The door creaked open with a deep, reverberating groan, the sound swallowed quickly by the cold silence beyond. Frost clung to the stone walls, and the chill intensified the moment Azriel stepped inside, Olivia just behind him.
The chamber was vast—an icy cathedral of death. The mana-stones embedded in the cavern walls glowed faintly, their eerie light reflecting off frozen stalactites that hung like jagged teeth. At the far end of the room lay the beast.
It slumbered like a small mountain. The Alpha Snow Wolf.
Its white fur shimmered with an unnatural brilliance, like freshly fallen snow under moonlight. Ten smaller wolves curled around its massive body, forming a living perimeter. Each one twitched, ears perked despite their slumber, as if sensing the intrusion.
Azriel felt his pulse quicken. The weight of mana in the room was suffocating. His breath crystallized in the air, and the hairs on his arms stood on end.
"This is it," Olivia whispered, her breath forming a ghostly mist. "The sixtieth floor boss."
Azriel nodded, flexing his claws. "Let's wake it up."
They stepped forward—and instantly, all ten wolves snapped to attention.
A unified snarl echoed through the chamber.
Azriel reacted first, mana surging through his limbs as he darted left. Olivia was already moving, her shadow-sword manifesting in a spiral of inky blackness. The first of the smaller wolves lunged, but Azriel met it mid-leap, slamming it to the ground with a gravity pulse.
The wolf howled as its ribs cracked beneath the sudden force—but it didn't die.
Azriel gritted his teeth. "Tougher than the others…"
The rest of the pack surged forward.
Olivia danced between them, her sword a blur of darkness. Every cut from her blade left a trail of venomous mana that spread like rot. Two wolves fell, choking on poisoned blood, their fur smoking where the corruption seeped in.
Azriel slammed a wolf aside, only to be tackled by another. He rolled with it, claws sinking into thick fur, kicking off and crushing it with a downward gravitational pulse. It yelped and twitched—but still thrashed.
"They're adapting!" Olivia warned. "The poison isn't working as fast!"
Azriel cursed and shifted tactics. He reached deep, focusing on the dense pull of gravity in the air around him. The mana resisted—wild, chaotic in this place—but he bent it, strained it, forced it to obey.
Three wolves rushed him.
Azriel slammed both palms to the ground.
Gravitational Sink.
The chamber floor shuddered. The snow wolves were caught mid-leap—then pulled down with brutal force, their bodies crunching into the ice. Bones snapped. Blood sprayed.
Azriel staggered, breath ragged. That much force nearly drained him.
But it worked.
"Nice," Olivia said, panting. She skewered another wolf, then turned to him. "Big one's waking up!"
The Alpha's eyes opened—molten red, burning with malevolent will.
It stood.
And the entire chamber trembled.
The remaining wolves backed off, forming a line as their leader rose to its full, towering height. It let out a low, guttural growl, the sound vibrating through Azriel's bones. Its fur rippled, forming plates of icy armor across its limbs and chest.
"Shit," Azriel muttered. "It's already adapting."
The Alpha moved faster than something its size should. It lunged at Olivia first. She sidestepped, barely, the beast's claws grazing her arm. She rolled, shadows coiling around her body for protection.
Azriel leapt in, claws glowing with mana. He slashed the Alpha's flank—but it barely cut through the ice.
The beast retaliated with a whip of its tail, sending him flying into a stalagmite. Pain flared in his ribs.
Azriel coughed, wiping blood from his lip.
"We need a plan!" he shouted.
"I'll distract it!" Olivia called. "You build up your gravity!"
Azriel nodded and closed his eyes, forcing himself to center. Mana spiraled around him, a swirling dance of pressure and potential.
Olivia's voice rang out, taunting. Her blade danced across the Alpha's side, cutting shallow furrows that hissed with venom—but still, not deep enough.
The Alpha roared.
Azriel opened his eyes—mana thrumming in his limbs.
He charged.
His movements were heavier now, grounded in gravitational energy. Each step cracked the ice beneath him. The Alpha turned, massive jaws opening wide.
Azriel didn't dodge.
Instead, he leapt into the air, then flipped—and slammed both feet down, unleashing everything.
Gravity Break.
The air detonated around the Alpha. Ice shattered. The beast roared in agony, its limbs buckling under the immense weight. It collapsed to its knees.
"Olivia! Now!"
She appeared like a phantom behind it, her shadow-sword pulsing with concentrated venom. With a cry, she plunged it into the back of the Alpha's neck—right between its armor plates.
The beast howled. The venom hit something vital.
It convulsed. Snarled. Tried to rise.
But Azriel reached out, locking the mana down.
"Stay. Down."
He crushed the remaining gravity around its body.
The Alpha's red eyes dimmed.
Its body collapsed.
Still. Silent.
Dead.
Olivia staggered back, her blade dissolving. Azriel dropped to a knee, gasping, his chest burning with exertion.
They had won.
Together, they stood before the carcass of a beast that had ruled this floor for decades. Blood steamed on the ice. Silence returned to the chamber.
"Sixtieth floor…" Olivia breathed, smiling despite herself. "Cleared."
Azriel chuckled weakly. "Hope the next one doesn't have armor."
She snorted. "Let's not jinx it."