BOOM.
The fire hit like a thunderclap.
The Firebound Guardian barreled forward, throwing a molten fist, but Riven — no, Heatblast — ducked low and rolled to the side, trailing embers. Lava hissed where his feet touched the ground. The temperature in the chamber soared.
"Okay," Riven thought, adrenaline pumping, "First alien. Don't die. Don't screw this up."
The Guardian roared, launching a plume of white-hot fire from its mouth.
Riven lifted both hands on instinct. A pillar of flame erupted from his palms, colliding mid-air with the enemy's. The two infernos met in a storm of heat and sparks, lighting the entire chamber like a miniature sun.
He held his ground.
His arms trembled, his body vibrating with raw power. But he wasn't afraid. This didn't feel unnatural — it felt like breathing. Like this alien form had always been waiting inside him.
And now it was awake.
"You picked the wrong guy to gatekeep," Riven growled.
He surged forward, flame twisting around his fists, and punched.
The Guardian stumbled backward as lava splashed across the floor. Its armor cracked. It struck again with a massive, hammer-like swing of molten rock, but Riven jumped high, flames bursting from his feet, and launched himself over it.
He landed behind the beast and fired a fireball point-blank into its back.
KA-THOOM.
The Guardian exploded in a wave of fire and smoke.
The impact knocked Riven back into the wall, dazing him. The Omnitrix began blinking red — the countdown to time-out had begun. He could feel the transformation slipping.
"What? No. Not yet…" As he tried to thinks why the Omnitrix has a time cooldown.
The smoke cleared.
The Guardian was still standing, barely — its form now fractured and unstable, like a furnace moments from eruption.
"Threat level: critical," the Omnitrix warned.
Riven clenched his fists and did the only thing that made sense: he ran toward the monster.
"Let's end this."
He sprinted across the scorched floor, absorbing heat from the ground itself, gathering it into a burning core in his chest. As the Guardian raised one final strike—
Riven leapt.
Mid-air, he twisted, pouring every ounce of energy into his fists.
"Pyro Punch!" he shouted, not knowing where the name even came from.
His fists collided with the Guardian's chest.
A shockwave of flame exploded outward.
The Guardian cracked… then shattered into molten shards that melted into the floor.
Time-Out
Green light pulsed once… and Heatblast vanished.
Riven collapsed onto his hands and knees, back in human form, gasping for breath. Sweat dripped down his forehead. His arms ached. His throat burned.
But he was alive.
The Omnitrix glowed steadily now — not flashing, not red. It was calm. Balanced. The transformation had worked.
He looked down at it, chest still heaving.
Omnitric voice echo "Pyronite DNA acquisition successful. Transformation catalog updated. Time limits has been updated from 5 minutes to 20 minutes for each transformation."
Riven let out a breathless laugh.
"I did it…"
He stood slowly, taking in the now-destroyed chamber. The walls pulsed dimly, systems resetting. As the Guardian's molten remains faded into cooling rock, a hidden panel clicked open near the platform.
Inside: a smooth black crystal, etched with glowing orange veins. It hovered above a small pedestal — and beside it, a single hologram activated, showing flickering symbols and diagrams of the Omnitrix. Notes. Failed blueprints. Attempts at copying something far beyond this world's reach.
Riven approached the crystal. The Omnitrix reacted instantly, scanning.
"Residual genetic archive. Compatible with base Omnitrix design. Integrating fragment."
The crystal dissolved into light, absorbed into the device.
"So that's how it works," Riven muttered. "They tried to recreate it… failed… and the alien DNA fused with the environment...
"They're graves."
As Riven turned to leave, the entire chamber rumbled.
Cracks formed across the ceiling. Molten rock dripped in steady beats. The stairs began to break apart — the dungeon was collapsing.
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!"
Riven dashed toward the spiral exit, leaping over crumbling stone. Lava surged into the lower levels, flooding chambers and swallowing shattered tech.
A falling boulder nearly crushed him. He slammed his hand down on the Omnitrix.
Twist. Slam.
Omnitrix:"Pyronite. Transformation initiated."
"HEATBLAST!"
WHOOSH.
Heatblast soared up the collapsing spiral, fire bursting from his feet like jet thrusters. Debris rained around him. Lava licked at his heels. Just before the whole tunnel caved in—
He blasted out of the volcano's mouth.
Fire erupted behind him as he flipped in mid-air and landed hard on the ridge overlooking the crater. The entire mountain groaned — and then fell still.
Riven powered down, panting.
He stood at the edge of the collapsed lap dungeon, staring down into the smoke and ruin.
His first alien.
His first battle.
His first victory.
And all of it had nearly killed him.
"Well," he said, glancing at the Omnitrix, "guess this is how it's gonna be."
He sat down, still catching his breath, as the crater hissed behind him.
This world wasn't a game. These places weren't puzzles. They were tests — violent, brutal trials left behind by people who had once reached for something greater… and failed.
And now, he was walking their path.
One dungeon at a time.
One alien at a time or more at a time it was for the future Riven to know.
"I don't know who brought me here," he whispered, watching the horizon,
"But if this is how I earn it…"
He looked at the Omnitrix.
"…Then bring it on."
END OF CHAPTER 3
Aahh my brain is not working anymore.
Thank you for reading.