The Boy Who Burned the Heavens

"Some beginnings refuse to be forgotten."

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🌑 [Scene: Ashfield Crater – Center of the Broken Battlefield]

The earth pulsed.

The ashes stirred.

And from the burnt fragments of forgotten words, a figure rose.

Wrapped in a cloak of cancelled beginnings.

Eyes empty — not of emotion, but of context.

> "Who are you?" Riven asked.

The figure looked up.

Voice like torn parchment:

> "I am the Prologue That Was Denied."

> "I was meant to be your beginning."

"But they chose a different first line."

Lightning cracked above.

Riven stepped forward, tense.

Mirael and Lyara stood behind him, confused.

> "You mean you're… a version of me?"

> "I am what you would have been…

If you had burned slower."

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🕯️ Lore Reveal: The Alternate Start

The Prologue That Was Denied (PTWD) is not a ghost.

He's a fragmented draft.

A character built from Riven's first concept, written… then discarded.

A kind-hearted, gentle boy who never raised a sword.

A version who trusted too easily.

Loved too deeply.

And died too quickly.

But in the ash of the Flameclock…

He found ink again.

And now… he wants revenge.

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⚔️ Duel Begins – Riven vs. The Lost Self

PTWD raised his hand.

Reality trembled.

Ink bled from the sky.

Words peeled from trees.

And suddenly, the battlefield became a manuscript.

Riven stood atop the title.

PTWD stood on the first line.

> "You cannot win," PTWD hissed.

"Because I am what you left behind."

> "Then I'll burn you properly this time."

The fight erupted.

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🗡 Style Clash – Flame vs. Forgiveness

Riven's flames carved into sentences.

PTWD responded with empathy shields — protecting himself with memories of Selene's smile, Lyara's fear, and Mirael's faith.

> "You fight to destroy," PTWD said.

"I fight to belong."

> "You were too kind to survive!" Riven shouted.

> "You became too cruel to live!" PTWD shouted back.

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💥 Flashback Spiral – Forced Regrets

PTWD stabbed Riven with an unwritten sentence.

Suddenly:

Riven was 10 again.

Holding Caelen's hand.

Letting go.

Then—

The night Selene betrayed him.

Her tears.

Her whispered, "I'm sorry."

PTWD whispered:

> "I remember everything… that hurt you."

"You turned it into anger.

I turned it into hope."

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🔥 Breaking Point – The Duel of Flame and Soul

Riven gasped.

Fell to one knee.

The battlefield warped into pages tearing themselves apart.

Mirael screamed.

Lyara collapsed.

Reality was editing itself.

> "Finish it," PTWD said softly.

"Kill me…

But remember…

You were me once."

Riven shook, eyes burning.

And he did something no one expected.

He lowered his sword.

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✍️ The Rewrite of Mercy

Riven raised his Flamechron Quill.

And wrote into PTWD's chest:

> "You were the beginning I couldn't be."

"But you were never wrong."

PTWD's eyes widened.

He smiled.

And for the first time…

He became whole.

> "Thank you… for remembering me."

He faded — not in pain,

But in peace.

And the sky wept ink.

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🔓 New Power Gained: Echo of the First Line

> 🌟 Once per arc, Riven may invoke a past version of himself — kinder, calmer — to speak or act in his place.

🌙 Useful for diplomacy, unlocking lost memories, or resisting corruption.

☁️ Emotional price: Re-living a moment of vulnerability.

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🩸 Final Scene – What Was Unwritten, Now Exists

Riven looked at his reflection.

Saw… both selves.

One forged in rage.

One born in light.

And whispered:

> "You were the line I never read aloud."

"But now… you live in every sentence."

He turned to Lyara.

> "The past isn't done with us yet."

From behind her… a new shadow stirred.

Cloaked in silver armor. Holding…

The Pen of Final Drafts.

> "The Editor Supreme sends his regards," the figure said.

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