The group was silent. The only sound was the crackling kiln and the hiss of steam from the rocks, as though the world itself dared not interrupt.
"But something… inexplicable happened. I did not die."
Her eyes closed fully, visibly living through the memory, taken back to that time. "I was awake and not. My body floated in darkness. I could breathe, even though I was inside its stomach. I felt everything: the acid eating my skin, the pain, the burning. It didn't stop. It never stopped."
Her words dripped like poison into the air.
"I lay there, paralyzed, for days. I don't know how many. Time didn't exist. My body screamed, but I couldn't even cry anymore. I wanted to die. But I couldn't."
Quinlan felt Vex and Ayame grip onto his hand, while Blossom outright hugged his head from behind.
"Eventually… I began to move again. My skin was half gone. My hands were raw. I found what was left of the tiger, melting beside me. Its flesh was soft enough to tear. So I ate it."
