Veylara stared blankly at the dark, steaming puddle of blood beneath her. The fiery, unbridled fury that had defined her face vanished, replaced by a profound, terrifying confusion.
She wiped her chin with a trembling hand, looking at the dark, thick residue on her skin.
What... what is this?
She was a Layer 4 powerhouse. Her body was tempered by decades of essence refinement; illnesses could not touch her, and poisons should have been incinerated by her essence the moment they entered her bloodstream.
Gritting her teeth until her gums bled, she turned her consciousness inward.
She attempted to manually force her Layer 4 core to activate, intending to send a raging torrent of essence through her pathways to burn out whatever hidden ailment had seized her limbs.
But as she pushed her mind toward her stomach, she found nothing.
Her breath hitched. Her deep blue eyes widened in absolute, paralyzing horror.
