Shattered Sanity

Riven felt his heart pound out of his chest when he saw the two disgusting men enter his cell, as with one of his hands still bound by the iron shackle and the fight being two against one, he wasn’t sure exactly how he was going to fare.

*Pant* *Pant*

His breathing gradually became heavier, while every instinct within him screamed that he needed to create some distance between himself and the approaching prisoners.

Yet there was nowhere for him to run.

Behind him stood nothing except a moist stone wall, while the thick iron chain around his wrist allowed him barely more than a single step in any direction.

’I can’t escape this fight...’

Riven realized, as for several agonizing moments, he genuinely wondered whether he was going to be forcibly violated today.

"That’s it, boy...

Now be a good little bitch and don’t resist daddy."

Diddy muttered with a crooked grin, as he stepped forward and grabbed Riven by the front of his robes while Jeffery went low and attacked the hips.

"Hahaha!

I can still smell flowers underneath all that mud.

You must have bathed not too long ago..."

Diddy chuckled, as he violently tugged on Riven’s robes in an attempt to tear them apart.

However, despite Diddy pulling with enough force to make the veins across his forearms bulge, Riven barely felt himself move, as although Diddy was clearly exerting every ounce of strength that he possessed, the force reaching Riven’s body felt strangely insignificant.

At the same time, Jeffery tightened his grip around Riven’s waist from behind, grunting loudly as he desperately attempted to pin him in place, and yet that embrace too felt unexpectedly weak, almost like a child stubbornly trying to restrain a grown man.

’Huh? Why are they so weak?’

Riven wondered, as confusion slowly replaced the fear inside his heart, as neither of them seemed capable of overpowering him.

If anything, it almost felt as though they were the weaker party, and as that realization gradually settled within his mind, rage began to replace the earlier anxiety.

"No!"

Riven shouted, as instinctively he twisted his body with all the strength he could muster.

BOOM!

Jeffery instantly lost his grip, as the sudden burst of strength launched the man clean across the prison cell before he crashed shoulder-first into the opposite wall with enough force to crack the stone beneath him.

"AAGH!"

He screamed, as his body crumpled into a heap beneath the impact.

"The fuck?"

Diddy muttered in shock, however, before he could even comprehend what had just happened, Riven tore himself free from the grip on his robes before driving his fist straight into the man’s face with every ounce of strength he possessed.

CRACK!

The sickening sound echoed throughout the prison.

Diddy’s jaw visibly twisted sideways beneath the impact, while blood sprayed across the floor together with several shattered teeth as the force of the punch spun him almost completely around before sending him crashing face-first onto the cold stone.

THUD!

Jeffery slowly lifted his head from the ground, his eyes now completely devoid of the madness they had carried only moments earlier.

Instead, all that remained within them was disbelief.

"W... what?"

He stammered.

"Are... are you an Ascendant or something?"

He muttered, as genuine fear finally replaced the predatory confidence he had displayed just moments before.

However, Riven gave him no opportunity to recover.

"Die you scum!"

Riven roared, as with his heart still pounding wildly inside his chest, he charged forward and drove his foot directly into Jeffery’s chest.

CRACK!

Several ribs gave way beneath the kick.

Jeffery slammed back into the wall for a second time before collapsing onto the floor, coughing violently as blood immediately spilled from his mouth.

"Virgin Minerva!"

He wheezed.

"Mercy boy, I–I will never look at you the wrong way again..."

He promised, however, Riven barely registered the plea.

The fear coursing through his body had not yet subsided, and in his mind the fight was still far from over.

So.... He stepped forward again before raining punch after punch into the man’s chest and stomach, each blow carrying enough force to make Jeffery’s body convulse helplessly against the stone floor.

PAH!

GAH!

SPLAT!

Blood continued spilling from Jeffery’s mouth as his body convulsed beneath the relentless barrage of blows, while the resistance he had offered only moments earlier gradually faded away beneath Riven’s assault.

"N–no.. no more."

He mumbled weakly, and yet, even then, Riven did not stop, the adrenaline flooding his veins drowning out every rational thought he might otherwise have had.

"Fuck you, you disgusting swine!"

He muttered before stomping on the man’s head, as he slammed it violently against the floor, causing Jeffery’s body to finally lose consciousness and go limp.

*Pant* *Pant*

Riven raised his foot again, as though still not satisfied with ending here, his chest rising and falling violently as he looked from one unconscious prisoner to the other, until eventually he put it back down and looked towards the guard.

"Take them away, or I’ll kill them...."

He warned, as the guard let out a long, disappointed sigh before lazily pushing himself away from the wall.

"And here I expected to see some good old fashioned prison entertainment..."

He muttered.

"... instead I got paid to watch two useless idiots get their asses kicked by a kid."

Without sparing Riven another glance, the guard grabbed Jeffery by one ankle before dragging his unconscious body back across the corridor, the prisoner’s head repeatedly thudding against the cold stone floor until he reached the cell.

Diddy received no gentler treatment.

After throwing both men back into their respective cells and fastening the shackles around their wrists once more, the guard slammed the iron doors shut before pocketing his keys.

"Powerless morons."

He scoffed.

"You embarrassed yourselves."

With that, he turned around and walked away as though nothing of consequence had happened, leaving behind a bloodstained corridor and one silent realization lingering inside Riven’s mind.

Whatever this prison was...

He sure as hell had no allies in here, especially not in the guards.