The ruins reeked of ash and blood.
Riven wiped his knife clean against the shredded hide of his last kill, his breath ragged, his body trembling faintly from strain. The ember of fire flickered weakly across his palm, then sputtered out.
He cursed under his breath. The control was getting better, but his body wasn't keeping up. Every use of Devour carved its toll deeper into him.
He heard it then.
A sound different from the smaller beasts.
A low, resonant growl that made the stones beneath his boots tremble.
Riven's head snapped up, eyes narrowing.
The fog shifted.
And something stepped through.
It was larger than the others — four-legged, hulking, its body a grotesque fusion of bone and muscle. Its eyes glowed crimson, veins pulsing like molten wires beneath its flesh.
Where the smaller beasts had been predators, this one was a monster.
Its maw split open, rows of jagged teeth glistening, saliva sizzling as it hit the stone.
Seraphina's sultry laugh carried softly from behind him.
"Oh, darling. Seems you've attracted attention. Hunt too many cubs, and the mother comes sniffing."
Riven didn't look back. His grip tightened on the knife.
He was already exhausted. His body was breaking. The hunger gnawed at him, whispering promises of more strength if he only surrendered.
But surrender meant losing himself.
And that wasn't an option.
The beast lunged.
The ground cracked beneath its weight as it hurtled forward, jaws wide enough to swallow him whole.
Riven rolled aside, narrowly avoiding the crushing bite. Stone shattered where he'd stood.
He slashed at its flank as he moved, steel cutting deep—only for the wound to knit almost instantly, flesh closing, glowing veins sealing the gash.
His eyes narrowed. Regeneration.
This wasn't a fight he could win by attrition.
The monster whirled, its tail lashing out like a whip. It caught him across the ribs, sending him crashing into a wall with bone-rattling force. Pain flared through his chest, copper filling his mouth.
He staggered to his feet, blood dripping down his chin.
The hunger whispered louder.
Devour more. Take it. Rip it apart.
His mark pulsed, veins glowing faintly.
Riven clenched his jaw. He couldn't afford to lose control. Not now.
The beast roared and charged again.
This time, he didn't dodge.
He sprinted forward, straight toward its gaping maw. At the last second, he dropped low, sliding beneath its body. His knife slashed deep along its underbelly, spilling steaming essence across the stone.
The beast howled, twisting violently.
Riven pressed his palm to the wound. Devour flared—essence surging into him like fire through his veins. His vision darkened, his body convulsing. The hunger screamed.
But he forced it down.
Directed it.
Into the ember.
Flame exploded across his arm, raw and unstable, but powerful.
The beast lunged again, jaws snapping.
Riven thrust his burning hand forward, shoving it straight into the creature's open maw. Fire erupted, bursting down its throat in a torrent of flame.
The monster convulsed, shrieking as fire consumed it from the inside. Its body thrashed, crashing against stone, cracking pillars, shaking the ruins.
Riven held on, teeth gritted, every muscle screaming as the flame devoured both beast and himself.
Finally—
The creature collapsed, smoke billowing from its jaws, its glowing veins flickering out.
The air stilled.
Riven fell to his knees, coughing blood, his body trembling violently. His vision blurred.
The hunger whispered, louder than ever, demanding more. His veins glowed faintly with cracks of molten light, threatening to tear him apart.
Then—
A hand touched his shoulder.
Seraphina.
Her voice was velvet, calm, almost gentle. "Enough, little Devourer. You'll burn yourself hollow."
The hunger clawed at him.
Riven clenched his fists, teeth grinding, forcing the void down inch by inch until, finally, the mark dimmed.
The fire sputtered out.
And silence returned.
He collapsed back against the ruins, breath ragged, chest heaving. His body ached, his blood burned, but—
He had won.
Seraphina crouched beside him, her emerald eyes studying him with a new glimmer. Not just amusement now. Something sharper.
"Well," she purred softly, "you keep surprising me. Perhaps you really will survive."
Riven spat blood onto the stone, his eyes cold, unyielding.
"I don't intend to do anything else."
The beast's corpse still smoked, its blackened flesh curling into ash that scattered in the Gate's eternal fog.
Riven sat slumped against the ruins, his knife hanging loose in his blood-slick hand. Every breath came sharp, ragged, tearing at his lungs.
The ember of flame inside him guttered weakly. His veins burned like molten wire, cracks of faint light tracing along his arms.
The hunger had not quieted.
It roared.
More. Feed. Devour.
Riven's teeth clenched. His jaw ached. He forced the whispers down, crushing them with sheer will.
But this time—
They did not yield.
Blood streamed from his nose. His vision swam. His body convulsed, the mark on his arm flaring so bright it seared his skin.
The void inside him pulled, tearing at his flesh and bone, threatening to hollow him out entirely.
His chest locked. Breath fled him. His knife clattered from his grip.
For the first time since the Gate opened, Riven felt something he had buried deep—
Fear.
A shadow fell across him.
Seraphina crouched in front of him, her emerald eyes gleaming with sharp intensity. The lazy amusement she always carried was gone.
Her voice was low, commanding. "Listen to me, boy. If you let the hunger consume you now, you'll become nothing but another beast for me to kill. Is that what you want?"
Riven's lips curled into a snarl, blood dripping from his teeth. "I… won't… break…"
His body spasmed violently.
The hunger howled, a void tearing through him, a promise of power in exchange for surrender.
Seraphina's hand caught his jaw, forcing his gaze to hers. Her touch was warm, steady, anchoring.
"Then prove it."
Her words cut through the haze, sharp and merciless.
"Chain it. Bend it. Own it. Or die here, nameless, forgotten."
The void screamed.
Riven roared back.
He dragged every ounce of his will against the Devour mark, against the tearing hunger. His veins lit like fire, his body burning alive.
Seconds stretched into eternities. His heartbeat thundered like war drums, echoing in his skull.
And then—
Something snapped.
The hunger recoiled.
The mark dimmed.
The fire flickered low, not gone, but leashed.
Riven collapsed forward, gasping for air, his chest heaving. Blood pooled beneath him, but his eyes burned with cold clarity.
He had not been devoured.
Not yet.
Seraphina studied him in silence. Slowly, a smile curved her lips again, though softer now, tinted with something like respect.
"Well," she murmured, brushing crimson hair from her face, "you really do have claws. Maybe you're worth watching after all."
Riven spat blood onto the stone, forcing himself upright inch by inch.
"I don't need an audience," he rasped. His voice was hoarse but steady. "I just need to survive."
Her smile widened, dangerous and amused.
"Then keep surviving, Devourer. The Gate isn't done testing you yet."
The fog thickened again, shadows shifting in the distance.
Riven gripped his knife with trembling hands, the hunger still whispering in his veins.
But for the first time, he had chained it.
And he would not let go.