Riven awoke to the sound of shattering glass. At first, he thought he was dreaming—a sky fractured like a broken mirror, its pieces glowing with hues of gold, crimson, and black. Around him floated ruins: a castle twisted upside down, a forest frozen mid-motion, and a colossal clock face with its hands spinning backward.
Disoriented, he pushed himself off a cold, cracked surface that resembled obsidian but pulsed faintly with light. His reflection stared back at him in the surface, not as he remembered but... different. His eyes glowed faintly, and a jagged, unfamiliar scar ran down the side of his face.
“Where am I?” he murmured, his voice echoing in the vast void.
A soft voice responded, though he couldn’t see its source.
“You stand in the Shattered Archive, Custodian. The last refuge of dying worlds.”
Turning sharply, Riven saw a figure emerge from the swirling fragments. Its form shifted constantly—male and female, young and old, human and inhuman. Its presence was both comforting and unnerving.
“You have been chosen,” the figure continued, “to reclaim what has been lost.”
Before Riven could speak, a glowing panel appeared in mid-air before him, filled with strange, floating text:
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
[Welcome, Custodian Candidate.]
[Objective: Restore the Fractured Realms.]
“What is this?” Riven asked, staring at the words. “A game? Some kind of trick?”
The figure gestured, and the fragments around them began to spin, forming a whirlwind of images—scenes of kingdoms collapsing, heroes falling in battle, and cities consumed by darkness.
“This is no game,” the figure said. “These are the last remnants of stories that were never finished. Forgotten worlds, broken by forces even I do not fully understand. The Voidwrought consume what remains. You are the Custodian—their last hope.”
Riven felt a strange pull in his chest, as though the fragments themselves were calling to him. Before he could ask more, one of the floating shards—a massive book bound in chains—drifted toward him.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“This,” the figure said, “is your first trial. Enter the Kingdom of Broken Reflections and restore its tale. But beware: every choice you make will ripple through the Archive and beyond.”
The book opened, and light burst forth, engulfing Riven.
When the light faded, Riven found himself in a new realm. It was a kingdom of glass—glass towers, glass streets, and even glass trees that refracted light into dazzling rainbows. But the beauty was marred by cracks running through everything, and the air hummed with an unnatural stillness.
“Welcome, Custodian,” a new voice echoed. This one was softer, almost melodic, and came from nowhere.
A glowing screen appeared before him:
[CHAPTER 1: THE KINGDOM OF BROKEN REFLECTIONS]
[Quest: Free the kingdom from the curse of the Eternal Mirror.]
As he explored, Riven noticed the people of the kingdom—frozen in place, their faces etched with fear. Each one was trapped in glass, their reflections twisted into monstrous forms that moved independently, as if watching him.
“What happened here?” he whispered, unease creeping into his voice.
The ground beneath him rippled, and he turned to see a massive mirror standing in the center of the square. Its surface shimmered like water, and in its reflection, Riven didn’t see himself. Instead, he saw a version of himself wearing a crown of jagged light, his eyes burning with cold indifference.
The reflection smirked.
“Save them? Or save yourself?” it asked. “You cannot do both.”
The mirror shattered, and shadows poured out, coalescing into monstrous forms.
Riven instinctively raised his hand, and a weapon materialized—an ethereal blade pulsing with light and covered in glowing runes. He barely had time to question it before the shadows attacked.
[Enemy Encounter: Reflected Wraiths – Level 1]
[Combat Mode Activated.]
With no memory of how he knew what to do, Riven swung the blade. It cut through the shadows, but with each strike, his own reflection in the shattered glass nearby grew darker, its smirk widening.
As the last wraith dissolved, a voice echoed in his mind:
“Every victory comes with a cost, Custodian. Remember that.”
Riven staggered, his chest heaving, and looked back at the mirror. Its surface was whole again, but the reflection was gone.
“What have I gotten myself into?” he muttered.
Above him, the sky of the glass kingdom flickered, as though it, too, was starting to shatter. In the distance, he saw the looming silhouette of a colossal mirror-like structure—the source of the curse, no doubt.
With a deep breath, Riven gripped his blade tighter and began walking toward it.
Unseen by him, his reflection reappeared in a shard of broken glass on the ground, watching him with a predatory grin.