Shattered mask

After Riven collapsed on the ground, the air seemed to freeze. A stillness took over the room. Mr. Nobody stood there in silent alarm for a brief moment before snapping into action.

"Someone call the doctor," he ordered sharply, his voice steady but filled with urgency.

A Firstborn darted off.

Minutes later, the doctor arrived, brushing past the door with a worn satchel slung over his shoulder. His coat flared slightly as he walked, stained with old blood and age.

He glanced at the figure lying unconscious. "What happened?" the doctor asked, kneeling beside Riven. "What happened to him?"

Mr. Nobody, now standing beside Riven's body, looked up slowly. His expression had changed—his usually unreadable face was now set in a seriousness that felt... unfamiliar.

"I don't know," he replied. "He said something about being able to see the future. At first, everyone thought he was joking. But after he put on his mask, he screamed… and then he just collapsed on the floor."

The doctor's eyes narrowed. "Take him to the infirmary."

Without hesitation, Mr. Nobody bent down and lifted Riven by the arm, half-carrying, half-dragging him with surprising gentleness. The others stepped aside as he moved swiftly, heading toward the makeshift infirmary deeper within the underground outpost.

The infirmary was dimly lit and hastily assembled—rows of rusted beds, bandages piled in open boxes, and old equipment scattered around. Mr. Nobody lowered Riven onto a cot, and turned to the doctor.

"What happened?" he asked again, his tone quieter now.

The doctor glanced around cautiously, checking the shadows, his voice lowering just in case any ears lingered too close.

"You see…" he began, pulling a stool and sitting beside the bed, "Riven has an ability to see the future. Well—few minutes into the future, at least."

Mr. Nobody's eyes sharpened. That was something valuable—more than valuable. On a battlefield, such an ability could change everything.

"But," the doctor continued, "that's the ability we originally wanted to try to give his mask. It failed. Became something else."

Mr. Nobody tilted his head slightly. "What did it become?"

The doctor folded his hands, tapping his forehead twice, searching for the right words.

"The ability was originally supposed to see Riven's future. His path. But it doesn't seem like it's his future it sees…"

He paused.

"…It sees alternate dimensions."

Mr. Nobody stared at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Standing up, the doctor walked over to a dusty table and picked up a chipped ceramic mug. His eyes scanned the infirmary, as if looking for a simple way to explain the impossible.

"You see this mug? I'm currently holding it up. Now look at what happens."

Without warning, he threw the mug to the ground. It shattered, ceramic scattering across the floor.

Mr. Nobody flinched slightly, but didn't speak.

The doctor knelt beside the pieces, then looked up.

"I took the cup from that desk. By doing that, I created another pathway. But in another dimension—which is what I tend to call it—I didn't take that cup. In another, it didn't break. In another, you didn't call me to know what happened to Riven."

He paused again, eyes drifting to the unconscious boy on the bed.

"Riven was on a bed. Laying there asleep. But the version he sees… it's not this one. Instead of seeing his own future, what Riven sees are things that have happened in alternate dimensions. And every alternate dimension is different. New ones are created every second—by every single action, every decision, every breath of every living being."

He straightened, voice growing heavier.

"And in those dimensions, other living beings are making other decisions, creating even more paths. In the end, there are infinite dimensions. And Riven sees all of them—at once."

Silence fell like a curtain.

"That amount of information," the doctor continued grimly, "can overload your brain in an instant… or even destroy your sanity."

Mr. Nobody swallowed, then asked carefully, "Those dimensions… it's all about Riven, right?"

The doctor hesitated. "To be honest, I don't know. All this is just a theory I came up with after the first testing of his ability."

Mr. Nobody leaned back slightly, gaze lingering on Riven. "But I do think it is about him. Because if he sees alternate dimensions of every living thing at once… he will die in an instant. I'm not the smartest of people, but I know that'll kill someone."

The doctor looked at him for a while, as if weighing his words. Then he nodded slowly.

"Well… he's okay now. Please, take him back to the Firstborn residential area. And tell no one about this."

Mr. Nobody didn't argue. He just nodded. "Okay. I'll take him now."

He moved over to the bed and lifted Riven once again. As they left, a quiet figure slipped through the doorway.

The Male Bound.

The doctor didn't even look up. "You heard everything, didn't you?"

The Bound nodded once.

"Poor kid," he murmured.