The Shadow Pit wasn't done with him.
Riven stood before the final span — no ropes, no wood, no ash. Just lightless air. Across the gap, a single stone platform floated, and on it a door of black iron.
His arm ached where the shadow clung, pulsing faint like a second heartbeat. The knot at his wrist was frayed, sweat soaking the thread Vess had tied.
He spat into the dark. "Figures. End of the road, and it's not even a road."
The shadow behind him grinned wider, teeth like broken glass. It whispered in his own voice again: "Jump. Fall. No one's there to catch you."
Riven barked a laugh, loud and raw. "Yeah? Story of my life." He squeezed the knot, dragged up a memory messy and stupid — him trying to flirt in a tavern and spilling ale down his shirt. Worthless. The shadow twitched.
But the gap didn't shrink. The system pressed into his skull, colder than before:
[Shadow Pit: Final Demand] Rule: Surrender one fear. Condition: Cast it into the pit. Cost: Burden grows.
Riven's grin faltered. One fear. His throat worked. He could laugh at shadows, spit at hunger, bluff through anything. But to surrender? That meant pulling it out, showing it, letting the pit eat it.
His hands shook. He thought of Kael, his throat burning but still speaking. He thought of Seren, scribbling words until her fingers cramped. They fought by holding. He was being asked to fight by letting go.
Slow, he whispered hoarse: "I… I'm scared of being the joke that doesn't matter. Of being left behind." The words clawed his throat raw.
The pit drank them. The shadow behind him shrieked without sound and dissolved into dust. His arm flared blacker, the stain climbing past his elbow.
The system whispered, cruel and final:
[Trial Cleared: Shadow Pit] Reward: +5 Tokens Burden: Shadow Arm (Permanent) Note: Fear surrendered — will not return.
Riven staggered. The fear was gone. Empty. He laughed, sharp and hollow. "Ha. Guess I really don't care anymore." But the laugh cracked in the middle.
He stepped forward — and the air solidified beneath him. Not wood, not ash. Just a path of shadow hardened by his own burden. He crossed, boots thudding on nothing.
At the door, Vess waited, her crooked smile steady. "You paid. You kept walking. That's all that matters here."
He flexed his arm. The shadow pulsed, alive. "Stylish, huh?" His grin was sharp, but his eyes were tired.
The gong rolled deep, shaking the pit one last time.
BOOOONG.
The door opened. Riven stepped through, carrying more shadow than before.