Elric stood, mind racing, trying to apply everything he had ever learned to find a way to defeat the creature.

Kaelyn Slowly starts to rise up in order to put up a last stand. 

Kai noticing, starts to rise as well, face unsure of what fate lies ahead. One thing he knew for sure is that he does not want any more people to die. 

The monster’s molten eye locked onto Elric. It lunged, blades drawn back, sensing the fear in the boy’s trembling stance.

But Elric moved.

With a cry that was half terror, half resolve, he raised both hands. Magic surged from his core—wild, untamed, but fiercely alive. He didn’t chant. He didn’t hesitate. Fire roared from his palms in a wide arc, forcing the beast to veer. Ice shards formed instantly in the air and shot forward like arrows. Thunder cracked as lightning laced between the runes glowing on the floor beneath him.

Elric screamed through the chaos. “You want the weak link? Then choke on it!”

The monster flinched as a wind vortex lifted debris into its path. An explosion followed—a raw blast of elemental energy that lit the entire chamber in violent orange.

Kaelyn’s eyes widened as she ducked behind a pillar. “He’s… holding the line.”

“He’s doing more than that,” Kai muttered, eyes glowing faintly. “He’s waking up.”

Another fireblast detonated near the creature, smoke curling up in thick plumes. Elric stood at the center of it all, sweat pouring down his face, his veins lit with magic.

“I’ve read every scroll, studied every circle. You think I came here to die in the dirt?!” he shouted, his voice cracking.

The monster shrieked and charged again—but that was the moment Kai moved.

His aura exploded outward in waves of pale light. The air grew heavy, humming with unnatural energy as the ground rippled beneath his feet. He didn’t hesitate. One hand reached out toward Kaelyn.

“Now!” he barked.

Kaelyn nodded once, sprinting toward him. The moment she touched his energy field, it wrapped around her like liquid fire—coating her limbs in glowing light, enhancing every movement with divine precision.

Her feet hit the ground harder. Her sword gleamed brighter. Her heartbeat synced with the pulse of Kai’s magic.

She exhaled slowly. “What… is this?”

Kai’s voice was low, calm. “A gift. Don’t waste it.”

Kaelyn grinned, crouched low, and then launched herself forward like a bullet.

The monster barely had time to raise its blade before she crashed into it—her speed and strength now almost inhuman. Her swords slashed in an X across its chest, sparks flying as molten armor cracked beneath the force.

Kai followed, striking low. His fist collided with the beast’s leg, the impact sending a shockwave up the creature’s body. Bones buckled. Plates split.

Elric, gasping for breath, watched from behind a crumbling column. “Holy shit…”

Kaelyn twisted mid-air, spinning behind the monster as Kai drew its attention.

She landed, blades drawn again.

“Let’s end this before someone else dies,” she said sharply.

Kai’s eyes flickered with light. “Together.”

...

Elric stood at the rear of the chamber, arms trembling as he began forming something massive—an ultimate-tier spell that merged every element, every rune, every ounce of his power. His entire body shook from the strain, but his eyes were clear.

Elric: “This one’s gonna kill me… but screw it. I’ll die on my own damn terms!”

He let out a raw, guttural scream—more beast than man. A sound born not from fear, but from the sheer force of his will.

Elric: “If anyone else dies today, it’s gonna be me!”

At that moment, Kai and Kaelyn struck the creature with everything they had left. Kai’s fist connected first, shattering the entire right side of the monster’s body in a blast of otherworldly force. Kaelyn followed, slicing and striking with blinding speed, carving deep gouges into its molten armor.

Then, without hesitation, Kai used the beast's shoulder as a launch point, rebounding off it. As he flew past Kaelyn, he grabbed her arm, dragging her with him as they retreated—because he saw it.

The spell Elric was preparing wasn’t just powerful. It was apocalyptic.

Kai: “I’m gonna pass out... I’m not healing fast enough. Listen—after he fires that spell, grab him and anyone still breathing. Get the hell out.”

Kaelyn, eyes wide, nodded once. “Understood.”

Elric raised his hands. Light erupted, brighter than anything that had come before. The spell fired—a swirling, catastrophic beam of pure destruction. The air screamed as the blast tore through the chamber. Walls shattered. The dungeon itself trembled, a space wide enough to fit ten castles starting to collapse.

The force hit like a tidal wave.

Kaelyn lost her footing instantly, her grip on Kai slipping. He fell, hit the ground hard, pain exploding through his side.

Blood in his mouth, Kai snarled through clenched teeth. “No… not yet—!”

On pure instinct, he forced his magic into overdrive, pushing his body to heal faster than it should. With a roar, he leapt upward, grabbing Kaelyn before she could fall into the crumbling abyss.

They sprinted toward Elric.

Kaelyn reached out—and grabbed him by the throat, the only place she could catch in time.

Elric, barely conscious, used the last of his magic to yank Mira and Bronn toward them, dragging their battered bodies into reach as the blast consumed everything behind them.

The dungeon groaned.

.....

Everything began to fall apart.

Kai looked back just as the blast hit. It wasn’t just an explosion—it was a sun igniting underground. The light was blinding, so intense you could see the monster’s organs lit through its skin, so bright it pierced through closed eyelids.

He ran.

Faster than he ever had, every ounce of instinct and muscle memory firing at once. He leapt over crumbling stone, flipped between falling debris, dodged fire and rock with movements born from desperation. Behind him, the dungeon was collapsing in waves of flame and ruin.

The tunnel came into view—the one they had entered before facing that rotting nightmare.

Flames licked at his heels. His body screamed. It felt like he was going to combust.

Stone crashed down ahead, blocking the path. Kai didn’t stop. He headbutted through shattered bricks, kicked debris aside while carrying his teammates like they weighed nothing.

Mira stirred. Her eyes opened briefly—enough to see the blood, the cracked bones.

She didn’t ask questions. She just started healing him, hands glowing faintly against his battered skin. Kai wasn’t even conscious of it—he was running on instinct, on pure adrenaline.

A chunk of wall dropped in front of him—he kicked through it. His leg shattered. Before hitting the ground, he headbutted another falling stone. Pain blurred everything, but Mira’s magic kept him upright, barely.

He had no choice but to make his own path, smashing through side passages, breaking down walls, grinding through agony beyond reason—until finally, light.

The tunnel opened to the outside.

Kai staggered out, his body broken but slowly regenerating, just enough to stay on his feet. Hundreds of adventurers and guards stood waiting with weapons drawn, bracing for whatever horror might emerge.

Instead, one man stepped out, carrying 4 unconscious adventurers on his back.

The tunnel behind him exploded.

A roar of fire, smoke, and stone consumed everything. The entire mountain range cracked, then vanished—obliterated as if the earth itself had been erased.

Winds howled. The pressure knocked even seasoned fighters off their feet. Chaos erupted.

And finally… Kai collapsed.

Healers rushed forward, casting everything they had. Dozens of hands reached to mend broken flesh and torn spirit.

One by one, the others began to wake—Mira, Bronn, Elric, Kaelyn—all dazed, eyes unfocused.

Kaelyn groaned. “Is everyone… okay?”

Mira sat up weakly, glancing around. “Where’s Kai? He carried us out... he—he should be here.”

Still too weak to stand, the party turned to the nearest healer.

A woman knelt beside them, hands glowing with soft light. Her name...Selara.

Selara spoke gently, her voice laced with concern. “I saw him. He brought you all out—collapsed right there. But when the blast hit… he vanished in the smoke. No one could see. The shockwave threw everyone back. We don’t know where he is now.”

Silence fell over the group.

And somewhere in that silence… the weight of everything they survived finally hit.