Riven's voice suddenly got serious, cutting through the quiet. He looked straight at me and asked, "How much do you actually know about the keys?"
I hesitated, trying to piece together what little I'd heard. "Not much, honestly. From what someone told me, there's this ceremony thing where you get keys, and they give you powers or whatever." I shrugged, not really sure if that was even right.
Riven and Ray exchanged one of those looks you know, the kind where they're basically having a whole conversation with their eyes. I stayed quiet, waiting for them to say something. Then, out of nowhere, both Riven and ray spoke at the exact same time:
"Who told you that nonsense?"
I blinked. "Just some random guy I met on the road. He was going on about it."
"Oh, right," Riven said, his face relaxing a bit. "Yeah, don't listen to people like that."
Ray was grinning now. "That's not even close to the whole story."
I must have looked pretty curious because they both seemed to notice. I probably had that dumb, eager expression kids get when they want to know something.
"We'll explain it properly," Riven said turning his left and right
As he talked, I could tell he was being careful about something. Like he wasn't lying, but he definitely wasn't telling me everything either. I'm not stupid I could sense there was more to all this.
I caught Ray and Riven sharing another look, and I could practically hear what they were thinking: Where the hell is this kid from that he doesn't know basic stuff about keys? Which was fair, I guess. Apparently everyone else my age knew this stuff already.
"The ceremony happens in a special place," Riven continued, getting more focused. "It's called the Gateway to the Worlds of Keys. Only the really powerful people from the continent run the whole thing you know, to keep everyone safe and make sure nobody dies."
I was listening hard now, starting to realize this wasn't some fun little adventure.
"Every kingdom only has one gateway," Riven went on. "Opens once a year, that's it. And when it does, the keys just...choose whoever they want. Sometimes they don't choose anyone at all. Sometimes they'll straight up kill you if you're not good enough. It's happened before. They say the keys don't want unworthy people even looking at them."
My mind was racing. This ceremony sounds way more intense than I thought and even intersting
Riven kept going, explaining how rare it was for keys to actually pick someone. Apparently they're picky as hell. Then he hit me with something that made my eyes go wide.
"There are different ranks for the keys," he said. "You can tell by counting the shards on the stone at the key's head."
I was hooked. I'd never heard anything like this before. What even were these keys?
"Ranks 1-3 are called Inlarva that's the bottom tier," Riven explained. "4-6 are Larva, middle rank. 7-8 are Earthlarva, and 9 shards make Heavenlarva. If a key has 10 shards, that's Angelarva. And if it has 14..." His voice dropped way down. "That's Archangellarva. Only a handful of people have ever gotten one of those."
His tone got even more serious.
"Then there are the Forbidden Keys 18 and 21 shards. People call them the Gods of the Worlds of Keys. But honestly, I don't think they actually exist. Most people think they're just stories."
My head was spinning with all this information. I'd come here expecting one thing, but this was turning out to be way more interesting than I'd imagined.
I thought for a second, then asked, "So where's this ceremony happening?" At first I was thinking maybe I should stay away from that place, but now? Now I was curious.
Riven looked at me like I was crazy. "Do you not get how dangerous this is? You're not ready, Rudra. You haven't trained in years. And physically..." He paused, probably trying to be nice about it. "You're the weakest kid I've ever seen. You can barely hold a sword right."
Okay, ouch. But he wasn't wrong.
I looked down at my hands, feeling the weight of what he was saying.
"The ceremony's in 15 days," Riven added grimly. "You've got two weeks to get ready. And look at you Rudra, the stakes are way higher than you think."
He let that sink in before adding, "Everyone your age knows this basic stuff. You've missed out on a lot." There was actually some sympathy in his voice when he said it.
I stood there quietly for a moment. He was right about everything. No training, no knowledge, and I was weak as hell. I knew all of that.
Riven pointed to a corner of the room. "There's a bunch of swords over there. Pick one you can actually handle and try to get ready as much as you can."
I walked over to the corner, feeling pretty beat down but trying not to show it. The first sword I picked up was way too heavy. The second one felt weird in my hand. I kept trying different ones until I found this one—thin but strong, and it fit my hand perfectly.
I was getting excited, about to let out some kind of victory yell like a normal kid would, when the sharp clash of metal made me spin around. Riven and Ray were going at it with their swords.
The sparring match was absolutely insane. I could barely keep up with watching them, let alone follow what they were actually doing. They moved like they were part of the air itself smooth and fast as lightning. The speed was crazy; I couldn't track half their moves, and they'd be close one second and twenty feet apart the next.
Every jump they made covered like 20 meters easy. They moved like wild animals, but with perfect control. The ground was shaking under their feet, and I swear the air was vibrating around them. I just stood there with my mouth open, trying to process what I was seeing.
Their swords were like extensions of their bodies. Riven's blade moved like a snake, cutting through the air with this hissing sound. Every swing was precise and deadly. Ray was keeping up, but I could see he was working harder breathing heavy, really pushing himself.
Then there was this massive clash that sounded like a bell getting struck by lightning. The impact shook everything, and I felt the shockwave hit me. Ray got pushed back, and suddenly Riven's sword was at his throat, a split second from ending things.
Ray was breathing hard, sweat all over his face, gasping for air. But instead of looking defeated, he looked...impressed? Like he respected what had just happened. This wasn't just some practice fight these guys were seriously skilled, but Riven was still stronger.
I was about to say something when Riven spoke first.
"You're getting rusty," he said, sounding amused. "You were holding back the whole time, weren't you? Didn't even use that thing once."
I couldn't believe it. "He was holding back?"
Riven's chest puffed out with pride as he looked at Ray. "He's the prodigy of our kingdom. They call him the upcoming Archangel of Dream." The way he said it, like Ray was some kind of legend in the making.
"After Ray got serious about swords, the gap between us closed," Riven continued. "I couldn't beat him anymore. Not once after he gets to know what he was born with...."
" Enough of teasing brother " ray jumped in middle " how can you be that shameless, rudra your big brother Riven is a prodigy he himself until now he didn't even use his 1% of his real strength ! "
"What ! " that was my geniune response what I saw until now wasn't his 1% then how strong is he
He is an wanderer ! " what is this wanderer now " i asked question to myself but ray continued
" He is at the rank of " seeker " and considered at the rank " horizon " saying that ray turned to me and looked at my face " oohh you don't about wanderer right hmm.."
I think my flat face made him say that but actually i don't know about anything
"Hear listen " riven said " wanderer are those people's who can enter the world of sin and world of keys " right now you two are a non wanderer but once you own the key you need to enter a world so the wanderer tag will forced upon even when don't want "
After this long explaination a peace of silence took place between three of us
My mind was blown from all this and Riven's that strong? I looked at him, trying to wrap my head around how someone could move like that. Even holding back, he was incredible.
Ray turned to me with a slight smile
Riven laughed along. "You could do better than both of us, Rudra. We know you've got it in you."
As we all shared the moment, Riven's expression changed. He was looking Ray up and down with this critical eye. "But you need to get back in shape, Ray," he said, and suddenly the playful mood was gone. There was urgency in his voice.Even with all Ray's skill, Riven could see something was off. Time was running out, and whatever was coming, we needed to be ready for it..