Echoes of you

A New Beginning

Sophie couldn't shake the feeling of disbelief as the air around her stilled, leaving behind an almost eerie calm. The mirror had returned to its usual reflective state, the candle's flame burning softly beside it, and the violent trembling that had threatened to tear apart the space between their worlds was now gone.

But Riven was still here.

He stood in front of her, his hand still intertwined with hers, his presence as solid and real as anything else in the room. His grip was warm, his touch grounding, and yet Sophie's mind struggled to comprehend it. For so long, Riven had been a voice, a presence she could only feel in fleeting moments. Now, he was standing before her—no longer a flicker or a shadow, but real flesh and bone.

"Is it over?" Sophie asked, her voice soft, as if speaking too loudly might undo the fragile calm.

Riven nodded, his dark eyes locked onto hers, still brimming with emotion. "It's over," he whispered. "The connection is stable now. Our worlds... they're no longer fighting each other."

Sophie let out a shaky breath, her body trembling with relief. "I can't believe it," she murmured, her eyes searching his face. "You're really here."

Riven gave her a small, almost hesitant smile, and there was something vulnerable in the way he looked at her—as if he, too, was afraid that this moment might be a dream, that it might slip through his fingers if he didn't hold onto it tightly enough.

"I never thought I'd actually make it," he said, his voice barely audible. "I thought... I thought I was going to fade."

Sophie's heart ached at the rawness in his words. She remembered the fear in his voice when he had told her he was fading and when he had begged her to help him. The desperation she had felt in his presence, the sadness that had washed over her like a tidal wave—it had been real. He had been real all along.

"But you didn't," she said firmly, her fingers tightening around his. "You didn't fade. You're here now. We did it."

Riven nodded, his expression softening, though the weight of everything they had been through was still visible in the lines of his face. He looked tired, like someone who had been fighting a battle for far too long. And in a way, he had.

For a long moment, they just stood there, letting the quiet between them stretch on, both of them trying to process the magnitude of what had just happened.

But as the seconds ticked by, Sophie felt the tension inside her begin to shift. The danger was over, yes, but now came the uncertainty. The questions she had been holding back, the fears that lingered just beneath the surface.

"Riven," she began, her voice hesitant. "What happens now? I mean, you're here, but... what about your world? What about—"

Riven gently squeezed her hand, cutting off her words with a soft, reassuring touch. "It's alright, Sophie," he said quietly. "My world... it's not like yours. It's not a place I can—or want—to go back to. I've been trapped there for so long, disconnected from everything. But now... now I'm here. And that's all that matters."

Sophie blinked, trying to absorb what he was saying. She had assumed Riven's world was similar to hers—just another version, another place, like two cities separated by distance but still familiar. But the way he spoke of his world... it was as if he had been trapped in something far darker, far more isolating than she had imagined.

"You mean... you don't want to go back?" she asked, searching his face for confirmation.

Riven shook his head. "No. My world was broken long before I found you. It's not a place that could sustain life the way this one can. That's why I was fading. My world was collapsing in on itself, and I was... I was slipping away with it." His eyes softened as he looked at her, his expression filled with something that looked like gratitude—or maybe something deeper. "But you saved me. You pulled me out of that."

Sophie's throat tightened as his words sank in. She had saved him. The bond they had formed—the one that had started as nothing more than a strange whisper in her mind—had given him a chance at life, a chance to escape the fate that had been slowly consuming him.

"I don't know what to say," Sophie whispered, feeling overwhelmed by the weight of it all. "I didn't know... I didn't realize how much you were going through. I just... I just knew I had to help you."

Riven's smile widened, though it was still tinged with the exhaustion of everything they had endured. "You did more than help me, Sophie," he said softly. "You gave me a second chance."

Sophie felt her breath catch in her throat as she looked at him. There was something about the way he spoke, the way he looked at her, that made her feel like they were standing on the edge of something new, something neither of them had fully grasped yet.

"But now..." she began, her voice trembling slightly. "Now what? I mean... what happens next?"

Riven's expression softened, and for a moment, he was quiet, as if he were considering the same question. "I don't know," he admitted, his voice gentle. "I've never been here before. I've never been in your world—never felt anything as... solid as this."

His fingers brushed against hers, and Sophie felt a shiver of warmth run up her arm at the contact. The moment felt charged, like the air around them was humming with an energy she couldn't quite name.

"But I do know one thing," Riven continued, his voice steady and sure. "I'm not going anywhere. Not without you."

Sophie's chest tightened, and she felt the beginnings of tears prick at the corners of her eyes. "Riven..." she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

Riven's hand cupped her cheek again, his thumb brushing softly against her skin. "You and I... we've been connected for a long time," he said quietly. "Longer than either of us realized. And now that we're here—now that I'm here—I'm not going to let go of that."

Sophie's breath hitched as his words sank in. She had felt that connection too—the invisible thread that had tied them together across realities, the bond that had brought them to this moment. She didn't fully understand it yet, but she knew one thing for certain.

She didn't want to lose it.

Her hand reached up to cover his, her fingers intertwining with his as she leaned into his touch. "I don't want to let go either," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Riven smiled, a soft, tender smile that made Sophie's heart ache in the best possible way. "Then we'll figure this out," he said, his voice filled with quiet determination. "Together."

Sophie nodded, her chest swelling with a mixture of hope and relief. They didn't have all the answers yet, and there were still so many unknowns, but for the first time in weeks, she felt a sense of calm settle over her.

They were together. And that was enough.

For now.

The days that followed were a blur of emotions, both overwhelming and tender. Riven had fully crossed into Sophie's world, and though the adjustment was strange for both of them, the bond they shared made everything feel... right.

They spent hours talking, learning about each other in ways they hadn't been able to before. Riven told her about the world he had come from—how it had once been full of life but had slowly decayed into a fractured, dying place. He had been trapped there for longer than he could remember, and it wasn't until Sophie had heard his voice that he had felt a glimmer of hope.

Sophie, in turn, shared pieces of her own life—the parts she had kept hidden from most people. She told him about her loneliness, about the way she had always felt disconnected from the world around her, even before she had heard his voice. In some strange, impossible way, Riven had filled that void.

They spent evenings walking through the city, exploring places that were new to Riven but familiar to Sophie. And each night, they returned to her apartment, where the quiet comfort of each other's presence was all they needed.

As the days passed, Sophie found herself falling deeper into the reality of their connection. Riven wasn't just a fleeting presence anymore—he was a part of her world, a part of her life. And every time she looked at him, she felt a sense of belonging she had never known before.

It wasn't perfect. There were still challenges ahead, still questions they didn't have answers to. But for the first time in a long time, Sophie didn't feel afraid.

She felt... hopeful.

And that was enough.