The Dead God’s Bargain
---
The Hollow wasn't marked on any map.
Even the Flameborn had warned him in whispers: There are places where gods go to die. Never go there willingly.
But Riven walked willingly now.
---
It began with silence.
Not the uneasy hush of dread, but pure silence—like sound had been removed from the air. The trees here had no leaves. Their bark peeled like flaking skin. Fog clung to the ground like crawling hands. No birds, no wind. Only frost that clung to their boots and crept higher the deeper they went.
Liora pressed her hand to one of the trees. "These aren't dead."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Then what are they?"
"Witnesses."
---
Riven didn't stop.
The Second Seal pulsed faintly beneath his shirt. Since the Warden, it had been quiet. Dormant. But now it stirred again—warm, pulsing… as if wary.
Lyra drew closer. "Whatever you're feeling, I'm feeling it too."
"It's not fear," Riven said. "It's… recognition."
---
They came upon it as the fog parted suddenly, revealing a clearing ringed in petrified stone. At its center sat a figure—emaciated, unmoving. Not a skeleton, not alive. Something between.
Draped in torn ceremonial robes. Crown of thorned bone on its brow.
Kael whispered, "That's not just a corpse."
Liora's breath caught. "It's a god."
---
Not a true god—not anymore.
A shard, perhaps. The dying husk of a once-worshipped being whose dominion had been shattered and scattered across forgotten rites.
But its presence was undeniable.
It hadn't moved in what felt like centuries.
Until now.
---
Its eyes opened.
Black. Endless.
Its voice echoed directly in their skulls, bypassing ears and tongue.
> "You walk paths not meant for mortal feet."
> "You carry fire that has forgotten its burn."
Riven stood firm. "You know who I am."
> "You are the heir of broken thrones. Of unsealed doors. Of blood unraveled."
> "You are not yet what you will become."
---
Kael raised his blade. "Should we be stabbing this thing or bowing?"
Lyra murmured, "Neither. Just… don't speak unless you have to."
---
The god's head tilted. Its voice narrowed in on Riven alone.
> "You seek the Third Seal."
> "It lies beyond the Hollow, where time collapses and truth screams."
> "But you cannot reach it… as you are."
Riven felt it then—like a weight pressing against the marrow of his bones.
His strength wasn't enough.
Not yet.
---
"What's your price?" he asked.
> "Three questions."
> "Three truths."
> "Spoken freely."
Riven's jaw tightened. "And what do you give me?"
> "Passage. Power. And a glimpse of what lies after the last Seal."
---
Lyra grabbed his arm. "Riven, don't."
"I have to."
Kael's voice was low. "He's playing with something ancient. I've seen what gods want. It's never good."
Riven nodded once.
Then stepped forward.
The god's eyes deepened, and the Hollow shifted—trees bending, fog spinning.
---
> "First question. What do you fear most?"
Riven swallowed. "Becoming like her. Like Seris."
The god was silent.
Then nodded.
---
> "Second question. What would you sacrifice to stop the Eclipse?"
Riven looked back at his friends.
At Lyra.
At the Seal burning in his hand.
"My name."
---
The fog shuddered.
The Hollow trembled.
And the third question came.
> "If given power enough to rewrite the world… would you use it?"
He didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
---
The god smiled—a crack forming across a face made of old stone and dried blood.
> "Then take this bargain, heir of ash."
> "Your path is clear."
> "But know this—each Seal changes you. When the last is taken… you will not remember who you were."
---
The god reached forward.
Its hand was skeletal.
In its palm—three marks.
One for each answer.
They burned into Riven's chest like brands.
Not pain.
Just permanence.
---
The Hollow vanished behind them the moment they passed the clearing.
One moment, trees and fog. The next, open plains and wind.
Kael exhaled. "I don't think I breathed once back there."
Liora was shaking.
Lyra just stared at Riven.
"You knew your answers before he asked."
"I had to," he said. "You only get one shot with a dead god."
She stepped closer.
"Do you really mean it? Giving up your name?"
Riven didn't answer.
But the silence said enough.
---
Far away, Seris stood on a cliffside overlooking a lake of black water.
She pressed two fingers to her temple.
> "He's accelerating."
One of the robed Eclipse figures stepped forward. "Shall we intervene?"
"No."
She closed her eyes.
Smiled faintly.
> "Let him gather the Seals. Let him become what he thinks he must."
> "The final ritual requires everything he's about to gain."
---