The ground collapsed beneath them in an instant.
Dust and debris filled the air as Chizoba, Omo, and Ife plummeted into the darkness below. Omo twisted mid-air, using her momentum to kick off a jagged piece of debris and soften her landing. Chizoba reacted just as quickly, flipping to land in a crouch. Ife wasn't as lucky—he hit the ground hard, rolling to absorb some of the impact but still groaning in pain.
Above them, the Riftborn peered down into the newly formed pit, their mechanical eyes glowing like eerie lanterns in the dim light.
"They're going to jump down after us," Omo muttered, already scanning the area for an escape route.
"No," Chizoba said, his gaze darting around the underground chamber. "They don't need to."
Omo followed his gaze.
The place they had fallen into wasn't just rubble—it was something built. Hidden beneath the Riftborn's hideout was a sprawling underground lair. The walls were reinforced with ancient Iron King metal, glowing veins of energy pulsing through their structure. Strange machinery stood along the edges of the cavern, humming softly, their purpose unknown.
And in the center of it all, a massive circular door stood embedded in the wall, covered in intricate carvings of shifting, almost breathing sigils.
"What the hell is this place?" Ife breathed, pushing himself to his feet.
Omo's expression darkened. "It's not just a hideout. This is something bigger."
Chizoba approached the massive door, running a hand over the markings. The symbols pulsed at his touch, responding to something within him. He pulled his hand back quickly, eyes narrowing.
"We don't have time to find out," he said.
Above them, the Riftborn were moving. Not climbing down, not leaping—waiting.
Ife took a step back. "Why aren't they attacking?"
A low, grating noise filled the cavern.
The door at the center began to shift.
Metallic joints screeched as hidden gears turned, splitting the massive entrance apart. From the other side, an eerie blue light spilled into the chamber, followed by the sound of something moving—slow, deliberate, inhuman.
Omo cursed. "I hate this. I really, really hate this."
Chizoba didn't respond. His eyes were locked on the doorway.
And then it stepped through.
A towering figure, its body a fusion of flesh and ancient technology, cables running through its exposed muscles like veins of liquid metal. Its face was an Iron King mask—expressionless, emotionless, save for the glowing blue slit where its eyes should have been.
It wasn't like the other Riftborn.
It was something worse.
Ife went pale. "We need to leave. Now."
Omo clicked her tongue, already grabbing one of the small metallic orbs from her belt—a flash bomb. "Cover your eyes!"
She threw it.
A brilliant explosion of light filled the cavern, and the Riftborn screeched as the intense glow disoriented them. The towering figure didn't react, but Chizoba took the opportunity.
"This way!" he shouted, grabbing Omo's wrist and pulling her toward a smaller passage to the side of the cavern.
Ife scrambled after them, and together, they ran—leaving the Riftborn, the Iron King horror, and the unknown secrets of the underground lair behind.
The exit was gone.
A reinforced gate of Iron King metal slammed down over the passage they'd tried to escape through, locking them inside the cavern. The sound of grinding gears echoed in the underground space, followed by a deep, mechanical groan that sent a shiver down Omo's spine.
"Of course it wouldn't be that easy," she muttered, yanking her bladed gauntlet free from her belt.
"They planned for this," Chizoba said, eyes sharp as he watched the Riftborn creatures shift, their twisted, grotesque bodies twitching in anticipation. They no longer seemed like mindless drones. They were waiting.
Ife, still shaken, looked between them and the advancing monstrosity behind the Riftborn. His voice cracked. "Do we have a plan?!"
Chizoba exhaled. "Survive."
And then the Riftborn attacked.
The first one lunged—a creature whose body was fused with metal plating and pulsating Iron King tubing. Its left arm had been replaced by a jagged, oversized blade, and it moved fast.
Chizoba sidestepped, his movements sharp, efficient. As the Riftborn's blade cut through the air, Chizoba caught its wrist and twisted—hard. There was a sickening crack as the limb dislocated, followed by a swift elbow strike to its throat. The creature staggered, choking, but another one was already upon him.
Omo didn't wait. She pulled two compact explosives from her pouch and tossed them at the feet of the advancing Riftborn. A second later, a deafening BOOM sent shrapnel flying through the horde, severing limbs and tearing apart the weaker creatures.
"Move!" she shouted.
She darted forward, kicking off a wall to gain momentum before slamming her gauntlet's blade straight into the eye socket of a Riftborn soldier. It shrieked as she twisted the weapon, then shoved the dying creature into another enemy, buying herself a few more seconds.
"Omo!" Chizoba's voice was sharp. "Above!"
She looked up just in time to see one of the Riftborn—this one with spider-like metal limbs protruding from its back—leap from the ceiling, claws extended.
Omo reacted fast, but not fast enough.
The creature was mid-air when it suddenly froze.
Chizoba's palm was outstretched, and his Chi flared to life—crimson red, burning and shifting like fire. The Riftborn convulsed violently as an invisible force crushed it in midair, its body compacting inward as if being squeezed by an unseen hand. A second later, it collapsed to the ground, unmoving.
Omo landed beside him, breathing hard. "That was overkill."
Chizoba didn't answer. His gaze was locked behind the Riftborn, in the distance.
Omo followed his stare.
The towering aberration—the thing—was still walking towards them. Slow, deliberate. Unstoppable.
It hadn't rushed them. It hadn't even reacted to the battle. It just kept moving.
That was worse.
"This isn't good," Ife rasped.
"No kidding," Omo muttered.
More Riftborn were coming, crawling out from the metalwork, slithering from unseen passageways. The horde was endless. They could cut down dozens, but they'd be overwhelmed before they ever reached an exit.
Omo clenched her teeth.
"Then we stop holding back," she growled.
She pulled something from her belt—a small, cylindrical device with a glowing core.
Chizoba's eyes narrowed. "Is that—"
"A modified concussive charge," she cut in. "It'll vaporize everything in a five-meter radius."
"That's dangerous."
"So is dying."
She twisted the top, activating it. A faint beep pulsed from the device.
"Cover me."
Chizoba exhaled. "Fine."
Then he moved.
His Chi flared again—bright, burning red—just as the Riftborn lunged toward Omo. The first creature to reach her was launched backward with a flick of Chizoba's wrist, its body slamming into two others like a ragdoll.
Ife swung a scavenged blade wildly, barely keeping the creatures at bay. "I hope this plan works!"
"It will!" Omo shouted.
She hurled the charge.
It hit the ground with a clink—
—And then the world exploded.
The explosion roared through the underground hideout, a blinding flash followed by a shockwave that tore through stone and steel alike. The Riftborn were obliterated, their grotesque bodies shredded by the force of the blast.
But the cavern itself screamed.
Cracks split through the rock above. Support beams buckled. Dust and debris rained down in choking clouds, and then—
The ceiling began to collapse.
"Run!" Omo didn't wait. She grabbed Ife by the collar and shoved him forward.
Chizoba had already moved, weaving between falling debris like a shadow, his Chi flaring subtly as he shifted aside just in time to avoid a boulder crashing down where he'd stood a second ago.
The ground trembled. The aberration—the giant Riftborn monstrosity that had been lumbering toward them—let out a distorted, mechanical roar as slabs of rock crashed onto its form, partially burying it in rubble. Even still, its fingers twitched, refusing to die so easily.
"The exit's gone!" Ife yelled, panic creeping into his voice as they reached the now-sealed path.
"Not the only way out," Omo snapped. She was already moving toward another passage, one she'd scouted before entering.
But just as they neared it—
A massive rock came loose.
It fell straight for Chizoba.
Omo reacted before thinking.
She lunged, grabbed his wrist, and yanked—hard.
For a split second, time slowed. Chizoba's eyes widened, and then, just as the boulder smashed into the ground where he'd been standing—
They were clear.
Chizoba exhaled, glancing at her. "Good timing."
"You're welcome," she muttered, trying not to dwell on the fact that she'd just instinctively saved someone she claimed not to trust.
Ife stumbled forward. "Less talking, more running!"
They didn't argue.
The three of them sprinted into the dark passage, dust and debris choking the air behind them. The cavern continued to collapse, but they didn't slow. They ran until—
A glimmer of light.
Omo cursed in relief. She knew this way led back to the surface, but after that explosion, she hadn't been sure it was still open.
They burst out of the passage just as the last of the hideout gave in, sealing the Riftborn—and whatever nightmare lay in that cavern—beneath tons of rubble.
For a moment, the only sound was their ragged breathing.
Then Ife let out a breathless, hysterical laugh.
"That was insane!"
Omo shot him a glare. "We're not celebrating yet. That was only one hideout. There are more."
Chizoba, dusting himself off, turned his gaze toward the horizon. His eyes were unreadable.
"Then we keep moving."