"And that's what I know so far," Riven said as he sat across the table from the old man, whose face was in a state of shock and bafflement.
"Th—the–they," the doctor stuttered, unable to get the taboo words out of his mouth.
"They turned you into a 'Failed Royal'?" he finally asked, but his voice was low as if he didn't want anyone else to hear what he was saying, even though they were the only ones in the house.
"I only know my grandfather had a hand in it."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because when I was incapacitating him, he recognized me immediately despite how much I changed. Something you couldn't do with those eyes."
Shooting a glare at him for that jab, the doctor wanted to say something but ultimately passed on it.
"So you think others had a hand in it?"
"Yes, my grandfather doesn't have the know-how, resources, patience, or enough pull in the governing house to do something like this."
"Do you think he'll tell you anything?"
"Not without some encouragement," Riven replied plainly.
"Of course," he said slowly, knowing what he meant by that remark. The implication and the silence hung heavy in the air. The doctor contemplated what to ask next.
"How do you feel?"
"What do you mean?"
Taking in a long and deep sigh, he rephrased the question. "What's happening to you in this state of yours?"
Looking at him for a long moment, Riven actually did something human; he scratched his head. The movement looked so forced and stiff as if someone had given him a command to do it, like a puppet moving its limbs at the whim of the strings.
"I don't know if it worked completely," he answered.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm still me. I am still self-aware. I don't feel like anything has changed, aside from this heavy-weighted sensation I feel on my body—and my magic," he explained as he raised his hand, and a ball of smoke formed.
"What about—?"
"My emotions too," he answered before the doctor could finish his sentence. "Though, I don't know whether it's out of shock or a result of the possession. They feel detached or smothered."
The doctor rubbed his chin, which was filled with straggly hairs his last week's shave missed.
He's right; if it were a full possession, he would've been more like a puppet than anything self-aware. He speaks like one, and his face too, but—
He cut off his chain of thought when he remembered that flicker of emotion Riven showed when he grabbed his lab coat earlier.
He's still human, he concluded.
"But who in the world would try to make a Failed Royal, and what is the spirit that's taken its place next to his soul?" he muttered as he lowered his shades once again to see the gray flickering presence that was blocking out Riven's true aura.
"Do you kn—"
"No," Riven replied, answering the question before he could even finish his sentence.
"I have no idea what spirit is possessing me, or what realm it came from, but whatever it is, it hasn't made any attempts to take over so far."
"You think it might have something to do with your family line? Because you seem very adept at using the magic so far," the doctor pointed out, referring to the seal and how much control he'd have to have over his magical output to pull something like that off.
"That..." Riven started before taking a moment to pause, as if trying to find the right words.
"It's like muscle memory," he uttered as he opened his palm, letting out smoke before condensing it into a ball that rolled around him casually in the air.
"It feels like I've had these powers my whole life," he stated as he made the ball take the shape of a paper airplane.
"That's amazing," the doctor couldn't help but utter as he watched in astonishment, taking in what that meant.
"But you're right." Riven waved his hand, and the airplane faded away like a movie screen. "Maybe there is more to it."
"I'll find out after I get the more immediate information out of my grandfather," he finished as he got up from the table and started to walk to the door.
"You're going to him?" he questioned, standing up from his seat as well.
"Yes, I'll be back soon. If they wake up before I get back, keep them locked up downstairs," Riven commanded as he opened the door.
But before he could close it, the old man called out his name. He turned around in the doorway; the shine of the full moon's ethereal light caused his gray hair to glow in the dark, and somehow it made his hollow eyes shine.
The sight almost made the doctor at a loss for words, but even still, they came out: "My condolences to your family."
Staring at him for a brief moment that felt like it stretched on into forever, Riven finally opened his mouth and breathed a thanks.
Walking a few feet off the porch before materializing his wings, the action sent shivers and jolts up and down the doctor's spine.
"He looks like a—" but before he could finish that thought, Riven flapped his wings once and shot up into the air at tremendous speed, causing the door to slam shut from the force of takeoff.
Shades abruptly flying off his face, they revealed tears that he quickly wiped before he muttered.
"Damned brat."