I saw her emerge through the swirling haze, her silhouette towering above the jagged rocks, four arms extended in sinuous arcs. The twisted sky flickered behind her, painting her outline in shifting shades of violet and pink. Each step she took sent tremors through the battered earth, as if the dungeon itself cowered in her wake. I tried to breathe, but her presence weighed on my lungs, turning every gulp of air into an effort. Thalessis the Pain Mistress, a Keeper of Secrets, had arrived.

She stood unnaturally tall, lean and deadly, her lilac flesh shimmering in the half-light like some perverse gemstone. Four horns jutted from her bestial yet unnervingly elegant face, the tips gleaming with a dull sheen. She tossed her head back, letting out a sound that was part hiss, part cruel laughter. My grip tightened around the [Las Pistol] in my hand, though the [Tau Rail Rifle] was slung across my back for heavier firepower.

Around me, my forces braced. The few remaining Cadians steadied their las-rifles, their mouths set in grim lines. The Carnifexes rumbled low, bestial snorts and harsh growls coming from deep in their throats, claws scraping against the bloodied ground. Two Ork Nobz, battered and bruised, flexed their crackling Power Klaws, the jagged metal humming with lethal energy. The Drukhari Incubi stood silent, each of them gripping a blade that gleamed like obsidian glass.

Thalessis didn't speak. She lifted one slender arm, pointing a vicious claw at the nearest Cadian soldier. Her voice, when it emerged, was a faint whisper yet it drummed inside my head, vibrating against my skull. I watched the soldier stiffen, his eyes widening in terror as if he was pinned by an invisible blade. He let out a scream that cut through me like a blade, blood pouring from his lips in thick rivulets. Then he dropped, lifeless, his bones twisted in ways I couldn't comprehend.

"Open fire!" I roared, my voice echoing across the makeshift fortress we'd built.

Scarlet beams flashed from the surviving Cadians, lancing through the air in a fusillade of las-shots. Bright trails streaked past Thalessis, slicing into her tall form. Some glanced off invisible wards, dissipating in bursts of sparks. Others found flesh, leaving charred gashes along her torso or legs. She faltered for a heartbeat, letting out a sharp hiss.

But then she moved, crossing the open space in one powerful leap. The earth fractured beneath her landing. Cracks snaked through the ground, sending loose debris tumbling. The Cadians fell back, but Thalessis's four arms whipped through the air like serpents. Several soldiers tried to raise their rifles again, but she was on them in an instant. One soldier she impaled through the gut, skewering him so cleanly that blood only started gushing out after she yanked her claw free. Another soldier lunged at her, a grenade clutched in his fist. She sliced him from collarbone to hip with a casual swipe, and the grenade tumbled to the dirt.

I ducked, pressing myself flat behind a half-collapsed wall of stones as the grenade exploded. The flash washed everything white for a split second. My ears rang from the concussive burst. When the smoke peeled away, I saw Thalessis staggering, her left arm barely hanging from a tangle of shredded sinew. Bits of her own purple flesh dotted the crater around her. She snarled, spinning to face the next threat.

A Cadian to my left took the opportunity. He lined up a shot, his las-rifle humming. He fired three times, each beam cutting into her flank. Chunks of burned tissue peeled away, sending a spray of ichor onto the rubble. She twisted her head, seething, and extended one of her working arms in a gesture that made the air shiver. Psychic force battered the Cadian line, lifting men and women off their feet as though they weighed nothing. I heard bones snap against the jagged terrain. Cries of pain filled the air. Another soldier coughed blood, managing only a weak groan before his body stilled.

[Isha's Mercy] was too slow to help any of them.

I raised my [Las Pistol], snapping off two shots at her exposed side. Each beam sizzled flesh, leaving fresh scorch marks. She spun, eyes locking onto me, fury burning in her irises. She lunged. I rolled to the side, feeling the wind off her claw as it tore through the spot where I'd just been. Rocks exploded in a spray of dust.

A roar thundered from behind me - one of the Nobz. He charged at Thalessis, swinging his crackling Klaw in a savage arc. The glowing blades bit into the stump of her nearly severed arm, carving through sinew that tried to seal itself. She let out a shriek, purple blood spraying in a wide arc. But she whipped around, another arm slamming into his chest, piercing through muscle and bone. I saw his eyes bulge, green blood splattering over the dusty ground. He choked out a final breath, dropping to his knees as she withdrew the limb from his torso.

The other Nob roared in rage, smashing his Klaw into the side of her thigh. His strike left a deep set of wounds, four parallel gashes that oozed thick purple. She snarled, hooking her claws into his shoulder and flinging him aside. He crashed into the rubble, Power Klaw sputtering from the impact. Then she turned to face the remainder of my battered line.

I heard more las-shots from behind me. Some of the Cadians had regrouped, though I could see the fear in their eyes. They peppered Thalessis with beam after beam, scorching more holes in her torso. She shook with each impact, snarling, but still advanced, unstoppable.

At least five soldiers sprinted forward, grenades in hand. They shouted battle-cries, splitting up to encircle her. She flicked one arm, lopping a soldier's head clean off his shoulders. Another she gutted with a single slash. But a third jammed his grenade right into a wound in her side. She impaled him, claws tearing through his ribcage, but he fell with a grin as the grenade detonated.

Again, the shockwave slammed into me like a hammer. Dust clogged my vision. My legs wobbled, and my lungs burned with each breath. When my eyes cleared, I saw Thalessis in a new crater, half her torso shredded, organs dangling. Her left leg was gone, little more than a stump at the knee. She staggered, letting out a strangled hiss, an arm twitching uncontrollably. Yet, already, her flesh wriggled, knitting itself back together in slow pulses.

I swallowed hard, hearing my heartbeat pounding in my ears. She was regenerating again.

Another volley of las-fire sliced across her chest, courtesy of two more soldiers who'd managed to climb a small outcrop for a better angle. She roared, lashing out with a violent psychic burst. Rocks split under the unseen pressure, sending the soldiers flying. Their screams cut short as they hit the ground with lethal force.

I drew the [Tau Rail Rifle] from my back, flipping off its safety in one fluid motion. Time to try the heavier firepower. She turned, that glare singling me out. I fired. The shot screamed through the air, punching into her right leg, which was halfway regrown. Violet gore exploded, fracturing bone, sending her toppling onto one knee. She hissed, pain or rage contorting her features, but never halting her advance.

The last few Cadians pressed their advantage, peppering her with steady bursts. She flailed, one arm deflecting some shots, the rest scorching open wounds along her waist. Her snarl told me she was nearing her limit, but no normal being could handle this much damage. She endured. Her face twisted in monstrous fury as she dug a hand into the rocky ground for support.

"Finish her!" I shouted, voice hoarse.

The Carnifexes heard me. Three remained. They crashed forward in a stampede of snapping jaws and heavy claws. She roared a challenge. The first Carnifex slammed into her, jaws biting down onto one of her shoulders, tearing muscles from bone. Another attacked from the side, raking its scythe-like forelimbs across her chest, deepening existing wounds. The third circled behind, blocking any chance of her escaping. Their combined weight pinned her, monstrous forms tangling in a furious melee.

She shrieked, thrashing limbs in a deadly dance. One of her arms stabbed into the first Carnifex's flank, ripping open a gushing wound. The beast howled, but held fast, jaws clamping harder on her torn flesh. The second Carnifex hammered its claws into her abdomen, purple viscera spilling out. She let out a guttural cry, psychic pressure swelling around her. For a moment, I thought she'd break free by force alone.

Then the Exocrene, perched atop a mound of rubble, let out a deep rumble. Its bio-plasma cannon surged with energy, glowing bright enough to cast dancing shadows across the carnage below. Fleshy tubes along its spine pulsed, pumping lethal fluids into the organic weapon.

"Fire!" I commanded, my voice echoing across the battlefield.

The Tyranid artillery complied. The cannon spat forth a colossal globe of superheated plasma. The sizzling sphere hissed through the air, trailing sparks of greenish light. It struck Thalessis in the center of her chest, exactly where the Carnifexes had ripped her flesh apart.

A blinding flash lit the entire area, forcing me to shield my eyes with an arm. The smell of burnt protein and scorched ozone slammed into my nostrils. The thunderous boom flattened the nearest stones, sending debris flying in every direction. A rolling wave of heat slammed into me, almost knocking me off my feet.

When the light cleared, Thalessis was gone from that spot. I glimpsed her figure hurling through the air, limbs flailing, her torso practically disintegrated by the plasmic impact. She crashed into an outcropping far beyond the trenches, blasting through it in a shower of broken rock. Dust and smoke swirled where she landed, forming a crater of twisted stone.

The Carnifexes, momentarily freed of her lethal grip, staggered back, panting. Their claws drooped, black Tyranid blood flowing from ragged wounds. The Exocrene let out a low hiss, steam venting from organic pores as it cooled down.

Silence.

I exhaled, my shoulder muscles trembling from tension. The last few Cadians lowered their weapons, letting out shaky breaths. One gave me a brief nod, relief or exhaustion etched into his face.

But it wasn't over.

I caught movement in the distance, near the crater where Thalessis had crashed. A shape stirred among the rubble. She rose, half her chest gone, her arms hanging by threads. Bone and muscle shifted in slow, deliberate regeneration, searing flesh crawling over exposed ribcage. She growled low, eyes blazing with daemonic hate.

She staggered, nearly collapsed, then steadied herself, jaws clenched. The hole in her torso writhed, closing inch by inch, sickening to watch. She took a step forward, stumbling. Another step. Each movement left a purple smear of ichor on the ground, but her flesh knitted together nonetheless. She started into a loping run, letting out a strangled roar that reverberated through the entire battlefield.

No more Daemonettes. No more abominations. Just her and me, plus my battered Exocrene. The Carnifexes were crippled, the Cadians nearly spent. The Incubi and Orks lay in pieces across the wasted terrain. This final stand belonged to me.

She charged. Her half-regenerated limbs swung, the stumps forming partial claws, the battered limbs re-forming swiftly. Her eyes glowed with that vile energy, so intense that I felt my head pound with each step she took. The Exocrene rumbled from behind me, trying to realign its cannon, but the organic weapon flickered with strain.

I ran forward, raising the [Tau Rail Rifle], ignoring the ache in my body. To keep myself replenished, I kept [Isha's Mercy] on constantly, mending even the tiniest cuts and bruises and swells that I'd failed to notice. She rushed at me with inhuman speed, her battered legs still somehow propelling her like a blur. I squeezed the trigger, each shot blasting chunks from her shoulders or hips. She jerked with every impact, losing more flesh, but her momentum never ceased.

She collided with the Exocrene first, hooking a claw into its side with a meaty tear. The Tyranid bellowed in pain, half-lidded eyes rolling. She yanked, ripping open the creature's flank. Viscous fluids gushed out, sizzling upon contact with the ground. She twisted, intending to tear out its spine, but the Exocrene snapped back with a desperate lunge, clamping monstrous jaws around her midriff, crushing her newly-formed skin. Her shriek tore at the air, a high-pitched wail that made me grit my teeth.

I pivoted, lashed out with a short burst from the rifle. The beams slammed into her spine, cracking vertebrae. She stiffened, letting out a ragged gasp, but still refused to die. Her arms lashed at the Exocrene's face, peeling away chunks of carapace. I saw the Exocrene's eyelids droop further, agony in its deep-set orbs.

"Get off, you bitch!" I roared. I fired again, two shots, scorching her torso. Burned flesh curled away from the wounds. She spat out some vile curse, tossing her head to glare at me.

Her eyes flared. A wave of psychic force slammed into my chest, throwing me off my feet. I landed hard, pain exploding along my back. I tasted blood in my mouth. My rifle slipped from my grasp, clattering somewhere in the dust.

I forced myself to stand, muscles on fire. She had turned her focus back to the Exocrene, burying a claw into its neck. I heard a final, pitiful groan from the Tyranid artillery beast. Its legs twitched, its tail slumping lifelessly. Then its body collapsed in on itself, the organic structure failing.

She tore out a mass of pulsing organs from the Exocrene's side, tossing them aside. A wave of black fluid poured onto the ground. The creature's bio-cannon gave one last sputter of steam, then fell silent.

She rose from its corpse, her battered body glistening with both Tyranid fluids and her own gore. Her chest wound was still enormous, but even that ragged cavity pulsed with foul energy, tendrils crawling to knit bone and muscle anew. She turned to me, limbs wide, her face a sadistic grin.

No more reinforcements. Nothing left but me, a [Las Pistol], and a battered [Tau Rail Rifle] lost in the dust. I clenched my fists, stepping forward, determined to make my final stand worthwhile. She hissed, limping in my direction.. My heart pounded like a drum.

She let out a harsh laugh. Her tongue flicked across needle-like fangs as she closed in. I spotted the [Tau Rail Rifle] to my left, half-buried under broken stones. But her presence weighed on me, each step pressing my confidence down. My breath rasped in my throat.

The battered terrain around us was a graveyard of bodies. Carnifex husks lay scattered, dripping ichor. The ephemeral outlines of dissipated Incubi shimmered faintly where they'd died. The Cadians who gave their lives to slow her down were no more than scorched uniforms and crumpled limbs. Even the Ork Nobz had fallen, battered corpses lying amid shards of rock.

Yet here I stood, and so did she.

I feigned a step to the right, drawing her attention. She tracked me, claws raised, eyes blazing with triumph. My lungs burned with each ragged inhale. I lunged to the left instead, diving for the half-buried rifle. She snarled, realizing her mistake, darting after me with a burst of unnatural speed. Rocks crunched underfoot.

My fingers closed around the rifle's stock. I spun onto my back, raising the muzzle just as she bore down on me, her claws slicing through the air. I squeezed the trigger, sending a shot that tore into her forearm. Purple flesh splattered, slowing her momentum enough for me to scramble away. She roared, more furious than ever.

I regained my footing, bracing the rifle against my shoulder, ignoring the throb of pain in my side. The constant application of [Isha's Favor] was really coming in clutch. She was wounded, more badly than before. Her chest a crater of half-regrown muscle. One of her arms hung in ribbons. But she refused to stop. Her leg jerked, half-limping, half-sprinting.

I loosed another shot, aiming for her head. She jerked aside, letting it scorch across a horn, snapping the tip off. She hissed, lashing out with a wave of psychic energy. I felt the invisible force slam into my gut, lifting me off my feet. My skull rang as I crashed into a crumbled piece of stone.

My vision blurred. She approached, each step sending small tremors through the cracked earth. She extended a claw, reaching for my throat, her grin stretching wider. A creeping numbness spread through my limbs, my battered form screaming for rest.

No.

I forced my arms to move, leveling the rifle one more time. She growled, eyes narrowing. She brought up her good arm to slash me apart. I fired. The shot blasted into her shoulder, snapping bone and rending flesh. She shrieked, lurching back, her strike thrown off course. Claws carved into the dirt inches from my arm.

I rolled away, gasping. My body felt like it was on fire. I found my footing in a crouch. My chest heaved, sweat dripping into my eyes, blood caking my clothes. She snarled, looming above me once again, that unstoppable glimmer in her gaze.

A quake ran through the ground. She raised her half-regrown arm high, preparing a final psychic thrust that would tear me apart. My ears pounded with the drumbeat of my own pulse. My head spun.

I steadied the rifle, ignoring every ounce of pain.

She bared her fangs, coiling her limbs.

I fired. The rail shot screamed forth, tearing a hole through her torso. She jerked, flesh snapping under the force. But her psychic strike still formed. I felt the air darken, a suffocating presence. My muscles locked, pinned by intangible pressure. She stumbled, trying to maintain focus, vile energy crackling in her half-dozen wounds.

The next second stretched on forever.

I glimpsed her face twisted in agony and fury, violet gore dripping from her mouth. Her lips moved, forming daemonic words that stung my ears. My rifle beeped, out of charge, the power pack spent. My arms were pinned at my sides by the telekinetic grip, my legs trembling from the force.

Yet I saw her knees shake. I saw fresh blood dribbling from her open chest cavity. Each breath came ragged from her mouth. She was near her limit. We both were.

She raised a clawed hand, gripping the air. A flare of pain blossomed in my chest, as if she was crushing my heart in my ribcage. My eyes watered. I tried to scream, but no sound emerged. My vision dimmed at the edges.

Then, an unexpected rumble broke the moment.

A chunk of fallen rock from the upper ridge tumbled down, slamming into the side of Thalessis's wounded leg. She faltered, the psychic hold on me weakening. I gasped, lungs burning. She turned her head, eyes flaring in startled rage.

I forced myself to move, adrenaline surging again. My hands fumbled for the [Las Pistol] at my hip. She snarled, letting out a psychic pulse that threw debris aside. But her concentration was broken. I slid the [Las Pistol] free, raising it in a single motion.

She tried to pivot, tried to bring her claws up, but her regrowth lagged behind the fresh injuries. The black pit in her torso pulsed like a thing alive, each spasm failing to restore enough tissue in time.

I squeezed the trigger.

The beam lanced out, striking her square in the forehead. She staggered, her roar echoing across the silent ruins. A second shot followed, aimed at her maw. She jerked her head, but it still burned across her cheek, searing through the bone beneath. I saw her entire jaw hinge awkwardly, half unhinged.

Her arms flailed. She sank onto one knee, that stump of a leg refusing to bear her weight. She growled low, purple droplets spitting from her ruined mouth. The psychic pressure diminished further, letting me fully stand. My limbs quaked as I took slow steps toward her, the pistol leveled at her face.

We locked gazes. She tried to rise. Another chunk of rock slid from above, striking her shoulder. It was minor, but enough to topple her off balance again. She coughed, spitting out more gore. I aimed the pistol, ready to end her.

Time seemed to freeze. Her lips curved into a crooked sneer, defiance still burning in her shattered eyes. She raised a trembling arm, as if preparing one last strike. I took a breath, pressing my finger against the trigger.

And then—

Darkness.

My vision blinked. The entire dungeon trembled as if gripped by a massive quake. A sudden wave of power, deep and resonant, swept over the battlefield. I staggered, forced to brace myself against a chunk of rubble. Thalessis let out a choked laugh, her battered form shuddering. The swirling sky above churned faster, the pinks and purples converging into a chaotic vortex. The air crackled with static. My hair stood on end, a wave of raw energy flooding every sense.

Thalessis hissed, her mouth curving into a gory grin. She turned her eyes skyward, ignoring me for the briefest moment. She mumbled a string of daemonic syllables, each syllable pulsing in my brain like a headache. She looked… triumphant.

I tried to raise the pistol again, but the ground under me caved. My feet slid as a new fissure opened, trailing lines of bright, unnatural color through the crust. Tremors shook everything. The Carnifex corpses slid into new cracks. The battered Exocrene remains collapsed further.

She cackled, a grotesque, gargling sound from her mangled throat. Her battered frame glowed with an unholy radiance, the swirling energies of the dungeon converging around her. The swirling sky overhead formed a massive funnel, a kaleidoscope of daemonic light pouring down. She was calling upon something.

I cursed, staggering to keep my balance. My pistol wavered. She glared at me, forming a single, final phrase on her ruined lips. The last vestiges of her psychic power pressed against me, crushing me down to one knee, the force suffocating. My chest threatened to cave in under the pressure.

Then, the ground split wide. A violent jolt knocked me sideways. Stones and debris rained from above. I coughed, dust filling my lungs. The swirling vortex in the sky flared, a column of intense light stabbing down onto Thalessis. She let out a triumphant roar, half-laugh, half-scream.

I saw her body vanish in that column of daemonic brilliance, limbs dissolving into motes of purple fire. The ground quaked, fracturing in great lines that spanned the entire battlefield. Then, with a suddenness that stole my breath, the vortex snapped shut. The quake subsided, leaving only the quiet moan of shifting debris.

She was gone.

I gasped for air, heart still pounding. My battered body ached in every joint. The swirling sky had settled into a dull swirl of pinkish clouds, no longer swirling with that violent intensity. My eyes flicked around, searching for Thalessis or any sign of her presence. Nothing. Just rubble, corpses, and the ominous hush of aftermath.

The air felt calmer, but not safe. Something told me this wasn't a normal retreat. She had done something, pulled some trick beyond my understanding. My mind raced, but the exhaustion weighed on every thought.

I forced myself to stand, leaning against a broken slab of stone. The surviving Cadians—what few might remain—were nowhere to be seen. Either they lay scattered among the debris, or they'd slipped into unconsciousness. Possibly worse. The Carnifexes were definitely finished, their monstrous bodies heaped in twisted lumps of chitin and gore. The Exocrene, also dead. My entire army, gone.

I reached for the System, half-expecting a notice or a reward. But all I felt was an empty numbness. Then, a faint whisper of text flickered at the corner of my vision:

[Dungeon Boss: Thalessis the Pain Mistress has forcibly severed the encounter. The outcome remains unresolved. The dungeon remains incomplete. Time… indefinite. Proceed with caution.]

What the fuck. Bosses can do that?

I closed my eyes. My fists clenched. She had survived. She had found some way to escape, or to warp the rules. The fight was not done, not truly. My body shook from pain, bruises, and a fury that gnawed at me.

One last glance across the shattered battlefield told me everything I needed to know. This place was a graveyard. My eyes lingered on the ruin of my dead allies, the battered lumps that had once been unstoppable beasts. My heart hammered in my chest, but there was a flicker of resolve in the back of my mind.

She had fled. But she'd be back. Or I'd find her.

I limped across the uneven ground, dust swirling at my ankles. My arms trembled when I finally lowered them, the [Las Pistol] dangling from one hand. The entire dungeon felt vacant, but I knew better. This place never let up for long.

And she was out there, somewhere, waiting or healing, plotting her next move.

I breathed, letting the air hiss between my teeth. This war wasn't over. Not by a long shot. She'd stolen victory from me at the last second. I wouldn't let her keep it.

My legs ached, each movement a twinge of pain; [Isha's Favor] kept me in the game, however, as it healed me - slower than I'd like. I gazed across the expanse of twisted stone. If I wanted to continue, I'd have to regroup, or find some corner of this warped realm to rest. My mind wandered to the possibility of escaping the dungeon altogether. But the System had said the boss encounter was unresolved. Could I leave? Possibly not.

I spat blood, forcing a ragged chuckle. So be it.

Step by step, I trudged on, scanning the horizon. The dungeon's sky glowed with subdued color, the pinkish swirling clouds occasionally streaked with faint lightning. Every so often, a gust of wind carried the stench of decay and chemicals. The ground squelched under my boots, sticky with gore and unidentifiable fluids.

I still had no idea how she triggered that vortex. Some daemonic power or personal ability, likely. All that mattered now was that she'd be back. I did not have the luxury of waiting. Thalessis was too strong. I needed to kill her as quickly as possible, before she could get her shit together.

I squared my shoulders, ignoring the bruises that flared in protest. My arms felt like lead. My lungs burned. But I refused to stop. With a mental command, I summoned the [Tau Rail Rifle] onto my grasp and trudged forward.

AN: Chapter 32 is out on (Pat)reon!