Riven woke to the sound of breathing that was not his own.
It was slow and deep, carrying a low, rhythmic rumble that vibrated through the ground beneath him. For a moment, panic flared in his chest. His eyes snapped open, and he scrambled backward, hands sinking into damp soil.
The forest greeted him again.
Towering trees rose like ancient pillars, their bark veined with faintly glowing lines of mana. Thick roots twisted across the forest floor, some wider than city streets back in Arxen. Pale motes of light drifted lazily through the air, reacting subtly to his movement, as though the forest itself was aware of him.
And then there was the beast.
It lay several paces away, massive body coiled loosely against the base of a tree. Its armored hide was darker now, the molten cracks along its scales dimmed to a low ember glow. Each breath expanded its chest slowly, power held in check rather than unleashed.
Riven stared.
It hadn't been a dream.
The bond pulsed faintly in his chest, a steady warmth that mirrored the creature's breathing. When the beast inhaled, he felt it. When it exhaled, the tension in his muscles eased as if guided by an unseen rhythm.
"Alright," Riven muttered hoarsely. "So this is real."
The creature's eye opened.
Just one, glowing gold and impossibly sharp. It regarded Riven without hostility, without urgency—only awareness. Recognition.
Riven swallowed and forced himself to sit upright. The movement sent a ripple through the bond, and the beast shifted, lifting its head slightly. A low sound escaped its throat, not a growl, not quite a rumble.
Curious.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Riven said, the words leaving his mouth before he thought about how ridiculous that sounded.
The beast didn't respond verbally, but something brushed against his thoughts. Not words. Impressions.
Calm. Patience. A faint sense of waiting.
Riven exhaled slowly. "Good. Because I have no idea where we are."
The interface flickered into existence at the edge of his vision, more stable now than before.
[Status Window]
Name: Riven Arlo
Ability: Prime Bond
Bonded Entity: 1
Mana Capacity: Low
Mental Stability: Stable
Condition: Fatigued
Below it, a second panel hovered, dimmer and less defined.
[Bonded Entity Status]
Designation: Unassigned
Classification: Unknown
State: Dormant
Synchronization: 3%
Riven frowned. "Synchronization?"
At the word, a pulse ran through the bond. The beast's eye narrowed slightly, and another impression flowed toward him.
Connection. Growth. Time.
"So… we get stronger together," Riven murmured.
That felt right.
He pushed himself to his feet carefully. His body protested—muscles sore, head aching—but he stayed upright. The forest responded subtly as he moved. The drifting motes brightened, and the mana in the air thickened just enough for him to notice.
This place was saturated with energy.
Too much, compared to Arxen.
"Which means this isn't anywhere near the city," Riven said. "Or anywhere normal."
The beast stood.
Up close, the difference in scale was even more intimidating. Its head alone was larger than Riven's torso, and its presence pressed down on him like a physical weight. Yet the bond held firm, anchoring him.
It lowered its head again, stopping just short of touching him.
Images flickered in Riven's mind—fragmented, unclear. Vast distances. Ancient paths. A sense of boundaries crossed.
"This place…" Riven hesitated. "Is this where you came from?"
The impression shifted.
No.
Not origin.
Shelter.
Riven frowned. "So this is a kind of… domain?"
The beast's tail flicked once against the earth. Agreement, or something close to it.
Riven let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Alright. Shelter is good."
His relief was short-lived.
The interface pulsed again, sharper this time.
[Warning]
[Foreign Mana Detected]
Riven stiffened. "What does that mean?"
The forest answered before the system could.
A pressure rolled through the trees, heavy and wrong, like a wave pushing against the natural rhythm of the place. The drifting motes scattered, dimming rapidly. Birds—or something like them—took flight in the distance.
The beast snarled.
It was the first truly aggressive sound Riven had heard from it. The molten cracks along its body flared brighter, heat radiating outward.
Riven felt it too—a spike of tension through the bond, sharp and focused.
"Something's coming," he whispered.
The ground trembled.
From between the trees emerged a shape that did not belong. It was humanoid, but stretched and warped, its limbs elongated and jointed incorrectly. Veins of purple-black energy crawled across its translucent skin, and its eyes glowed with a sickly light.
A Riftspawn.
The word surfaced unbidden in Riven's mind, accompanied by a rush of instinctive revulsion.
[Threat Identified]
[Hostile Entity – Low Tier]
Riven's heart pounded. "Low tier compared to what?"
The Riftspawn shrieked and lunged.
The beast moved instantly.
It didn't roar or charge wildly. It stepped forward with controlled force, slamming one armored forelimb into the ground. Mana exploded outward in a shockwave, throwing the Riftspawn off balance.
Riven staggered, barely keeping his footing as the bond flared hot.
[Combat Synchronization Initiated]
Pain lanced through his head—not injury, but overload. Sensations flooded him: the beast's weight, the tension in its muscles, the angle of attack.
It wasn't sharing commands.
It was sharing experience.
"Wait—" Riven gasped.
Too late.
The beast lunged, jaws snapping shut around the Riftspawn's torso. Heat surged as molten energy poured from the cracks along its body, searing through the creature. The Riftspawn screamed, thrashing violently.
Riven felt everything.
The resistance. The tearing. The surge of power as the beast crushed its prey.
He dropped to one knee, retching as the sensations overwhelmed him.
[Synchronization Increased: 6%]
The Riftspawn collapsed into ash and dissipating energy, leaving behind a faint crystal shard that clinked against a root.
Silence returned to the forest.
The beast stepped back, chest heaving slightly, and looked down at Riven.
Concern.
Riven wiped his mouth with a trembling hand, forcing himself to breathe. "I… felt that."
The bond pulsed, gentler now.
Shared burden.
"Yeah," Riven muttered weakly. "I noticed."
He looked at the spot where the Riftspawn had fallen, then at the crystal shard lying there. The interface highlighted it.
[Rift Residue – Consumable]
Riven stared. "Consumable by who?"
The beast's gaze shifted to the shard.
Understanding dawned slowly.
"You get stronger by fighting," Riven said. "And I get stronger by… surviving it with you."
The bond warmed in affirmation.
Riven laughed softly, the sound edged with disbelief and fear. "This is insane."
Back in Arxen, awakenings followed rules. Talents fit into categories. Growth followed paths laid out centuries ago.
This didn't.
This was raw. Unstructured. Dangerous.
And somehow, it had chosen him.
Riven pushed himself to his feet again, steadier this time. He reached down and picked up the crystal shard. It was warm to the touch, humming faintly with energy.
The interface flickered.
[Path Unlocked: Bond Growth]
[Requirement: Survive]
Riven looked up at the towering beast beside him, at the ancient forest that pulsed with hidden danger, at the system that offered no guidance beyond endurance.
"Alright," he said quietly. "If the world wants to answer back…"
The beast lowered its head beside him, molten eyes burning brighter.
"…then I'll answer with it."
Somewhere far beyond the forest, the Awakening Hall of Arxen was in chaos. Diviners failed to locate him. Records refused to stabilize. Systems returned errors where his classification should have been.
A blank space had formed in the kingdom's carefully ordered world.
And at its center, a late awakener was taking his first step into something far older—and far more dangerous—than anyone had planned.