Emotion Hunter: System Awakening.

Riven didn't sleep.

Not even a little.

He just laid there, eyes wide open, staring at the spider-cracked ceiling of his shoebox apartment while the Resonance Blade sat in its dormant form on the nightstand, glinting faintly in the dark like it was mocking him.

Every time he closed his eyes, he didn't see dreams. He saw Marcus's face at the hospital yesterday.

That look.

Suspicion and concern mashed together in one expression that wouldn't leave his head.

It was bad.

Really bad.

Because Marcus wasn't stupid.

Riven had always known his friend was observant, but yesterday? Marcus had practically sketched out the entire puzzle.

The Veil incidents, Riven's sudden injuries, his not-so-subtle "healing speedrun." The only reason Marcus hadn't pieced the full truth together yet was because it was too absurd to believe.

Who the hell would look at their broke college buddy and think, "yeah, that guy definitely has supernatural powers?"

The system's timer glowed at the edge of his vision. A constant reminder.

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[41:07:12 remaining]

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Every second ticked louder than his heartbeat...or maybe it was his heartbeat....

By the time his phone buzzed at 7 AM sharp, he was already wide awake.

It was Marcus. Of course. Predictable as sunrise.

"Coffee. My place. In Thirty minutes and don't even think about your dumb excuses."

No hello. No "how are you feeling." Just orders.

The line went dead before Riven could even reply.

"Yeah, good morning to you too," he muttered into the silence.

Dragging himself to the mirror was a mistake.

Because… the changes were getting harder to ignore.

Sharper features. Straighter posture. His shoulders weren't slouching like they always had, and his eyes looked… different.

Clearer.

Brighter.

He didn't even look like a guy who'd been surviving off instant ramen and vending machine snacks.

He looked like someone who'd been sleeping well, training regularly, and maybe even drinking water like a responsible adult.

Anyone who knew him well would spot it instantly.

And Marcus? Marcus would definitely notice.

Thirty minutes later....

Riven stood outside his friend's dorm room with two coffees in hand, muttering excuses under his breath like he was cramming for an exam. (Just like I did last week "_")...

"Okay, just… half-truths. I just need to admit about the Veil thing.... No system. No emotion looting. No blade that responds to feelings. Just a dumb guy who got lucky."

Simple. Clean. Survivable.....right??..

The door yanked open before he could knock.

"You look different," Marcus said, no greeting....like brooo, just straight to the throat.

His eyes scanned Riven's face like he was some kind of lab experiment. "You look Better, healthier in fact.... Like you didn't get flattened by a motorcycle yesterday."

Riven shoved a coffee at him like a peace treaty. "Good genes?"

Marcus didn't even crack a smile. "Uh-huh."

He stepped back to let him in.

The dorm was its usual brand of disaster:

textbooks scattered everywhere, energy drink cans stacked into small pyramids like trophies, a gaming setup glowing in the corner that probably cost more than Riven's rent.

They sat on opposite each other...

Coffees between them, on a table...the silence was thick enough for a person to choke on....

"So," Marcus finally said, voice flat. "You going to tell me the truth? Or do I have to keep pretending your motorcycle story isn't bullshit?"

Riven's chest squeezed tight. "What do you mean?"

Marcus gave him a look. The kind of look that said, don't even try me right now.

"Riv. We've been friends for three years. You think I don't know when you're lying? The timing. The location. Your injuries. The way you've been acting since your family disappeared. And now this..." He gestured at Riven's face like it was evidence. "You look like you've been on some miracle workout plan. Overnight. It doesn't happen."

"I haven't been lying, exactly..." Riven squeezed out...

"Bullshit."

The word landed like a slap.

Marcus leaned forward, eyes burning. "There was a Veil incident Tuesday night. A Gray Veil. Right where you claim you got hit by a bike. It opened, it closed, and guess what? You disappeared for eight hours. Then you reappeared looking like someone ran you through a blender. Now you're healing faster than humanly possible. You think I wouldn't connect that?"

Riven froze, staring down at his coffee cup.

Marcus's voice dropped softer now, quieter. "You went in, didn't you? You found a Veil and you stepped inside."

The truth sat in Riven's throat like a stone.

His vision flickered with the system's timer. Less than two days before "psychological fragmentation"....or whatever the hell that meant...started tearing him apart.

Riven swallowed. "Yeah. I did."

Marcus's breath escaped in one long exhale, like he'd been holding it for hours. "Jesus Christ, Riven. Why?"

"You know why." His voice broke. "Mom, Dad, Lora… they're in there somewhere. The bus was pulled into a Red Veil. Everyone gave up. Everyone except me. If there's even a chance--" he was cut off before he even finished what he was saying.

"They're dead, Riv. You know that." Marcus's tone was sharp, almost angry. "The casualty reports. The Hunters' statements—"

"The Hunters barely tried!" Riven's voice exploded louder than he intended. "Two weeks! That's all they gave my family. Two weeks of half-hearted searching before declaring it hopeless. Two weeks for three lives!"

Marcus went quiet, jaw tight. His eyes flicked away for a second, then back.

"So what? You decided to be some kind of one-man rescue squad?"

"I decided to see if it was possible." Riven's voice was low now, but steady. "And it is. I survived a Gray Veil. With in those Eight hours. I came back alive."

"How?" Marcus whispered.

That was the line. He couldn't cross it. Not yet.

"I got lucky," Riven lied. "There weren't many monsters. Just goblins. I avoided most of them. I Hid and waited it out."

Marcus's eyes narrowed, skeptical. "You avoided F Rank monsters???....like the goblins??. For eight hours.?? In their own territory??."

"I'm sneakier than I look." Riven retorted.

"And the cuts? The wounds? Those weren't from hiding. They were defensive. You fought something."

Riven's jaw clenched. "Not all of them. I had to fight once or twice. But I got lucky."

Marcus repeated the word like it was poison. "Lucky. You fought goblins...things trained Hunters die to??...and you walked out because of luck?!."

"Gray Veil goblins are F-rank threats," Riven argued weakly.

"F-rank still kills people. Every. Single. Week." Marcus pushed up from the couch, pacing now from side to side, hands raking through his hair...

"Do you hear how insane you sound? You went into another dimension with no training, no weapons, no backup, and somehow lived. That doesn't happen."

Riven didn't look up. "But it did."

"And now what?" Marcus demanded. "You think you'll just keep doing this? Keep diving into Veils until one magically spits your family back out? You'll die, Riv. Horribly. And I'll lose the last person I care about."

That last part cracked. His voice broke.

And for the first time, Riven saw it. The fear. The pain.

When he hadn't picked up his phone that night… Marcus had thought he was gone.

He will be left broken.

The guilt hit harder than any monster did....

"I'm sorry," Riven whispered. "I didn't think..."

"Exactly. You didn't think." Marcus spun on him, eyes blazing. "You never think about how your choices hit the people around you. You just throw yourself into hell like it's your job and hope for the best."

He stopped, breathing hard, then asked the question Riven was dreading.

"You're planning to do it again, aren't you?"

The Veil Compass pulsed in his memory. The system's quests. The promise of strength. The truth clawed at his tongue, but all that came out was...

"I don't know."

Marcus stared at him for a long beat. Then shook his head. "You're still hiding something."

"It's better if I don't say."

"Better for who? Me, or you?" Marcus asked with furrowed brows.

Riven almost laughed.

If Marcus only knew. Emotion looting. The system dangling rewards like bait. The blade that pulsed with his soul. He'd lose his mind trying to process it.

"Just… trust me. Some things I can't explain. At least not yet."

"Can't, or won't?" Marcus pushed.

"Both...."

Marcus sat back down, dragging a hand over his face. "This is insane. All of it. But… I believe you. About surviving. About maybe finding your family. Somehow, I believe you."

Relief hit Riven so hard his system flickered in response..

Damn...wanna loot my relief too??...

"Thank you," Riven said....ignoring his system interface.

"Don't thank me yet." Marcus's voice was firm again. "Because if you're going back in there, you're not doing it alone."

Riven blinked. "Marcus-"

"No. If there's a chance your family's alive, then we do it together. I'm not letting you get eaten by goblins or whatever just because you're too proud to ask for backup."

The system timer ticked down.

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[39:02:15 remaining]

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Riven had bought himself some breathing room.... But...

And now Marcus wanted in.

"There's more," Riven admitted quietly. "Things I can't explain yet. Dangerous things."

Marcus leaned forward, eyes locked on him. "What aren't you telling me?"

The Resonance Blade pulsed in his mind. The manual fragment, The system's demands....he answered the questions in his mind...

"Give me time," Riven said. "I don't even fully understand it myself yet."

"How much time?"

Less than forty hours. But Marcus didn't need to know that.

"A few days. Maybe a week." Riven assured him.

Marcus studied him, then finally nodded. "Fine. But no more disappearing. No more solo hero crap. If we're doing this… we do it smart."

"Agreed."

The timer flickered again in his vision.

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[38:53:44 remaining]

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One crisis at a time....