The Heart of the Broken God
> "The Hall of Divine Execution," Nyra whispered, as the wind howled across the dead valley, "sounds cheerful."
"Only if you find joy in torture chambers blessed by gods," Riven muttered, checking the pulse gun strapped to his thigh.
They stood before an obsidian monolith half-buried in snow, veined with glowing red runes that pulsed like a dying heart. The entrance—if it even qualified as one—looked like a screaming mouth carved into stone.
And yet, it invited him.
---
⚙️ SYSTEM WARNING
> [Location: Hall of Divine Execution]
Status: Sealed]
Divine Fragment Detected: The Broken Heart
Compatibility: 82%
Risk: Psychological Collapse
Optional Objective: Integrate God Fragment – Reward: ?
---
Nyra shivered. "Why do I feel like we're walking into the lungs of something still breathing?"
"Because we are," Riven said. "This hall was built on the corpse of a god… and parts of it are still awake."
She looked at him sideways. "You've really upped the 'edgy cryptic' energy lately."
"I'm evolving."
---
They stepped inside.
The walls whispered. Not like ghosts. Worse.
Like regret given voice.
---
Etchings lined the corridors: broken halos, twisted swords, dismembered priests kneeling in pools of molten gold. Some of them were still warm.
At the center of it all, floating above a bone-crafted pedestal, a heart hovered. Massive. Petrified. And still beating.
Riven approached it slowly.
---
⚠️ SYSTEM ALERT
> [Divine Fragment Interface Detected]
Fragment: "The Broken God's Heart"
Status: Dormant but Reactive
Potential Perk: Divinity Override Protocol
> "Consume or Converse?"
Riven blinked. "We can… talk to a god fragment?"
Nyra crossed her arms. "Oh sure. What could go wrong? Talking to something that was literally torn from a divine being."
"I'm just curious if it speaks Latin or trauma."
---
> "Converse."
A deep rumble echoed through the chamber.
> "WHO DISTURBS MY SHATTERED PEACE?"
"Someone with more issues than your last worshipper."
"ANOTHER ARROGANT MORTAL… OR PERHAPS, SOMETHING NEW?"
---
The heart pulsed faster.
Riven's system flashed warnings.
> "I've been betrayed, beaten, and broken, just like you," Riven said, voice steady. "But I'm still standing. Are you?"
For a moment, silence.
Then the voice returned—slower, almost thoughtful.
> "MAYBE YOU... ARE WORTHY."
---
⚙️ SYSTEM INTEGRATION PROTOCOL STARTED
> Warning: Mental Invasion Imminent
Sanity Anchor Required
Nyra noticed him swaying. "Hey. Hey! Snap out of it!"
Too late.
The world melted around Riven.
---
He stood in a mirror realm, surrounded by reflections of himself—every failure, every betrayal, every lie he told himself to survive.
One of them stepped forward.
> "You still think you're in control?" it asked.
"You're just a collection of pain stitched into a suit of arrogance."
Riven smiled.
> "You're not wrong. But I've turned that pain into precision. And I'd rather die as this monster than live as your victim."
---
He crushed the reflection.
The system roared. The heart responded.
Riven's mind imploded, then reassembled—faster, colder, sharper.
---
✅ SYSTEM UPGRADE: Divine Interface Achieved
> Skill Unlocked: [Broken Authority]
> Temporarily override any divine or system command within 10 meters
Duration: 10 seconds
Cooldown: 1 hour
Side Effect: Temporary empathy loss
Nyra blinked. "You okay?"
Riven opened his eyes. They glowed gold for a second—then dimmed.
> "I can talk to gods now."
"Great," she said. "As long as you don't start thinking you are one."
---
Suddenly—
> BOOM.
The chamber shuddered. Shadows peeled away from the walls, forming humanoid figures stitched from holy robes and corrupted data.
> "The Executioners," Nyra muttered, drawing her blade. "Defense system."
> "No. They're failed inheritors," Riven said. "The heart made them, then broke them."
---
The figures howled in binary prayer and attacked.
Riven raised his hand.
> "Broken Authority: Activate."
The first attacker froze mid-air—then shattered, as if rejecting its own purpose.
Another slashed toward Nyra.
Riven stepped between.
> "Override: Cease."
The entity dropped its blade and bowed.
> "...You're commanding failed gods now?" she said, panting.
"No," he replied. "Just their regrets."
---
After the fight, the hall began to collapse.
Riven and Nyra ran through crumbling chambers as whispers of divinity screamed behind them.
They emerged into cold air.
The hall sealed itself shut behind them.
---
Riven looked up at the stars.
> "We're not alone in this war anymore."
"Because of the divine fragment?"
"Because now, I can break even fate."