Codey stepped into a high-stakes confrontation, each move deliberate, as if preparing for a duel against an adversary who thrived in the mist. The odds were stacked against him, his strength waning and the terrain itself an enemy, yet his unyielding confidence pushed him forward. His allies, Xasha and the commander, remained unconscious, unable to join the fight. Their absence only sharpened Codey's resolve—there was no one left to stand but him.
"Admiral, you're remarkably brave," Parthena remarked, her voice laced with mockery, yet tinged with a grudging respect. She circled him like a predator toying with its prey, her glowing yellow eyes piercing through the fog. "Such courage in a delusional situation, surrounded by this choking mist… Impressive, really. But bravery alone won't save you. Your skills? Oh, I don't doubt them for a second. But your body? I doubt it can withstand the pressure much longer."
Her lips curled into a grin, cold and merciless. Parthena stood tall, exuding an air of absolute control, her monstrous, cybernetic arm twitching faintly as if itching to strike. Confidence radiated from her like heat from a fire, her poise unwavering. She had no intention of faltering—not when she carried the righteous wrath of Yipsiv's people on her shoulders.
"You and your kind brought suffering to his people," she continued, her tone hardening, dripping with the promise of retribution. "Now, it's time to balance the scales. And you, Admiral, are the first to pay the price."
Codey scanned the shifting haze, desperately searching for an opening to strike. The oppressive mist clung to him like a shroud, dulling his senses and dragging him far below his usual capabilities. His eyes darted to Parthena, watching as her monstrous claws exhaled a swirling stream of cold mist. Then, with a deliberate step backward, she disappeared into the suffocating darkness, her haunting laughter trailing behind her, echoing eerily through the fog.
He froze, his heart pounding as an invisible web of terror closed in around him. The sound of whispers crept along the edges of his mind, slithering through the silence like serpents. Every time a voice teased his ears, he spun around, his eyes straining to pierce the gloom. Yet all he found was emptiness, his movements leaving him vulnerable to the shadows that stalked him.
"Hiding... in the mist," Codey muttered, his voice low and taut with irritation. He tightened his grip on his boomerang blade, his frustration mounting as he realized the true nature of his foe—a predator who thrived on shadowy games, preying on confusion and fear.
He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to focus, to sense her presence in the unnatural haze. But the mist betrayed him, clouding his instincts and smothering his awareness. Instead of clarity, the only thing he could hear was her laughter, mocking him from every corner of the terrain.
Then, out of nowhere, a sharp pain exploded in his stomach, forcing the air from his lungs. He staggered backward, gasping, his body doubling over in agony. Parthena's strike had been swift, precise, and utterly invisible, leaving him reeling. He could feel the chill of her claws even through his armor, as if her very essence sought to sap his strength.
He fell to one knee, clutching his side as the mist seemed to grow thicker, heavier, pressing down on him like a suffocating weight. Each breath was a struggle, his lungs burning from both the pain and the toxic chill surrounding him. Yet despite it all, his resolve refused to break. Somewhere in the dark, she was watching, waiting. And though he couldn't see her, he would find a way to fight back.
Her laughter slithered through the fog, curling around Codey like a ghostly noose. The sound sent a shiver down his spine, taunting him as he knelt, struggling to catch his breath. Then, her voice cut through the oppressive mist, chilling and mocking, as though she were whispering directly into his ear.
"Are you blind, marine?" Parthena sneered, her words dripping with condescension. "This mist, this fog that chokes you, is no mere trick of nature. It's my domain—a prison of my own making. Here, your powers mean nothing if you can't summon them, and your lungs betray you with every desperate gasp for air."
She paused, letting the weight of her words sink in, her glowing yellow eyes flickering somewhere in the shadows. "How unfortunate," she continued, her tone tinged with cruel amusement, "that your proud marine uniform lacks something as basic as a gas mask. Perhaps then you might have stood a chance. But like this?"
Her laughter returned, low and venomous, wrapping itself around him like a serpent tightening its coils. Codey clenched his fists, the humiliation of her words fueling his resolve even as his body betrayed him. He couldn't see her, couldn't fight her on equal footing in this suffocating nightmare she'd conjured. But he'd faced impossible odds before—and somehow, he'd overcome them. He just had to survive long enough to find his opening.
Codey clutched his stomach, the pain searing through him like a thousand knives twisting inside his gut. It felt as though the very air around him was alive, squeezing the life out of him with each labored breath. He desperately searched the mist, his vision swimming, but there was no sign of Parthena—only the thick, suffocating fog that seemed to swallow him whole.
Suddenly, without warning, a brutal strike slammed into his face, the sheer force of it sending his head snapping to the side. His bones felt as if they had shattered, his skull rattling with the vicious impact. He was thrown backward, staggering, but before he could even recover, another merciless blow crashed into his back, sending agony coursing through every fiber of his being. His spine felt like it was about to snap, the pain overwhelming, his body twisted and contorted like a ragdoll in the hands of a sadistic puppet master.
His legs buckled, and his hands trembled as he struggled to keep from collapsing completely. But Parthena wasn't done. She toyed with him, striking him from all sides with terrifying speed and power, each blow worse than the last. Codey's body was nothing more than a punching bag to her, every strike a reminder of his helplessness. His breath came in ragged gasps, the pressure on his chest growing unbearable.
"Dear, marine..." Parthena's voice slithered through the air, cold and mocking. It was the calm before the storm, the sound of someone enjoying the torment they were inflicting. The next strike came with such force that it felt like his insides had been ripped apart. His stomach churned as his body spun violently, thrown into the air as though he weighed nothing. He hit the ground with a sickening thud, the impact rattling through his bones.
He tried to lift himself, to fight back, but before he could even move, another savage kick landed squarely in his abdomen. The air was blasted out of him, and he gasped desperately, but his body refused to obey. Parthena's laughter echoed in his ears like a death knell, her amusement palpable as she watched him struggle, powerless and broken.
"Your strength has been stripped away by the fog," Parthena's voice cut through the air again, slow and deliberate. "Every breath you take weakens you. Every movement drains you further. You are a mere shell now—a puppet in my domain. And you'll never escape."
Her words were venomous, each one a barb digging deeper into his psyche as the pain in his body intensified. Codey felt his limbs grow heavier with every passing second, his flesh and bones no longer responding to his commands. He was slipping, his consciousness teetering on the edge. The mist was suffocating, and with each passing moment, he could feel himself fading—like a candle flame slowly dying out in a relentless storm.
He could hear her laughter in the distance, hollow and cruel, a twisted melody that seemed to echo from every corner of the fog. He was trapped, a broken man, drowning in pain and fear, with no way to fight back against the nightmarish force that played with him like prey.
To be continued...