My vision was still swimming, blood sticky against my cheek, and every breath burned like fire in my ribs. But I couldn't tear my eyes away from the fight in front of me.
Lena was holding her ground. Barely.
Ethan's attacks were relentless—his monsters swarming like waves, each step leaving a trail of venom that hissed and sizzled across the floor. And yet, Lena stood firm, moving like a wall of wind. Unshaken. Unyielding. Her fists struck with precision, her footwork weaving between death.
She was winning.
Until he appeared.
A ripple of something vile twisted through the air—an oppressive weight that made even Ethan's own monsters recoil.
Then it began.
The broken, twitching corpses of Ethan's fallen insects started to melt. Not just disintegrate—but merge.
No… devour each other.
A low, wet crunch echoed across the room. It was the kind of sound that didn't belong in any world. Like bones being forced back together in the wrong way. And then—I saw it.
