Croft's pale reptilian eyes blazed with maddened fury as he thrashed against the Crown's psychic hold. His claws scraped against the ice-coated stone, carving deep gouges as he fought to rise. The frost around his wounds crystallized, then shattered, then reformed, his body rejecting the damage, refusing to accept defeat.
"I... will not... be defeated by the likes of you!" Croft's voice cracked, raw with desperation. "I am no longer human! I am a dragon! A TRUE DRAGON! I will make this world kneel before me!"
Adam's crimson eyes, dimmed by exhaustion but still burning, fixed on the writhing form before him. His voice came out low, cold, carrying the weight of everything he had seen.
"You're not a dragon. You're not some majestic creature." He took a step forward, his wounded leg dragging. "You're just a human. A pathetic, greedy human who couldn't accept what he was."
Croft's thrashing intensified, frost exploding from his scales in jagged spikes. "Shut up! SHUT UP! I am—"
