-----
Vladimir has been helping him a lot lately, so Riven just wanted to give back some of that, it wasn’t like he hated him anymore after he died and got revived, and because he was now under his command, he’ll make sure the former cultist becomes a good person, even if forced.
The change in their relationship had been gradual, but the practical help Vladimir provided was hard to ignore.
It was his little hobby, like a fun thing to see, he really enjoyed seeing him suffer.
Riven still found small ways to push him into situations he disliked, just to watch the reaction.
And so, amidst laughter, celebrations, family, and friends, another day ended.
The decorations stayed up overnight and the leftover food was put away before everyone finally went to sleep.
The next morning, Riven felt like the interior of his body was rapidly growing and transforming, countless poisons, venoms, and toxins within him were synthetized and endlessly fused automatically, the task assigned to one of his ten brains, which he called "Poison Brain".
The process continued without any input from the rest of his mind and produced a steady stream of refined compounds.
His Poison Brain could work tirelessly while the rest rested and that rest was also transferred to it, as long as at least half of the brains slept.
The rest could work continuously without needing rest, as they were all connected into one singular network, a small hive of thoughts, minds, and directions.
Even though most of him stayed asleep, the network kept the assigned tasks moving without interruption.
Then, Riven, while sleeping, furrowed his eyebrows, groaning.
His nice dream he was having with his wife, where Elisa could finally walk with her own two legs and both enjoyed a nice picnic on an open grassland...
Suddenly ended abruptly as everything turned black, like the void itself.
The grass and the clear sky disappeared in a single moment and left nothing behind.
"?!"
Riven slowly looked around, regaining part of his consciousness.
The shift felt different from a normal dream ending and forced him to pay closer attention.
As he looked around, he suddenly noticed something, a massively tall figure, a man with a muscular build, a little old-looking, with long purple hair and purple beard, and sharp, glowing purple-red-pink eyes.
The figure stood still and watched him without speaking at first.
He had pale-gray skin, and was massively tall, with a glowing purple crystal on his abdomen, wearing extravagant and colorful, eastern-looking clothes with gold and purple jewels everywhere, carrying a halo of flowing poisons behind him, where he could see an endless shadow of countless lifeforms.
The figure stood several heads taller than Riven and did not move while the details registered.
"Who... are you?"
As he asked at the man standing in front of him, the old man glared at him with a stern expression, a voice loud and powerful.
The tone alone made it clear he was not used to being questioned.
"So you’re the one who inherited my legacy, some sort of freak of nature that inherited her cells? Just what’s even going on anymore? Ah, my Existence is too Fragmented. Damned Authorities, these damned memetic parasites are really tearing apart my existence to feed their own."
He spoke as if the problem had been going on for a long time and had only grown worse.
"...?"
Riven raised an eyebrow, trying to understand what he was talking about. The old man gave him a small glance and then smirked.
The shift in expression happened quickly and without any further explanation.
"I see, so you two are already there, why don’t you come out to greet your old friend? It’s been... how long? Eons?"
"What?"
"Forgive me, old friend, I find joy in looking at this little one."
"He has a strong will and a powerful spirit indeed."
"?!"
Riven gasped as two other immensely tall giants walked past him, right from behind him, as if they had always been there for some bizarre reason.
He had not sensed either of them until they stepped into view.
"W-What the hell...?!"
He WAS left speechless as he gazed at the three great figures, each one with a massive halo floating behind him gather together.
The three of them stood close enough that their halos almost overlapped.
The world of void around them changed in a single heartbeat, turning into a glorious, slightly eastern and yet alien-looking palace of white, golds, reds, blues, and purples.
The change happened so fast that Riven barely tracked the transition from empty space to solid architecture.
"?!"
Riven stood up and slowly ran, seeing a massive city, a giant, alien civilization spanning thousands of kilometers.
A gigantic city with floating pagodas and other things, combining both medieval eastern aesthetic with alien sci-fi high technology in the most insane view he’d ever witnessed.
He stopped at the edge of a wide platform and simply stared at the scale of the place while the three figures remained behind him.
The sky was blue, and yet there were five moons and three stars, tall mountains made of gold roses onto the horizon, alongside an endless blue sea, purple and green grass combined into beautiful, mystical patterns, and spiritual energy was so immensely thick in the atmosphere the air felt toxic.
Riven took a short breath and immediately noticed how heavy the air felt in his lungs.
Any normal person would instantly explode into elemental energy the moment they got here, unable to resist the spiritual energy filling every single cell of their bodies until they burst into their primary elements.
Riven stayed still for a few more seconds to make sure his own body could handle the pressure before moving farther, until...
"Hey! Riven! Come on now, we didn’t invite you to the palace to sightsee!"
"Come share a drink with us, will you? It’s only manners to do so! Don’t be insolent!"
"..."
Two of the three great beings called him to come sit down by their side, leaving Riven almost stunned.
Wait, this wasn’t just a dream?
-----