Riven slightly opened his eyes. He could hear the clatter of cobblestones and the hooves of a horse.
He fully woke up. Beside him was Ashwyn, tied up again and unconscious. They were in a cart pulled by a horse. The strange man sat silently atop the horse, reins loose in his gloved hands.
"Where are you taking us?" The man didn't reply; he didn't even flinch.
"Hey, don't ignore me! Answer me already!" Riven said, his voice fueled with anger.
No answer.
Riven couldn't remember anything that had happened except...
'Yes... I felt a sharp pain in my left arm, then the pain spread throughout my body. I could hear my bones reshaping, and my blood felt like it was overheating. Then everything went dark... I guess.'
"Hey, you could at least tell me why you're abducting two teenagers, you dirtbag."
The man finally sighed and replied with words that were sure to keep Riven quiet until they reached their destination.
"Don't get too emotional. Emotions trigger a Wraith transformation."
'Emotions? Wraith? Transformation? But I'm not a Wraith... Wait! What the hell happened after I blacked out? Come to think of it, the weird phase I went through before passing out felt like I was changing.'
'Yes, I felt the sharp pain when the liquid spilled. That doesn't explain or prove what this fool said. The others who transformed didn't need to ingest liquid. Argh, I can't think straight. Not to mention, I feel... weird.'
****
After a while, they arrived at a shop that looked like it could barely accommodate three people and a few goods. The shop was wooden, with a single door and a small window on the right, slightly higher up. It stood in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by trees and bushes.
Ashwyn stirred. She was still asleep, though.
'What did he do to her?'
"Get down," the man ordered, dismounting from the horse.
Riven untied and carried Ashwyn in his arms. She adjusted her body, wrapping her arms around his neck.
'Please tell me I'm dreaming,' he thought, staring at Ashwyn, his face red. She looked like a baby when sleeping. Wait, what was that little sound he heard?
'She snores so beautifully... I mean, do girls even snore?'
"Quit talking to yourself and get inside," the man said in an unwavering, cold tone. He opened the door, allowing the two teenagers to enter, then followed and closed the door behind them.
That was when Riven realized this was no shop at all. It was an empty room, completely bare except for a rope hanging from the ceiling, long enough for someone to pull.
'Does he live here?'
The man moved to the rope and gestured for Riven to come closer. Riven stood beside him, adjusting Ashwyn in his arms.
The man gave him an unreadable expression, then pulled the rope. Immediately, they dropped.
They weren't exactly falling—the section of the wooden floor they stood on was descending at incredible speed, guided by ropes. The wooden platform served as a lift, taking them deep underground. They were enclosed in a square wooden structure.
All Riven could do was scream. He couldn't let go of Ashwyn, who remained oblivious to the immense speed of their descent. The man didn't pay him any attention, as if accustomed to the lift's bizarre pace.
Finally, the platform stopped, and the man pushed one side of the square wooden structure. It opened, and he gestured for Riven to step out.
Riven didn't need to be told twice. He ran out, panting, and fell to his knees, still holding Ashwyn.
He was greeted by lights, chatter, and the smell of ash and metal. He slowly looked up and saw an unimaginable scene.
Riven's breath caught in his throat.
Before him sprawled an underground world—vast, alive, and nothing like what he'd expected beneath that ragged wooden shack.
The air was thick with a sharp metallic tang, mixed with the scent of grease and burning ash. Cinder lights dangled from long chains nailed into the high cavern ceiling, flickering like fireflies refusing to die. Some areas were so dim you could barely make out the figures moving there; others were so bright they almost hurt to look at.
A gigantic forge glowed molten red in the distance, hissing as blacksmiths pounded away at iron-like alloys, sparks flying like firebugs. Pipes ran along the walls like metallic veins, occasionally releasing bursts of steam with a sharp "hiss".
The ground beneath Riven was black steel, layered and scratched from decades of use. Footsteps echoed across it, but not all of them sounded human.
He looked up again.
People wore varied clothing. Few carried weapons, but all reeked of metal and ash. Some had strange weapons or mechanical devices attached to them.
The strange man walked past Riven without a word.
Riven snapped out of it and looked down at Ashwyn—still asleep, still peaceful. It was strange how untouched she looked in a place like this.
He stood up shakily, still staring.
Above him, etched onto a massive metallic wall, were the words:
**MECHASAINT SANCTUM**
But it wasn't the words that struck him. It was the symbol beneath them: a halo, broken in half, with a single gear piercing its center.
He followed the man to a door on the right side he hadn't noticed earlier.
****
The door led to a passageway lined with rooms on both sides. After passing six rooms on each side, the man stopped at the seventh room on the left and opened the door, gesturing for Riven to enter.
The room was small, with one wooden bed and two pillows large enough for two people. A cinder light hung at the center of the room. In front of the bed was a wooden table, and beside it, a wooden fan. A Xandros could identify a fan immediately.
Riven laid Ashwyn on the bed and covered her with the bedsheets. He then looked at the man, who still stood at the doorstep.
"Food will be brought soon," the man said.
'Hmm, nice... I don't know who he works for, but these kidnappers are generous. A free ride, a free room, and free food. Nice.'
"I'm Havel, by the way. Havel Quinn, a member of the Mechasaint."
'So he has a name... What the hell do the Mechasaint people do, though?'
"I'm Riven Xandros, and this is, uh, Ashwyn, I guess. That's her name."
The man smirked and shifted to let a young woman enter with a tray of food.
The woman had short black hair, a round face, and wore an apron. She placed the tray on the table and left immediately.
"Enjoy," the man said, his expression still unreadable.
Wow, is this what kidnapping feels like?' Riven thought, amused.
Just before the man left and closed the door, he said something that sent chills down Riven's spine.
"Test subjects 012 and 013 secured."