Shattered Sanity

It took one hour for Circuit to fully explain his plan in thorough detail to all the knuckleheads in his group, but by the end, he could see how the eyes of everyone inside the room were sparkling with hope.

”You’re a goddamn genius,” Randy muttered, as he rubbed his hands together while Batista and Flair began laughing aloud like idiots.

”HAHAHA! I can’t wait for Black Week anymore. This event is going to be a hell of a lot of fun,” Batista declared, as Flair nodded enthusiastically beside him.

”Assuming we can actually pull this shit off,” Matt reminded them, although even he could not completely suppress the grin spreading across his face.

There were certainly a lot of advantages to having a thinker around in their group, and now that they finally had a plan ready, they had three days remaining to prepare for Black Week as best as they possibly could.

—-------

For the next three days, Riven continued his intense training of [Lightning Step], hoping he could push the technique just a little further before Black Week finally began.

And fortunately for him, the countless hours he poured into practicing the same movements repeatedly eventually paid off, as he improved on his mastery of [Lightning Step], increasing his effective movement range from slightly over thirteen meters to nearly fifteen.

”Huff... Huff...”

Riven panted heavily inside the training grounds, as the weight of Sky-Cleaver gradually became more noticeable within his hands after nearly two hours of continuous practice.

He understood that simply increasing the number of movements he could perform was no longer enough.

Professor Jude had repeatedly warned him that mobility meant very little if Riven could not properly transition from movement into an attack, because an opponent who understood his rhythm could simply wait for him to finish moving before counterattacking.

’Don’t think about the Halberd and your body separately.’

Riven remembered one of Jude’s lessons as he adjusted his grip around Sky-Cleaver.

’Your feet decide where the weapon can attack from. Your weapon decides how you want your opponent to move.’

Riven inhaled deeply before lowering his center of gravity, while Storm Aether began circulating through the pathways inside his legs.

The moment the circulation completed, he moved.

WHOOSH!

His body exploded forward several meters as [Lightning Step] activated, although instead of merely allowing the movement to carry him forward, Riven twisted his waist during the final instant and brought Sky-Cleaver around with him.

SWOOSH!

The halberd blade ripped horizontally through the air at waist height before Riven immediately activated the second movement.

WHOOSH!

He disappeared from his original position and reappeared several meters diagonally ahead, changing the angle from which his next attack arrived as he thrust Sky-Cleaver directly forward.

Had an opponent been standing before him, the first attack would have forced them backward while the second would have either broken through their guard, or left them wobbling for balance.

Riven continued.

Third movement.

He planted one foot, shifted his weight and shot sideways as Sky-Cleaver’s hooked blade swept towards the imaginary opponent’s ankle, reproducing one of the combinations his spear instructor had drilled into him repeatedly.

Fourth movement.

Riven accelerated past the imaginary target entirely before turning his shoulders and dragging the halberd around behind him, using the momentum of his movement to add considerably more force to the returning strike.

SWOOSH!

The blade carved through empty air.

Riven stumbled two steps before finally stopping himself.

”Huff... Huff...”

’Too wide.’

He immediately understood what had gone wrong.

Professor Jude’s assistant had corrected that same mistake several times before, as Riven still allowed his shoulders to announce certain attacks whenever he became too focused on generating power.

So he returned to his starting position.

Again.

WHOOSH!

First movement, horizontal sweep.

Second movement, thrust.

Third movement, hook.

Fourth movement, turn and strike.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Slowly, the movements that had once existed separately inside his mind began connecting together.

The halberd training taught him where to attack, while [Lightning Step] allowed him to rapidly change the position from which those attacks arrived, as slowly, the two halves of his Warrior training were beginning to resemble something complete.

He was still crude.

A skilled opponent like Gary could probably identify weaknesses throughout the sequence, while Professor Jude could dismantle the entire combination before Riven completed his second movement.

However, against an ordinary First Year, the combination was becoming genuinely dangerous.

However, while he continued to train with all his focus on his movements, what Riven failed to notice was the sky above.

As his concentration deepened and Storm Aether continuously circulated through him, the clear sky above the training grounds gradually darkened.

Thin clouds gathered first, drifting towards one another until their edges merged, while increasingly darker masses slowly accumulated directly above the area where Riven continued training, as about two hours into his drills, something cold suddenly struck the top of his head.

Riven stopped.

A second droplet landed against his shoulder.

Then another struck Sky-Cleaver.

Trickle... Trickle...

Riven slowly looked upward.

FRRRRRR!

Within moments, the scattered droplets transformed into a violent downpour, as rain hammered against the training grounds with enough intensity to blur everything beyond several dozen meters.

Water poured across Riven’s overheated body, immediately evaporating against portions of his skin as faint steam rose from his shoulders and chest.

Instead of seeking shelter, Riven loosened his grip around Sky-Cleaver and tilted his head backward, allowing the rain to strike directly against his face while his exhausted muscles finally relaxed.

’That feels good...’

For reasons he could not explain, the exhaustion weighing upon him suddenly seemed considerably less oppressive.

His breathing gradually steadied, while the irritation and frustration accumulated through hours of failed repetitions faded beneath the cold rain.

Even his mood improved.

Riven remained there for nearly a minute before finally lowering his head and tightening both hands around Sky-Cleaver once again.

He was not finished.

Storm Aether circulated through his legs.

WHOOSH!

Riven shot forward.

This time, he moved faster.

His halberd followed immediately as he transitioned into the second movement, then the third, while rainwater exploded beneath his feet with every violent change in direction.

Above him, the clouds continued darkening.

Thin flashes of light began flickering somewhere within their depths while Riven trained below, completely unaware of what was gathering over his head.

KABOOM!

Thunder rolled across the Imperial Academy.

Riven accelerated again.

KAPOOSH!

Another flash tore through the clouds as the rain continued pouring around him, and while Riven felt as though he remained completely in control of his own body, slowly but surely, holes began appearing within his otherwise perfect memory.

Every few moments, another bolt of lightning illuminated the sky, causing his vision to turn completely white before returning almost immediately afterward.

At least, that was how it felt to Riven.

He continued training without interruption, breathing heavily as he moved through the rain with Sky-Cleaver held firmly within both hands, completely unaware that the brief flashes he experienced were anything except lightning temporarily overwhelming his vision.

As had there been someone standing at the edge of the training grounds and watching him closely, they would have witnessed something entirely different.

For during those brief moments, Riven turned into a completely different warrior.

His exhausted breathing suddenly turned calm, while the tension accumulated throughout his shoulders and arms disappeared almost instantly as he slowly raised Sky-Cleaver towards the storm raging above him as Storm Aether erupted from his body.

CRACKLE!

Thin arcs of lightning crawled across his arms before spreading onto Sky-Cleaver, as they wrapped themselves around the enormous halberd until its entire shaft began glowing beneath the violent electrical current.

SKADOOSH.

Riven moved explosively.

And this time, whatever technique followed bore no resemblance to [Lightning Step], nor did his stance resemble anything Professor Jude or his assistant had taught him during his time at the Academy, as his body simply disappeared within a violent burst of lightning.

BOOOOM!

The flooded ground beneath his feet exploded apart as Riven appeared nearly thirty meters away, with Sky-Cleaver already descending from above his shoulder.

Storm Aether poured from his arms and entered the halberd.

Then the blade fell.

KRAKOOOM!

A crescent of lightning erupted from Sky-Cleaver and ripped across the training grounds, tearing through the rain before striking the earth several dozen meters ahead.

Mud, stone and water exploded upward.

A jagged trench appeared across the field where the attack had passed, while several wooden training posts caught within its path shattered into splinters.

Yet Riven never stopped moving.

His body twisted as Sky-Cleaver returned around his waist, while lightning continued crawling across the weapon and gathering around its blade with every rotation.

He stepped forward.

The earth cracked beneath his foot.

Then Sky-Cleaver thrust.

BOOM!

Storm Aether erupted from the tip of the halberd in a concentrated blast, punching straight through one of the reinforced wooden training dummies before continuing beyond it and tearing a fist-sized cavity through the stone wall behind.

Riven pulled the weapon back.

Lightning gathered again.

This time, instead of releasing the Aether immediately, he rotated Sky-Cleaver above his head as the storm surrounding the weapon grew increasingly violent.

Rain evaporated before touching him, while the water beneath his feet hissed and transformed into steam as streaks of lightning leapt from Sky-Cleaver into the earth around him, leaving blackened scars wherever they struck.

Then another bolt flashed across the heavens.

White.

Riven’s consciousness returned.

”Huff... Huff...”

His breathing immediately became ragged again as he continued moving through the rain, entirely unaware of the destruction he had caused during the period missing from his memory.

As far as Riven understood, he had never stopped training.

He adjusted his grip around Sky-Cleaver and continued practicing the combination Professor Jude had taught him, concentrating upon his footwork while trying to properly coordinate his halberd with [Lightning Step].

Several seconds passed.

Lightning flashed again.

And Riven disappeared.

This time, Storm Aether exploded from his entire body so violently that the falling rain was thrown outward before it could touch him.

Sky-Cleaver trembled within his hands as lightning poured across its surface, although instead of immediately attacking, Riven lowered the halberd until its blade almost touched the ground.

Then he swung upward.

KRAAAK!

A torrent of lightning followed the blade.

The attack tore a glowing path through the rain before surging towards the clouds above, illuminating the entire training grounds beneath a pale flash of light.

Riven rotated with the momentum rather than fighting against it, bringing Sky-Cleaver around his body before slamming the opposite end into the earth.

The ground erupted.

Cracks raced outward beneath the flooded surface while Storm Aether surged through them, causing dozens of thin electrical arcs to burst from the earth several meters around him.

Any opponent standing within that radius would have been struck from below before they even understood where the attack had come from.

Riven raised Sky-Cleaver again.

For those missing moments, his movements possessed a familiarity with Storm Aether that his conscious self had never demonstrated, as the energy within his body flowed effortlessly into Sky-Cleaver before interacting with the storm raging overhead.

It almost appeared as though his body understood something that his mind did not.

Another flash illuminated the clouds.

White.

Riven returned.

”Huff... Huff... Huff...”

His shoulders immediately sagged as the exhaustion accumulated throughout his body struck him all at once, forcing him to plant the lower end of Sky-Cleaver against the ground and lean heavily upon the weapon for support.

For several seconds, he simply remained there with his head lowered, allowing the rain to pour across his back while desperately trying to catch his breath.

Then Riven finally looked up.

His breathing stopped.

The training grounds in front of him were destroyed.

Several wooden training posts had been reduced to scattered splinters, enormous cracks spread across portions of the flooded earth, while a long trench stretched through the field and ended dozens of meters away.

’What the hell happened here?’

He wondered, as once again, he tried to search for an explanation in his memory, that simply did not exist.