A jagged crack split the crystal beneath Riven's boots, echoing through the hollow chamber like a drumbeat. He stilled, eyes narrowing as the dungeon floor shimmered unnaturally beneath his feet. The glow that once gave the labyrinth its soft light now pulsed—irregular, alive.
More fractures veined across the walls and ceiling, spreading out like spiderwebs. Then the corridor ahead split open with a grinding shriek, revealing a twisted archway formed entirely from jagged crystal. The edges gleamed with unstable energy, as if resisting being torn open.
Riven readied Nullshift. "That's not ominous at all."
Lyra stepped beside him, her icy-blue eyes focused. "The mana density just spiked. That's must be the boss room."
Riven nodded, but his stomach tightened. The entire dungeon had changed—it felt aware.
The two crossed the threshold into the boss chamber. At once, the air thickened with pressure.
Above them, a domed ceiling stretched high overhead, its surface cracked and webbed. Floating shards of crystal hovered in place, twitching subtly with tension. The room's core—massive and circular—featured a fractured pedestal.
And upon that pedestal stood a colossal crystalline entity. Eight feet tall. Broad-shouldered. Humanoid only in shape, with jagged armor-like plating and four glowing cyan eyes in a crown-like formation. Embedded in its chest was a pulsing blackened crystal core, unlike anything Riven had seen.
The Omnitrix blinked green for a moment.
"That's… not natural," Riven muttered.
"It's not listed in the guild's relic database," Lyra replied. "This is a custom-made boss. The kind formed around unstable energy."
Then the boss moved. Not to attack—yet—but to summon.
It raised one arm.
The floating shards circling the room vibrated violently—then burst outward.
From them erupted Crystal Shards—insect-like constructs with serrated legs and glowing spines. Dozens. Then hundreds.
"Oh look," Riven muttered, stepping back. "He brought friends."
"Then let's be rude guests."
Lyra surged forward first, ice racing across the ground as she cast wide arcs of frost that froze the nearest constructs mid-lunge. Riven followed, activating Nullshift's sword form. The weapon hissed to life, a glowing blue edge forming along the blade.
He slashed cleanly through two Shards. Then dodged a third.
The wave came fast. The enemies weren't strong individually, but they moved in coordinated waves—flanking, climbing walls, diving from the air. Lyra froze sections of them solid, shattering their bodies mid-motion, while Riven fought off the rest with sword swings growing sharper by the minute.
But there were too many.
He ducked a dive, sliced one midair, then turned—and found three more circling.
"Forget it," Riven growled. "Time to test the other mode."
He twisted Nullshift's hilt, and the metal gauntlet shifted with a loud click-hiss, transforming into its blaster form. The barrel extended and hummed with raw energy.
Riven fired.
The blast tore through five Shards, sending them flying into the air like shattered glass.
"Whoa," he muttered. Then fired again. And again.
The recoil was punchy, but he adapted quickly—pivoting and rotating mid-shot, using the blasts to control the crowd.
Lyra glanced over her shoulder, surprised. "That's the blaster form?"
"Told you about it," he shouted. "Didn't think I'd use it this soon."
"Well, not bad." She flicked her fingers, launching a spire of ice through a cluster. "Kinda flashy."
Riven grinned, aimed, and blasted another wave of enemies apart.
Four shots. Five.
And then—flicker.
The blaster dimmed. A low beep echoed from the gauntlet.
"What—?" Riven looked at it. "Wait. No power?"
The weapon clicked sharply, and with a mechanical twist, reverted into sword form.
Lyra froze another wave and glanced at him. "Energy burnout?"
"Didn't know it had a limit," he muttered, wiping his brow. "Five shots. That's all I get."
"Then don't waste it next time."
Back to the sword. But now the enemies had learned. The Shards swarmed in new formations, using height, terrain, and even falling crystal debris as cover. They were evolving.
Riven panted, feeling fatigue creeping in. But now that he'd tasted the blaster's power, he fought with new urgency. His swordplay was less hesitant—more calculated.
He ducked beneath a leaping Shard, slashed upward, then pivoted and used a wall as leverage to drive the blade through another.
Beside him, Lyra conjured a storm of jagged icicles that fell like a trap onto a charging cluster. Her movements were fluid—measured. Cool-headed and brutal.
Together, they cleared wave after wave.
Riven's muscles burned. He was slowing down, but he wouldn't show it.
"How many more?" he asked, swinging cleanly through two more constructs.
Lyra didn't answer. She was staring toward the center.
He followed her gaze.
The boss had moved.
It was no longer standing still.
The core in its chest now glowed bright, and the arms flexed with life. The summoned army paused—then melted into the walls and floor, absorbed by the crystalline lattice.
The ground shook.
The ceiling cracked further.
Then, the boss's eyes all snapped toward them.
"It's coming," Lyra said calmly.
Riven tightened his grip on Nullshift. "About time."
From its pedestal, the boss let out a low, rattling growl—and stepped forward.
Its footfall shattered the stone beneath.
The true battle had begun.
End of chapter.
Aghg i can't anymore I am very sleepy.
Thank you for reading.