The world seemed to narrow until only the glowing words remained.
[Dungeon Brides System Initializing…]
Ethan blinked hard.
The window didn't disappear.
Didn't flicker.
Didn't behave like a hallucination should.
"…You see this too, right?" he asked hoarsely.
Lyssara watched the floating panel with sharp interest, the runes on her chains reflecting faintly across her pale skin.
"Yes," she said. "Though it has been a very long time since I last felt the presence of a Law."
"A Law?"
"An authority older than the modern dungeon network," she replied. "Something… foundational."
That was not comforting.
The ground lurched again. A pillar split down the middle with a deafening crack, chunks of obsidian crashing into the floor.
Ethan staggered, barely keeping his balance.
"Whatever this thing is," he muttered, "it picked a great time to show up."
The window shifted.
More text formed.
Host Candidate Confirmed.Soul Stability: ExceptionalFear Response: Within Acceptable RangeDominance Instinct: Detected
Primary Function: Establish Marriage Contracts with Dungeon Sovereigns.
Warning: Refusal may result in immediate host termination.
"…That is an extremely aggressive warning," Ethan said.
Lyssara's gaze slid toward him.
"Read the primary function again."
He did.
Slowly.
Then once more, just to be sure his brain hadn't replaced the words with something insane.
Marriage Contracts.
"With… dungeon sovereigns," he finished weakly.
Silence fell.
Then Lyssara spoke.
"It appears fate has a sense of humor."
"You call this humor? I call this the moment my life officially went off a cliff."
Another tremor ripped through the chamber.
One of the chains binding Lyssara glowed brighter, reacting to the unstable mana flooding the room.
She lifted her arm slightly; the chain snapped taut, runes blazing.
"These restraints are forged from the Dungeon Law," she said. "They bind rulers such as myself — beings never meant to walk freely among the lower realms."
"Comforting," Ethan said. "Truly."
"But the Law that binds…" Her eyes returned to the window. "…can also be overwritten."
He followed her gaze.
The panel shifted again.
Compatible Bride Detected:→ Lyssara — Frost Dragon QueenThreat Classification: CalamityPower Suppression: 97%
Marriage Benefits Preview:✔ Dragon Bloodline Inheritance✔ Extreme Cold Resistance✔ Mana Amplification✔ Shared Evolution Path
Proceed with Marriage Contract?
YES / NO
Ethan stared.
"…Preview?"
Lyssara studied his face carefully, as though measuring every flicker of emotion.
"You hesitate."
"Can you blame me?" he snapped. "Five minutes ago I was a porter worrying about monster guts on my boots. Now a floating window is asking if I want to marry a dragon queen while the ceiling tries to crush me."
A beat passed.
"…When you put it that way," she admitted mildly.
He dragged a hand over his mouth, forcing himself to think.
"Let's say — hypothetically — I press yes. What happens?"
"The system will recognize you as my consort," Lyssara said. "The chains will weaken. I will be freed."
"And if I press no?"
"You die when the dungeon collapses."
Direct. Efficient. Very dragon-like.
He exhaled slowly.
"Why me?" he asked again. "You said most humans pass out just being near you. I don't have power. I don't have some legendary bloodline. I carry backpacks for a living."
Lyssara's gaze softened — barely.
"Power is loud," she said. "It trembles. It begs to be recognized."
Her eyes held his.
"Your soul is quiet."
He didn't know what that meant.
But something in her tone made his chest tighten.
"You refused to kneel," she continued. "Even with death before you."
"…I'm stubborn."
"I prefer the word unbroken."
For the first time since the system appeared, Ethan forgot about the collapsing dungeon.
About the betrayal.
About dying.
There was only the Frost Queen watching him like he was something rare.
Another violent quake snapped him back to reality.
A jagged fracture split the floor between them, icy air roaring up from below.
"Decision time, porter," he muttered.
He looked again at the glowing YES.
His entire life, he had survived by accepting crumbs.
Keeping his head down.
Knowing his place.
And where had that gotten him?
Buried alive by people he trusted.
If he was going to die anyway…
"…Screw it," he whispered.
Lyssara's eyes sharpened.
"You have chosen?"
He met her gaze.
"One condition."
Her brow lifted slightly — surprised.
"You negotiate with a dragon?"
"If I'm about to become your husband, I feel like I've earned at least one request."
For a moment, the dungeon fell strangely quiet.
Then she inclined her head.
"Speak."
"No kneeling," he said. "Not now. Not ever. If this is happening… we stand as equals."
The chains rattled as Lyssara shifted.
Her stare deepened, ancient and measuring.
The seconds stretched.
Then—
She smiled.
Not the distant curve from before.
This one held heat beneath the frost.
"Very well, Ethan Vale," she said softly. "Stand beside me."
Something in his chest loosened.
He turned back to the window before his courage could evaporate.
"Alright," he breathed.
"Let's do something incredibly stupid."
He pressed YES.
For half a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then the world erupted.
Light exploded outward, devouring the chamber in blinding silver. Power crashed into him from every direction — cold beyond cold, sharp enough to carve through bone.
Ethan screamed.
It felt like his veins had filled with shattered ice.
His heart stuttered.
Stopped.
Then slammed back to life with a monstrous beat that echoed in his skull.
A roar tore through the dungeon — not from Lyssara, but from the system itself, as if reality were being rewritten.
The chains ignited.
Runes shattered one by one.
Lyssara stepped forward as the restraints cracked, her presence expanding with terrifying speed.
Mana rolled outward in tidal waves.
Yet where it touched Ethan…
It didn't destroy him.
The cold bent.
Curled around him.
Accepted him.
Lyssara closed the distance between them and placed a hand over his chest.
Her palm was freezing.
It felt like salvation.
The pain vanished instantly.
Warmth flooded in its place.
New words burned across his vision.
Marriage Contract Complete.
Bride Acquired:→ Lyssara — Frost Dragon Queen
Bloodline Inherited: Dragon
Rank: Calamity-Class
Bond Level: 1
Ethan dragged in a ragged breath.
"…Did I just survive that?"
"You did more than survive," Lyssara said.
The last chain shattered.
Mana detonated outward in a silent shockwave that split the remaining pillars.
The dungeon began to collapse in earnest now — massive sections of ceiling crashing down as the ancient prison failed.
Lyssara looked… taller somehow.
Freer.
Her power no longer strangled by the Law.
Slowly, she studied him again.
But the way she looked at him had changed.
Before, he had been an anomaly.
Now—
He was hers.
She stepped closer until he could feel her breath ghost across his neck.
"From this moment," she whispered, voice carrying effortlessly through the thunder of falling stone, "your enemies are mine."
Another window flashed.
Title Unlocked: Bridegroom of the Frost QueenPassive Effect: Hostile intent toward you increases bond growth.
Warning: Global Attention Rising.
Ethan blinked.
"Global attention?"
Lyssara's arm slid around his waist before he could ask more.
Effortless.
Possessive.
The next instant, enormous wings of frost erupted from her back, scattering shards of ice into the collapsing air.
"Hold tightly, husband," she said.
Husband.
Right.
That was new.
The ground vanished beneath them as the boss chamber gave way entirely.
Lyssara launched upward, carrying him into the storm of falling stone.
Wind howled past.
Ethan clung to her instinctively, heart hammering.
Below them, the dungeon folded in on itself like a dying beast.
His old life was buried down there.
The powerless porter.
The disposable teammate.
Gone.
He looked up at the dragon queen carrying him through the chaos.
"…Lyssara?"
"Yes?"
"What exactly did I just become?"
For the first time since he met her, something fierce and pleased flashed across her ancient eyes.
"My king," she said.
Above them, the surface light broke through the darkness.
And far beyond the collapsing dungeon…
The world waited.