> Everyone in life wants to be remembered. But for me, just one person is enough.
— A.Y.
---
"RIVEN, WATCH OUT!"
Gremit's voice thundered inside his mind like an explosion.
Aenna, cloaked in a twisted violet aura, lunged forward with swift, deadly grace.
Her foot slammed down where Riven's head had been moments earlier.
CRACK.
The ground shattered under the impact.
Her once-deep cobalt eyes now shimmered with a disturbing fusion of blue and violet.
Her head turned slowly toward him—eyes hollow.
But inside that void… something moved.
"Riven…"
She whispered it like a hiss as she stepped forward.
Riven leapt to his feet, short of breath, gripping his wooden sword tightly.
"Die for the Keeper of Oblivion. Anomaly… Die."
Then she stopped.
Her voice split—layered, distorted—as if two versions of Aenna were speaking in unison:
one sweet,
one rational,
one dead.
> "Die for Azrael."
She continued her slow advance, like a ghost wrapped in frost.
"Aen, please… wake up. This isn't you..."
Riven lowered his weapon. His hands trembled.
"You idiot!" Gremit bellowed inside his head.
"That sword is the only thing keeping you alive—and the only thing that might break her free!"
But Riven ignored him.
He raised his hands slowly. Unarmed.
"Do you remember that dumb horror movie night at your place? Just the two of us acting like idiots?"
His voice cracked.
Tears streamed down his face.
He glanced over at Lyra, unconscious among shattered glass inside the ruined Café Yuro.
Like broken memories of joy.
Aenna didn't stop.
She kept walking, guided by something far bigger than herself.
"Foolish human. This is madness," Gremit muttered, floating beside him.
"Stay out of it! This isn't your fight!"
Riven screamed, pain and rage twisting his voice.
Aenna's lips parted again.
Her voice… hers, but not.
"Your Aenna is gone, Riven."
Her eyes glowed brighter, an icy blend of violet and blue.
The air around them turned sharp, cold—unforgiving.
"I am her Remembrance.
And she is asleep."
Riven's face went pale.
For the first time, Gremit looked… shaken.
"This is bad, Riven. Really bad."
"What do you mean?"
Riven turned toward him, tense.
"She had something inside her.
A Greater Spirit.
What you humans call... a Conscious Remembrance."
He paused. Nervous—not for Aenna, but for what lay dormant within her.
"You've seen the signs.
Those strange markings... like the ones on Kaiaba's computer."
Riven nodded slowly, his eyes fixed back on Aenna.
She moved like a nightmare stitched into reality.
"Memory Drift…" he murmured.
"Exactly.
Azrael's curse of Oblivion.
Only Remembrance Bearers can perceive it."
Riven shifted stance and picked up his boken.
"If her percentage goes too high… the curse devours the Remembrance.
It turns them into a Wandering Remembrance, enslaved to Oblivion.
Eventually, they become a Shadow.
Or worse..."
"Worse? What could be worse than that?!"
Gremit's jaw tightened. "Something we're not ready for."
Riven's breath hitched.
"Can you see the percentage now? You need a screen—glass, a reflection, something related to communication."
His eyes landed on a flickering digital billboard behind Aenna.
It displayed a bar ad.
He focused.
The image warped.
Letters twisted and melted—
Until finally:
> Subject: Aenna Yuki
Memory Drift: 35%
Curse of Oblivion – Active
"Thirty-five percent... should I be worried?"
"We've got time. But not much."
Gremit's tone turned grave.
"Riven, you need to fight her—now."
"I know. Because…"
Riven smirked, raising the boken.
"Kairo would never forgive me if I didn't bring her back."
"You humans... You leap from despair to resolve in a heartbeat."
Gremit sighed.
"It's not just courage."
Riven's grip tightened.
"It's because I know I can reach her.
Look at her, Gremit."
Aenna's walk was cold and detached...
But something shifted.
Her hand…
It moved to her chest.
Grasping something.
A pendant.
Kairo's gift.
"Gremit, lend me a bit more of your power," Riven asked.
"Again?! I already gave you enough against that Shadow! Now you want me to bust my scales against a Remembrance? I refuse!" snapped the draconic spirit, scoffing.
Riven lunged forward, ready to sprint.
"Fine. I don't care then. I don't need you."
He dashed.
With a fluid movement, he appeared at her side, aiming to strike the possessed girl with a sharp thrust.
Aenna didn't even glance at him.
She exhaled deeply — a thin veil of mist escaping her lips from the freezing air.
The air around her condensed instantly.
A barrier of ice rose.
CRACK.
His strike clashed against the frozen shield.
"Huh? Seriously now? Super strength and agility weren't enough, and now you're throwing ice into the mix? That's cheating, Aen." His tone was classic Riven: cocky and teasing.
A hiss cut through the air — then frost.
A wall of jagged ice rose like a tidal wave.
Riven's bōken struck it, but it echoed like laughing crystal.
A chill crept down his spine.
He followed his instincts.
A sideways leap, just in time.
CRACK — a spear of ice shot toward him like a lance.
He dodged again, barely evading.
"Oi, are you seriously trying to kill me?! Thought we were friends!" Riven called out with a sarcastic grin.
The girl's gaze locked on him.
"Insolent..."
Ice crept along the ground, slithering beneath Riven's feet.
"Shit," he muttered.
Another icicle aimed to impale him, but he deflected it with his training sword, rolling across the frozen floor.
But there was no time.
Aenna hurled everything she had at him.
The ground beneath him fractured under the icy assault.
A jagged column nearly skewered him — it grazed his cheek, drawing blood.
The wound instantly began to frost over.
His breath became visible in the frigid air.
"It's like we went from autumn to Mount Fuji's dead of winter in twenty seconds..." Riven muttered, landing on his feet.
With a backflip, he dodged two more lances.
He stole another glance at the screen, focusing like before.
> Target: Aenna Yuki
Memory Drift: 40%
Curse of Oblivion: Active
"Damn it, it's still rising. I've got to hurry!"
The possessed girl continued summoning ice pillars and spears, forcing Riven into a constant dance.
"No matter how far you run, human... my ice will catch you."
Her voice was colder than winter's bite.
Riven kept running in circles, dodging, deflecting, parrying every assault.
"I have to get close. I can't keep this up..." he thought.
Quick footwork, honed from relentless training, carried him toward her.
> Target: Aenna Yuki
Memory Drift: 45%
Curse of Oblivion: Active
There she was.
That icy gaze.
Copper hair swirling in the wind.
Her pendant floated beside her — the one Kairo had given her.
"You stubborn idiot, how long are you going to stay asleep? Huh, Aen?"
Riven batted away five icy spikes forming in his path.
"I'm not Aenna. I follow only the orders of the Custodian of Oblivion."
> Target: Aenna Yuki
Memory Drift: 50%
Riven's voice erupted into a furious growl at her words.
"Oh really? Then why the hell are you still clinging to that stupid pendant — like something inside you knows it's slipping away?!"
He kept moving, panting, sweat pouring down. He was nearing his limit.
"Tell me, Aen. If you're truly under that bastard's command... then why do you look so hurt? So conflicted? WHY THE HELL ARE YOU CRYING, YOU STUBBORN IDIOT?!"
Aenna flinched.
Her hand moved to her left eye… it was wet.
> Target: Aenna Yuki
Memory Drift: 45%
She didn't understand why, but deep within her... her soul was screaming.
Riven's sarcastic grin faded.
His face hardened — brutal, raw, honest:
"Don't give me that crap. Don't tell me you forgot about Ms. Mikui. Don't tell me you forgot your father."
He kept dodging each spike, pushing forward.
> Target: Aenna Yuki
Memory Drift: 40%
"I don't care if you're possessed. I don't care if you're asleep. But know this..."
With a leap, he rose into the air.
He gripped his bōken, raising it high.
"Gremit! Lend me a damn hand!"
He roared as he prepared to strike the ice barrier around his friend.
"You really work me to death, human... We've known each other for, what, an hour? And you're already draining me dry... Bold and loud. I'm starting to like you more and more."
His wooden blade blazed crimson — fiery and alive.
> Target: Aenna Yuki
Memory Drift: 35%
Aenna raised her hand — seven new icy spears aimed at Riven like arrows.
He brought the bōken to his side and dove in a steep descent.
"I don't care what you are!"
With one strike, he shattered the first icicle.
> Target: Aenna Yuki
Memory Drift: 30%
"I don't care if you locked everyone out and let only Kairo into your heart..."
He destroyed two more with diagonal cuts.
"Shut your damn mouth and DIE, HUMAN!"
Aenna screamed, unleashing an even more ferocious blizzard.
Her aura flared — the speed and ferocity of her attacks surged.
"You're our friend. Our Aenna — rational, stubborn..."
Through sheer effort, he split two more as he kept falling toward her barrier.
> Target: Aenna Yuki
Memory Drift: 25%
"We didn't even like each other at first. You saw me as the idiot who bullied Kairo. And you were right — I am an idiot."
His arms were aching, but he deflected the last two lances.
"But this idiot... he cares about you. For real."
His bōken crashed into the ice shield.
Riven poured every ounce of strength and spirit into the strike.
And in that moment, a memory flashed through his mind.
It was after a training session, in a park with his rival and friend.
With Kairo.
"Riven... you're strong. Way stronger than me. Someday, I might not be there, so please..."
Kairo had smiled with that fire in his eyes — the one that had dimmed lately, but was blazing bright in that memory.
"Protect Aenna and Lyra with all you've got."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Riven screamed as his strength and Gremit's aura fused into a single, explosive blow.
The barrier cracked.
Then shattered.
CRACK.
He reached Aenna.
And with a restrained strike, tapped her on the head.
"And this idiot will protect you... even if he has to kick your ass to do it."
> Target: Aenna Yuki
Memory Drift: 20%
Curse of Oblivion: Active
---
> Everyone wants to be remembered... but I only care about one person.
And that person... is you..... Kairo
— Aenna Yuki
To be continued.