Chapter 213: The News Go Crazy

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Yesterday’s leftover rice sizzled gently in a wide pan with a generous pour of fragrant sesame oil. Eggs scrambled in next, turning soft and fluffy, while a splash of the golden honey from the hive she had somehow charmed the bees into giving freely further confirmed Riven’s quiet theory that his wife might truly be a goddess in human form. The sweet aroma filled the kitchen and mixed with the savory scents of the cooking meat.

"What do you think of a honey-teriyaki glaze?" Riven suggested, holding up a small bowl where the thick amber honey mixed with dark soy sauce, freshly minced garlic, and a careful pinch of frost-touched chili from the realm. The mixture glistened under the warm kitchen lights. "Or do you want the mustard version too?"

"I kind of want to try both. Is it possible?" Elisa answered with a bright, genuine smile as she glanced over from her place near the counter. "Maybe we can do half and half so we can taste both flavors properly..."

Carlos and Daniela sat comfortably on the living-room couch, their eyes glued to the television screen. The volume was turned up just enough to cut through the lively kitchen sounds of sizzling oil and clinking utensils.

"—breaking news from the south-side industrial district," the anchor’s voice reported, crisp and urgent. Footage rolled across the screen in rapid succession: shaky phone videos of a glowing blue Gate suddenly ejecting two separate groups of hunters in a bright burst of white light, then collapsing in on itself like a closing eye. The dimensional portal vanished completely, leaving only empty air and the startled shouts of the people left behind.

"Witnesses describe a sudden expulsion followed by the complete disappearance of the E-Rank Gate known as the Abandoned Subway Line," the reporter continued in a serious tone. "Hunter Association officials have confirmed this is the second such unexplained Gate Closure Event in under a month. Preliminary scans detect residual dimensional signatures, though the exact nature of the phenomenon remains under investigation. It has been confirmed that something has closed it, however."

The camera cut to live interviews outside the cordoned-off area. Police lights flashed behind yellow tape while a young E-Rank hunter, still dressed in muddy and torn gear, waved his arms in frustration.

"I paid the damn entrance fee! We were halfway through clearing a swarm of Mutant Rats when the whole place just... spit us out! My team’s cores, the loot—everything is gone! And now the Gate itself is just gone? How is that fair?! Doesn’t Frostbane Holdings own this gate?! Someone answer already!"

Another hunter, older and more measured in his speech, spoke calmly into a microphone. "This is the second one. First the Dark Cave Labyrinth, now this. People are saying someone’s claiming them. Like... taking ownership. The Association won’t confirm anything publicly, but the energy readings don’t lie. Something big is moving behind the scenes."

Social-media clips scrolled continuously across the bottom of the screen. Hashtags trended rapidly: #GateVanishes, #SecondClosure, #WhoIsClaimingThem. One grainy video zoomed in on the exact moment the portal folded shut, capturing a faint ripple of purple-black aura that most casual viewers dismissed as a simple camera artifact.

Daniela leaned forward on the couch, her expression curious and a little concerned. "Um... is this somehow your doing, Riven?"

Riven didn’t look up from the pan where the chicken pieces were browning to a perfect golden edge. He brushed them carefully with the honey-teriyaki glaze. The sugar caramelized instantly, filling the entire kitchen with a rich, sticky-sweet aroma that made Carlos’s stomach growl loudly in response.

"Mm," Riven answered casually, still focused on the cooking. "Looks like the news is faster than usual today. Vladimir and my Shadow took the bosses down, and then I went there myself to conquer the Dungeon Core."

"So that’s what happened!" Elisa said, her eyes lighting up with understanding. "No wonder you disappeared for like ten minutes... I guess you did say you were going to conquer them while spending time with me, but I really didn’t understand what you even meant with that at the time... well, now I do."

"Sorry, I should’ve told you more clearly," Riven said, his tone softening. "I just didn’t want you to think I was abandoning you or anything like that... I really want to spend time with you."

"I understand..." Elisa looked at the television for a moment longer, her expression growing thoughtful. "So this particular gate is under my family’s ownership... Hah. Maybe I would’ve felt bad about it before, but... right now? Not really. I can’t wait to see what kind of reaction my parents, my sister, or my grandmother will make when they find out though."

"I wish it didn’t have to be this way," Riven sighed quietly as he continued cooking. "I actually dislike doing this to your family. They’re certainly... I don’t think they’re as bad as mine overall? But still..."

"We simply don’t know yet what they’ve really done behind closed doors..." Elisa sighed in return, her voice carrying a note of quiet resignation. "Claymore has been doing genetic experiments and so much worse. If my family is so close with them... I wonder what sort of wicked secrets my grandma still holds."

Carlos pointed at the screen with clear interest. "I doubt there’s anybody else out there who can take over a dungeon and make it disappear completely... So that was really you then?"

"Yeah," Riven confirmed, flipping the chicken with a practiced flick of the wrist. He plated the finished teriyaki half carefully, then started a second batch with the honey-mustard version—sharp, tangy, and bright against the deeper sweetness of the first glaze.

Elisa finished the fried rice at the same time, folding in the last of the fresh herbs and a handful of toasted nuts for extra crunch. She wheeled herself closer to the stove and tasted a spoonful, nodding in clear approval at the balance of flavors.

The kitchen remained warm and filled with the comforting scents of home-cooked food, a small island of peace while the outside world continued to buzz with questions about the mysterious vanishing Gates.

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