Lanks' eyes didn't stabilize. They shook violently, the white layer cracking like thin glass under pressure. For a split second, something real showed beneath it. Not power. Not control. Just awareness. Riven saw it clearly. That was enough.
Then it snapped back.
The force exploded outward.
Riven was thrown off instantly, his grip breaking as the impact pushed him back across the shattered ground. His feet dragged, but he didn't fall. He adjusted mid-slide, stabilizing himself just as the pressure surged again.
Behind him, the party didn't speak this time. They couldn't. The difference was obvious now. This wasn't the same fight anymore.
Lanks stood still at the center, but everything around him wasn't. Gravity warped in uneven pulses. Flames flickered in and out like they couldn't decide if they existed. Even the air felt unstable, like it was tearing in small, invisible places.
"…that's not normal…" someone muttered under their breath.
Riven exhaled slowly, eyes still locked forward. "…yeah."
Lanks' head lifted slightly. "…you saw it."
Not a question.
Riven didn't answer.
"…then you know," the voice continued, layered again, overlapping with something deeper, "…this doesn't end cleanly."
Riven rolled his shoulder once. "It never does."
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Lanks stepped forward.
The ground didn't crack this time.
It collapsed.
A section beneath Riven gave in instantly, dropping into nothing. No debris. No impact. Just gone.
Riven moved before it finished disappearing. One step to the side, weight shifting at the exact moment the edge broke. No wasted motion. He didn't even look down.
Lanks was already there.
No delay. No transition. Just there.
A strike came straight toward his chest.
Riven didn't block.
He turned slightly, letting the hit pass just off-center. The force still caught him, pushing him back a step, but not enough to break him.
He stepped in again immediately.
Short distance.
Tight angle.
His fist moved—
Stopped.
Lanks didn't dodge.
Didn't react.
He took the hit directly.
The impact landed clean.
But something felt wrong.
Too light.
Riven's eyes narrowed.
"…you're letting it happen."
Lanks smiled again. That same unnatural curve. "…I told you… this doesn't end cleanly."
The pressure shifted.
Not outward.
Inward.
Riven felt it instantly. The space around him tightened, compressing from every direction. Not like before. This wasn't an attack meant to crush him instantly.
It was locking him in place.
"…a trap," Riven muttered.
From the outside, it became obvious.
"…he's stuck—!"
"…no, look closer…"
Riven's body had stopped moving. Completely still. Not struggling. Not forcing against it.
Watching.
Again.
Lanks raised his hand slowly. The space around Riven compressed further, tighter, sharper. Any normal movement would've been impossible now.
"…this is the end," the voice said quietly.
Riven's gaze didn't change. "…no."
A pause.
"…this is your last pattern."
Lanks' eyes flickered.
Just slightly.
That was it.
Riven moved.
Not by breaking the pressure.
By slipping through it.
A shift in balance. A micro-step where the force overlapped unevenly. A place where two pulls canceled each other out for less than a second.
He stepped there.
And the entire lock collapsed.
"…what—?!" someone shouted from behind.
Riven was already in motion.
Faster than before.
Not explosive.
Precise.
Every step placed exactly where it needed to be.
Lanks reacted instantly this time. Attacks came without order—gravity spikes, bursts of flame, direct strikes layered together with no rhythm.
But Riven didn't follow them.
He moved ahead of them.
Like he already knew.
Distance closed.
Again.
This time, no hesitation at all.
Riven stepped inside Lanks' range before the next attack could fully form. His hand came up—
Not a fist.
Open.
He grabbed Lanks by the collar again and pulled him forward hard.
"…I'm not fighting that thing," Riven said quietly.
Their faces were inches apart.
"…I'm fighting you."
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Then—
The world glitched.
Not visually.
Something deeper.
Like the rules themselves skipped.
Lanks' body froze.
Completely.
The pressure stopped.
All of it.
Gone.
Silence hit the battlefield.
"…what just happened…?" someone whispered.
Riven didn't move.
Didn't let go.
"…Lanks."
No response.
Then—
A breath.
Uneven.
Real.
"…Riven…" the voice came out, cracked, weak, but clear.
The white in his eyes shattered completely this time.
Not flickering.
Breaking.
For a second—
He was back.
Fully.
"…don't—"
The word cut off.
His body jerked violently.
The pressure returned instantly.
Stronger than before.
More unstable.
More dangerous.
Riven's grip tightened.
"…too late," Lanks forced out, his voice splitting again, "…it already noticed you."
Riven's expression didn't change.
"…what did?"
Lanks' eyes shifted upward slightly.
Not at Riven.
Past him.
"…the one… watching the system."
For the first time—
Riven's focus broke.
Just a fraction.
But enough.
The force exploded again.
This time—
directly at him.
The chapter ends. 🔥