Riven awoke midway through the night, shortly after the Demacians departed, but did not want to move from her position. It was a very peculiar feeling to believe that death was imminent, seeing as she had endured so much in her life already. Rarely was she unable to ward off something that held the ability to be so life threatening without simply fighting harder or pushing forward. At that point, breathing alone began to hurt. The ice that clung to her side splintered pains sharp enough to cut through a mountain every time she allowed her lungs to expand large enough to draw in a decent sized breathe. And yet, she did not feel hopeless or lost. For the first time in her life, she felt fairly content with herself.
"How you feelin' champ?" Zac asked from beneath her. She had almost forgotten that Zac had turned himself into a gelatinous bed and the voice startled her momentarily.
"Cold and alone. You?"
"Now there, how can you be alone with me right here?" Riven giggled at the comment and continued to stare at the ceiling.
"Fair enough," she replied. "Still cold though."
"Yeah. Wish I could help with that. True ice just ain't somethin' I know anything about. Stuff's cold enough to freeze my goo, so that takes out the option of be breaking it off."
"Yeah. I'm sure Garen will think of something. Where is he anyways? I kind of expected him to stop by, by now. I mean, I know it's the middle of the night, but I can't imagine he is sleeping any better than I am right now." Riven asked the question with such a genuine curiosity that it seemed rude not to give her an honest answer.
"No idea, actually. That dragon lady and Sejuani left just a few moments ago, kind of out of nowhere. Think he went with them?"
"Not unless it was to chase some theoretical cure. Garen is too dedicated to his word to just take off like that. It would just eat away at him until he had to come back out of guilt. It's just how he's geared." Zac did not answer to her and they both sat in silence until someone could be heard walking up the stairs into the guest room where they laid. Riven turned her head slightly to see Master Yi approaching the two of them.
"Evening," Riven called out. The man replied with a smile and a nod before he knelt down beside her. He spent a few minutes examining her wound and did not say a word. The quietness got to Riven eventually and she decided to make small talk with the man beside her to ease some of the tension. "So, what are the goggles for? I mean, they have seven lenses. Clearly they aren't just for seeing things better…"
"Hmm?" he responded. Seemingly sarcastically. "Oh, these," he said while tapping the goggles on his head. "They're just for reading." Riven grinned and rolled her eyes while she lay in place. The man had a unique sense of humor, which was a quality she would never have expected him to hold after their first encounter.
"So… do you think there is anything that we can do?" Riven asked, continuing the attempt at small talk.
"More than think. I know. But it will take time and dedication. Do YOU think you can do it?"
"Well I don't have many other options now do I? What's your plan?" she pushed.
"The power of the will held within one trained in the Wuju style is to be awed by many. One can move across continents in hours, cut down hundreds in minutes, and mend bones in seconds. It is a calming of the mind and a coming of peace that can only be acquired through the most precise and dedicated of individuals. I have yet to learn all of its wonders myself. But then again," he chuckled, "the true master is an eternal student." Master Yi finished his monologue, and Riven was more confused than she was before he had started talking. She stared blankly at the man for a few moments before continuing her idle questions.
"Where is Garen?" she asked, not knowing how to acknowledge his words.
"He left. He had matters to attend to back in Demacia. It would appear that when his friends came here, it was no more than a distraction for another party to invade in their absence. He did not want to leave you, but I told him I would take care of you. As much as he wanted to have a cure for the true ice that attempts to spread through your veins, he did not have it. And frolicking about here was not the way to help."
"Sounds like Garen alright… So what is it exactly that you plan to do with me?" Riven asked.
"I plan to teach you. It will allow you to use your mind to cure your body. Unlocking the power within oneself is a thousand times stronger than the body could ever imagine it to be."
"And how do you know that this… magic, will work?" The man smiled at her.
"Did you see how fast I move?" The response provoked a smile of her own as she closed her eyes and turned her head back to the ceiling. "The first thing we have to do is clear your clouded mind. You have a troubled past. It is not one that I need to know, but it is one that I need to help you overcome. So far, you have chosen to overpower your obstacles, and to force your way through the difficulties. As you may have been able to tell, this is not a viable option at the moment."
"It'd be nice if it was…" she murmured. Spontaneously, Master Yi placed a gentle hand upon the arrow that ruptured her torso. "No! Don't!" she demanded; but it was too late. The ice had moved onto his hand and froze it completely through. "Why did you…" she began but realized that her words were falling upon deaf ears. The man sat with his head bowed and his eyes closed, while humming softly to himself. He continued the act of self meditation for a few moments before Riven saw something that she could not believe: a light green aura emitted from Yi and the ice began to melt off of his skin. Not a minute later, the true ice was reduced to a puddle on the floor, and the man spun his wrist in circles to indicate that he was not being prohibited by anything. Riven stared at the man with wide eyes and waited for something to be said. Silently, the man got up and walked towards the stairwell to the room.
"Tonight, you clear your mind. Tomorrow, we meditate. You have plenty of time, but be sure progress is made." With those words, Yi left the room.
"No… no more hesitation…" Riven stammered, still in shock of what she saw, and allowing a new breed of hope to well up inside of her.
"Do you think you can do it?" Zac asked.
"I have to. For you and Garen," she stated before closing her eyes and attempting to do the one thing she had spent the majority of her life avoiding: confront the fears of her past.