The dungeon was breaking apart. Stone fell from above like burning hail. The floor had collapsed into jagged islands, floating above rivers of green fire. The air was a storm of heat, ash, and light, and in the center of it all, Everett stood, shaking but unbroken.His body burned with runes, his skin split and bleeding where the crystal’s power leaked through. His eyes glowed green, bright enough to cut through the smoke. His fists trembled, his chest heaved, but his legs refused to collapse. He couldn’t collapse. Not now.Micheal rose across the cavern, staggering from the rubble Everett had blasted him into. His armor was cracked open, glowing with molten veins beneath. Blood streaked his face, his grin twisted wider, almost unhinged. His molten blade hissed in his hands, pulsing with heat.The guardian loomed behind them both. Its dozens of glowing eyes burned like small suns. Its chest split wider, a living heart of light pounding inside. Energy surged with every beat, the en

The silence did not last. It broke with the sound of a heartbeat. Thump.The cavern glowed with light as if the heart of the dungeon had become the only sun in existence. Each beat of its chest shook the broken world. Each beat made Everett’s runes burn brighter. Thump.Everett stood in the center of it all, his body trembling violently. His skin was cracked with light, his veins glowing.His eyes were no longer just green, they were fire itself, burning like twin stars, but behind the fire was fear.He could feel the crystal inside him pressing harder than ever. Not whispering, not tempting, commanding. “You are mine. You are the Warden. Let go.”Everett clutched his chest, falling to one knee. “No…” His voice was broken, raw. “I won’t… I won’t.”On the ground nearby, Kael stirred. His face was pale, blood pooling beneath him. His breath rattled with each inhale, shallow and uneven. Yet his eyes, though dim, still found Everett. “Everett…” His voice cracked, barely audible. “Fight i

The heart of the dungeon exploded. Light burst from its chest in a blinding wave, tearing across the cavern like fire. Platforms crumbled, rivers of green energy roared higher, and the ceiling rained down stone.Everett shielded his face with his arms, his body glowing as the light pressed against him. The runes on his skin burned so hot he thought they would melt away. His chest heaved, his eyes watering, but he stood through the storm.When the light dimmed, the heart was no longer just light. It had taken form.The guardian that had towered over them was gone, its stone shell cracked and fallen away. What remained was something far worse, a being of pure energy, shaped like a monstrous figure with jagged wings, dozens of eyes burning in every direction, and a chest where the beating heart glowed brighter than the sun.Its voice was everywhere at once, thunder in Everett’s skull. “Warden. Prove yourself. This is the end.”Everett staggered, clutching his chest. “The end…”Kael co