*Satellite phone jingle*
The silent nights whispering echoes broke with a symphony of beeps, each a call of awakening to the room's inhabitant.
From within the velvety blanket, a hand stretched out. Its elongated fingers seemed to stretch infinitely, as if reality shifted and warped from its movement.
The fingers curled, tightly gripping the device on the stand, and a low groan echoed as the blankets shifted off the owner's head.
With a click, the phone was answered, raising it to their ear, the owner spoke, his gravelly voice filling the air, "Hello."
A barely stifled yawn unconsciously escaped his mouth.
"Um, hello Riven," A shaky voice came through.
"Who is this?" stifling another yawn, Riven shifted his position slightly to remain awake.
"It's… um… Sera, Seraphina from high school," the voice mumbled awkwardly.
"Sera, Sera, Sera, Sera," he mumbled, rising slowly from the bed. "Ah, Sera, I remember now. What can I help you with?"
"I'm sorry I'm calling you out of the blue like this, and I-I know–" She rambled, her words an incoherent blur.
"Sera, relax, it's fine, I don't mind helping out a friend," he reassured her gently.
"Um, okay, well, do you think I could borrow three hundred dollars…" Her voice was barely above a whisper over the phone by the end of her sentence.
"Huh? Can you repeat that?" his eyes opened wide, all signs of sleep vanishing from his eyes.
"Can I borrow three hundred dollars…?" she spoke a bit louder.
"Oh, that's it. I thought it was something more serious. Yeah, sure, no problem, but is everything alright?" he questioned, remembering Sera was never one to struggle with money.
"Um…"
"How bout this, I'll come over and help you out no matter what it is, not only that, but I will also still give you the money," he injected, thinking it would be better to talk face to face.
"No, you don't have—"
He shook his head. "No, I insist, tell me your address, I'll be there as quickly as possible."
"Um, Alright." She relented quickly, telling him where.
"Okay, I'll talk to you in a bit." Hanging up, Riven tossed the blanket aside, standing up, he stretched lightly.
With a snap of his fingers, his clothes changed from simple sleepwear to cozy everyday wear. Looking down at his outfit, he smiled, "I know I said I'd live a normal life, after all that, but I could never give this up."
Grabbing his keys quickly, he made his way out of his house. The waking embers of day illuminated his steps, a faint chill of the lingering winter persisted in the air, each of his breaths was visible to the eye.
With a beep, he unlocked his car, sliding in easily, he started the vehicle. It's smooth purr like a cat waking up. Gently putting his foot on the gas, the car smoothly rolled out of the driveway, turning down the asphalt road.
Riven sat in silence with only the sound of the tires on asphalt filling it. His thoughts were filled with questions: what was going on with Sera, what had she been up to these past sixteen years, and why did she only ask for help now?
"Hah." He shook his head slowly, a wary smile spreading across his face.
'It's at times like this I miss the system, it always seemed to know exactly what I needed to know. I guess even the strongest in the—no, that's me anymore. I left that all behind when it left,' he sighed again.
Coming to a stop at a red light, Riven could feel the early morning city beats; more vehicles filled the road, and the sidewalks began to fill with pedestrians, some going to work while others left.
As the sun rose, its golden rays sparkled on the towering monoliths, illuminating their majestic forms and reaching toward the endless sky.
The city, though never dead, felt even more alive with a myriad of melodies resonating through the air, each life a different note in the symphony.
Lowering the window, he let the chill air spill into his car. As the light switched to green, his car's engine roared to life as he zoomed off.
It didn't take much longer for him to arrive. Coming to a stop, he turned off the engine, stepped out of the car, and couldn't help but frown.
He knew she was in a bad situation from her voice, but he didn't think it was this bad. The neighborhood was littered with trash and dirt, and a colony of rats could be seen swarming around an open trash bag. The houses looked old and run down, and homeless people wandered about.
"Is this… really the place?"
"Riven!"
He whipped around toward the voice. Standing at the door of the house where he was parked was a woman with platinum blonde hair. And though it looked as if the years had not been easy on her, her skin glistened with a healthy hue, her eyes showed a light of kindness, but also exhaustion.
"Sera! Hey, it's good to see you. You look great despite all of… well, this," he gestured to the surroundings, letting out an awkward chuckle.
"Ha ha… Yeeaahh. Why don't you come in?" gestured with a tilt of her head, stepping aside to let him in.
Walking past her into the house, Riven stared at the small yet quaint interior, a stark contrast to the outside.
The living room was just beyond the door, separated from the kitchen by a small island. At the far end of the room, a hallway led to what he could only assume were the rest of the rooms.
"This is a cozy place you got here," thought it might not seem like he meant it, in the past sixteen earth years, he had seen and been in some of the worst and best houses possible, and was no one to judge someone's living conditions, only the environment.
"Yeah, it's amazing we manage to get a place like this."
Sitting up straight, he cleared his throat. "Okay, tell me what's going on."
"I…" She took a deep breath before starting, "I should tell you the full story."
"Back sixteen years ago, a few months after you left, I left college in my first year due to medical reasons. I moved back in with my parents for a while. My parents were less than pleased and told me that upon my recovery, I would have to return and finish college, or else they would disown me.
I was… reluctant at first, considering the nature of the medical issue, but agreed nonetheless. But when I did finish and get my degree, I was swiftly kicked to the curb and only found out later that my siblings talked my parents into doing so.
Left with nothing, I had to hop from job to job just to provide a stable—"
"Wait, sorry to interrupt, but you haven't explained this medical problem," he quickly spoke before he forgot to ask.
"Oh, sorry it was—" her voice was cut off by the sound of a door opening, followed by soft footsteps on the hard floor.
A girl strolled out, a wide yawn escaping her lips. Absentmindedly slipped her hand beneath her shirt, giving her stomach a gentle scratch, as she shook off the last remnants of sleep. "Emm, hey… Mom, good morning."
"Hey, sweetie, good morning. Here, take a seat, I'll get you some tea." Sera stood up, gesturing to where she was sitting before walking into the kitchen.
"Hmm," she nodded back lightly before sitting down. It was only once she did that she noticed the other person in the room. All drowsiness vanished from her eyes.
"Great, another man trying to take advantage of Mom," she whispered under her breath, unaware that the person in question heard her perfectly.
"I understand now what the medical issue was," he said in an almost joking tone.
"Oh yeah… Ha ha. I found out I was pregnant fairly early in the year when college started, hence why my parents were so angry," she answered without turning back her focus on the kettle she placed on the stove.
"If you don't mind me asking, who is the father? I'll be sure to pull some strings and get the bastard to pay you everything he owes you."
The room fell silent after his declaration, before Sera burst out in laughter that echoed around the room. Her shoulders shook with each breathless gasp until tears filled her vision, her voice breaking into hiccups as she tried to speak.
"I–ha… I'm sorry, it's just good to see you haven't changed so much, but I'm sorry I can't tell you who the father is, not because I don't want to, but because I don't know who it is."
Riven arched an eyebrow, his gaze shifting into something weird, hinting at thoughts just beyond the surface.
Realizing what she said, she quickly clarified, not wanting to be misunderstood. "Wait, don't get me wrong, it's not because I was sleeping with a ton of different guys, but because the two people I did sleep with were too close together day-wise. You know that one of the guys was due to real feelings, but the other one was due to a moment of weakness."
Riven's expression changed into one of uncertainty, fear, and a flicker of something lighter, hope. But Sera quickly explained seen the change "But I'm under the impression that it wasn't the first."
"Well, that doesn't matter, I'll still—" his words were cut off as Sera's daughter cut in.
"Are you trying to get into my mother's pants?" She said bluntly, stunning both of them.
"Aria!!!" Sera yelled, coming back to her senses
"What, Mom! I'm just trying to make sure another one of these men from your past doesn't try and trick you!" Aria cried out.
Sera yelled, firmly shaking her head. "I don't need you to do that!"
"I'll just take my leave," Riven commented, beginning to lift himself from the chair.
"No! You're fine, Riven," she said, turning to him before looking back at her daughter. "Aria, apologize!"
"No!!" Aria sprang to her feet, stomping her way across the room, frustration radiating from her every step. With a fierce determination, she slammed her door behind her, the sound echoing her exasperation.
"Riven, I'm–"
"No, it's fine, Sera." He looked down at his watch and stood up. "I should be heading out anyway."
"Okay, I'll walk you out." She says, walking out of the kitchen.
Walking out the door, both took a moment and stopped just outside of it. Sera looked at Riven apologetically. "Once again, Riven, I'm sorry. I don't know what got into her; she and her sister are usually much more relaxed, but an incident recently happened where I was scammed by someone from college, and they're a little on edge."
"And I guess that's why you needed the three hundred dollars." She nodded shyly in response, her downcast.
"Well, I have a suggestion. I know you said you don't think I'm their father, but I still believe that until we know with one hundred percent certainty that I'm not, I should take some form of responsibility," He said, presenting his perspective on the matter.
She refused instantly while adding on. "You don't have to; that day was my choice, and I knew that you were leaving and couldn't blame you for anything."
"Except for still leaving despite knowing your feelings," he blurted out, heartlessly.
"I…"
"But seriously, Sera, you can't change my mind about this," he added, not backing down.
"I know you're as stubborn as a god," she said with a sigh, clearly remembering the troubles his stubbornness caused
He smirked, while inwardly thinking, 'You don't even know the beginning, it Sera'
Shaking her head, she looked him in the eye, focusing on what he had to say., "What's your suggestion?"
"You all should move in with me," he said matter-of-factly as if they were ordering takeout.
"What!!!"
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{Chapter 2 Preview}
Next time on Daily life of the strongest…
Riven conqueror of galaxies, meets his toughest challenge yet:
Holding shopping bags, dodging fashion advice, and not getting lost in the skincare aisle.
But when the day winds down, and the sun dips low, a quiet thank you might mean than all the battles he's fought.
Next Chapter: "The strongest goes shopping with the girls?"