finally slipped, with Riven exploiting his lack of focus to the maximum.

’I’ve got you now....’

Riven thought, as while his right hand continued gripping Gary’s longsword, Riven tightened his left hand around Sky-Cleaver before pouring a small amount of Aether into the ancient weapon and commanding it to retract.

*CLINK*

The enormous halberd immediately collapsed upon itself, its long shaft rapidly shortening until the weapon became small enough for Riven to reposition using only one hand.

Gary failed to notice the movement entirely, as his attention remained fixed upon Riven’s bleeding hand and by the time his eyes finally caught the movement occurring on Riven’s other side, Sky-Cleaver had already been repositioned, with its shortened blade pointing directly towards his shoulder.

"It’s time for payback...."

Riven muttered, as he poured Aether into the weapon once again.

*CLINK*

Sky-Cleaver expanded.

SPLAT!

Gary’s eyes widened as the rapidly extending halberd pierced straight through his shoulder, tearing through flesh and muscle before the sudden impact violently jolted his entire body backwards.

For the briefest moment, Gary barely registered what had happened, as his mind remained trapped somewhere between seeing Sky-Cleaver pointed towards him and realizing that something had suddenly punched through his shoulder.

Then the pain arrived.

An agonizing wave surged from the wound throughout the rest of his body, causing every muscle surrounding his shoulder to violently tense as his breath caught within his throat.

"ARGHHHH!"

Gary screamed as Riven continued pushing Sky-Cleaver forward, forcing the blade deeper through his shoulder until its blood-covered tip finally emerged from the other side.

Blood immediately poured from both ends of the wound, soaking through Gary’s uniform and running down his arm as he stared towards the halberd buried through his shoulder with complete disbelief.

"What the hell...?"

The words barely escaped Gary’s lips as another wave of pain ripped through him, making it difficult to process how completely the fight had changed within only a few seconds.

Moments earlier, he had Riven trapped against the boundary wall with nowhere left to retreat, while his opponent’s halberd had been rendered practically useless and the fight seemed seconds away from ending in his favor.

Now his longsword was bent, its blade remained trapped within Riven’s bleeding hand, and Sky-Cleaver had punched completely through his shoulder.

"ARGHHHHH—"

He screamed, as another violent surge of pain finally forced him to release his longsword, abandoning the weapon entirely as he grabbed Sky-Cleaver’s shaft and desperately stumbled backwards in an attempt to free himself.

The movement dragged his injured shoulder across the embedded blade, sending another unbearable wave of agony throughout his body before he finally managed to pull himself free.

"ARGHHH!"

Gary screamed again as he staggered several steps backwards, immediately clutching his wounded shoulder while blood poured between his fingers and his breathing became increasingly ragged.

Although Gary had spent years training his body and had experienced countless bruises, cuts and even broken bones throughout his childhood, none of those experiences had prepared him for the sensation of a halberd punching completely through his shoulder.

The pain overwhelmed his senses to such an extent that his thoughts became difficult to organize, while his vision blurred momentarily and his legs threatened to give beneath him.

Only now, while struggling to remain standing through an injury that felt almost impossible to ignore, did Gary truly understand how absurd the sight before him was.

Riven still had a sword lodged through his palm.

Yet while Gary could barely think through the pain radiating from his shoulder, Riven stood before him without screaming or recoiling, as he positioned Sky-Cleaver against his shoulder, and used his left hand to finally free his right from the sword lodged within it.

"T— this is not how nobles spar...."

Gary muttered as he stumbled backwards while desperately trying to regain control over his breathing, while the crowd around him that had spent the opening stages of the fight laughing at Riven suddenly erupted into deafening cheers.

Nobody had expected such a brutal reversal, least of all Gary, as for the first time since the bout began, he heard several members of the crowd jeering him from the stands.

"Hahaha! You arrogant cunt! Dawnriver has finally put you in your place!"

"Come on, Gary! Don’t quit now! You were so close to finishing the bastard!"

"Gary! House Aureate is behind you! Teach that slimy little cheat a lesson!"

"Gary! Gary! Gary!"

Shouts entered his ears from every direction, some mocking him while others desperately urged him to fight back, yet Gary could no longer focus upon any single voice amongst the hundreds surrounding him.

His breathing shortened as the burning sensation within his shoulder continued intensifying, while through everything happening around him, his attention gradually returned towards the opponent slowly walking in his direction.

Riven still carried the same unsettling look within his eyes that Gary had seen when he first caught the longsword, as though what had just happened between them had only strengthened his determination to continue.

"Why would you do something like that? Why would you fight in such a way?" Gary muttered, as genuine confusion replaced the confidence with which he had entered the bout. "Now we’re both injured. What was even the point of that exchange?"

Gary simply could not understand it.

This was not how nobles fought.

Yet Riven gave him no answer, as though he was not interested in words, but rather only action.

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