The cold was absolute.

The Lich's frost magic had turned the industrial heart of the Foundry into a mausoleum. The magma channels were silent, black strips of brittle obsidian. The roar of the machines was gone, leaving a heavy, terrifying silence.

The most damning casualty was Terra.

The massive Magma Golem was encased in a thick layer of rime, frozen mid-motion, her powerful stone fist locked inches from where a skeleton had stood. Her orange eyes were nothing but dull, frosted stone.

Reed's vision swam. He was gasping for air, but the cold air felt thin and useless.

"You see, little Avatar," the Lich rasped, floating lazily toward the center of the room. "Fire requires fuel. Faith requires conviction. But the Necropolis requires only the absence of both."

The Lich lifted its staff, aiming a final, cruel blast of cold at High Inquisitor Kaelen.

She was kneeling, leaning on her sword, panting heavily. Her holy fire was gone. She was trying to rise, her teeth gritted against the exhaustion and the chill, but she was too slow.

The frost beam struck her.

Kaelen didn't scream. She simply gasped, her eyes flying wide in a final, agonizing expression of loss. The Silverite armor turned instantly white with frost. She pitched forward, collapsing onto the frozen floor, motionless.

"Checkmate," the Lich announced with a dry, rattling chuckle.

Reed's system interface was screaming warnings, though the audio was muted.

[MANA RESERVE: 0.0 / 150]

Warning: Critical Failure. All Traps Offline. Core Status: Dormant.

Asset Status: All non-essential personnel are immobile.

Seraphine was curled into a protective ball near the wall, her magma armor now uselessly cold. Grika was huddled under her iced-over console, shivering. And from the darkness near the far wall, Reed heard a tiny, pathetic "EEP!"—the sound of Riva, his terrified Harpy, too paralyzed with fear to move.

Reed was alone.

He looked at the fallen giant, Terra. He looked at Kaelen, the woman who was supposed to save him. Both were down.

"You will kneel now, Avatar," the Lich commanded, pointing its staff at Reed. "And surrender your Core for harvest."

A Death Knight stepped up, its black armor towering over Reed. It moved with silent menace, its shadow-blade raised. It was the only immediate threat still under the Lich's control.

"Die, builder," the Knight rumbled.

Reed didn't shout. He didn't have the strength. He didn't even draw his chipped iron sword. He simply walked toward the Knight.

He reached down and grabbed a piece of frozen rubble—a shard of obsidian.

The Death Knight swung its massive sword. Reed didn't dodge; he dropped.

He slid under the swing, throwing the chunk of obsidian into the Knight's knee joint. It was a purely physical attack, delivered with the desperate focus of a man fighting for his last breath.

The Knight, top-heavy and surprised, stumbled.

CLANG.

It crashed to the ground.

Reed scrambled onto its back. He didn't hesitate. He jammed his obsidian shard into the gap between the Knight's helmet and its pauldron, leveraging with all his spent strength.

SNAP.

The Knight's helmet rolled away.

The Lich was mid-taunt when it saw what happened. "You cannot kill the dead, boy. You can only delay the—"

Reed reached into the neck cavity.

His fingers closed around the floating, pulsing Black Crystal—the Necrotic Core of the Knight. It was oily, cold, and heavy.

The core pulsed against his palm, radiating a terrifying, compelling energy. Power. Control. Survival.

Reed looked at the Lich. The undead sorcerer was already raising its staff, preparing to reclaim its property.

Reed squeezed the crystal in his hand.

"Absorb," he commanded.

CRACK.

The crystal shattered, turning into a tide of black, icy liquid that soaked instantly into his skin. The pain was immediate and absolute—a thousand needles of liquid shadow injected directly into his veins.

Reed cried out, a muffled, strangled sound that ripped through the cold silence.

His entire body arched backwards, the Necrotic Essence overloading his system.

[WARNING: CORRUPTION DETECTED]

Source: Necrotic Essence.

Mana Type: Shadow / Void.

System Override: Initiated.

The pain vanished. In its place was a chilling, absolute stillness.

Reed stood up.

He felt the cold of the room, but it no longer bothered him. It felt right. He looked at his reflection in the icy floor.

His eyes were a deep, solid Violet.

[SKILL UNLOCKED: OVERLORD MODE]

Status: Active.

Reed turned to face the Lich.

The Lich was frozen, not by magic, but by pure, unadulterated terror. It recognized the power of its Master, amplified and stolen.

Reed didn't shout. He didn't move. He simply focused the weight of the stolen Core.

"Kneel."

The effect was instantaneous and absolute.

The Death Knight he had just fought—now without its core—collapsed completely. The skeletons that were beginning to crawl over the frozen Terra fell silent, their limbs giving way as the magical command overruled the Lich's will.

The Lich—Malakor's champion—trembled violently. It dropped its staff.

"W-what sorcery is this?" the Lich stammered, backing away. "You have consumed the Shadow. You are tainted!"

"I am the Dungeon," Reed's voice boomed, amplified by the stolen energy, a terrifying echo in the frozen cavern. "And you are leaving."

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