The Rift groaned like a wounded beast.
Crimson light bled from the widening tear in the air, casting sharp shadows across the blackened stones. Even the Guild of Ash rose to their feet slowly, faces turned toward the breach as if listening to some inaudible call.
Kael growled, "That thing's not just opening. It's calling something."
Embershade didn't respond at first. She stepped toward the Rift, her hands raised slightly. Her lips moved in a chant—ancient, rhythmic, almost melodic. The Guild members mirrored her, a chorus of whispers humming in sync.
I grabbed Riven's arm. "We need to get out of here. This whole place feels wrong."
Riven didn't budge.
His eyes were fixed on the Rift—wide, glowing faintly with that eerie golden fire. "I can hear it too."
"What?" I turned to him, my heart racing.
He looked at me with a strange calm. "The Loom. It's whispering."
Kael scowled. "The last person I heard say that turned into a vessel for a Shade."
"It's not the same," Riven muttered. "It's not cold. It's... it feels like a memory trying to wake up."
I stared at him. "You don't have to listen to it."
"But what if I should?" he asked.
His voice didn't sound afraid.
It sounded curious.
That terrified me even more.
Suddenly, a tendril of light burst from the Rift and slammed into the ground in front of Riven. The impact sent a shockwave through the battlefield. I shielded my eyes as dust flew, and when I looked again—
—Riven was standing in a ring of fire, untouched by the flames.
Embershade dropped to her knees.
"He has accepted the call," she whispered. "The Rift recognizes him."
Kael drew his sword again. "Back away, Lyria. If this is the start of a possession—"
"No!" I snapped, moving between him and Riven. "Look at him—he's still in control."
Riven's eyes glowed brighter.
He raised one hand, and the flames obeyed, spiraling upward like a ribbon around his arm. "I can feel it now. The fire, the pain, the purpose."
His gaze turned to the Rift.
And then he whispered something I could barely hear.
"I remember dying."
The silence that followed was deeper than before.
Not because it was quiet—but because we all knew something had changed.
The Rift had opened. The fire had awakened.
And Riven was no longer just running from his past.
He was walking straight into it.
---