Mana String

Sooyeon barely had the strength to scream as the serpent's fangs tore into her shoulder, its venom searing through her veins like liquid fire. The agony was unbearable, white-hot and all-consuming. Her body convulsed as she struggled to pry the creature off, her warhammer slipping from her fingers as her strength waned.

Typhon watched from his throne, his golden eyes gleaming with amusement. "Is that all?" he mused. "I expected more."

The serpent coiled tighter, its fangs sinking deeper into her flesh. Her vision swam, darkness creeping in at the edges. The weight of her injuries was crushing, her body battered and broken.

But she refused to surrender.

With a guttural cry, Sooyeon twisted her body, ignoring the pain that flared in her wounds. She reached for the warhammer with her bloodied fingers, barely managing to grasp its hilt. Summoning the last remnants of her strength, she swung it in a wide arc, the divine weapon colliding with the serpent's skull.

A sickening crunch echoed through the chamber as the creature recoiled, its body convulsing before it finally went still. Its grip on her loosened, and she fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

Typhon sighed, resting his chin on one clawed hand. "You mortals are stubborn creatures."

The room spun around her. Her limbs felt leaden, her mind sluggish. The venom was spreading. If she didn't act fast, she would be dead within minutes.

A flicker of movement caught her eye.

Above the throne, where Typhon sat in smug amusement, the presence of something else lingered. The golden-hooded figure—Cronus—remained unmoving, his celestial form barely visible to anyone but her. The six-winged angels flanking him stirred, their grotesque forms rippling like static in the air.

A deep, resonant voice echoed through her mind. "Rise, warrior. You have not yet fulfilled your purpose."

Sooyeon's breath hitched. The presence of Cronus was suffocating, his voice weighty with an authority beyond comprehension. Yet Typhon, nor the others, seemed aware of him. She was the only one who could see him.

Was she hallucinating? Was this the venom twisting her mind?

No. This was real.

Typhon rose from his throne, his towering frame casting a long shadow over her broken body. "It's over," he declared, his voice carrying a finality that sent chills down her spine. "You fought well, but your struggle was meaningless. Like all the others before you."

A clawed hand reached for her, the air thick with death.

Then, a spark.

A pulse of golden light erupted from Cronus' form, unseen to all but her. The warhammer in her grip burned with sudden warmth, the divine energy within it flaring back to life.

Typhon hesitated. His molten gaze flickered with curiosity. "What is this?"

Sooyeon didn't have time to question it. She forced herself onto her feet, every fiber of her being screaming in protest. Her body was failing, but she couldn't stop now. If she gave up, she would be devoured like the others.

She lifted the warhammer, her grip unsteady but determined.

"You're right about one thing, Typhon," she rasped. "I am like the others. Summoned. Used. Betrayed. But there's one thing you got wrong."

Typhon tilted his head. "Oh? Do enlighten me."

Her bloodied lips curled into a defiant smirk. "I don't plan on dying here."