The door opened without a sound.
Riven stepped outside.
The night felt wrong.
Too still.
Too quiet.
Even the wind had stopped.
His breath slowed.
His body tightened.
"…danger."
"You sensed me."
The voice came from behind.
Riven turned instantly.
A man stood a few steps away.
Still. Watching.
Something about him felt off.
Like a shape forced into human form.
Riven's eyes narrowed.
"…what are you?"
The man didn't answer.
His gaze shifted—to Riven's chest.
The pendant.
A faint pause.
"…that thing," he said.
Riven's hand moved over it instinctively.
"I don't know what it is," the man continued.
A step forward.
"But the energy…"
His eyes sharpened.
"…it shouldn't exist here."
Silence.
"Give it to me."
Riven's reply came immediately.
"No."
The air twisted.
Space collapsed.
The world disappeared.
Riven hit the ground hard.
Cold stone beneath him.
He rose instantly.
The world had changed.
Dark.
Endless.
Empty.
"…where…"
"No one will interfere."
The man stood across from him.
Unmoving.
"You've felt it," he said. "That pressure."
Riven didn't answer.
The man stepped forward.
"People like us exist," he said. "You're not one of them."
A pause.
"But that thing is."
He moved.
Gone—
Then there.
Claws tore forward.
Fast.
Too fast.
Riven reacted—
Late.
His stance formed instinctively.
Feet grounded.
Breath—
Controlled.
The impact hit.
Hard.
The force crashed into him—
But didn't throw him.
It spread.
Through bone.
Through muscle.
His knees bent.
The ground cracked beneath him.
The man stepped back slightly.
Watching.
Riven exhaled sharply.
His arms trembled.
But he stood.
The man moved again.
Faster.
Strike—
Riven turned—
Too slow.
The blow landed clean.
His body was thrown across the ground.
Pain surged.
His breath broke.
Riven pushed himself up.
Shaking.
His breathing unstable.
The pressure inside him surged wildly.
Crushing inward.
"…tch…"
Don't fight it.
He forced his breath down.
Forced his body to remember.
The stance returned.
Unstable.
But enough.
The man didn't wait.
He attacked again.
Relentless.
Strike after strike.
No pause.
No rhythm.
Riven blocked some.
Missed most.
Each hit drove into him—
Breaking his balance.
Shattering his control.
His stance faltered.
Recovered.
Faltered again.
Another strike.
He held—
Barely.
The force crushed into him—
His bones screamed—
But his body adjusted.
Slightly.
Not stronger.
Just… surviving.
The next attack came faster.
Heavier.
Riven couldn't react.
The blow slammed into his side.
His body lifted—
Then crashed.
Something broke.
Not bone.
Control.
The pressure inside him surged violently.
Unstable.
Wild.
His breathing collapsed.
His stance failed.
Riven's fingers dug into the ground.
He forced himself up.
Again.
Another strike.
He dropped.
Again.
He stood.
Slower.
Heavier.
Again.
He fell.
His vision blurred.
His body screamed.
Every part of him demanded—
Stop.
But he stood.
---
"…I won't…"
His voice was barely sound.
"…fall…"
The man appeared in front of him.
One final strike.
Clean.
Precise.
Unavoidable.
Impact.
Riven's body froze.
Everything inside him—
Collapsed.
His legs gave out.
He fell.
Darkness swallowed him.
Silence.
The man stood over him.
Looking down.
No emotion.
Riven didn't move.
Unconscious.
The man stepped forward.
Slow.
Deliberate.
His gaze fixed on the pendant.
That faint, unnatural energy
Still there.
He didn't speak.
Didn't hesitate.
His arm lifted.
His hand moved toward Riven's chest.
Closer.
The air felt heavier.
Closer.
His fingers inches away
Riven didn't move.
The space remained still.
And just before contact—
END