The Ascender staggered backward, clutching at the chain tightening around his neck.
"What… are you—"
"Something worse than you," Riven growled.
The chain wasn't metal. It pulsed with will. It was an extension of his soul—alive, hungry. Crimson light bled from his eyes as the pressure around him thickened. The world recoiled, space cracking like thin ice.
"Crush him."
Azura's voice, ancient and merciless, echoed in his mind.
"Weak gods wrap chains around the world. Break one, and they'll come."
The Ascender's hands burst into flame. He roared and swung, slashing through the chain—only for it to regenerate, coiling tighter.
But Riven felt it too. His body was breaking down. Each second the Fragment remained active, his muscles tore and reformed, skin flaking off like scorched parchment.
His heartbeat split again.
One human.One Asura.
He couldn't hold this for long.
The Ascender screamed, a ring of fire erupting from his feet. "You think this makes you strong?! You don't even know what you've touched!"
"Don't need to," Riven muttered.
He reached out with both hands—one physical, one chained—and pulled.
The Ascender's emotional chain—a coiled serpent of pride and pain—stretched taut.
[Skill Activation: Chain Grasp]Target: Ascender – Rank UnknownOrigin Trait: Glorious RejectionAction: Expose and Burn
Riven's hand burned as he ripped the memory free.
Memory Flash – Glorious Rejection
A boy kneels before the Tower.Rejected by a god.Laughed at by his peers.Cursed with weakness.So he burns his family name, swears loyalty to fire itself, and walks into ash alone.
Riven gasped. The Ascender froze—caught in his own past.
"I see you now," Riven said, eyes dimming. "You're just like me."
Then he twisted the chain—and burned it.
The Ascender howled. Flames turned on their master, devouring his skin. His core chain shattered in a burst of screaming heat—and when the fire cleared, nothing remained but scorched stone and flickering sparks.
Riven dropped to one knee, panting. His transformation began to recede. Horns cracked and vanished. Wings dissolved. The chains hissed and retracted into his shadow.
[System Notification – Evolution Complete]
[Chain Grasp] → [Origin Rend] – Skill Upgraded→ You may now extract, weaponize, or shatter origin traits→ Use with caution. Soulload: 42%→ Danger: Identity fracture threshold nearing
He looked at his hand—charred, shaking, real.
But he wasn't the same.
The slums. The Tower. The world above.
He had just screamed at all of them.
And they'd heard.
Cutaway – Elsewhere
A figure in obsidian armor turned from a glowing mirror.
"The Asura Fragment has awakened. Mark that soul."
Miles away, a silver-masked Seer whispered to a congregation of blindfolded acolytes, "The Chainbreaker walks. Prepare the bindings."
And in the highest spire of the Tower, a chained god opened a single, unblinking eye.
End of Chapter 3