The molten glow from the crater still bled heat into the air. Rain's lungs burned with every breath, the acrid scent of scorched stone mixing with the strange metallic tang of the shadow giant's presence.
It was no longer just fighting him—it was studying him.Each step the armored behemoth took caused the world around Rain to shiver, as though the dungeon itself feared its guest. The air warped around the greatsword's edge, bending light like a heat mirage.
[Time Remaining: 59s][Threat Level: Catastrophic — Unscannable]
Fifty-nine seconds. That's less than a minute to survive something the System itself can barely read…
The smaller shadows were returning, slithering back from the edges of darkness, their glitchy forms rippling like broken reflections in a black lake. They fanned out, forming a loose semicircle, cutting off every retreat path.
Rain kept his blade raised, but his mind raced. Phantom Step could avoid one hit, maybe two—but the giant's swings were faster now, more precise. The Mirror Edge counter he'd unlocked had been effective… but twelve percent of its health was a scratch, not a victory.
He could feel the pressure mounting—a predator's certainty that its prey had nowhere left to go.
The giant took another step. The ground trembled in sympathy.Its greatsword shifted into a low guard position, point hovering just above the floor, the way a duelist might when preparing a killing thrust.
[Analysis Failed — Unknown Combat Style]
That was new. The System couldn't even categorize the way it moved. Rain's knuckles whitened around his hilt.
The strike came like lightning.One moment the blade was down, the next it had crossed the space between them in a blur. Rain's body blurred in response—Phantom Step activating just in time to leave an afterimage where his torso had been.
The giant's sword pierced the afterimage, sending it shattering into particles. The blow didn't stop—it continued, impaling the wall behind Rain, carving a glowing fissure through stone.
If that was aimed at my head…
Rain retaliated, slashing at the joint between the giant's gauntlet and forearm. The blow landed, sparks flying—But the damage was minimal. The armor's surface didn't dent; instead, the hit echoed like striking a massive cathedral bell.
The smaller shadows seized the distraction, lunging all at once.Rain spun, his blade whirling into a crescent arc, cleaving through two of them. They burst into pixelated smoke—but three more replaced them immediately.
[Time Remaining: 38s]
The countdown was accelerating in his head.Rain ducked another cleaving strike, letting the greatsword smash into the ground so hard the shockwave nearly knocked him off his feet. He landed a hit on the giant's knee joint—again, sparks, not blood.
The Mirror Edge icon flickered in his vision, still cooling down.Ninety seconds between uses… too long. I can't just wait it out.
Another shadow creature lunged from his blind spot. Rain caught it with a backward stab, but its claws still raked his shoulder. Pain exploded—hot, sharp.
[HP: 62%][Status: Bleeding — Minor]
Blood trickled down his arm, hot against the cold dungeon air. The System's healing wouldn't be instant; he'd have to push through.
The giant raised its blade high overhead this time. It was the same motion as before—the one that had melted the stone into magma.
Rain didn't think. He ran toward it.
At the last possible moment, he slid under the giant's legs, twisting mid-slide to drive his sword up into the back of its knee joint. Sparks erupted, the sound like steel grinding against steel. The giant staggered—not much, but enough for Rain to break free of the encirclement.
[Time Remaining: 17s][Mirror Edge — Ready]
The smaller shadows surged after him, but now the giant was already pivoting, greatsword sweeping in a wide, horizontal arc meant to cleave the entire battlefield.
Rain planted his feet, raised his sword—and activated Mirror Edge.
Steel met steel in a blinding flash. The impact rattled every bone in his arms, but he twisted, letting the force rebound just as the skill intended. The giant's own energy surged back into it, knocking it off balance for the first time.
The cracks in its armor glowed faintly.The shadows paused, as if uncertain.
[Time Remaining: 3s]
Rain's vision tunneled. Three seconds to act, or die.With a roar that scraped his throat raw, he leapt, blade raised high—aiming straight for the glowing fissure that had opened along the giant's chestplate.
The timer hit zero.
The dungeon roared.