---
The days blurred together after that meeting.
The lessons became a part of me — ingrained in my mind, in my every action.
Each morning, I would wake up to the cold, sterile walls of the compound, the sound of Riven's footsteps echoing outside my door. Each day felt like I was sinking deeper into a place I wasn't sure I could ever escape.
But there was no time to think about escape.
There was only the next lesson, the next challenge.
The next test.
---
I stood before the mirror, staring at my reflection.
The face looking back at me was my own, but it felt… wrong.
The shadows under my eyes, the sharpness of my features — they all spoke of a life I no longer recognized. A life I had left behind, willingly or not.
I used to be someone else.
Someone innocent.
Someone free.
But that person was gone now.
Replaced by the man I had to become.
---
I turned away from the mirror, my hands clenching into fists at my sides.
Riven had told me that control was everything.
That power came from bending others to your will.
But somewhere deep down, I was starting to wonder — who was controlling me?
Who was I becoming?
---
The door to my room creaked open, pulling me from my thoughts.
Riven stepped inside, his eyes cold and calculating.
"I need you," he said, his voice low.
"We have a job to do."
---
I nodded, already slipping into the role I had been trained to play.
"Tell me what to do."
Riven's lips curled into a smile, though there was no warmth in it.
"Follow me."
---
We walked through the winding halls, the air thick with tension.
I had learned to keep my thoughts to myself.
To keep my emotions hidden.
Riven had made it clear that weakness was not an option.
---
We arrived at a room at the far end of the compound.
It was smaller than the others, its walls lined with monitors and equipment I couldn't begin to understand.
---
In the center of the room sat a man — tied to a chair, his face bloodied and bruised.
He looked up at us with fear in his eyes, his body trembling.
Riven's gaze was cold, unfeeling as he stepped forward, his presence looming over the man.
"You know why you're here," Riven said, his voice steady, controlled.
The man said nothing, his eyes darting around the room as if looking for an escape.
"You betrayed us," Riven continued, his tone flat.
"Now you will pay for it."
---
The man's breath quickened, his eyes wild.
"Please," he begged, his voice weak.
"I didn't have a choice. I had to do it. Please—"
Riven cut him off with a sharp motion, his eyes narrowing.
"Enough."
---
Riven turned to me, his expression unreadable.
"It's your turn," he said.
The words hit me like a punch to the gut.
I froze.
This wasn't the first time I had been asked to carry out an order like this.
But something about this moment felt different.
---
I stepped forward slowly, my heart pounding in my chest.
The man in the chair was pleading now, his eyes desperate.
I could see the fear in them — the raw, primal terror that gripped him.
---
"Please," he begged again.
"Don't do this. I'll tell you everything you want to know. I swear—"
I raised my hand, silencing him.
I had been trained to do this, trained to block out the emotions, the pleading, the humanity.
It was just another part of the game.
But as I stood there, staring at the man in front of me, something inside me hesitated.
---
"Do it," Riven said, his voice like ice.
The command was simple, direct. But it hung in the air, thick with expectation.
---
I felt a cold sweat forming on the back of my neck.
I couldn't move.
I couldn't breathe.
---
The man's pleading became a blur, his words falling away as I fought to steady myself.
I had to do this.
I had no choice.
---
But then, something in the back of my mind clicked.
Something broke free.
---
I lowered my hand, my breath catching in my throat.
I couldn't do it.
Not this time.
---
Riven stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he studied me.
"Why are you hesitating?" he asked, his voice dark with disappointment.
"Do you not understand yet?"
I looked up at him, my chest tight with the weight of the decision I had just made.
"I understand," I said, my voice steady.
"But I'm not you."
---
The words felt heavy in the air between us.
Riven's gaze sharpened, his eyes flicking between me and the man in the chair.
---
The man, sensing the shift, began to speak frantically.
"I can help you! I know things. I have information. I can—"
But before he could say another word, Riven silenced him with a single, swift motion.
The man's body went limp, his head lolling to the side as he slumped in the chair.
---
I looked at Riven, my stomach twisting.
He was calm, unaffected, his expression unreadable.
"You've learned nothing," he said softly, almost pityingly.
"You can't hesitate in this world."
---
I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of his words press down on me.
---
Riven turned away, his steps steady and unhurried.
"Lesson thirteen," he said over his shoulder.
"You either kill or be killed."
---
I stood there, staring at the lifeless body in front of me, the silence deafening.
I had failed.
But more than that, I had just realized something I hadn't wanted to face.
I wasn't like them.
And that made me weaker than I had ever been.
---
[End of Chapter 8]
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