CHAPTER 310: OUR STORY

"Look there," Soren murmured near his ear, pointing down the mountain. "That’s the west district. See the way the river splits in two?"

Riven followed his hand. From here, the city looked like something out of a painting. Tiny lights were already flickering on, winking between rooftops like scattered stars.

"It’s beautiful," he admitted.

"I thought you’d like it," Soren said, sounding almost shy about it.

They climbed higher, the air growing crisp and thin, until the path curved around to a wide ledge partway up the mountain. It wasn’t the very top, but it felt close, high enough that they were almost level with the drifting clouds. The sky above was wide and shockingly clear, every star already coming to life.

Soren dismounted first, landing lightly on the packed snow. He turned and lifted his arms.

"Come here."

Riven smiled, and he still leaned forward, letting Soren catch him and guide him down. Soren didn’t immediately set him back on his feet. He stood there holding him a moment longer, as if he just needed to feel his weight in his arms.

Eventually, Soren set him down and reached into the saddlebag he’d packed. He drew out a thick blanket and a small lantern.

"Just in case the wind picks up," he explained, spreading the blanket over a smooth patch of ground without snow and setting the lantern beside it.

Riven stepped closer to the edge of the ledge, careful of the icy rocks. He had to catch his breath—it was like the whole world was spread out under their feet. The mountains went on forever, fading into a deep purple haze, and the last of the sunset was still visible on the horizon.

"This is..." Riven searched for the word. "It’s perfect."

Soren came to stand behind him, slipping an arm around his waist.

"I wanted you to see it," he said simply.

Riven turned a little, enough to look up at him. In the gathering dusk, Soren’s expression was softer than he’d ever seen it.

"Thanks..." Riven whispered against the whistling wind.

Soren seemed to have thought of everything. Once they’d taken in the view, he knelt by the saddlebag again and pulled out a slim, polished telescope.

Riven blinked in surprise. "You planned this?"

Soren gave him a small, crooked smile. "You’ve been locked indoors too long. I thought you’d like a little perspective."

He set the telescope on its collapsible stand and adjusted the angle, glancing up to check the positions of the stars. The sky was fully dark now, a perfect black velvet studded with stars that shone like diamonds.

"Come here," Soren beckoned, crooking a finger.

Riven stepped closer, and Soren guided him to look through the eyepiece. For a moment, everything blurred—then the lens focused, and the sky exploded into detail. Thousands of tiny points of light crowded together, so clear they almost didn’t look real.

Soren’s voice was a low, steady murmur behind him. "Do you see the bright curve there? Like a crooked ’W’?"

Riven nodded silently.

"That’s Cassiopeia. And to the left, see that there? That’s Aries."

He moved his gloved hand, pointing as he spoke.

"There—Taurus. And Gemini. Can you find Cancer? Just above the horizon?"

Riven shifted the telescope carefully, following the path Soren laid out for him. The names made something twist in his gut. They were the same—exactly the same—as Earth’s constellations. The same zodiac. The same sky.

Don’t overthink it, he told himself quickly. It doesn’t matter. Maybe it’s just easier for the author to reuse names.

But... How are we able to see all the constellations at once? They appear at different seasons, different times, it’s like- impossible to look at them all at once!

But it still felt eerie, looking up at familiar patterns in an unfamiliar world.

Soren seemed unaware of his thoughts. His hand rested lightly on Riven’s shoulder, grounding him.

"There’s Virgo," Soren continued. "And Libra. Scorpius, with the tail curling back on itself. And Sagittarius, the bow."

Riven made a small noise of fascination. "You know all of them?"

Soren’s smile grew fond. "When I was younger, I’d sneak up here... When everything felt too heavy... This helped."

This had to be before... Before his nightmare began.

His hand shifted, gently guiding Riven to adjust the angle.

"And there—Aquarius," he said, his tone softening.

Riven squinted through the lens at the scatter of stars. "What’s the story behind that one?"

Soren’s thumb brushed the back of his neck absently, as though he barely noticed the intimacy. "Aquarius was a beautiful young man, Ganymede. According to the old myths, Zeus saw him and decided he wanted him in the heavens. So he took him away, made him cupbearer to the gods."

"Sounds a bit..." Riven hesitated, searching for a polite word.

"Criminal? Yes. And sometimes, I feel like... That’s how our story began. I had you kidnapped, and now here we are." He said softly.

Riven was so confused! Was this really the yandere man he knew? But of course, his entire personality couldn’t be yandere, just like how his own personality couldn’t be ’horny half-wolf’.

"Mm," Soren murmured. "But there’s more. It is said that Zeus placed him among the stars not as a trophy, but so he’d never be forgotten. So he’d be above everyone forever."

Riven swallowed, feeling the warmth of Soren’s palm on his nape. The sky suddenly felt vast and alive, and the weight of all those stories pressed softly on his heart.

"Do you believe that?" He asked quietly.

Soren didn’t answer right away. Instead, he leaned in, pressing his lips to Riven’s temple. His voice was almost a whisper.

"I believe some people are worth remembering." Soren said with meaning.

Riven thought their story was mirrored in the myth of Aquarius. That was Soren meant to imply after all. Out of all the moments he’d shared with Soren, this felt like the most meaningful.

Just them, standing together under a sky that belonged to no one.