Lee released Nana from the embrace, his focus instantly shifting to his surroundings and his companions. The warmth of the reunion was a momentary shield against the catastrophic reality of the Labyrinth of Ending.
"Nana, you did well," Lee said, his voice raw but steady. He quickly checked the unconscious Yena, whose pulse was weak but stable. "The Siddhi corruption is gone, but the psychic shock has taken its toll. She needs proper medical attention."
"We have to get out of here, Lee! Now!" Hanabi screamed mentally, her spectral image flickering with agitation. "The reality here is disintegrating! I can sense the dimensional barrier thinning rapidly!"
Lee didn't need Hanabi's warning. His newly awakened Absolute Eye saw the environment not just as ruins, but as layers of shifting, unstable energy. He could perceive the faint, shimmering fault lines in space where the Teleportation Warp Gate had torn reality.
Lee took the heavy burden of Yena onto his own back, carefully adjusting the makeshift harness Nana had created. He gave Nana a dose of the Red Bison Herb he had purchased, ignoring her protests.
"No arguments. You're exhausted, Principal. This will boost your stamina just enough. We run now."
He took the lead, using his Absolute Eye to scan the environment for the weakest point in the Labyrinth's spatial barrier—the most likely location for an exit portal to form.
They sprinted through the skeletal remains of the ruined city. Nana, powered by the herb, followed Lee closely, her eyes fixed on the bizarre kaleidoscope of the ceiling.
"There! Lee, near the largest pillar! The energy is spiraling inward!" Hanabi directed, pointing toward a section of the wall where the glowing arcane lines were converging.
They reached the location. A small, unstable Exit Warp Gate—a swirling disk of pure white light—had just materialized against a wall of acid-resistant stone. It was barely large enough for one person to pass through at a time, but it was salvation.
"Nana, you go first! Take Yena! I'll follow immediately!" Lee commanded, easing Yena from his back and helping Nana support her.
"But what about you?" Nana protested, her voice laced with fear after watching Lee vanish once already.
"I have the Absolute Eye now. I am immune to the spatial effects. Go!"
Nana hesitated only a moment longer, trust overriding fear. She gripped Yena tightly and plunged into the white light. The figures vanished instantly.
Lee turned to follow, relieved. The mission was almost complete. He took a final step toward the portal—and froze.
A bright red SYSTEM INTERFACE materialized directly in front of his face, pulsing with an intense error signal.
[Warning: Critical System Lockout]
Current Location: Labyrinth of Ending (Unstable Sector)
Access Code: Denied.
Reason: Slime Lord Core Fusion In Progress. The captured Dark Mana Concentration Core is actively being integrated into user's Mystic Potential. High probability of unpredictable dimensional side effects upon warp transit. User must remain in the current dimension until Core integration reaches $50\%$ completion.
Current Integration: 3%
Estimated Time until Access Granted: 30 Minutes.
Lee slammed his fist against the interface, cursing under his breath. The Soul Seal had saved his life but had tethered him to this collapsing dimension until the captured power was fully metabolized.
"Lee! Why didn't you go? What's happening?" Hanabi yelled, her fear mounting.
"I'm locked out! The system is forcing me to stay until the Slime Lord's core integrates!" Lee explained, frustration burning in his chest. "It says I have 30 minutes. The exit gate won't last that long!"
As if confirming his fear, the Exit Warp Gate shimmered violently, shrinking rapidly. Within seconds, it winked out of existence, leaving behind only the unstable, fractured wall.
Lee was alone again. Trapped, tethered to a collapsing dimension by the power he had stolen, and facing a thirty-minute countdown to a complete dimensional fracture.
Nana materialized in the sterile white corridor of the academy's makeshift hospital wing. The shock of being instantly back in familiar surroundings was secondary to her immediate terror over Lee's disappearance.
She rushed into the hospital, ignoring the startled staff, and laid the unconscious Yena gently onto a cot.
"She needs immediate attention! High-level psychic and elemental shock!" Nana commanded, her Principal persona snapping back into place despite her exhaustion. She stripped off the harness, revealing the extent of Yena's psychic drain.
After ensuring Yena was stabilized and being treated by the overworked medics, Nana immediately ran back toward the Academy West Wing—the entrance to the Whispering Hollow. Her mind was focused on one task: getting back to the Labyrinth to find Lee.
She reached the ivy-covered archway, her heart pounding.
"Lee! I'm coming back for you!" Nana yelled, charging toward the granite arch.
But as she reached the spot, she stopped dead, stumbling to a halt.
There was no granite arch. There was no entrance.
The ivy-covered wall was solid, cold stone. The faint hum of Mystic Energy that had pervaded the area was gone. The space where the Whispering Hollow had begun was just a normal, dusty corner of the abandoned west wing.
Nana pressed her palms against the rough stone, her mind reeling in disbelief. The dungeon… the Level 0 entrance… it's gone.
She frantically searched the surrounding area, ripping aside layers of ivy, kicking at the earth. Nothing. The dimensional anchor that had created the Whispering Hollow and served as the entry point to the Labyrinth of Ending had completely vanished, either sealed or destroyed by the catastrophic events that followed the Slime Lord's capture.
Tears of frustration and fear streamed down Nana's face. She was safe, Yena was safe, but the man who had fought through hell for them was trapped in a disintegrating reality, and the path to reach him was permanently erased.
Lee was cut off, and the dimensional shift was complete.
—Labyrinth of Ending, 25 Minutes Later—
Lee leaned against the unstable wall, the spectral form of Hanabi hovering protectively, yet impotently, beside him. He could feel the Dark Mana Concentration Core slowly dissolving into his life force, pushing his integration percentage higher.
Current Integration: 48%
Time Remaining: 5 Minutes.
Hanabi watched the surrounding reality fracture into shimmering, overlapping planes. "Five minutes, Lee! Hold on! If you survive this integration, you'll be unstoppable! But the Labyrinth is tearing itself apart!"
Lee didn't reply. He focused his Absolute Eye on the chaos. He had the power of sovereignty over the mind, but not yet over reality.
He clenched his fist, accepting the isolation and the terrifying power being forced into his core. He had lost the exit, he had lost his way back to his team, but he had gained the ultimate defense against the chaos.
He was ready to face whatever unstable hell the final $5\%$ of the Slime Lord Core integration would unleash.
His journey to the Tower of Abyss was now a solo, dimensional quest.