Level 2 – After the Split
The dungeon groaned.
With a seismic twist of magic and intent, the Black Maw shifted its bones, its tunnels twisting like intestines under the weight of will. The intruders were split apart—isolated from each other by illusions, living stone, and carefully laid traps.
[ENEMY SEPARATION: COMPLETE][MENTAL PRESSURE ZONES: ACTIVE][DUNGEON HARMONICS: SYNCHRONIZED]
Leo hovered silently in his Core, eyes half-lidded, fingers resting lightly on his throne of obsidian veins. His senses were everywhere. He could feel the sweat sliding down Virella's back. He could smell the Null Mage's fear as he stumbled through his mirror-maze. Every heartbeat. Every tremble.
He didn't move.
He simply watched.
"Myra. Begin the psychological phase."
"Let's show them who they really are."
Virella's Path – Trial of Pride
The glaive-wielder moved fast, clearing traps and illusions with brute force. Her weapon—a relic of the Empire's Core Wars—shattered dungeon illusions with every sweep.
"Coward," she growled into the dark. "Face me!"
The air shimmered. A light flared ahead.
She paused.
A voice rang out—her own.
"I killed my sister for this power."
The light formed into a shape—herself, bloodied, armor cracked.
"You thought I'd forget? You thought you could bury me?"
Virella lunged, her glaive cutting through the illusion—only for the ground to vanish beneath her feet. She plunged into cold water.
Then, a dozen hands grabbed her ankles from below.
"You're not the hunter here," her reflection hissed. "You're the quarry."
Null Mage's Path – Hall of Mirrors
The Null Mage staggered forward, clutching his staff, breathing hard. The air pulsed with mana—thick, too thick. Suppression fields failed. His spells unraveled as fast as he cast them.
Every wall reflected him.
But each reflection looked… off.
In one, he had no eyes.
In another, he was old, his flesh cracked like ceramic.
In a third, he was dead, blood pooling around his feet, eyes wide.
"What is this?! A curse?! A hex?!"
A voice responded. Deep. Calm. Cold.
"Just a mirror."
Then the reflections stepped out of the glass.
And attacked.
Twinblade's Path – Maw of the Past
The tribal warrior had lost his blades somewhere in the twisting flesh of the dungeon. He ran now, panting, bleeding, hands bare.
But the tunnel never ended.
At every turn—her.
His sister.
Burned.
Charred.
Eyes hollow.
"You promised to protect me…"
He screamed, swinging wildly, and hit nothing.
Blood leaked from his ears.
"Stop it! It's not real—"
"Is it not?" Leo's voice echoed through the walls.
"Then why does it still hurt?"
Core Chamber – Observation Mode
Myra leaned against the platform railing, arms folded.
"They're breaking faster than I thought."
Naelia nodded. "Their cohesion was their strength. Alone? They're all weak."
Cael added with a smirk, "The Null Mage pissed himself."
Leo sat motionless, eyes burning golden.
"They're not dead yet."
"They have one more chance."
"Let's see if they take it."
Lyssa's Garden – Lower Levels
Lyssa sat in silence, watching the illusions unfold on a viewing crystal.
She bit her lip.
"Is this necessary?" she asked softly.
Mossie floated upside-down beside her, braiding her own mossy hair.
"They invaded us first."
"They would've killed Leo if they'd reached the core."
"Leo's protecting his heart."
Lyssa glanced at her. "But at what cost?"
"He's smiling when they scream."
"And I'm not sure if it's the system…"
"Or him."
Level 2 – Collapse
Each adventurer, pushed past their limit, made their final move.
Virella used her core charge—an explosive burst of Empire-grade mana—to annihilate the drowning illusion. She collapsed in a cavern of bone, shaking, whispering prayers to gods she didn't believe in.
The Null Mage sacrificed his own fingers to cast an unspeakable spell—shattering the mirror world in a blinding storm of purple light.
The twinblade?
He curled into a corner. He wept.
And then he stopped breathing.
Core Chamber – Decision Point
Leo stood slowly.
His dungeon body pulsed in response.
"We have two choices," he said aloud. "Let them crawl out…"
"…or finish it."
Myra tilted her head. "What do you want, Leo?"
He paused.
"I want them to remember."
"And I want the world to know—"
"—the dungeon breathes."
"It bleeds."
"And it bites back."