Zero stood paralyzed at the edge of the crater. He gasped strangely for his breath, and behind him the rest of the Vassals' chests rose in erratic movements.
"You... you're bluffing," the Entity's half whispered, though the cold confidence was gone, replaced by a frantic, vibrating tremor in the vocal cords. "If this heart stops, we both vanish. You don't have the guts to erase yourself."
Aden's left eye, the human one didn't blink. The pupil had shrunk to a pinprick of pure, localized hatred.
"Watch me," Aden rasped.
His fingers tightened. A wet, sickening crunch echoed through the cave as he squeezed the aorta. The marble-white skin on the Entity's side of the body began to turn a bruised, necrotic purple.
Zero fell to the ground immediately. The Vassals opened their lips in pain as they gasped for air. Lorelei's face had gone dangerously pale and the thread her life was hanging on looked to snap any moment.
