The world blazed green as Riven slammed his palm down on the Omnitrix. The surge of alien energy coursed through him, morphing his body in a brilliant flash of light.
Riven disappeared—replaced by the burning form of Heatblast.
His obsidian-black body glowed with inner magma, flames licking off his shoulders and arms like a living inferno. The swampwater around his feet hissed into steam instantly, and the very walls of the hive recoiled from the sudden spike in temperature. The transition was violent, elemental. The temperature in the entire chamber surged.
The Queen shrieked in fury.
Behind her, the newly arrived wave of drones and four-legged amphibious beasts hissed, recoiling from the heat—but still advancing. The Queen, massive and bloated with runic plates along her exoskeleton, hissed again. Her violet eyes glowed brighter, and the hive responded. Pulses of mana rippled through the organic walls, awakening deeper tunnels.
But Riven wasn't waiting anymore.
"No more hiding," he growled, his voice echoing with fire. "Let's burn this damn hive to the ground."
He raised both arms and unleashed a torrent of flame.
The inferno surged forward like a crashing wave, incinerating the first line of drones. Their carapaces melted mid-screech, wings burning into ash. The walls of the hive began to smoke and ripple, the moisture within evaporating with a violent hiss. Fire crawled upward, coating the ceiling in flickering orange light.
The four-legged amphibious beasts rushed him, jaws wide and tongues snapping.
Heatblast turned, dragging a blazing arc of flame in a full sweep.
The attack landed hard—scorching their front lines, searing their legs, and sending the beasts crashing into the tunnel walls with shrieks of agony. One of them rolled into the resin cocoon wall, setting off a burst of spores that also ignited on contact with his aura.
Another charged blindly, leaping toward him.
Riven met it head-on, catching it midair with a direct punch—his fist glowing bright orange. The impact released a focused thermal burst, exploding the beast midair. Shards of smoldering carapace rained down.
He pivoted, launching a fireball directly at the Queen.
The massive insect roared, conjuring a wall of resin to absorb the blast. The explosion cracked the barrier, sending a rain of steaming fragments everywhere. The Queen hissed as embers clung to her wings.
But she wasn't done.
The Queen let out a pulse—a psychic shriek—and the walls of the hive began to move.
More drones. At least twenty. Maybe thirty. And three more amphibious beasts—larger than the others. Their bodies were bulkier, armor-plated, and their movements more coordinated. They weren't random mutations.
They were guardians.
"Cute," Riven muttered, raising a hand. "Let's crank it up."
He pulled deep from the Omnitrix's reservoir.
Pillars of fire erupted from the ground in a spiraling wave, forming a circular blaze around him. The walls blackened. Even the bioluminescent sacs began to flicker and die. He jumped, flipping over a lunging beast and punched downward midair, unleashing a focused blast into its back.
It howled—then burst.
Another beast tried to flank him, charging low. Riven twisted, planted his feet, and drove both arms downward, releasing a fiery shockwave that exploded outward, flipping the creature and sending it tumbling into a group of advancing drones.
They caught fire on contact.
The Queen shrieked again, wings unfolding as she began to ascend through the chamber, using the smoke as cover. Drones flew in front of her like a shield.
"Oh no, you don't."
Riven thrust both arms outward, and twin jets of fire blasted him upward, cutting through the haze. He landed on a higher ledge of the hive, just in time to meet the Queen as she lashed out with a talon.
He took the hit—grunted—but countered immediately. A point-blank firebomb slammed into her chest. She spiraled backward, wings ablaze, crashing into a resin wall that finally ignited in full. Black smoke billowed out.
Below him, chaos.
The amphibious beasts regrouped. Two flanked him from either side while the third spewed acidic bile that hissed and steamed on contact with the floor. The drones flew erratically now—some trying to escape, others throwing themselves into suicidal charges.
Riven crouched, absorbing the heat around him.
Then unleashed it in a pulse.
The temperature surged.
An aura of pure fire expanded from him in all directions, catching the advancing swarm in a hellstorm. Wings shriveled. Skin cracked. Drones dropped like flies.
The beasts hesitated.
One lunged.
Riven caught it by the throat mid-jump, twisted, and threw it into the Queen as she tried to recover.
They crashed together.
The hive groaned—walls cracking, ceiling melting. Molten resin dripped from above. Every step Riven took now left scorched footprints that flared before fading.
He turned his head slowly, watching the destruction unfold.
One beast remained. It lunged, flailing. Riven sidestepped, grabbed its arm, and delivered a spinning backhand—his flaming fist crushing its skull.
Smoke filled the entire tunnel. He could barely see. But he didn't need to.
The Queen's presence was pulling back—retreating into a deeper chamber.
He let her go.
Not because he couldn't finish it—but because he knew she wasn't the end.
The hive was bigger. Deeper.
Older.
He dropped to the floor, breathing hard. Flames still danced around him, and the Omnitrix on his chest pulsed steady. The transformation was holding, but he could feel the burn.
And yet… he was in control.
He stood in the heart of the burning chamber.
Surrounded by ash, embers, and destruction.
He turned slowly.
The Queen's screeches were growing distant.
He raised a hand, palm glowing white-hot.
"Round one's over."
He clenched his fist.
End of Chapter.