Riven walked towards the Sacred Seed — it glowed brightly as he got closer and the air in the room changed. It felt warmer.
And he felt a strange feeling.
It was a sense of ownership over the seed and the closer he got, the stronger this sense became. He didn't know why so he continued walking.
Then he halted his steps as the comforting presence of the seed gave way to a malicious and oppressive one.
Riven stared at the seed — it wasn't coming from it. It was coming somewhere to his right. He took a sharp turn to his right, looked outside the watchtower and his emotionless face cracked.
A Powerful Vrekhar rapidly closed in on him, their body glowed with a red aura that was far more powerful than he had ever seen.
Worse, as the Powerful Vrekhar drew closer, the malicious and oppressive presence intensified. Just then he heard a loud banging coming from below. His expression turned even darker.
Then came the explosive sound of something heavy falling to the ground followed by the sound of footsteps which only grew louder.
Cold sweat dripped from Riven's forehead as he realized what had just happened.
His head snapped to the left, his gaze locking onto the Sacred Seed. And with trembling legs, he rushed towards the sacred seed and smashed the glass with a single punch.
Shards of glass flew around, sinking deep into his fist and face, making him bleed. He gritted his teeth and grabbed the seed with his other hand.
Arcs of energy flowed into his body, and his veins burned with intensity that he had never experienced before. He didn't hold on for long, put the seed in his mouth, and swallowed it in one go. He didn't chew or wait.
Silence followed and nothing happened immediately. But a heartbeat later everything changed.
Riven's heart pounded violently as if trying to burst out of his chest, and his blood flowed throughout his body at inhumane speeds.
And his skin melted, his bones and muscles were crushed. Then, it was rebuilt countless times in the span of a heartbeat.
He dropped to his knees — silent. He gritted his teeth until his gums bled, and said nothing.
Since he knew what was happening to him, he just had to wait it out.
A moment later came the golden aura — it engulfed his entire body from top to bottom and started to expand. As it expanded, it eliminated the oppressive presence of the powerful Vrekhar charging towards him.
As his body transformed, he silently endured and no one disturbed him for a moment.
But a heartbeat later, disaster struck.
He saw from the corner of his eyes, the Vrekhar Archer whom he had trapped outside the watchtower standing near the entrance.
The Archer loaded its bow with five arrows and fired. Riven's eyes narrowed as five arrows flew towards him at insane speed. Yet, he couldn't even move, let alone dodge, as he was still undergoing a massive transformation.
And to make matters worse, his aura was being pushed back. He glanced to his right and saw a hand hanging on the edge of the wall.
Before he knew it, the powerful Vrekhar pulled himself up, its oppressive aura devouring the golden aura with ease.
A heartbeat later the Powerful Vrekhar charged towards him with a sword pointed towards his heart. Now he was encircled by enemies at all sides and practically crippled at the moment.
He had no way out.
Riven scanned the room, clenched his fist until his nails bit into his palm, and said nothing.
That was when energy tore through him — flooding out through his pores, his body igniting in a golden glow. Then, golden chains manifested all around him out of thin air. The arrows hit the chains acting as a shield and snapped in two.
The chains rushed towards the Vrekhars with speeds so high that he couldn't even follow the chains' movement.
Riven turned towards the Archer and his eyes narrowed.
The chains had wrapped tightly around the body of the Vrekhar near the entrance. It sucked out a blue energy from Archer's body.
This energy flowed inside the chains and the Archer fell to his knees. For now, the danger near the entrance was no longer an immediate threat.
He turned around to his right. The situation there was completely different. The Powerful Vrekhar had broken the chain spiraling around him with ease and advanced.
Although, the advancement had slowed down considerably. It hadn't stopped. The Powerful Vrekhar kept advancing towards him.
Riven tried to stand to run but his legs refused to move even an inch.
A few seconds later, the Powerful Vrekhar's sword was just a few seconds away from piercing his heart. Riven stared at it with a flat expression. The sword closed in. He had nothing left to throw at it or do.
It wasn't giving up but acknowledging the reality.
That's when an arrow slammed into Vrekhar's body, sending him a few meters away from him.
Riven went still and turned around.
That's when he saw it — a being covered in a golden aura, with chains wrapped around its body, and its eyes hollowly fixed on the Vrekhar.
He didn't immediately recognize him but a heartbeat later realization dawned upon him. His eyes narrowed.
He opened his mouth and closed it again. He carefully examined the being and mumbled.
"It's the Archer Vrekhar who was at the entrance."
The being had the same bow and the same build. As the Archer Vrekhar from the entrance — except its eyes were hollow now and most importantly…
The Archer who was trying to kill him seconds ago was now bowing to him. He had no clue why. Then the Powerful Vrekhar stood up– his aura flared as he broke the chains restraining him.
The Powerful Vrekhar charged towards Riven once more, its eyes staring at the Archer with uncertainty.
The Archer opened fire and charged — putting itself between Riven and the Vrekhar's line of sight.
He didn't know why the Archer was doing that but he knew he needed to move… fast. So he crawled toward the exit, legs useless beneath him. He had to live.
That is when a voice echoed through his ears, inhumane but a human language.
"You won't leave this place alive…"
He turned around and saw the Powerful Vrekhar's fist slamming into the ground with force so fierce that a shockwave traveled far beyond the watchtower.
The ground beneath him cracked and the walls came crashing down on him. But before the debris could hit him.
The Archer broke off its fight — chains coiled tight around the powerful Vrekhar, locking it in place. Then it rushed toward him and used it's battered body as a shield, covering him as debris rained down.
Riven's first instinct was to push it away since he wasn't quite sure if it was a foe helping in order to backstab him later or a genuine friend.
However, he didn't since he was in no condition to do so.
In the next second the entire watchtower collapsed and he fell to the other side of the wall along with the Archer.
Beside him, the Archer fell in silence — chains still wrapped around its body, hollow eyes open, watching him even now.
And from the corner of his eye, he saw the powerful Vrekhar was meters away and widening — golden chains wrapped tight around it, hairline cracks splitting across their surface.
The chains weren't going to hold on for long.
Riven looked down, he wasn't falling into the military camp he had seen. Instead, he was also falling into an unknown forest enclosed by the towering mountains.
And he had no way to stop it. So he didn't even try.
As he fell, his pain ceased and power overflowed through his body but his eyelids started to become heavy.
Soon a voice echoed through his ears that he had never heard in his life.
(Awakening Successful!)
(You have gained a Subject!)
Riven blinked a couple of times and mumbled.
"What?"
Then he blacked out.