The sun rose over the dungeon, but it brought no warmth. The light was grey, filtered through the creeping fog of the Necropolis that hovered just beyond the tree line.

Inside the Entrance Hall, the clock ticked toward 8:00 AM.

Reed stood by the shattered remains of the front door. He looked awful.

This wasn't acting. They had spent the last six hours fighting a guerilla war in their own hallway. They had held off the initial wave of ghouls using only rusted weapons and minor traps, pushing them back just before dawn when the undead retreated to the shade of the forest to regroup.

Reed's tunic was torn. He had a shallow cut on his cheek. He smelled of sweat, goblin oil, and Maira's "Eau de Despair."

"Five minutes," Reed croaked, checking his internal clock. "Status?"

Maira stepped out of the shadows. She was dressed in a ragged grey robe, hunched over to look like a subservient imp. She held a clipboard that was intentionally dirty.

"The barricade is holding," she whispered, gesturing to the pile of rocks and broken furniture blocking the tunnel entrance. "But the Siegebreakers have moved into position. They are waiting for the sun to hit the zenith. Or for a signal."

"They're waiting for her," Reed realized. "Malakor wants Kaelen inside before he knocks the house down. He wants to trap the spider in the web."

"Everyone in places!" Reed hissed.

Seraphine slumped against a pillar, clutching her rusty pike. She let her jaw hang open slightly, trying to look lobotomized. Underneath the rusty chainmail, her muscles were coiled tight as steel springs.

Luma turned into a puddle of brown sludge in the corner, bubbling sadly.

Grika hid behind a rock, clutching a single, pathetic wooden club. She had hidden her automated turret under a tarp painted to look like a pile of trash.

Elara was gone, sunk deep into the stone walls near the Core, humming a silent frequency of anxiety that Reed could feel in his teeth.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

The sound came from the other side of the barricade. Not a monster's bash. A precise, metal-gauntleted rap.

Reed scrambled over the rubble pile and pulled the heavy iron bolt on the wicket gate, the small door set into the blockade.

The gate creaked open.

High Inquisitor Kaelen stood there.

She was blinding.

Her armor was full plate, crafted from Silverite that gleamed even in the dull morning light. A white cloak, embroidered with the golden portcullis of the Authority, hung from her shoulders, miraculously spotless despite the muddy road.

Her helmet was tucked under her arm, revealing a face carved from marble, beautiful, severe, and utterly unamused. Her eyes were the color of cold steel.

She stared at Reed. She stared at the pile of rubble. She stared at the mud.

"Avatar Reed," she said. Her voice was cool and crisp, cutting through the humid air. "You are… distressingly filthy."

Reed bowed low, wincing as his bruised ribs protested.

"High Inquisitor. Welcome to… uh… the dungeon."

Kaelen stepped inside. She didn't walk; she marched. Her boots crunched on the debris. She looked around the Entrance Hall, her gaze dissecting the room.

"Mana density: Low," she recited, her eyes scanning the flickering lamps. "Structural integrity: Compromised. Smell: Abominable."

She turned to Reed.

"Explain the door, Avatar. Why does your entrance look like it was chewed on by a leviathan?"

Reed swallowed.

"Bears," he lied. "Very… big bears. Local wildlife is aggressive this time of year."

Kaelen raised an eyebrow. "You are a Dungeon. You possess a Core. Yet you cannot repel local fauna?"

"We're… struggling," Reed said, hanging his head. "Resources are tight. The economy is in shambles. We barely have enough mana to keep the lights on."

He gestured to the flickering, yellow mana lamps.

Kaelen scoffed. "Pathetic. A dungeon that cannot defend itself is a liability to the region. It invites infestation."

She walked deeper into the hall. Suddenly, she stopped. She drew her sword—a long, elegant blade that glowed with white fire.

Reed's heart hammered. Did she sense Elara? Did she see the turret?

Kaelen pointed the sword at Seraphine.

The Lamia was curled in the shadows, hissing softly. The mud on her face cracked as she bared her fangs.

"A Lamia," Kaelen noted. "Unbound."

"She's feral!" Reed said quickly, stepping forward. "I found her in the swamp! She works for food! Rat control!"

Kaelen stepped closer to Seraphine. The tip of the glowing sword hovered inches from Seraphine's nose. The holy fire made Seraphine's skin crawl; Reed could feel the Lamia's rage spiking through their bond. She was fighting the urge to summon her magma armor and strike.

Hold, Reed mentally commanded. Don't do it.

Kaelen squinted. "She has… good scales beneath the filth. Unexpectedly healthy for a scavenger."

"She eats a lot of rats," Reed improvised. "Good protein."

Kaelen huffed and sheathed her sword. "Disgusting. But not Heresy. Yet."

She turned away. "The Core Room. Take me there. I wish to conclude this audit quickly. The air in here is making my skin itch."

Reed led the way. As they walked down the corridor, Reed glanced at the map on his interface.

[WARNING] Enemy Movement Detected.

The Siegebreakers have begun their advance.

Distance: 200 yards.

Just a little longer, Reed prayed. Just get her to the elevator. If we get her to Floor 3, she's trapped in the kill box with us.

They entered the Core Chamber.

It was a masterpiece of misery. The Pizza Forge was walled off. The furniture was broken. Maira had scattered some dry bones on the floor for ambiance.

Kaelen walked to the center of the room. She placed a hand on the Dungeon Core.

The stone hummed nervously.

"Level 2," she noted. "XP Cap reached. Evolution pending. Why have you not evolved?"

"Can't afford the materials," Reed lied.

"Inefficiency," Kaelen muttered. She pulled out a clipboard and began writing furiously. "I am flagging this dungeon for Remedial Management. If you do not improve your defenses within thirty days, the Authority will seize the asset and liquidate you."

"Understood," Reed said meekly. "We'll try harder."

"You won't have the chance," Kaelen said coldly. "I have seen enough. This place is a sty. It is not a threat to the Kingdom, merely an embarrassment."

She turned to leave.

"Wait!" Reed blurted out.

Kaelen stopped. "What?"

Reed's mind raced. If she left now, she would walk right into the Siegebreakers outside. She would die, and then the army would kill him. He needed her inside.

"Don't you want to see… the basement?"

Kaelen frowned. "You have lower floors?"

"Floor 3," Reed said. "It's… uh… under construction? But there might be… heresy down there? You should probably check. Just to be safe."

Kaelen narrowed her eyes. She looked at Reed, sensing the desperation.

"You want me to inspect the lower floor?" she asked slowly. "Usually, Avatars try to keep me out of their basements."

"I'm just… being thorough!" Reed sweated. "Full transparency!"

Kaelen stared at him. Her hand drifted to her sword hilt.

"You are hiding something," she stated. "You are sweating. Your pulse is elevated."

"It's the heat!"

"It is freezing in here," Kaelen countered. She took a step toward him. "What is on Floor 3, Avatar? A sacrificial altar? A demon gate?"

Reed opened his mouth to lie, but he didn't get the chance.

BOOM.

The entire dungeon shook. Dust rained from the ceiling.

It wasn't a knock this time. It was an earthquake.

CRASH.

From the entrance tunnel, the sound of the barricade being obliterated echoed down the hall. Rocks were flying. Wood was splintering.

And then, a roar. A roar so deep and unnatural it vibrated in the chest.

"GRAAAAGHHHH!"

Kaelen spun around, her cape flaring. "What was that?"

Reed dropped the act. He stood up straight, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"That," Reed said, pulling his rusty sword, "is the reason the door was broken."

Riva swooped down from a hidden vent in the ceiling, unable to stay hidden any longer.

"BOSS!" Riva screamed. "THE MONKEYS ARE HERE! THE BIG ONES!"

Kaelen looked from Reed to the tunnel.

"You lied," she whispered, her eyes widening in fury. "It wasn't bears."

From the darkness of the hallway, a massive, skeletal hand larger than a man gripped the frame of the archway. The stone cracked under the pressure.

A Siegebreaker squeezed itself into the corridor.

It was twenty feet of bone and rusted iron, its chest cavity glowing with green necrotic light.

Kaelen stared at it.

"Undead," she hissed. "High-tier Undead."

She drew her sword. The white flame illuminated the room, banishing the shadows and the lie.

She didn't look at Reed. She looked at the monster.

"We will discuss your deception later, Avatar," Kaelen said, her voice shifting from bureaucratic coldness to the fiery zeal of an Inquisitor.

She leveled her blade at the Siegebreaker.

"PURGE."

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