CHAPTER 249: ALTER

Riven got on his feet and walked toward the door, pushing with every step to get out of this place and finally rest, but as his hands touched the frame of the door, he paused and looked at the room in front of him.

That was his comfort zone, the place that ensured he was safe. If he entered there now, he would get a good night’s rest and be free.

But if he entered, he would never know the truth, and here it was right in front of him. All he had to do was grit his teeth and push through all the pain.

Riven turned around, he gripped Twilight hard. "We’ll get to the end," he muttered and started walking. Every step felt like the weight of the world was pressed against him.

The monsters saw him advancing again and they attacked. One came rushing first; it was fast and nimble. It leaped into the air, spun, and attacked.

Riven dodged to the side and dashed upward, ripping it into two. He looked forward, his eyes glowing with the flames of hell. Every movement now was extremely calculated and had to be precise to ensure that he took them down effectively.

Two monsters came at him, attacking from both sides. He dodged the first and blocked the attack of the second. Getting pushed a few steps back, he planted his feet to make sure he didn’t fall, gathered himself, and launched forward.

His sword blazed with blue flames as he made a diagonal slash right through the neck of the first one and killed it.

Immediately, the second one was already at him and attacking. He pulled back to dodge but was barely fast enough as the claws grazed his shoulder.

Riven gritted his teeth through the pain and dashed through the monster, ripping it in two.

Huff. Huff. Huff.

Riven had heavy breaths. He struggled to keep standing, he looked up at the light and he could see that it was closer, far closer than where it was at the start, so his motivation increased.

But that wasn’t the only thing that had increased. He looked at the monsters; the ones that were there were taller and looked more vicious than the last, so he knew they were stronger.

"Urghhhhh, you have to be kidding me," he said.

"Well, the door is still behind us," Twilight said.

"No, not an option. I’ll find out what’s in that light," he said.

"Well, you might die before that. Your body is at its limit," she said.

"Tch, I’m not failing this trial," he said as he pushed forward.

He stood before one of the monsters, massive, with eyes that glowed like two red suns. It didn’t wait, it attacked immediately, its fist traveling so fast it seemed like space was ripped.

Riven dodged the attack barely. He immediately dashed through the arm and cut it off, but the monster attacked again, this time too fast for Riven to block. The arm slammed into his chest, claws digging deep, blood splattered, and Riven was thrown back.

He slammed into the ground and rolled for a few meters, stopping only when he was a few feet away from the door. He got back on his feet and the door was still there, beckoning to him.

Riven got back on his feet, he looked forward, and the monster was still there waiting for him. He had exhausted all his skills; there was nothing he could do here.

The only option that seemed viable was to walk away and let it be. But he felt something deep inside of him telling him that if he backed down now, he would forever regret it.

He pushed forward again, running as fast as he could, but as he was about to attack the monster, his legs gave out and he went down like a tree that had been cut down, face first into the ground.

Everything became hazy. He looked around and couldn’t see anything, his mind was spinning in circles. Slowly, he passed out there.

But a few seconds after he passed out, he felt a hand touch him, and when he opened his eyes, he was lying down on a cold paved floor.

Riven pushed himself up, he had a confused expression, not knowing what happened.

"What happened, Twilight?" he asked.

"Well, you passed out, and then appeared here, right before the light," Twilight said. It was then that Riven noticed that he was close to the light he had been heading toward.

The light was a massive crystal floating on an altar. And beside it was a cloaked figure with a staff. Riven got on his feet, yet tried to approach the figure. It looked up, and a sudden pressure slammed into his chest and knocked him a few steps back.

"What’s happening?" he asked.

The figure walked close and stretched out its hand. It was a skeletal hand, and on it was a red crystal, similar to the ones he had seen.

He stretched out his hands and touched it. His head jerked back like it was hit, and his mind immediately left his body.

When he opened his eyes again, he was standing before a battlefield with hundreds of monsters running, devils chained behind them like savage beasts.

The creatures couldn’t escape the devils, and many of them were slaughtered. But for a few of those monsters, a strange black fog spread and covered them. Each one that was covered turned into a different monster, with eyes that glowed red.

And when they turned, they followed the devils to attack their brethren, their fellow race. They killed them savagely, with no holding back whatsoever.

And when they were killed, they left behind a red crystal which the devils consumed. Riven watched in shock and horror. There was a tug at his back and he was pulled through the door.

His eyes opened in his bedroom, lying on the ground in a puddle of sweat beneath him.