The chains screamed as they tightened around Kael's limbs, digging into his flesh like hungry serpents.
He snarled, crimson aura bursting in sparks, but the Warden's power pressed heavier with each passing moment.
"Struggle more," the Warden mocked, his voice like a hammer striking iron. "The chains feed on resistance. The more you fight, the tighter they bind."
Kael spat blood into the dirt, grinning despite the agony. "Then I'll tear them apart with my teeth if I have to."
The Warden's smile sharpened, amused. "Beast."
Lyra darted forward, staff glowing, runes flaring along its length. "Light Seal: Burst!" She slammed the staff against the ground, releasing a surge of white light that blasted through several chains. For a brief moment, Kael's restraints loosened.
Kael twisted, tearing one arm free. He lunged like a predator unchained, claws streaking red light as they slashed toward the Warden's face.
But the Warden didn't dodge. He lifted his arm, and Kael's claws scraped sparks against skin as hard as forged steel. The impact shook the air, the echo slamming down the tunnel like a thunderclap.
"You're strong," the Warden admitted, eyes gleaming faintly beneath his hair. "But strength without discipline is nothing. Chains are discipline."
Kael roared, driving his knee upward, striking the Warden's chest with bone-cracking force. The giant staggered one step back—only one. Chains whipped out instantly, slicing shallow wounds across Kael's side and binding his leg.
Moro launched from the side, slime tendrils shooting out like spears. It struck the chains holding Kael's leg, dissolving them with sizzling corrosion. The wolf-beast howled, eyes glowing as it lunged at the Warden's throat.
The Warden caught Moro midair, chains wrapping around its body, squeezing tight. Moro whimpered in pain, its slime body compressing under the impossible pressure.
"No!" Kael's eyes went wide, crimson flaring dangerously. His aura spiked, heat radiating like molten metal.
The Warden glanced at him, calm, as if testing. "Will you break, beast? Or will you let your companion die in your place?"
Lyra's voice broke through the clash, filled with urgency. "Kael! Don't just rush—think! Chains restrain, yes, but they also connect! He's tied to them as much as you are!"
Kael froze for half a heartbeat, her words searing into his mind. Bound… if the chains are part of him… then breaking them isn't enough. I have to turn them against him.
A slow, feral grin spread across Kael's bloodied face. His claws flexed, aura condensing tighter around his fists instead of spilling wildly.
The Warden frowned, sensing the shift.
Kael yanked one of the chains binding his arm, dragging it taunt between them. "You call this discipline?" he growled, muscles straining. "Then choke on it."
With a violent heave, Kael pulled. The chain snapped taut, jerking the Warden off balance for the first time. Moro seized the chance, liquefying just enough to slip free, then reforming to bite down on the Warden's shoulder with fangs dripping acid.
The Warden roared, slamming Moro into the ground, but Kael was already upon him. He twisted the chain still wrapped around his own wrist, looping it around the Warden's arm in a brutal reversal.
For the first time, the Warden's expression cracked—not with pain, but with acknowledgment. "So, the beast learns."
Kael's fangs bared. "I'm no beast. I'm the child this dungeon tried to bury—and I'll bury you instead."
Their clash shook the cavern. Kael drove his claws into the Warden's chest, crimson aura burning hot. The Warden countered, his other arm slamming Kael against the wall hard enough to make the stone crater. Chains whipped wildly, lashing everything in reach.
Lyra's barrier spell flickered desperately, shielding her from the barrage. "Kael—! Moro—!"
The dungeon trembled as if alive, stones raining from the ceiling, air thick with the scent of iron and blood.
Kael coughed, body aching, but his grin only widened. He could feel it—deep inside. The Warden wasn't invincible. He bled. He struggled. He could break.
And Kael was going to be the one to do it.
As the chains writhed around him again, Kael whispered to himself, voice trembling between pain and exhilaration.
"Stronger… I need to be stronger."
The crimson glow around his body deepened, a pulse like a second heartbeat rattling through his veins. His aura shifted, darker and more primal, as though the dungeon itself responded to his will.
The Warden's eyes narrowed. "So that's your instinct, child of the dungeon. Dangerous…"
Chains surged once more, the Warden's true power beginning to unfurl.
The battle was far from over . .