Rhys blurred aside as the hammer came crashing down, the shockwave blasting shards of frozen iron across the floor. Frost bit into his boots as he slid to a stop, his blade already surging with mana.

"[Water Blade]!"

A surge of sapphire energy spiraled down the Ruinous Darkness Blade's jagged edge. He swung upward in a clean arc—the strike met the Sentinel's knee with a ringing crack. Ice splintered, a chunk of the creature's leg breaking loose, but instead of falling, molten blue light spilled out from the wound like liquid flame.

The Sentinel's roar deepened. The light within it pulsed, spreading across its chest, veins of cold fire crawling up its armor.

Puddle's tone sharpened. Master, their cores—inside their chests. The 'heartfire.' Strike there, or they'll reform.

"Got it." Rhys kicked off the ground, momentum carrying him into a rising spin. Mana flared around him—swift, controlled.

"[Whirlwind Slash]!"

The arc of darkness met the creature's torso, cutting through frost and flame alike. The Sentinel staggered back as its core—an orb of bluish-white fire—became visible through the crack.

Rhys didn't hesitate. He pointed a hand forward. "Puddle!"

A ripple of light and shadow burst from his chest as the slime emerged, splitting into three mirrored forms midair. Each shimmered with shifting hues—water, light, and dark interlaced.

"Suppress it!"

Puddle's forms moved in unison. [Shadow Tendrils] lashed around the Sentinel's legs, while [Light Bullets] tore into its exposed core. The barrage made the icy armor glow brighter—unstable, cracking from within.

Rhys landed, blade raised high. "[Vertical Slash]!"

The strike came down like judgment—clean, final. The Sentinel froze mid-swing, cracks spreading like spiderwebs before its entire form shattered into frozen dust. Its core fell and rolled across the floor, flickering weakly before going out.

The dungeon fell silent. For a breath.

Then the walls pulsed again.

Two more Sentinels stepped free, eyes blazing with that same bound flame. But this time, something else stirred behind them—a forge anvil split open, revealing a massive figure seated upon it.

Chains draped its body like armor. Its beard was made of cooling embers. In one hand, it held a hammer that radiated both heat and cold—a paradox made flesh and iron.

[ Coldforge Warden – Dungeon Keeper – Rank 5 Elite Boss ]

The name burned crimson across Rhys's vision. The air itself bent under its aura, mana and frost fighting for dominance.

Puddle's voice dropped low, tense. That's not a guardian, Master. That's the spirit of the forge itself.

The Warden rose, the ground trembling. Its voice was the sound of anvils breaking.

"WHO DARES STRIKE MY SLEEP?"

The sheer pressure made Rhys's mana stutter. Frost climbed up his boots, biting into the edge of his aura.

He gritted his teeth and stepped forward anyway. "Rhys. Seeker of the Heartsteel. And I'm here to wake you."

The Warden's eyes blazed. "THEN BE TEMPERED, AS ALL STEEL IS."

It swung the hammer once—and the world erupted.

A ring of freezing shockwave tore outward, frost racing across the ground in expanding circles. Rhys leapt back, [Mana Shield] flaring as the wave struck, the edges of his cloak freezing mid-flutter.

He landed hard, breath steaming in the frigid air. "Puddle! Fusion mode!"

Acknowledged.

The Ruinous Darkness Blade pulsed as water and light wrapped around it like flowing silk. Puddle's form dissolved into radiant mist, merging into Rhys's aura. His eyes glowed faintly with layered color—silver and cerulean overlaying the natural hue.

"Battle Form – Magic Swordsman," he murmured. "Let's turn the forge alive again."

The Warden roared, hammer raised, froststorm gathering around it. Rhys charged—mana surging, blade gleaming with twin light and shadow.

The Cold Dead Forge trembled as their clash began.

The first clash split the forge's silence like a scream.

Rhys met the hammer head-on, the Ruinous Darkness Blade ringing with a metallic roar as it collided against the Warden's frost-forged weapon. The impact sent shockwaves racing through the chamber—snow cascaded from the ceiling, molten sparks streaked across the floor, and pillars groaned under the sudden pressure.

Rhys slid back several meters, boots digging trenches into the frost. The Warden barely moved, its massive frame glowing with alternating bands of red and blue, heat and cold pulsing through every motion.

This thing's mana output—it's like a living forge, Puddle whispered inside him, voice rippling through his thoughts like running water.

"Then we'll burn hotter," Rhys growled.

He vanished—mana bursting beneath his feet. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared at the Warden's flank.

"[Swift Cut]!"

A streak of light slashed through the air. The Ruinous Darkness Blade carved into the Warden's side, leaving a jagged wound where molten light leaked out instead of blood. The boss turned its head slowly, eyes glowing like dying stars. Then it exhaled—

—and the breath became a blizzard.

Frost spiraled outward, air temperature plunging instantly. Ice crystals formed midair, sharp as razors. Rhys raised his sword and spun, using his own mana to form a vortex of counterflowing heat—

"[Fireball]!"

The orb of flame burst outward, colliding with the storm. Steam exploded in every direction. For an instant, sight vanished. Then a massive shadow loomed from within the mist—

The Warden's hammer descended.

Rhys crossed his blade, [Mana Shield] shimmering faintly as the hammer struck. The impact hurled him off his feet, sending him crashing into a half-buried anvil. Metal screamed, the wall cracked, and his vision flared white.

"Ghh—!" He spat blood, forcing himself upright. The frost on his armor cracked and fell away. "That all you've got, old forge?"

The Warden roared—a sound that shook the entire dungeon. Chains whipped from its shoulders like serpents, smashing into the floor where Rhys had been a heartbeat before. He rolled aside, slicing through one mid-swing; dark mana hissed, melting the iron.

"Puddle—break its defenses!"

On it, Master!

From within his aura, spectral tendrils burst outward—dark and luminous both. [Shadow Tendrils] snaked toward the Warden's limbs, wrapping tight, while [Abyssal Grasp] surged up from beneath, pulling at the monster's legs like black roots.

The Warden grunted, slowed for the first time. Rhys's eyes narrowed.

"Now!"

He launched forward, channeling both darkness and light through his sword.

"[Water Blade]—Amplify!"

The blade erupted with spiraling waves of liquid energy. The strike landed dead center against the Warden's chest—frost shattered, molten metal splattered. The beast staggered, a glowing sigil flickering where its heart should have been.

There! Puddle shouted in his mind. That's its Heartfire Core!

Rhys thrust again, but the Warden's arm snapped up—grabbing the blade with a sound like grinding glaciers. Steam hissed between its fingers as the Ruinous Darkness Blade's corrupted energy ate into its hand, yet the grip held fast.

"Your flame… is weak," the Warden growled, eyes dimming with an ancient fury. "You are not steel—you are unshaped ore."

Its hammer ignited, frost turning to ghostly blue fire. With one arm still clutching the sword, the other swung the hammer toward Rhys's ribs.

He had no time to dodge. Instead, he inhaled sharply, his aura flaring outward.

"[Mana Shield]—Recast!"

The impact detonated across the barrier—an explosion of blue-white frost and black light. The ground cratered. Rhys was thrown backward like a comet, tumbling through the icy air before slamming into a wall of frozen metal. His shield shattered, flickering out.

Steam rose from his armor. His breathing was ragged. His hands trembled—but his eyes burned brighter than ever.

"Unshaped, huh?" he said hoarsely. "Then let's see how a forge reacts to living fire."

He thrust his sword downward, plunging its tip into the ground. Mana surged from him in waves. The air rippled. Frost cracked. A low hum filled the forge, building into a thundering resonance.

Fusion Surge detected, Puddle murmured inside him. Stabilizing core link… synchronization 98%.

Water, light, and darkness twisted together into a luminous spiral around Rhys's body. The blade pulsed with each beat of his heart.

The Warden's head tilted slightly. "You would temper yourself… within my flames?"

Rhys smirked. "That's the idea."

He raised his hand. "Puddle—Channel [Gleaming Halo]!"

A ring of radiant light burst outward from him, cutting through the gloom. Frost evaporated instantly, replaced by a soft, pulsing glow. His wounds sealed, his mana steadied.

The Warden lifted its hammer. "Then be reforged."

They clashed again—harder this time. Sparks became storms. Each strike between hammer and sword sent waves of energy through the chamber, shaking the ceiling loose in cascades of frozen debris.

Rhys ducked beneath a horizontal swing, countered with a [Swift Cut] that cleaved through one of the Warden's chains. He spun, reversed his grip, and unleashed [Magic Missile]—dark spheres of condensed mana firing point-blank into the boss's chest.

The explosions sent the Warden stumbling back a step—only a step—but that was enough.

"Puddle—boost with [Aqua Veil]!"

His body was instantly wrapped in flowing water, mana regenerating like a tide rushing back to shore. Rhys darted forward, movement a blur of light and shadow.

Each swing of his sword sang through the air, each impact carving new wounds into the Warden's armor. Fractures began to glow, faintly pulsing like veins of molten ore.

The Warden retaliated with a slam that shattered the floor. Frostfire geysers erupted from the cracks, raining down shards of ice. Rhys spun through them, cloak tearing in streaks, his sword glowing with mirrored colors—one half dark, one half luminous.

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