Riana… what's wrong with you? Tell me… please, say something…
"What's happening? Help! Help! Is anyone there? My friend is dying—please, someone help!"
Valerina's tears streamed down endlessly, like a broken dam. In that moment, it felt as if she was about to lose everything in the blink of an eye.
Riana's lifeless body lay motionless on the ground.
All Valerina could do… was stand there and watch.
A cruel, unbearable truth.
Her desperate cries echoed through the surroundings, making the atmosphere heavier with each passing second. Her sobbing only grew louder—there was no sign of it stopping.
At least… there was a small relief.
The black tornado, which had been raging violently, was slowly weakening.
Because its source… was Riana's core.
As Riana lost control over her body, the flow of power from her core stopped. And with that, the terrifying tornado gradually began to fade away into nothingness.
Hearing Valerina's cries from afar—
Rivian appeared.
"Tch. Stupid girl… no patience at all."
Rivian—a mythical crow of unimaginable size and presence.
In the blink of an eye, he grabbed Riana's body… and vanished without leaving even the slightest trace behind.
"You idiot, you loud, foolish girl! Does anyone cry this loudly? I think my ears are about to go deaf!"
Hearing his words, Valerina was startled for a moment. Then, in a trembling voice, she spoke—
"Riana… Riana… blood… her mouth…"
And once again, she broke down into uncontrollable sobs.
"Ahh, my head… I swear I'm going to lose it because of your crying."
Rivian let out an annoyed sigh before continuing,
"Hey, you dumb girl, I'm here, aren't I? As long as I'm by her side, even death itself won't be able to take Riana away."
He exaggerated a bit—just to reassure her.
But Valerina immediately snapped back,
"You stupid crow! I know you very well. When Prince Julius beheaded Riana—where were you? You were there too, weren't you? What did you do? Nothing!"
Rivian's expression darkened, anger flashing in his eyes.
"I was there. But did I have permission to interfere? Everything I did back then… was part of the plan. Nothing more."
Valerina didn't back down.
"Oh really? Then is this also part of your 'plan'? Riana still hasn't regained consciousness!"
Their argument continued endlessly—neither willing to listen to the other.
One week later…
"Rivian… did you insult my friend again?"
"Insult? Me? Have I ever done something like that before?"
"Well… not exactly. But still—Valerina has been crying all week. There has to be a reason."
"To be honest, I have no idea what goes on in that idiot girl's head. What nonsense she keeps doing…"
Suddenly—
Valerina's crying stopped.
Silence.
A heavy, suffocating silence filled the air.
Riana slowly opened her eyes, her aura flaring with anger as she glared forward.
"Rivian…?"
"You're going to die today by my hands."
Her voice was cold.
"I'm going to kill you… you stupid crow."
Valerina immediately started crying again, louder than before.
"See?! I told you! That crow always insults me!"
And just like that—
The scene turned into pure chaos.
The three of them started running around, chasing and shouting at each other…
A strangely lively moment, born from what had once been despair.