The three Ethans charged together, weaving through darkness and flame, their blades glowing with the last of their restraint.
The body they fought wasn't just their enemy—it was Selene.
Somewhere beneath the corrupted aura, beneath the twisted voice and flickering madness, she was still there. Ethan had to believe that.
But every strike they held back, every blow they pulled, gave the entity more time to adapt.
"You're too soft. She's not going to survive if we keep treating this like a game."
One of them hissed as he narrowly avoided a slash of corrupted energy.
"She won't survive if we kill her, either!"
Another barked back.
The third Ethan, calmer than the rest, glanced at Selene's face—calm, unreadable, no longer hers.
"We have to break her out from the inside. The body will survive. If we hesitate again, we lose everything."
The air crackled as Selene—no, the being inside her—roared.
