Riva
The blade was already at her throat.
Riva didn't move. Not because she was brave, but because she knew that the moment she tried to step back, she would die. The man in front of her smiled slowly. Dirty armor, bloodstained gloves, and that calm look in his eyes that only those who had killed too many times could wear.
"So?" he asked softly. "Are you going to run now?"
Riva's throat went dry. Every instinct in her body screamed at her to flee, but she stayed still. The blade slid a little closer, just a fraction away from her skin.
"Then you die."
He moved.
Riva reacted too late.
The world seemed to collapse for a split second. Sounds flashed inside her mind—voices that weren't hers, pain that wasn't hers, the sound of a sword cutting through air, a scream, fragments of something she had never lived.
As if she wasn't alone inside her own body.
Her leg moved.
Not the way she intended.
Faster. Sharper. Instinctive.
She stepped aside, and the blade sliced only through empty air. The man's eyes widened, but Riva was already moving. She didn't think. She didn't plan. Her hand simply knew what to do.
The stone in her grip struck his throat with perfect precision.
A dull impact.
The man staggered back, choking, and Riva stared at her own hand in disbelief. That wasn't her. It couldn't be her. She didn't know how to fight like that.
But the man wasn't down for long. Rage twisted his face as he straightened again, and this time he was serious. Riva stepped back once, then again, until her back hit the wall.
Dead end.
The sword rose.
And then something inside her moved again.
Cold. Foreign. Familiar in a way that terrified her.
Images flashed through her mind—battlefields, blood, victories, deaths. Not hers. Never hers. And yet they were there, like memories burned into her soul.
A silent voice pressed into her thoughts:
Use it.
"No…" she whispered.
The sword came down.
And Riva moved.
This time, it wasn't just faster.
It was different.
Her body twisted perfectly out of the strike. Her hand shot up and caught the man's wrist with impossible strength. The man's expression broke instantly.
"What the—"
She squeezed.
Something flowed through her.
Not power she understood. Something borrowed. Something stolen.
The man dropped to his knees.
Riva released him immediately and stumbled back as if she had burned herself.
"What… what is this?" she whispered.
Before she could think further, footsteps echoed through the street.
Many.
Not chaotic. Organized.
Soldiers.
They appeared at the corner, moving in perfect formation. Not rushing. Not hesitating. Like they already knew exactly where she would be.
One of them stopped and looked directly at her.
"We found her," he said calmly.
A pause.
"The girl."
Riva's stomach tightened.
The man she had knocked down behind her groaned, but no one cared. The soldiers stepped closer.
And then another voice came from the street behind them.
"You're quicker than expected."
A woman stood there.
Not like the soldiers. Not like anyone else. Calm. Controlled. Watching everything as if she already knew how it would end.
Long dark hair. Simple clothes. And eyes that didn't search—they judged.
The soldiers stopped immediately.
Riva froze.
The woman sighed softly.
"This was faster than I thought," she said.
Then she looked straight at Riva.
"And you… are exactly what we were told to find."
Riva didn't even have time to process the words before something flew through the air.
A sword.
It didn't come for her—it slammed into the ground between the soldiers, cracking the stone and forcing them to step back.
"Now!"
The shout came from the right.
Before Riva could react, someone grabbed her arm and yanked her away from the wall with surprising strength.
"What the—?!"
"If you stay there, you die, genius," a girl's voice snapped.
Riva looked up.
A young girl stood beside her. Short hair, a dirty cloak, and an expression that looked like she already regretted everything about this moment.
"Who are you?!" Riva asked while being dragged forward.
"Someone who didn't want this job!" the girl shouted back. "But apparently I'm the only one who bothered to save you!"
"Me?! I didn't ask for any of this!"
"Yeah, that's what everyone says right before they get arrested or killed!"
Shouts echoed behind them. The soldiers had regrouped and were already chasing them.
Riva glanced back, then at the girl.
"Is this normal for you?! Just dragging people out of executions?!"
"No, usually my days are way worse!" the girl replied breathlessly.
They turned a corner at full speed and nearly ran into a wall. Without hesitation, the girl climbed over it and looked back.
"Come on!"
"That's a wall!"
"Congrats, you noticed!"
Riva cursed under her breath and scrambled after her, far less gracefully.
On the other side, the girl was already waiting, arms crossed.
"By the way, I'm Kaera."
"You're introducing yourself now?!"
"Better late than after you're dead."
A loud shout echoed from the other side of the wall. The soldiers were closing in.
Kaera sighed.
"Alright… plan B."
"You have a B plan?!" Riva asked in disbelief.
"Of course."
"And what is it?!"
Kaera looked at her.
"Keep running."
A brief silence.
"That's not a plan!" Riva shouted.
"It works!" Kaera shot back, already sprinting.
Riva stared for a split second, then glanced at the approaching footsteps behind them.
"…this is the worst day of my life," she muttered, and ran after her.
Kaera glanced back mid-run and grinned.
"Welcome to the team!"
Riva almost yelled something in response, but instead just kept running.
And somewhere deep down, she knew—
This was only the beginning.