Her mind was a flurry of thoughts, a whirlwind of emotions, as she looked up at the beast before her. The beast with the eyes of the one that she had so desperately been searching for. She found it hard to focus on the new shape he had become, trying to find his true form within it. Somewhere within the tattered, misshapen, monstrous form was her Milo. Her voice faltered as the whisper of his name escaped pink lips.

It was in this exact moment, as she looked upon him, eyes wandering past the form he had become and instead only seeing him as he once was, that she came to a heart shattering realization. The reason that she felt so lost without Milo, the reason she had poured her entire being into finding him, it was all because she loved him. She truly loved every part of him, even now, admist the death, decay, and monsters. She loved him.

Bright blues watched him in surprise as the beast before her becan to shiver and shudder, the form twisting and molding until before her, Milo appeared. His hair was long and unkept, his eyes filled with sorrow and determination. She knew he was struggling from the corruption, doing everything within his power to keep himself from changing again.

Caution was thrown at the window when she saw him, her sword slipped her side as she sank to her knees before him. Without a single word, Riviera placed her hands upon his cheeks as his eyes closed and her full, soft lips met his dry, cracked ones in a kiss that was filled with all of the emotions she could not dare to speak in that moment. One hand moved into his unkept hair, tangling deep within it. When she finally pulled away, she rested her forehead against his own, tears pouring down her face. "Please. Don't make me kill you. I can't do this without you anymore. Don't make me kill the man I love." Her words were a whispered plea, a terrified beg. However, her hand was near her sword, something deep within her telling her that her wish to save him would probably not be the one to come true.