The roar of the collapsing dungeon tore through the chamber like a living storm.
Stone cracked apart overhead.
Mana surged up from the floors like erupting geysers.
The walls twisted and shrieked as if the entire labyrinth was a dying beast.
Arden shouted through the chaos:
"RETREAT! MOVE! MOVE!"
Oren was already pushing injured adventurers toward the nearest exit tunnel.
But Lyra—
Lyra didn't move.
Her feet were rooted to the stone.
Her world had narrowed down to one broken puppet—
Friezzar.
He lay crushed against the far wall, half-buried in rubble.
His chest was split open, leaking faint blue light.
His limbs twitched weakly but couldn't lift him.
And for the first time since the day he awakened,
Friezzar's glow flickered so dimly—
Lyra thought he might fade completely.
She ran to him.
Ignoring falling stone.
Ignoring collapsing platforms.
Ignoring the shouts behind her.
"FRIEZZAR!"
She dropped to her knees beside him.
His blue eyes flickered open.
"…Ly…ra…"
Her breath broke.
"No—no, stay with me. Stay with me!"
He tried to lift a hand toward her—
—but it fell limp, shaking, sparks of mana flickering around his fingers.
"…Lyra… safe…?"
Lyra pressed both hands over the jagged crack in his chest, trying desperately to hold his frame together as mana bled out between her fingers like glowing sand.
"Yes! I'm safe!" she cried. "I'm safe because of you!"
The dungeon screamed again.
Massive slabs of stone fell from the ceiling.
Lyra didn't flinch.
She bent over Friezzar, shielding him with her body, the way he had shielded her moments ago.
Arden's voice cut through the chaos, furious and terrified.
"LYRA! GET AWAY FROM HIM! THE CEILING IS FALLING!"
She looked up, eyes blazing.
"I'M NOT LEAVING HIM!"
Oren staggered toward them, blood on his forehead.
"Girl—this entire floor is collapsing! He can't move! You must—"
Lyra shook her head violently.
"No! I'm not abandoning him! I don't care if he's a puppet core or dungeon vessel or—or whatever! He's—"
Her voice cracked.
"He's Friezzar.
And I won't leave him."
Friezzar's glow brightened faintly at her words.
"…Ly…ra…"
He tried again to lift his hand.
This time, he reached her cheek.
His wooden fingers trembled violently.
"…safe?"
Lyra cupped his hand against her skin.
Tears slid down her face.
"Yes," she whispered. "I'm safe. Because of you."
The dungeon trembled again.
Cracks spidered across the floor.
The room began to tilt.
Arden cursed and sprinted toward them.
"Lyra! We're going to fall into the lower levels—MOVE!"
But Lyra kept pressing her hands to Friezzar's chest.
"Friezzar, listen to me—please—stay awake—stay with me—"
Friezzar's glow dimmed further.
"…Lyra…
don't… cry…"
Her breath hitched.
"Then don't leave me," she whispered.
"Please. Don't leave."
More rubble fell.
A giant stone pillar snapped in half.
The entire chamber groaned, sinking downward.
Adventurers screamed as the floor split beneath them.
Arden reached Lyra and grabbed her shoulder.
"L—Lyra—!"
She jerked away violently.
"DON'T TOUCH ME! I'M NOT LEAVING HIM!"
Arden froze.
There was something in her voice—
something that shook even him.
A vow.
Lyra turned back to Friezzar, placing her forehead against his.
"I'll stay. I'll stay with you. I won't let them take you."
Friezzar blinked slowly.
"…choose…
Lyra…"
Her tears splashed onto his wooden face.
"Yes. Choose me. Choose us. Just—just stay—"
Suddenly—
A shockwave of mana burst from the broken core fragments.
Everyone staggered.
Oren shouted:
"The dungeon is IMPLODING! If we stay here we DIE!"
Arden grabbed Lyra again—
and this time, she didn't fight back.
She simply held Friezzar's hand.
"Arden," she whispered shakily.
"Help me carry him."
Arden stared at her.
Then at Friezzar.
Then at the collapsing ceiling.
"…Gods, you're insane."
But he bent down and grabbed Friezzar's other arm.
Together—
Lyra on one side, Arden on the other—
they hauled the broken puppet to his feet.
Friezzar swayed, runes barely flickering.
"…Ly…ra…"
She squeezed his hand.
"I'm here."
Arden grunted under the strain.
"He weighs as much as a boulder—!"
"He's made of enchanted wood!" Lyra snapped back.
Oren ran ahead, waving them forward.
"Hurry! The collapse is accelerating!"
The floor split behind them.
Dust filled the air.
The walls buckled inward.
But Friezzar forced his legs to move—
even broken.
Even trembling.
He stayed upright only because Lyra held him.
And she refused to let go.
THE FINAL COLLAPSE
The party reached the exit tunnel just as the entire chamber began to fall inward like a dying star.
Oren shouted:
"GO, GO, GO!"
Arden nearly dragged Lyra while she held Friezzar upright.
The tunnel behind them caved in—
WHOOOM.
Stone crashed.
The dungeon roared.
The ground pitched sideways.
Friezzar stumbled.
Lyra clung to him tighter.
"I've got you—don't fall—!"
He whispered, voice barely audible—
"…Lyra…
safe…"
The tunnel ahead glowed with sunlight—
the exit.
Arden pushed them forward.
"MOVE—MOVE—WE'RE ALMOST OUT—!"
Lyra screamed as another collapse shook the ground.
"FRIEZZAR—DON'T LET GO—!"
His legs gave out.
Lyra caught him with pure desperation.
"DON'T YOU DARE—!"
Arden grabbed both of them under the arms.
"WE'RE GETTING OUT—ALL OF US—SHUT UP AND RUN!"
The world behind them imploded.
Stone shattered.
Mana shrieked.
The dungeon heart collapsed into nothingness—
—just as they crossed the final threshold.
A blast of wind slammed them into the dirt outside.
Then—
Silence.
Heavy.
Final.
The Forson Labyrinth was gone.
Reduced to dust.
And in Lyra's trembling arms—
Friezzar lay unmoving.
His glow…
faded.
Almost gone.
Lyra shook him desperately.
"Friezzar—Friezzar—please—please—OPEN YOUR EYES—!"
Arden knelt beside her, breath ragged.
"Lyra—he's— he's barely functioning—"
Oren staggered toward them and dropped to his knees.
His voice came out hoarse.
"Get him to the Guild. Now.
Or we lose him."
Lyra lifted Friezzar's face in both hands.
Tears ran freely.
She pressed her forehead to his.
And whispered:
"Friezzar…
Please don't leave me.
Please."
For a moment, no one breathed.
Then—
A faint flicker of blue light pulsed in his chest.
Barely there.
But alive.
Lyra sobbed in relief—
"Friezzar!"
His eyes cracked open just enough for one whisper:
"…Lyra…"
And then he went still again.
But this time—
Lyra didn't cry in despair.
She held him tightly and whispered:
"I've got you.
We're going home."