Kana's hands trembled as she clutched Seraphine's limp body, her knuckles white from the force of her grip.
"Seraphine… please… wake up…"
Her voice cracked, raw and broken, as if the words themselves were tearing her throat apart. Seraphine's skin had gone frighteningly pale, and her lips carried no warmth.
Each passing second suffocated Kana more, her chest tightening until she could hardly breathe.
The shallow rise and fall of Seraphine's chest slowed… then stopped.
Kana froze.
Her mind went blank, her heart dropping into an endless void.
"...No...No, no, no, please—don't do this to me!"
She whispered, shaking her head violently as tears blurred her vision.
Dread consumed her, twisting into something unbearable, something suffocating.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to run. But all she could do was cling to Seraphine's body as if sheer desperation could force life back into her.
The system's voice rang in her mind, sharp and clinical, slicing through her panic.
