After the burial was concluded, Eros asked Varik,
"The City of Silence. The heck's that?"
"It's one of the Order's bases. It isn't used that much, but the Order still occupies it, so there should be someone there," Varik replied.
"So how do we get there?" Eros asked.
Varik brought out a map.
"Namarra's two days northeast, past Ashvale. We'll be crossing the old battlefield. It won't be pleasant."
"Ashvale? Is that even safe?" Eros asked in curiosity.
Varik scratched the back of his head.
"It's safe, I think."
Eros looked at him and blinked a couple of times.
"What do you mean you think?"
"Don't worry. Everything in Ashvale is dead," Varik responded.
Eros sighed.
"Ok."
Riven sat on the grassy soil and stared at the graves of the fallen Firstborn. He noticed something strange happen. The masks that were placed on their graves turned to dust and were carried away by the wind. He didn't understand why their masks became dust, but he had a hunch that it was due to the fact that they were dead. Before he could finish his thoughts, he coughed hard, doubling over a little. Instinctively, he brought his hand up to cover his mouth. When it was over, he looked down — his palm was smeared with blood. He stared at it, breathing a little heavier now, like he already knew what it meant. He sighed, closed his eyes, and was taken into the sweet embrace of sleep.
When he opened his eyes, he noticed he wasn't in the real world anymore. He was on a rusty-looking chair, and in the distance sat someone with a smirk on his face — or to be precise, on Riven's face. There was clearly disdain in the smirk.
ERYX
"What do you want?" Riven said.
Eryx looked up at the ceiling to the bulb swinging randomly.
"Nothing really. Why haven't you done something about this mind of yours? And why didn't you dodge when I told you to?"
The voice that told Riven to dodge during the battle against that rotten abomination was Eryx.
"Well, I did, but I wasn't fast enough."
Eryx stood up from the chair.
"We are dying, Riven, and you know that."
He paused.
"I don't mean from the injury in your stomach. The mask — the more we use it, the more it's slowly killing us."
He sighed.
"How long do we have left? Two years? No. With the rate you've used it recently, I don't think we even have a year left. The Abyssal Mirror is killing us."
As if listening to his words, an object fell out of the sky. It was black. It swallowed every light around it, and there were veins of cracks across it that glowed faintly white.
Eryx walked across the room and picked up the object that fell. It was the Abyssal Mirror itself. It was probably conjured up due to Riven's imagination when Eryx talked about it.
"Riven, you need to not rely on this mask of ours. Sounds strange, doesn't it? The Abyssal Mirror is what brought me into existence, after all."
Riven let out a heavy sigh.
"I know. I don't want to use it, but what choice do I have? I don't have any."
He paused with a hint of emotion in his voice.
"The fact is, I'm just too weak to not rely on the mask's help. Without the mask, I'm just a normal, average, maskless human."
Eryx lingered for a few moments, then said,
"Well, I can use the Abyssal Mirror better than you can. When faced with a situation where you have to fight, you have to switch with me."
Riven looked at him — or looked at himself, or whatever.
"No. I will fight my own battles, and I will try not to use the abilities the mask gives. I will only call upon you when it's dire."
Eryx sat down, placing his hands on his chin and crossing his legs.
"Ok. But before you go, do something about this place. I don't want a banana again. How about something more like the Sunderkin? Imagine some."
Riven replied in hesitation,
"Ok."
He felt a tap on his shoulder and he woke up. It was Has.
"Hey, wake up, sleepyhead. It's time to go."
The other Firstborn with the red hair stood beside Jae. Riven stood up with a hint of pain. She looked at him, not with disdain, but with a hint of care.
"Are you ok?" she said.
Riven shook his head.
"I'm fine."
Nira stood in the distance, her raven-black hair flowing in the wind, looking at the sky, aloof to what was happening.
Eros said,
"Hey, Nira."
She didn't reply.
"Hey, Eros to Nira, do you copy?"
Nira looked at Eros, unamused by his jokes.
"Has Varik decided where we're heading next?"
He hesitated for a bit, then said in an awkward tone,
"Well, here's the thing. We're heading to the City of Silence."
He added,
"Whatever that means. But we are gonna have to pass through Ashvale."
Nira looked at him with no hint of emotion in her eyes.
"Oh. I see."