Sheol arcs downward, the blade gleams with dreadful light as it plummets toward Morvena's neck.
NO!
Damn it!
I didn't think she'd actually do it.
I didn't think Alter would come up with something this reckless, this final!
She's going to kill her.
She's really going to kill her!
And words won't reach her now. She's already crossed the line. Whatever I say, whatever I scream, it won't stop her.
I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.
I HAVE TO TAKE CONTROL!
Panic surges through me, sharp and blinding. Desperation coils tight in my chest like barbed wire. My soul thrashes, pushing, reaching, grasping for anything. Anything to break through, anything to stop this.
And then, just as the blade is about to connect—
CLANG!
Steel crashes into flesh.
A sharp, searing pain tears through us like lightning shot straight into our bones.
"WHAT?!" Alter gasps, eyes wide in disbelief.
The sword has sunk deep. But not into Morvena.
Into us.
Into our own arm.
