All of the dark tendrils enveloped Lily's frail body, wrapping around her like living shadows.
Her still frame, frozen in suspended time, began to shift as the essence of the cosmos within Alex forced the world around her to resume its flow.
The air grew heavy. The chamber vibrated faintly, like the heartbeat of some unseen giant. Alex's eyes never left Lily.
'Just hold on.'
"Success or failure—it will decide both of our lives."
Slowly, slowly, the tendrils began to sink into her skin, latching onto the veins corrupted with abyssal blackness.
Piece by piece, Alex's trait Abyssborne Sovereignty dragged the corruption out, threading it into himself—the corruption itself obeyed him.
Almost instantly, Lily's lips parted, a faint groan escaping as her body twitched. Her eyelids fluttered with agony she could not voice.
Alex snapped, his voice sharp with desperation.
"Now's the time."
