The fog trembled.
For a moment, Riven thought it was his exhaustion blurring the world. But then the ground itself groaned, stones splitting beneath his boots.
The corpses at his feet shuddered once before sinking into cracks that opened silently in the floor. Blood hissed as it vanished into the stone like water down a drain.
Riven froze, knife in hand, his cold eyes narrowing.
The Gate was moving.
The air grew heavier, denser, pressing down on his chest. The mist thickened until the ruins blurred, their edges dissolving.
Seraphina rose gracefully from her perch, emerald eyes gleaming with sharp delight.
"Well, well… the Gate doesn't seem pleased with your little massacre."
Her voice carried a strange amusement, as though she had expected this.
Riven said nothing. He steadied his breath, watching the cracks widen across the ground.
The ruins around them groaned, their shapes warping, stretching, twisting like molten wax. Towers bent sideways, archways melted into jagged spines. The world folded in on itself.
And then, with a low, thunderous crack—
The floor gave way.
Riven fell.
The mist swallowed him whole, his body tumbling through darkness. His knife slipped from his grasp, spinning away. His stomach lurched, his ears filled with a roar that wasn't air but something deeper, something alive.
He hit the ground hard, pain shooting through his limbs.
When he forced his eyes open, he was no longer in the ruins.
The world had changed.
A vast cavern stretched around him, its walls jagged with obsidian rock. Rivers of faint, glowing essence flowed like molten veins through cracks in the stone, casting the chamber in shifting hues of crimson and violet.
The air was heavy with the stench of sulfur and iron. The mist still lingered, but it was darker here, almost liquid, coiling like serpents across the ground.
And from the shadows, faint eyes glimmered.
Watching.
Waiting.
A soft thud sounded nearby. Seraphina landed lightly on her feet, her crimson hair flaring around her. She looked around the cavern, her lips curving into a smirk.
"Ah… now this is interesting. The Gate's heart stirs. It doesn't open paths like these for just anyone."
Riven pushed himself upright, his body aching but steady. He scanned the cavern, his cold eyes narrowing at the moving shadows.
"What does it want?"
Seraphina tilted her head, her smile sharp.
"Blood. Always blood. The Gate rewards those who feed it. And punishes those who hesitate."
The shadows shifted again.
Dozens of forms slid free of the mist, low to the ground, their bodies twisted, their limbs too long, too sharp. Beasts — smaller than the hulking monster he had faced before, but faster, more numerous.
Their eyes glowed faintly with hunger.
The cavern trembled as they circled, cutting off escape.
Riven tightened his grip on his recovered knife, the crimson cracks along his arm flaring with faint light.
The hunger stirred, eager, whispering louder.
Devour.
The chain rattled violently.
Riven exhaled slowly, his voice a whisper.
"Then let it come."
The swarm came.
Dozens of twisted beasts darted forward, claws scraping, jaws snapping. Their bodies were sleek, stretched too thin, their eyes glowing faintly with pale hunger.
Riven braced, his knife flashing as the first leapt. Steel bit flesh. Black ichor sprayed. The hunger in his veins surged, rattling its chain violently, demanding he consume.
Another beast lunged. He pivoted, slashing its throat open, but three more took its place.
The cavern rang with snarls and shrieks.
Riven fought like a cornered wolf, his movements precise, cold, merciless. Each strike was meant to kill, never wasteful. But the swarm was endless. Every time one fell, another closed the gap.
His breath came heavy. His cuts multiplied.
The hunger roared inside him.
Devour. Break the chain. Devour.
Riven staggered under the weight of it, blood slicking his side. He tightened his grip, forcing control, but his vision blurred at the edges.
Another beast slammed into him, claws raking across his shoulder. He drove his knife into its chest, snarling.
The chain strained—
And then, the air changed.
A whisper slid through the cavern.
Soft. Feminine. Laced with amusement.
"Enough."
The word was quiet, but it carried like thunder.
The swarm froze mid-motion, their claws inches from Riven's flesh. Their pale eyes flickered with sudden terror.
Then came the light.
Seraphina rose from where she stood, her crimson hair billowing as if caught in a wind only she could feel. Her emerald eyes glowed faintly, sharp and amused.
With a flick of her wrist, the mist around her condensed, twisting into threads of scarlet.
The threads whipped outward, slicing through the beasts like razors.
One heartbeat.
Two.
The swarm collapsed. Bodies fell in twitching heaps, black ichor hissing where it touched the glowing rivers of essence in the stone.
Riven stared, his knife still clenched, his chest heaving.
Seraphina hadn't moved from her spot. Her smile was faint, sharp, almost lazy.
The cavern was silent again.
Seraphina let the threads dissolve, her voice smooth, almost teasing.
"My, my. You were holding back the flood well enough… but really, you'd have drowned if I left you longer."
Riven's cold gaze met hers.
"You could've helped earlier."
Her laugh was soft, dangerous.
"I wanted to see how long you'd last. Consider it… entertainment."
Riven said nothing, but the tension in his jaw betrayed his thoughts.
Seraphina's emerald eyes lingered on him, gleaming with interest.
"Don't sulk, little Devourer. The Gate won't ease up just because you survived this far. If you want to stand… you'll have to bleed more than you already have."
Her words were casual, but her gaze sharpened, drilling into him.
"And if you break? Well…" She leaned closer, her lips curving in a whisper that sent a chill down his spine.
"…I'll be there to watch."
Riven tightened his grip on the knife, his voice cold.
"I won't break."
Seraphina's smile widened, satisfied.
"Good."
The rivers of essence pulsed faintly, the cavern trembling again as though the Gate itself was listening.
And somewhere deep inside, the hunger whispered louder, as if amused.