"Cough!"
My knees hit the frozen floor with a heavy, wet thud. I held my bare chest, my fingers digging into my skin as another hard spasm tore through my lungs. Dark, thick blood burst from my mouth, splashing across the white frost.
It was not right. The Frost-Monarch was dead. Its core was safely in my void pocket. My shoulder had snapped back, and my broken jaw was healed. By all accounts, the worst should have been over.
But it was not. Deep inside — right at the center of my body, something felt like it was splitting in half. A horrible, burning heat came from my core, making me feel like my soul was cracking open like dry glass.
What the fuck is happening to me?
I tried to breathe, but my lungs felt full of broken glass. I blinked through the sweat and blood blurring my vision, staring into the empty air.
Nova, I hissed in my mind, my thoughts fast and scared. Nova! What is happening to me? Talk to me!
