The Shadow Pit didn't end at one bridge. It stacked them, one after another, crisscrossing the black mouth below. The first had been rotten wood. The next was rope, thin as veins. The third — a slab of stone balanced on nothing. Each creaked like it resented being stepped on.
Riven rolled his shoulders, spat into the dark. "Whoever designed this place had a shit sense of humor." His grin was sharp, but his chest was tight. He hated how the silence leaned in, waiting for him to fall.
The knot at his wrist pulsed faintly. Vess's voice stuck in his head: Keep worthless things. Make them messy. The Ledger doesn't eat trash.
Worthless things. Fine. He could do worthless. He pulled up a scrap of memory: a tavern game where someone had dared him to kiss a goat. He had, for a coin. The goat had sneezed on him. The shadow at his heels flinched at the picture, its grin twitching.
"Yeah, that's right," Riven muttered. "Laugh at that, you ugly stain."
He stepped onto the rope bridge. It swung hard. The pit breathed cold air up his legs. The shadow moved with him, always a step behind, always reaching. When he hesitated, it leaned close and whispered in his own voice: "Without Kael, you're nothing. Without her scraps, you're dumb. You're a joke, Riven."
He barked a laugh that cracked in the middle. "Hah! Joke's on you. I am a joke." He squeezed the knot. The goat's memory burst again, messy and stubborn. The shadow recoiled.
Halfway across, the rope snapped on one side. Riven lurched, cursed, and clung with both arms. The pit yawned beneath, a mouth hungry for him.
He hung there, swearing, sweat stinging his eyes. The shadow hung with him, grinning upside down, its teeth black coins.
"Fuck this," Riven hissed. He hauled himself up, muscles screaming. His fingers burned, but he dragged himself back onto the bridge. "Not dying to a damn shoelace."
The system whispered cold:
[Trial: Shadow Pit] Burden test increased. The next bridge will take more.
Riven spat. "Of course it will." He staggered forward, heart pounding.
At the far end, Vess waited, the same crooked smile on her lips. "Still breathing," she said. "Not bad. Most choke on the rope."
Riven panted, shaking his head. "Yeah, well. Rope should try harder."
Vess tilted her head. "Careful. The Pit listens." She pointed at the next span — nothing but ash drifting in the air, forming a path only when you stepped. "That one doesn't care about your knots."
Riven looked at the ash bridge. His grin came back, fierce and false. "Figures. Guess I'll have to get creative."
The gong rolled faintly, low and patient, vibrating the pit itself.
BOOOONG.
The ash stirred, waiting.