Their ragged footsteps echoed through the tunnel as they fled, the distant clicking of mandibles still ringing in their ears. Riven's shoulder throbbed with each uneven stride, and beside him, Lya's breathing came in sharp, painful gasps. The golden-eyed giant limped behind them, one hand clutching his wounded side, the other still gripping his spear as blood seeped between his fingers.

  "There," Riven hissed, pointing toward a recess in the tunnel wall partially hidden behind thick, blood-red roots.

  He veered toward it without hesitation. The alcove was deeper than it appeared, wide enough for all three of them if they squeezed. He pressed his back against the stone, wincing as his shoulder made contact.

  The golden-eyed man followed, ducking his head beneath the low ceiling. His broad shoulders barely fit through the opening, and he had to angle himself sideways to slip inside. Once in, he slumped against the wall, his face tight with pain.

  The soft golden light of the bulbous growths along the roots cast their faces in a sickly glow, throwing sharp shadows across the stone. Outside, the sound of mandibles faded into the distance.

  Lya's eyes darted toward the passage they'd come from. "They won't... follow us here, will they?"

  Riven shook his head. "No. The passage is too narrow for a large group. Two at most could fit through."

  Of course, his answer was based purely on instinct and guesswork.

  He shifted uncomfortably, his eyes drawn to the dark stain spreading across the giant's side.

  Lya noticed it too. "Let me help you," she said, already moving toward the wounded man. "I can heal that."

  The man's golden eyes widened slightly. "A healer?" His voice carried a note of reverence. "You're one of the rarest among us." Despite his obvious pain, he straightened his posture slightly, as if wanting to show proper respect.

  "It's nothing special," Lya said, but there was a faint flush to her cheeks as she knelt beside him. "May I?"

  He nodded, carefully moving his hand away from the wound in his side. The gash was deep, exposing torn muscle beneath the shredded fabric of his shirt.

  Lya placed her hands over the wound, and the familiar green light began to pulse from her palms. Thin, luminescent filaments extended from her fingers, weaving into the torn flesh like threads stitching a torn fabric.

  "I'm Lya," she said as she worked, her voice soft with concentration. "And this is Riven." She nodded toward him with a smile.

  The man watched the green threads with fascination as they disappeared into his wound. "Aron," he replied, then turned toward Riven. "Riven... that's the first time I've heard that name. It's unusual."

  Riven leaned his head back against the stone, letting out a long, weary sigh.

  Again? What is it about my name that’s so different? It’s just a name.

  Lya seemed almost giddy with the chance to speak to someone new. Words tumbled from her mouth in rapid succession. "What happened back there? Were you with other people? How long have you been here?"

  Aron blinked at the barrage of questions. "We were a group of thirty when we entered the Ascension," he began, wincing slightly as Lya's healing delved deeper into his wound. "We formed before entering, to improve our chances."

  His eyes darkened. "But when we arrived, nothing was as we expected…This wasn't the ascension we had hoped for”

  He paused a moment, struggling to find the right words “We thought we were prepared. We weren't. Some wanted to fortify our position in the southwest, others insisted we press forward"

  “I chose to follow, wanting to make myself useful and to protect. But during a massive monster attack, we were overwhelmed and separated. “

  He gestured vaguely back the way they had come. "I fled underground with about ten others, but then we encountered those... things." His voice trailed off, the memory of what happened to his companions hanging unspoken in the air.

  "I understand," Lya said, her voice softer now. "We didn't know where we were either. We were thrown in with about fifty others, and most were massacred by a horde of monsters as soon as we arrived." She glanced at Riven, a small smile forming. "But we've managed to survive, just the two of us."

  Aron's eyes widened in genuine shock. "Just the two of you? Even with a group of thirty, including Harmonized among us, we barely survived. Your powers must be truly exceptional."

  Lya shook her head, the green glow between her hands pulsing steadily. "Not really. We've mostly survived through luck, my healing, and Riven's intelligence." The admiration in her voice when she mentioned Riven was unmistakable.

  Riven, who had remained largely silent, offering only small nods or frowns in response to the conversation, finally spoke. "Harmonized? What's that supposed to be?" He frowned. "And is it fragments or powers? People seem to use both."

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  Aron stared at him, golden eyes widening with confusion. Riven's stomach sank as he realized his mistake—asking such a basic question would only mark him as vulnerable, like someone used to being told what to do.

  Before Aron could respond, Lya cut in abruptly, her voice slightly too high.

  "He lost his memories. An accident, before we arrived here. He's been... relearning things as we go."Her voice had a forced casualness that made Riven inwardly cringe.

  Aron's expression shifted to sympathy. "Ah. That must be difficult." He nodded respectfully toward Riven. "You've done well to survive regardless."

  She's really not good at lying, he thought, though he appreciated her effort to hide his past as a slave.

  Yet somehow, Goldilocks over here nodded along like it all made perfect sense. Brilliant.

  "We'll have time to discuss the details if you have questions," Aron said, shifting slightly as Lya's healing began to close the worst of his wound. "But we should move soon. To answer your question, though—Harmonized is the term for those who have bonded with a Fragment, like Lya here."

  He gestured vaguely with his free hand. "There are also Climbers, but that's just the name for anyone who challenges the Ascensions. They don't necessarily have Fragments, so it's a distinction. As for powers or Fragments—people use both terms interchangeably since Fragments are the source of power."

  Riven nodded slowly. His eyes caught on something in Lya's pocket—the talisman they'd found just before the fight. The memory of her collapsing in pain flashed through his mind.

  "Hey, what happened with the talisman?" he asked, concern evident in his voice. "Are you feeling better?"

  A mixture of satisfaction and discomfort crossed Lya's face as she finished healing Aron. "I found out what that relic does," she said, sitting back on her heels. "It shows information about monsters. It didn't work the first time I showed it to you because I activated it with my Koras but I wasn't looking at any monsters."

  She touched her temple lightly, as if the memory itself caused pain. "But as soon as we saw them. Their names, their abilities... everything flooded into my mind at once. Like someone was carving the words directly into my skull." She trailed off, not wanting to relive the experience fully.

  "That could be incredibly valuable," Aron said, gently testing his newly healed side. "A relic that identifies monsters? I've heard whispers of it, but they're exceptionally rare"

  Riven nodded, his eyes meeting Lya's. Despite the pain it had caused her, this relic might be the edge they needed to survive.

  Information was likely the most powerful tool for survival, and they desperately needed it in a place so alien to them and so unforgiving.

  "We should move," he said finally, pushing himself up from the wall. His dislocated shoulder still ached, but the rest had at least taken the edge off. "How's your side?"

  Aron stood, his height forcing him to stoop beneath the low ceiling of the alcove. "Much better," he said, offering Lya a grateful nod. "Your healer is exceptional."

  Lya smiled faintly at the compliment, but Riven noticed the tiredness in her eyes. The healing had drained her more than she was letting on.

  "Then let's go," Riven said, already peering out into the tunnel beyond their hiding place. "Before those things find us again."

  They left the safety of their alcove cautiously, Aron's spear leading the way as they moved deeper into the tunnel. The passage remained much the same—walls veined with blood-red roots, the golden buds casting their sickly light across the scarlet-stained ground.

  Riven kept his sword drawn, eyes constantly scanning the shadows for any movement.

  The air grew thicker as they progressed, carrying that same copper tang that reminded Riven of old blood. The walls wept with viscous scarlet liquid that pooled along the edges of the path, forming stagnant puddles that seemed to pulse with a life of their own.

  They moved cautiously for a long while after leaving the alcove, the tunnel stretching endlessly ahead. Eventually, it widened into another intersection. To their left, a narrow passage sloped downward, disappearing into darkness. But to their right, something entirely different awaited.

  An enormous chamber opened up before them, so vast that Riven couldn't make out its far wall in the dim light. More striking than its size was its height.

  "How is this possible?" Lya whispered, voice thin with awe. "We can't be more than a hundred feet underground at most, but that ceiling..." Her words trailed away as she tilted her head back further.

  Riven looked up, a wave of vertigo hitting him. It was a spatial impossibility. They were only a few meters below the surface, yet they were staring up into a void that should have pierced through the crust of the earth and reached the sky. The cavern rose hundreds of meters above them, dark and hollow like the throat of a dead volcano. Conceptually, it made no sense—the space was simply too vast for the world that contained it.

  The entrance to the chamber was marked by a massive portal of pure obsidian. The black stone was polished to a mirror finish, its surface etched with the same angular symbols they had seen in the ruined chapel. The frame stood at least three times Aron's height, its presence commanding and ancient.

  "Should we go in?" Lya asked, her voice barely audible.

  Riven studied the portal for a moment, then nodded. "We can't go back the way we came."

  He approached the threshold cautiously, sword still gripped tightly in his hand. The darkness beyond the portal seemed almost liquid, a tangible presence that waited for them. Drawing a deep breath, he stepped through.

  The sensation was... nothing. No resistance, no strange feeling—just a simple step from one space into another. He turned back to motion the others forward.

  Lya moved to follow, Aron close behind her. But as she reached the exact spot where Riven had crossed, something strange happened.

  Her body jolted backward, as if she'd walked into a solid wall. She stumbled, confusion written across her face.

  "What—" She reached out a hand, and Riven watched as her palm flattened against something invisible. "I can't get through."

  Aron tried next, pressing his massive shoulder against the unseen barrier. It didn't budge. He ran his fingers along the empty air, his brow furrowing.

  "It's like glass," he said, "but I can't see it. And it feels... warm."

  Riven stepped back toward them, reaching out to where they stood. His hand passed through the threshold without resistance. He stepped back across completely, rejoining them in the tunnel.

  "Why can I pass through but you can't?" he muttered, more to himself than to them.

  Lya's eyes widened suddenly. "Your Fragment," she said, turning to Aron. "And mine. Maybe that's it."

  Riven stared at the obsidian frame, a cold realization settling over him.

  Whatever force controlled this barrier, it seemed to recognize what he lacked—and what they possessed.

  The barrier had made his lack of a Fragment undeniable. There was no hiding it now.

  He could feel Aron's golden eyes on him, curious. Watchful.

  "So what do we do now?" Aron asked, his eyes shifting between Riven and the impassable threshold.

  Riven's hand tightened around his sword hilt, the weight of the decision pressing down on him like the impossible void looming overhead.