Alerts start flashing on my HUD. The red ones. The ones that fire when the system decides you're about to die if you don't figure something out, and fast.
[WARNING: SEVERE BLEEDING]
[OXI: 1,340/1,600…]
[...1,280…]
[...1,195...]
The number is falling in real time. Not dripping. Plummeting. The blood isn't leaving through the cut anymore. It's being ripped out.
The Blood Stone and the armor are pulling together, and my Rank E body is trying to feed a ritual built for Rank A at minimum.
The pain in my chest spreads to my stomach. My hips. My legs. Every heartbeat pushes more blood toward the stone and I feel the emptiness opening up behind it.
[OXI: 987 / 1,600]
"Focus, kid!" Elisser shouts. Her voice has changed—not the angry old woman. Controlled panic. "Don't lose it! If you black out now, your heart stops before the stone finishes!"
