The dungeon heart shattered.
Not cracked.
Not fractured.
Shattered.
Fragments of the core erupted upward like a storm of burning glass, each shard radiating unstable mana that rippled through the entire cavern. The shockwave hit with the force of thunder tearing the sky in half.
Stone buckled.
Air evaporated into raw magic.
The floor broke beneath their feet.
Friezzar moved before thought.
Before fear.
Before instinct.
Just choice.
He threw himself between Lyra and the explosion.
A wall of blue rune-light erupted from his carved frame—
fragile, trembling, but for her.
The blast struck him first.
The world detonated.
BOOOOM.
The shockwave sent Oren and the adventurers flying into the walls.
Arden crashed against a column, coughing up air.
Weapons clattered across the floor.
Dust erupted like smoke from a volcano.
Lyra screamed, but her voice drowned in the roar.
Friezzar held his ground—
But his body cracked.
Lines split across his torso.
Ribs of carved wood snapped inward.
His arm splintered under the strain.
Blue light leaked from the wounds like blood.
Still—
he did not fall.
He wrapped both arms around Lyra and shielded her with his entire body as the magic tore through him.
Her trembling voice pressed into his chest.
"Friezzar—! You'll break—stop—!"
He whispered:
"…Lyra…
safe."
The shockwave died.
Silence ripped through the aftermath.
Dust drifted.
The dungeon groaned in agony.
The shattered core's light flickered like a dying star.
Lyra slowly uncurled.
Her fingers traced the cracks in Friezzar's chest.
Her breath broke.
"No… no, no, no—Friezzar—you're hurt—!"
He swayed weakly.
"…not… hurt."
He was lying.
But he didn't understand that word yet.
Arden staggered to his feet, clutching his ribs.
"Is everyone—? Oren! Status!"
The guildmaster groaned.
"Alive… barely. The blast almost liquefied us."
Adventurers around them coughed, staggered, or limped into position.
But before they could regroup—
A low, venomous laughter slithered through the chamber.
Smoke parted.
The intruder stood untouched.
Not a single tear in his cloak.
Not a single scratch.
Not a single flicker of exhaustion.
"You protected her," the intruder murmured.
"Pitiful. But predictable."
Lyra stepped in front of Friezzar, arms trembling but resolute.
"Don't you dare touch him!"
The intruder's glowing red eyes sharpened.
"You misunderstand," he whispered.
"I do not want her."
He pointed directly at Friezzar.
"I want what's inside him."
Friezzar's glow flickered.
Lyra's breath froze.
"What do you mean 'inside' him?"
The intruder stretched his hand forward.
"Come now. You've felt it, haven't you?
The call.
The hunger.
The pulse.
The connection."
Friezzar stepped backward, holding Lyra behind him.
"…no."
The intruder smirked.
"You cannot deny it.
All that mana, all that evolution, every fragment you devoured —
it was never yours."
He took one slow step closer.
"That energy belonged to the dungeon core."
Lyra's chest twisted.
"No… that can't be…"
The intruder's voice grew colder.
"Why do you think he grew after devouring monsters?
Why do you think the dungeon awakened when he left?
Why do you think the core shattered when he refused obedience?"
He spread his arms.
"Because the core was never missing."
Lyra's heart stopped.
"Friezzar…"
The intruder pointed at the puppet's chest.
"The core was inside him."
Silence.
Pure, suffocating silence.
Friezzar looked down at his chest.
The runes glowed faintly.
The carved wood pulsed.
A heartbeat that wasn't mechanical—
but magical.
Lyra whispered, voice cracking:
"You… you were made as… part of it?"
Friezzar touched his chest with trembling fingers.
"…mine…?"
The intruder nodded.
"The dungeon created you… as a vessel.
The missing heart.
The final guardian."
Arden staggered back.
"Gods…"
Oren clenched his teeth.
"If that's true… if he is the core—then this dungeon won't collapse unless—"
"Unless he takes his place," the intruder finished with chilling delight.
Lyra grabbed Friezzar's hand so tightly her nails scraped his wooden palm.
"No. NO. He doesn't belong in a dungeon. He's—he's not an object. He's Friezzar."
Friezzar's glow flickered violently.
He didn't understand all the words.
But he understood the fear in her voice.
And the intruder's command.
And the choice between them.
"…choose…" he whispered.
The intruder's smile widened.
"Yes. Choose.
The dungeon…
or the girl."
Friezzar lifted his head slowly.
He stepped toward the intruder.
Lyra's heart shattered.
"Friezzar—!"
But Friezzar stopped halfway.
Turned.
And placed his hand over Lyra's cheek.
His voice cracked softly.
"…Lyra…
safe."
Then he faced the intruder.
"No."
The intruder's smile vanished instantly.
Friezzar stood straighter—despite the cracks in his chest.
"…Friezzar… choose."
His eyes blazed with pure blue light.
"Not dungeon."
His runes flared brighter.
"Not… vessel."
And with sudden force—
He pointed a wooden hand at the intruder.
"Not yours."
The intruder hissed.
The dungeon shook violently at his rage.
"You insolent creation."
Mana gathered in the intruder's palm.
And he lunged—
Straight for Lyra.
Friezzar launched himself forward with a roar that rattled the room—
"LYRA—!"
The intruder's palm and Friezzar's glowing hand collided—
KA-THOOM!
An explosion of mana tore the chamber apart.
Stone shattered.
Air fractured.
Adventurers were thrown like dolls.
The dungeon screamed in fury.
And Friezzar—
was blasted backward, slamming into the far wall.
His chest split.
Light burst from within him like a dying star.
Lyra screamed—
"FRIEZZAR!!"
The intruder stood in the swirling dust, breathing steadily, cloak fluttering unnaturally.
He extended a single finger toward Lyra.
"You will break him," the intruder whispered,
"and then he will return to me."
Then—
He vanished into shadow.
The dungeon roared—
And the chamber began to collapse.