Cruxius barked, genuine panic threading through his deep voice. He could feel it pulling at her—that sharp, irreversible spiral down into pure madness.
The healing aura swirling around them might have been patching up the physical damage on their battered skin, but it couldn't mend the fragile threads snapping inside her mind.
"Eh?" Her head tilted to the side. Her unfocused eyes suddenly locked onto his, catching him like a steel trap snapping shut.
She froze in place.
Then, she smirked—just a tiny, broken curve. Her lips trembled as her glassy gaze bore into him.
"...I forgot," she murmured, biting down hard on her soft lower lip until a bead of crimson blood welled up. "You… hic… like the other hole, don't you?"
A laugh escaped her throat.
It was a breathy, broken sound that cracked like thin glass under a heavy boot—sharp, jagged, and ready to shred whatever dared to touch it.
