It had been almost 2 hours since Riven climbed the pillar, and the abominations at the floor didn't seem to want to leave. Some left. But close to 50 lingered around. Riven was finally getting rest, but not in the way he wanted it.
He didn't know when the Order would get here because he already killed 3 of their men. Yes. He didn't kill them with his own hands, but he was the one who caused the death of those men. Their weighted on his mind. Riven didn't like killing. He said to himself.
No one deserves to die.
But Riven knew that if he hadn't killed them, he would have been in a world of hurt currently. So their death was for his survival. He was a murderer. Or a killer. So in the end he still felt disgusting about killing and fighting. Riven found it stupid. Only if necessary should one resort to taking the life of another.
Riven looked up and noticed something. The clouds were moving at an alarming rate. They were moving from the south, which wasn't good for Riven. When the clouds started moving south, that indicated that thunderclouds would soon start coming. And it would start raining soon. And the pillar Riven sat on was only able to accommodate his butt. His hands were just out of the pillar. And when the rain starts to fall. The wind must blow Riven off. Give or take. Riven had 30 minutes to find a shelter that he can stay in till the rain dies down.
Riven couldn't come down from the pillar. The monsters were still roaming around the pillar. Waiting for Riven. He had to come up with something fast or he will die when the rain starts. Probably from being thrown off the pillar. Or the cold. And Riven couldn't fight every single monster that was on the ground.
First. They were bigger than your average human. They looked human in shape but didn't have a torso. So they mostly used their hands to crawl around. You can think of them as a baby without legs when crawling.
It's been ten minutes. Riven had entertained a lot of ideas. He first thought about fighting his way through. But he had to scrap that idea. He didn't have any weapons.
I should have taken those guys' swords. Well whatever.
He also thought about bringing the pillar down and using the sudden confusion to escape the monsters below. But he couldn't do that. He didn't have any way of bringing the tower down.
After a while the rain started. Little drops of water started falling from the sky. And at that point, Riven was standing. Thinking of a way he could run. The clouds were dark. The sun was already gone. It was still visible but it was dark. Due to the rain starting. Riven slipped. And when he did. He almost fell. And he placed his hands on one of the cracks on the pillar. And he was able to gain his footing again. But he noticed something. When he also fell. Debris of stone fell also with him. And that was when he noticed it. As soon as the debris of stone hit the ground, they moved. The horde of monsters moved. They hadn't been moving that much. It was as if the sound attracted them.
Now it all made sense to Riven. How they were able to find him. And the Soul Hunters.
These idiots can't see. They're attracted to sounds.
Finally. A breakthrough. Riven had been looking for it. He found it.
Beside him was a massive rock. Riven didn't know if it was luck. Or the gods had other plans for him. But what he knew was he could survive.
He picked up the rock and threw it as hard as he could. The rock was sent flying. Riven was wearing the mask when he threw it. So it went quite far.
In an instant the abominations ran towards the direction of the rock as soon as it hit the ground. More than 90 percent of the monsters ran in the direction of the rock. But some lingered. Like if waiting for something.
Luckily there was a rock nearby. Riven's luck was on fire today. He threw the second rock. And every monster nearby ran towards it. He sent the first rock towards the east. And the other towards the west. So that he would have some time to descend and run. But one of the abominations didn't leave. It stayed there. As if it was intelligent. But in the end. It was nothing but a monster.
Riven said to himself.
Persistent bastard.
Riven had to find a way to kill it and also get down. No matter how strong the mask made him. A monster is always stronger.
The pillar was around 25 feet tall. Which was very high. If Riven tried to jump. He could break his leg. Given Riven wasn't on the top. So the jump distance was around 20 to 15 feet. But it was still enough to injure him. So Riven had to think about a way to come down fast. And he came up with a crazy idea. The idea was to jump on the back of the monster. The fall might not be able to kill it. But it should slow it down sufficiently. If Riven missed. His legs were going to break. And he would lose his ability to walk. And be eaten by some hungry abominations.
This was a risky gamble. But you need to gamble in life to achieve your goals.
It's do or die time. Literally.
Riven tried to get the position of the hungry abomination. Luckily for him. The abomination wasn't moving. So his descent wouldn't be too hard. Now the only problem was courage. No human would willingly jump off something that's close to a 3 story building in height.
But Riven didn't have time. The rain was already picking up. And the monster ain't going to be fooled by a rock for too long. He had to jump. But he was scared. Incredibly so.
If he doesn't do it right. He will die.
Riven said to himself.
You can do this. You escaped that hell. What's so bad about this.
He was lying. He was scared. His legs were shaking. But he liked that. The fear gave him the assurance that he was still human.
Riven jumped. With every muscle in his body. He was wearing the mask. Hoping that it made him a little heavier. So he could slow down the monster to have enough time to run.
He landed on the back of the monster.
In that instant. He heard something. The sound of bone breaking apart.
Riven was afraid that he broke his leg. But strangely. He could stand upright.
Huh. Then what was that sound.
He looked below him and saw the monster drowning in its own blood.
No way. Did I kill it.
But as he said those words. The abomination moved. Even if it was just a little.
Riven got off the monster and started running. He didn't look back.
The rain was already picking up. He was already wet and cold. But he had to continue running.
Luckily for him. The thunderstorm masked the noise he caused when he landed on the monster. And while he was running away.
After a while of running. He found a house. It looked untouched by the world. The entire city was in ruins. Filled with monsters. But somehow. The house stood there. Untouched by the destruction of the world.
Riven said to himself.
Finally. Somewhere to stay.
As he entered the house. There was nothing strange about it. No abomination hiding inside. No Soul Hunter waiting inside to ambush him. It was empty. There was nobody. Well except for Riven. But you know what I mean.
He went into one of the rooms and found a bed. It was as if it was waiting for Riven to just sleep on it.
Riven jumped on the bed. And almost immediately he fell asleep.
Thanks to the rain. None of the monsters from before could do anything to come after him. So he wasn't in the mood to put his guard up.
Riven slept for several hours. And when he woke up. He heard a sound.
It wasn't the rain.
It was the sound of boots.
Riven knew that sound too well.
Soul Hunters.
How did those bastards find me so quickly.
What about those stupid monsters. Didn't they slow them down in any way.
Tch. Bunch of worthless idiots.
Well. Riven didn't actually care about the monsters. But he thought they would have slowed them down in some way.
Riven looked through a crack on the wooden wall of the house. And through it he saw.
5 slender figures wearing dark coats and wide-brimmed hats. They were carrying glowing lanterns in their hands.
There was also another one with them. But that one. Something felt wrong about that one. Off. Deeply off.
They didn't have a lantern.
And that was strange. Because it was already night. But even without the light. The shadows around them bent.
The darkness thickened wherever they walked.
The rain seemed to quiet down when they stepped forward. As if the world itself didn't want to make a sound around them.
Their coat looked dry despite the storm. Their hat cast a shadow that should not have been possible.
Riven stared. His breath stopped. His muscles stiffened.
He could feel it. If he had to fight whoever that was. He wouldn't stand a chance in hell.
No mask. No luck. No plan.
There was no chance.
Not even a foolish one.
He had to run.
Now.