The new notification of the system echoed inside the head of Silas, like someone had slammed a gong against his skull.
[DING!]
[New Objective: Survive.]
Silas's body froze. His breath hitched as his eyes widened slightly, his chest rose and fell rhythmically. The dungeon was quiet—too quiet, the only sound inside the chamber was the noise of Silas's ragged breathing.
"Survive?" Silas whispered under his breath, eyebrow twitched slightly. "What the hell do you even mean by that? Survive what? I just killed the boss, bro? Wait... Don't tell me that this bitch is about to go into phase two."
His voice sounded weak and unsure; the feeling of confusion was buried inside it.
Then—he heard it. A low rumble, a shiver from the ground. The bones of the boss shook slightly, as if they were experiencing some external movement.
Silas's eyes suddenly shifted towards the fallen body of the Ember Skeleton Knight, gaze fixated on it. Its corpse was no longer still.
Dark mist began to curl around the boss's remains, rising like smoke from a dying fire. But it wasn't smoke—this mist felt alive. It moved with purpose, creeping along the bones like hungry fingers.
"System," he slowly muttered under his breath. "What's happening right now?"
The system didn't answer back. The mist thickened until it swallowed the entire corpse. The colour of it shifted—first it turned black, then green and bright blue, swirling together like a cursed flame.
The fire seeped out from the body of the boss, coming out from the ribs, slowly filling the cracks in the bone structure. A thin hum of the whistling sound filled the ears of Silas.
And then—
The body of the boss twitched, and Silas stepped back without even realising that he had moved—purely instinctively. His voice came low, tone filled with certain fear. "No. No no no... don't fucking tell me tha—"
The skeleton knight shook once, twice. Then, it stood back up on its two feet, like something dragging itself back from the bottom of the abyss.
Its armour changed—burnt plates now cracked open and reformed themselves into a darker, jagged shape. The greatsword of the boss had started to melt slightly, reshaping itself into a curved rider's blade. The fire in its eye socket had now long gone and had been replaced by a freezing glow.
[Analysing…]
[Caution: Entity evolving.]
[Name: Dullahan – The Headless Reborn]
[Rank: B+]
[Potential Rank: SS]
[State: Awakened]
[Strength: B]
[Agility: B+]
[Endurance: A–]
[Warning: Power suppressed by an unknown force.]
Silas stared at the stats of the boss, eyes widened slightly as his jaw dropped with shock. Voice came low, a shaky smile curled up on his lips. "I'm... cooked," he whispered under his breath.
His throat tightened as he gulped, sweat rolled down his cheek, sliding across his jaw and then dripping down from his jaw. His smile curled up by pure instinct—a bad, anxious habit.
"I definitely am cooked, haha." A slow laugh came out of his mouth, a bit shaky. "I'm so fucked."
The Dullahan turned towards him, and blue-green flames were pouring from its neck stump like a silent scream. Its armour rattled with every step it took, each movement of its was heavier and more powerful than before.
Silas felt his heartbeat had started to slam against his ribs; it was beating so loud that he could hear it clearly. "No time—no time.... no fucking time," he whispered to himself as his grip tightened up on his sword's hilt.
The Dullahan finally lifted its massive blade in the air, and flames were spiralling around it.
Silas didn't wait for it to do anything; he charged forward without any second thought.
His legs moved before he even thought about it. Survival instinct took over, screaming louder than fear.
If he let this thing finish transforming fully, he was dead. Not maybe dead. But Dead dead.