“Can I help you?”

Riven saw the woman she had been following through numerous hallways stop in her tracks. The woman was covered in fur pelts and leather armor, with her hood pulled down, revealing vibrant ginger hair that contrasted with the earthy tones of her attire. Artemis glanced over her shoulder; her bone-tooth necklace rattled as she spun around to face Riven.

“Sorry,” Riven said, scratching the back of her neck nervously. She adopted the tone of a shy fan girl meeting their idol—which to her was just mimicking Cili to the best of her abilities. “I was just wondering. Are you Artemis, like from Ambition?”

Artemis’ face softened as she smiled. “Oh, yes, I am. Didn’t think anyone would recognize me without all my artifacts.”

Riven choked back her witty remarks and maintained a level head. “Well, that bow is pretty unmistakable.”

Artemis pulled her shortbow off her shoulder. The bow was strikingly ordinary; it looked just like a plain wooden shortbow. “This thing? I feel my longbow is much more recognizable.”

“Visually yeah, but I feel that one gives off a way more intense aura,” Riven said. “Is it true what they say? That’s carved from the wood of the tree that bore the first forbidden fruit.”

Artemis chuckled. “Yes, that is true. You’re quite knowledgeable.”

“Can I hold it?” Riven asked. “Ah, what am I saying, it’s a stupid question. I shouldn’t take up any more of your time.”

“No, no, it’s alright. You can hold it.” Artemis beckoned Riven closer. “Just don’t try to fire it. Better archers than you have tried and failed, including myself.”

Riven drew her dagger, hiding it behind her back, and approached Artemis. She took the shortbow from Artemis’ hands, carefully inspecting it.

Artemis pointed to Riven’s quaking hand that held the bow. “Are you that excited?”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Riven steadied her hand. “I’m just in disbelief. I had a question, if that’s alright.”

“What is it?” Artemis asked.

Riven slowly pulled her dagger out from behind her back. Artemis raised her eyebrows as her eyes fixated on the artifact.

Artemis leaned closer to the blade. “Where did you get that?”

“From my dad,” Riven said. “I wanted to get it signed by all the members of Ambition. You guys are a big motivation for me. If you can, could you sign it?”

“Signing an artifact like this could be tricky, but I’ll see what I can do.” Artemis started to rummage around in a pouch on her hip. “Would you like me to sign it with an arrow, as an engraving, or just use ink that adheres to the blade.”

Riven tightened her grip on the dagger. “Actually, I was wondering if you could use something else to sign it.”

“What did you have in mind?” Artemis asked.

“Your blood.” Riven thrust the dagger straight toward Artemis’ neck. Artemis placed her hand out in front of her throat, catching the dagger as it pierced through her palm. Riven tossed Artemis’ bow down the hallway, then placed her other hand on the dagger’s pommel, driving it further into Artemis’ hand as the dagger’s tip nipped at her throat.

Riven’s eyes focused on a ruby-encrusted ring around Artemis’ finger. “[Dispel].” The red runes along the dagger flared a vibrant red; the light emitting from the runes enveloped the ring, causing the rubies to lose their luster.

Artemis kicked out at Riven, but Riven jumped back, letting go of her dagger, and avoiding the attack. Artemis reached down to rip the dagger out from her hand, but before she could, it flew out from her hand, straight into Riven’s.

Artemis glanced down at the wound in her hand. Her confusion cleared as she saw that the ring around her finger had been temporarily dispelled. “You knew about my ring. You really are a fan.”

“Do you have time to be talking?” Riven said.

Artemis smirked. “You're the least threatening thing I’ve fought all year.”

“What, am I worse than that shadow griffin? You know, the one where you had to poison a farmer’s land after it attacked, so the people would put a price on its head and make it worth your while.”

Artemis raised her eyebrows, equal parts surprised and impressed. “You caught that? Not bad. But what did I ever do to you? Or are you one of those white knight types?”

“Gods no. I don’t care about that barn. I know so much about you, I guess it’s only right that I introduce myself.” Riven flourished her dagger. The runes along the blade glowed. “My name is Riven. You and your party killed my parents. Now, prepare to die. Mirror my image, [Mirage] X [Multiply].”

Riven snapped her fingers as she split into five; four illusory duplicates materialized around her. She charged toward Artemis, each of her duplicates mirroring her exact moments.

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Artemis’ eyes scanned each of the five Rivens rushing toward her. “If you’re going to come at a ranger”—Artemis flicked her arm, and a wooden arrow shot out of her sleeve into her hand—”you shouldn’t make your illusions so obvious!”

Artemis darted toward the real Riven. “Fly forward, [Double Slash].”

Riven fumbled backward as Artemis slashed out with the tip of her arrow, just barely missing Riven. Artemis gritted her teeth as her hand trembled. Just before the arrow slipped out of her hand, Artemis twisted her wrist, and flicked her fingers, flinging the arrow fast enough to pierce into Riven’s shoulder.

“Blow past, [Wind’s Grace].” A massive gust blew Riven’s cape up and over her face as the wind propelled Artemis past Riven.

Riven whipped around, pulling her cape off her face. She saw as Artemis picked up her bow that Riven had thrown away at the start of their fight.

Artemis waved the bow at Riven. “Sorry, but there’s no hope for you now. If you walk away, I’ll let you try again later.”

Riven pulled the arrow from her shoulder and cast it aside. “No. We’re doing this right here, right now!” She grasped her dagger, pointed the tip straight toward her chest, and went to thrust the blade into herself. “[Sacrifi—”

Before the dagger could pierce Riven’s heart, her whole body seized up. The dagger slipped out from her hands and clattered to the ground. Riven fell to her knees, then collapsed to the floor. She could feel numbness rapidly spreading from her shoulder where the arrow pierced her out to the rest of her body.

Artemis walked across the hall and picked up the wooden arrow from the ground. “You know it’s funny,” she said, as she twirled the arrow. “A princess pricks her finger on a spindle, falls asleep for years, and everyone just focuses on the princess. All I could think was, what if I made that spindle into an arrow? Turns out, the infusion still works.”

Artemis met Riven’s gaze; Riven’s eyes burned with a venomous fury—with her whole body paralyzed, her eyes were the only outlet for her rage. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill you. I’ll just let you fall asleep for a few days. Dehydration will do the rest. After all, the most brutal deaths are the ones where nature takes its course.”

Unable to turn her head, Riven was forced to see as Artemis wandered out of her line of sight. Just as the sound of Artemis’ footsteps faded, the sound of another person’s footsteps gradually grew in the opposite direction.

Riven’s hearing was rapidly fading. The world blurred. Just before her eyes shut, Riven barely made out a figure rushing toward her. They kneeled next to her. She could tell they were saying something, but couldn’t make it out. All she could make out was the blood-red color of their eyes.

Ace waved his hand in front of Riven’s eyes as they shut close. “Come on! Riven! Wake up! Gods damn it. Spontaneous unconsciousness is my thing, stop stealing my thunder.”

Ace grabbed Riven’s dagger and placed it in the sheath on her waist. He rolled Riven onto her back and clenched his teeth as he picked Riven up off the floor.

“Argh!” Ace exclaimed as he started to slowly carry Riven back to the lobby.

I got Riven. I’m on my way back!

----------------------------------------

Where are you? Galina asked.

Almost there, Ace groaned.

Ace turned the corner into the lobby, pushing past a herd of people rushing toward the sigils on the wall. His face was bright red, and his arms were trembling. “Can someone take her from me?”

Halvor bulldozed through the crowd. “Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.” Halvor held out his arms. “I’ll carry her.”

“I’ll carry myself,” Riven said, her throat strained. She climbed out of Ace’s arms, stumbling for a brief moment as her feet touched the ground.

“You good?” Ace asked.

“I’m fine.”

“Can you hurry up!” Draxl shouted, shoving aside the crowd as they rammed into him.

Ace, Halvor, and Riven all rushed over to the glowing sigil.

“Let’s go,” Ace said.

Every member of The Hangmen placed their hand on the infusion, became engulfed in light, and then vanished from the lobby. The moment they left the theater, Ace’s [Pact] with Vivyan was satisfied.

[ Pact Fulfilled! ]

[ Active Pacts: 1/2. ]

The moment the group arrived in a small wooden room Ace signaled to all of them to stay behind. “I’ll go get Elric.”

Ace darted down the hall toward the door at the very. He pulled out two keys from his back pocket. “[Possess].” Without slowing down, Ace manipulated the keys into the locks on the door, just as he arrived at it.

Ace swung open the door to Elric’s cell. “Get up. We’re going.”

Elric rattled his shackles. “I can’t get up.”

The keys flew out of the locks on the door into those on Elric’s shackles. “I was about to risk my hands. What took you so long?”

“Not important,” Ace said.

“Where’s my stone?” Elric asked.

“I had to give it to someone.”

“Are you serious?”

“You said you had more.”

“They aren’t infinite.”

“Don’t care. Now come on.”

Ace and Elric rushed back to the room, rejoining the rest of The Hangmen.

“Where’s the [Planar Connector]?” Riven asked. “I can’t find it.”

“It must be designed to blend in with the wood. Let’s fix that.” Elric removed his red velvet gloves and placed his hands on the floor. “Metalicize, [Transmute].”

From the tips of Elric’s fingers, like a drop of water hitting paper, the wood in the chamber started shifting into metal. Within a few seconds, the entire chamber shined with a metallic sheen, revealing a massive infusion carved into the floor.

“Is everyone ready to go?” Elric asked.

Everyone nodded.

“Alright.” Elric rolled up his sleeve. “Take me back, to my realm, [Connect].”