"Fracture."
The space directly inside the squad leader's reinforced gorget shattered like pitch-black glass.
The plasteel collar didn't just break; it ceased to exist. The localized spatial tear ripped the helmet clean off the operative's head, exposing a terrified, sweat-drenched human face underneath. The man squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for a decapitation that he couldn't even see coming.
But the void never reached his skin.
The instant the skill engaged, a freezing, hollow suction clamped around Will's heart. His veins felt like they were pumping liquid nitrogen. The black mycelium on his arm withered aggressively, turning the stolen arterial blood into dead, gray ash. The [Severe Vitality Drain] had taken its pound of flesh, and Will's empty core simply couldn't pay the final toll.
Red static tore across his vision, blinding him.
[HP: 1% — Critical]
[Status: Extreme Blood Loss]
