Ash drifted through the air like snow.
The once-pulsing heart of the Hive now lay in ruins—blackened walls sagging, resin melted into bubbling pools, and the ground littered with charred husks. Flames licked low across the scorched floor as smoke clung to the ceiling like a heavy curtain. The air was thick with the scent of burnt flesh and vaporized mana.
In the center of it all, the last flicker of green light faded as Riven reappeared in his human form.
His body ached. Sweat clung to his brow. But there was no mistaking it.
He had won.
The Queen was dead. The evolved monster silenced. And the Hive… nothing more than smoldering ruin.
Riven exhaled, shoulders slumping with the weight of adrenaline leaving his system. The burnt battlefield stretched behind him, the echoes of the fight slowly dissipating. His boots crunched through the carbonized sludge as he staggered forward, each breath a reminder that he was still alive. The Omnitrix on his wrist flickered.
A familiar green pulse lit up the dial, and a chime rang through his ears.
"DNA Sample Acquired. Tetramand DNA registered."
"DNA Sample Acquired. Lepidopterran DNA registered."
Riven blinked. "Two?"
He brought the dial closer, eyes narrowing as the hologram shimmered to life above it. The icons of his current aliens circled in a ring—Artiguana, Diamondhead, Heatblast, and now the newest additions: a hulking red silhouette with four muscular arms, and a sleek, winged insectoid form.
"Fourarms and Stingfly," he muttered, recognizing them instantly. "That… must've been the Queen and that core creature. Both carried unique DNA."
He reached out and hovered his fingers over the icons, admiring the new additions. Fourarms towered over the rest, powerful and massive. Stingfly looked leaner, dangerous in an entirely different way—mobility, venom, and range. A duo that brought very different strengths to the table.
The Omnitrix glowed again.
"Failsafe Protocol Unlocked. Minimum genetic library threshold reached."
His eyes widened.
"No way..."
A slow grin crept across his face.
He tapped the Omnitrix interface again. The projection shifted, revealing a subtle new tab pulsing in green.
Failsafe Mode: Enabled
Status: Dormant unless user is incapacitated.
He nearly laughed. "I unlocked the failsafe…"
The realization hit him like a wave of nostalgia. He wasn't just wielding power—he was living his childhood dream. He remembered the episodes, the transformations, the high-stakes battles. He'd imagined this moment a hundred times—but this was real.
Riven stood taller, a weary grin on his face. "This... this is insane."
He sat down beside a cracked resin mound, watching the last embers dance. Burnt vines drooped from the ceiling, and whatever had once pulsed with life now lay silent and scorched.
A faint vibration ticked on his hip.
His pouch. The relic Lyra had given him—the System Suppression Relic—shifted slightly within. A soft glow blinked along its sides.
Right. Five minutes after the boss is down… and the System announcement would go out as soon as he stepped out of the dungeon.
He held the relic in his palm, feeling its cold surface against his skin.
"I could block it," he murmured. "The entire system alert. No one would know I cleared it. I could walk out with nothing but silence."
It was tempting. After all, staying invisible was his only real defense in a world obsessed with rankings and exposure. It was the safest choice.
His eyes flicked toward the portal that had reformed at the far end of the ruined chamber. The faint distortion shimmered like heatwaves against the soot-stained air.
But then he thought of something else.
System credits. Rank progression. Access to higher dungeons. Real growth.
He frowned.
"I need to rank up."
There was no other way to continue leveling without it. Staying invisible would only stall him. He was too close now—too close to discovering what else the Omnitrix could do, what relics were still buried, what secrets this world had hidden beneath its crust.
He thought of the failsafe again. The core unlock. The two alien samples in one dungeon.
Every step forward counted now.
Riven looked down at the relic one last time.
Then pocketed it.
"Not yet."
He stood and stepped through the ash and silence toward the exit. As he neared the portal, the Omnitrix pulsed again—subtly this time, like a heartbeat.
And Riven smiled.
"Next time," he said to no one in particular, "let's try out the new guys."
The portal light swallowed him whole.
End of Chapter.
THANK YOU READINGS