"Scarlet!" I moved to her immediately, dropping down beside her.
Her breathing was labored, her glamour flickering unstably.
"I'm fine," she gasped, but her voice was strained. "Just... just tired. Need a minute..."
I grabbed her arm, turned it over.
The dark veins were spreading from a wound on her forearm, a shallow scratch I'd seen her take during the fight but hadn't thought was serious.
[ENTITY_SCAN: SCARLET]
corruption_status: ACTIVE_INFECTION
source: CORRUPTED_WOLF_SCRATCH
progression: 12%
symptoms: {
mana_disruption, physical_weakness
}
No.
No, no, no—
"Tessa!" My voice came out sharper than intended. "Get over here! Now!"
She was already moving, dropping to Scarlet's other side, her earlier playfulness completely gone.
"What happened? What's wrong?"
"Corruption. From the scratch." I pointed at the spreading black veins. "It's in her system and it's spreading fast."
Tessa's face went pale.
Scarlet tried to pull away.
