Heart of Demise.

(35)

The realization struck her like she was hit by a metal bar herself. It shook her deeply-- after all, she has never been in a prison before. And though the shock ran deep, it was quelled quickly. Something about this place, like the hay and the lighting, eased Rivver. 

She walked up to the bars. The spacing between them was too small for her to squeeze through, so she scratched at them instead, and to her surprise, tore a small piece off.

"This is old. What type of prison is so poorly kept?"

She didn't even need to use her legs, just scratching at the bars was enough to break through. But, of course–

**SMASH**

Kicking was just so much faster.

Now freed, Rivver exited the cell, noticing how the prison appeared to be more of a tunnel than a building, as the bumpy, yellowish roof would suggest. Cells stood opposite of each other at the walls, and they stretched across as far as her eyes could see. Rivver grabbed the torch and lost herself in thought.

Why was she in a prison in the first place? She hadn't committed a crime, certainly. She jogged her memory, remembering three key things before arriving here; first, she was with her friends. Second, she got into a fight with a human. And third, she lost.

"So, they sent me here instead of killing me?"

She smirked. What an idiotic mistake, one that she would make sure to punish that human for. She assured herself not to let this opportunity go to waste. So of course, her smirk vanished when she did.

She was with her friends, right? So if she lost to that human, then–

"...Crap."

Lewis, Rupert, Teddy, and her daughter were weak fighters. Kyrelle was there, sure, but she could hardly control her powers.

She needed to hurry, and fast. As she rushed down the prison, she quickly glanced at every cell, occasionally stopping if something stood out to her, hoping that one of them was whisked to this place like her.

"Not here! No, not here!"

Nothing. Rivver appeared to be the only captive here, and her time grew thinner whenever she checked for otherwise.

"This is awful! If I don't get out, then--"

"HEY!"

A sudden voice echoed through the tunnel, breaking Rivver free from her panic. She turned to the voice, seeing a sharply-dressed Skellite with a sword standing before her.

"You, how did you break free!?"

The Skellite raised his sword at her, but Rivver's eyes were too focused on his hip to care. He was wearing a belt, and on his belt was a keychain; one with only two keys.

"What are those keys for?"

"As if I'd tell you! Now come on, back to your cell, outsider!"

"I see. I'll go back, then."

The Skellite paused, blinking his eyes a few times in surprise.

**SMASH**

"G-GAH!"

And Rivver struck him straight in the chest, pinning the Skellite under her foot.

"You shouldn't have let your guard down, idiot."

The Skellite didn't respond; his coughs took up all the room for words. Rivver swiped the key chain from his belt and continued running down the tunnel.

A lousy warden, she thought. Or maybe he was just some guard. That was most likely it, but then again, what guard would wear such unusual attire?

Rivver's running came to a halt as the tunnel ended. In front of her was a set of stairs, lengthy enough to where her torch's light couldn't reach the end of it. Regardless, Rivver went up, but found it difficult due to the size of the steps; about half the length of her feet.