The Greater Stone Warden stood motionless in the chamber's center. Twelve feet of carved granite. Runes glowing across its surface. The core in its chest pulsed with concentrated orange light. Bright. Intense. Power made manifest.

Then it moved.

Boom.

One step. The floor cracked beneath its weight. Dust fell from the ceiling.

Julius struggled to stand. His back injury made movement agony. But he forced himself up. Grabbed a piece of rubble. His only weapon.

"Together," he gasped. "We end this together."

The Warden raised both arms. Brought them down simultaneously.

BOOM!

The impact was catastrophic. The entire floor shattered. Fragments flew like shrapnel. The shockwave knocked both men off their feet.

Raze rolled. Came up swinging. Azure Edge aimed for the Warden's leg joint.

Clang!

Three strikes. All bounced off. The stone was too dense. Too hard. His damaged blade couldn't penetrate.

The Warden's fist came around. Massive. Unstoppable.

Raze used Instant Transmission.

Blink.

Materialized fifteen feet away. The fist struck empty air.

Crash!

The impact cratered the floor where he'd been standing.

Julius charged from the side. Threw his rubble at the Warden's core. The stone bounced off harmlessly.

The Warden turned. Faster than its size suggested possible. Backhanded Julius.

WHAM!

The blow was devastating. Julius flew across the chamber. Hit the wall with bone-breaking force.

Crack!

He slid down. Didn't move. Unconscious. Possibly worse.

"Julius!" Raze's voice was raw. Desperate.

The Warden advanced on the fallen cultivator. Raised one massive foot. Preparing to crush. To finish.

Raze used Scarlet Leap. Blurred forward at maximum speed. Struck the Warden's back with everything he had.

Slash!

Azure Edge found a crack. A weak point in the stone. The blade bit shallow. Drew the Warden's attention.

It turned. Forgot Julius. Focused entirely on Raze.

Good. Keep it focused on me. Keep Julius alive.

The Warden's fist came down like a meteor.

Boom!

Raze dodged. Barely. The impact sent shrapnel flying. Fragments cut his face. His arms. Blood ran into his eyes.

He struck back. Aimed for the same crack. Deepened it. Made the Warden feel pain.

The runes on its body flared brighter. Orange light flooding the chamber. Some kind of enhancement activating.

The Warden moved faster now. Much faster. Its fists became blurs.

Wham!

Raze used every movement skill he had. Scarlet Leap. Instant Transmission. Combat Reflex predicting. Barely staying ahead.

But he was slowing. His injuries mounting. His stamina depleting. Every dodge was closer than the last.

The Warden's fist grazed his side.

Crack!

More ribs broke. Raze gasped. Tasted blood. His lung might be punctured.

But he kept fighting. Kept striking. The crack in the Warden's back was deeper now. Almost to the core.

The Warden roared. The sound came from its core. Grinding stone. Fury incarnate.

It raised both arms. Brought them down in a devastating overhead smash.

BOOM!

The entire chamber shook. The floor collapsed in a ten-foot radius. Raze barely escaped. Used Instant Transmission at the last possible moment.

He materialized on the Warden's back. Drove Azure Edge into the crack with both hands despite his damaged arm.

The blade sank deep. Found stone that wasn't stone. Found the core's outer layer.

The Warden thrashed. Trying to dislodge him. Its movements were frantic. Wild.

Raze held on. Twisted the blade. Deeper. Deeper.

Crack!

The core's outer shell fractured. Orange light blazed. Blinding. The Warden's movements became erratic.

It slammed backward into the wall. Trying to crush Raze against stone.

Crash!

The impact was massive. Raze's ribs shattered. His vision went white. But he held on. Kept the blade embedded.

The Warden staggered forward. Raze pulled himself up. Used his last reserves of strength. Drove the blade deeper.

His one functional arm burned. Muscles tearing. But the blade sank another inch.

The core was visible now. Glowing bright orange through the crack. Pulsing with desperate energy.

The Warden reached back. Massive hands closing on Raze. Trying to tear him away.

Stone fingers closed around his torso.

Squeeze.

The pressure was immense. Crushing. Raze screamed. Felt more ribs crack. Felt organs compress.

His vision tunneled. Darkness creeping in. His Endurance was maxed. He was dying.

But his hand stayed on Azure Edge. His grip didn't falter.

One more strike. Just one more.

He pulled the blade free. The Warden's crushing grip loosened slightly. Just enough.

Raze drove the blade forward with everything he had left. Every ounce of strength. Every bit of will. Every promise made.

Slash!

Azure Edge pierced the core. Sank deep. Found the center.

Time seemed to stop.

The Warden froze. Its grip went slack. Orange light flared so bright it hurt to see.

Then.

CRACK!

The core shattered. Completely. Catastrophically.

The Warden's body lost all animation. Became just stone. Started to crumble.

Raze fell. The fifteen-foot drop felt endless. He hit the broken floor hard.

Thud.

Everything hurt. Everything was broken. But he was alive. Somehow.

The Warden's body collapsed. Stone fragments raining down. The massive construct reduced to rubble.

Whoosh.

Dungeon magic activated. The stone dissolved. Reclaimed by the pocket dimension. What remained was the monster core. Massive. Basketball-sized. Worth at least twenty gold.

And something else.

Floating above where the core had been. A crystal shard. Violet. Roughly the size of his palm. It pulsed with light different from monster cores. Different from skill cores. Something else entirely.

Raze crawled toward it. Every movement was agony. His body was shutting down. But he reached it. His fingers closed around the crystal.

It was warm. Almost hot. Energy flowed through it. Concentrated. Pure. Powerful.

Then the notification appeared. Not physical. Mental. Information downloaded directly into his consciousness.

Ding.

[Your Dormant Bloodline is reacting to - Lesser Dungeon Core]

Raze's breath caught. His eyes widened. Bloodline. The status window had always shown it as Dormant. Inactive. Useless.

But now it was reacting. To this crystal. To this core.

More text appeared.

[Note: Core can be absorbed]

Absorbed. Not destroyed. Not stored. Absorbed. Integrated into his body. His bloodline. Whatever that meant.

The final line appeared.

[Do you wish to absorb Lesser Dungeon Core?]

[Yes / No]

The question hung in his mind. Waiting. Demanding answer.

Raze stared at the violet crystal in his hand. His damaged hand. His broken body.

Julius was unconscious against the wall. They'd survived. Barely. The dungeon was cleared. The money secured.

But this crystal. This core. It could change everything.

His Dormant Bloodline. Whatever it was. Whatever it could become. The potential was immense. Unknown. Terrifying.

The choice was his.

Absorb the core or leave it.

Power or caution.

His finger hovered over the mental Yes option.

The violet crystal pulsed in his palm. Waiting for his decision.

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