Despite the brutality of Parthena's relentless attacks, her misty powers twisting through the air with lethal speed, Codey gritted his teeth and pushed himself forward. Bloodied, battered, and struggling to stay conscious, he understood one painful truth: stopping Yipsiv was the only option, no matter the personal cost. His body trembled, but his mind remained focused on the task at hand.
"Moving on, young admiral," Parthena continued, her voice a cold mockery of his struggle. "Yipsiv's gamble... whether he wins or loses, it doesn't really matter. It's the people he drags into this game, those unlucky enough to be caught in his web of deceit. He uses his so-called 'luck' to cheat them out of their lives, and then feeds them to the Blooming Tree, the very force he serves. But do you think the gods care about humans, about their lives, about their suffering? No. They're no better than the monsters they create."
Codey, barely able to hold himself upright, collapsed to one knee, his breath ragged and shallow. The mist was choking him, pressing down on him like an unseen weight. His mind raced, trying to make sense of the chaos. "So... if the mist... if it really does come from the Blooming Tree..." He gasped, trying to keep focus, shaking with exhaustion. "Then... there's a way to stop it. There has to be."
Parthena's laugh echoed in the fog, cruel and mocking. "Indeed, there's always a way. But you're not going to like it." She flexed her claws, fingers curling as they seemed to draw the mist toward them, feeding it into her own body. "The Blooming Tree has a guardian, young admiral. Not just any guardian—a protector, a living force that is part of the tree itself. It is its soul, its will, and its wrath incarnate. The tree is not just a passive observer in this little game. It controls everything, and it is the ultimate power on this island. Even if you manage to find a way to strike at it, the guardian will stop you."
She took a step forward, her eyes glinting with a chilling certainty. "And let me tell you something, Codey... you are nowhere near strong enough to defeat either of them."
Fighting against the crushing weight of exhaustion and the poison that burned in his lungs, Codey forced himself back to his feet. His body trembled with pain, but his resolve remained unbroken. He knew this mission was too vital, too urgent to falter now. Stopping Yipsiv and dismantling the twisted empire he'd built was not just a task—it was a necessity, for the sake of humanity itself.
Through the haze of pain, Codey's mind worked rapidly, analyzing every detail he could glean about his foe. His eyes flicked toward Parthena's sharp, clawed gauntlet as it gleamed in the muted light. Every few seconds... it absorbs the mist... and then releases it again. The realization hit him like a bolt of clarity through the fog. That gauntlet—she's not just using it to defend herself. It's tied to the mist. She's manipulating it, creating some sort of toxic combination... a poisonous cloud designed to sap my strength and keep us down.
His fists clenched as he steadied his stance, his breathing labored but determined. He gritted his teeth, his focus sharpening even through the thickening mist. If I can figure out how she's controlling it... if I can disrupt her rhythm... I might stand a chance to turn this around.
Parthena watched his struggle, a sly smirk curling on her lips. "Still standing, are you?" she sneered. "How impressive... but also so very futile. You think you can resist me, boy? You think you can outlast this mist? Let's see how long your stubbornness lasts."
Codey didn't respond. He simply steadied his breath and began formulating a plan. This isn't over yet.
Codey's ears filled with an unnatural hum, a sound that grew louder and louder until it drowned out every familiar noise around him. The whistling wind and chirping crickets vanished, replaced by a deep, echoing tick... tick... tick. Each tick reverberated through his skull like the chime of a death knell, oppressive and inescapable.
The air thickened, clinging to his skin like invisible hands, suffocating him in its embrace. His chest heaved as he gasped for breath, but the mist seemed to seep into his lungs, choking him from the inside out. His vision began to distort, the edges of the world darkening and swirling, dragging him into a realm of nightmares.
"What... is this?" he whispered, his voice barely audible over the relentless ticking. The fog writhed around him, shapes twisting and shifting in the haze. Slowly, a figure emerged—a colossal, shadowy form, its face obscured except for a pair of piercing, glowing crimson eyes. The eyes bore into him, unblinking and full of malice.
Parthena's laughter erupted, but it wasn't her usual mocking tone. It was deeper, darker, like the sound of a predator toying with its prey. Her voice echoed from all directions, warped and layered with something inhuman.
Codey stumbled backward, his legs weak and unsteady. He blinked rapidly, trying to dispel the grotesque vision, but the figure only grew closer. The shadow leaned down, its mouth stretching into an impossibly wide grin filled with jagged, gleaming teeth. It opened its maw, and instead of a roar, the sound of the ticking clock erupted, deafening and disorienting.
"What's the matter...?" Parthena's voice came again, distorted and twisted, overlapping with the ticking. Her words seemed to crawl into his mind, burrowing deep like worms. "Are you scared, little admiral?"
Codey's heart pounded as he clutched his chest, his breaths coming in short, panicked gasps. "The mist... it's poisoning me," he rasped, his voice cracking. "It's... breaking me down."
His surroundings warped further. The ground beneath him felt unstable, sinking like quicksand. Dark tendrils of mist coiled around his limbs, tugging him downward. The crimson eyes loomed larger, the twisted grin widening as the shadow reached for him. It's going to devour me.
"I can't... concentrate," he muttered, his voice trembling. The world around him seemed to collapse in on itself. The ticking grew faster and louder, like a bomb counting down to detonation. His hands trembled as he tried to focus, but his mind was slipping. The poison wasn't just sapping his strength—it was tearing at the very fabric of his reality.
The shadow's grin split further, its voice now a cacophony of screams and laughter. The figure towered over him, filling the entire horizon. The crimson eyes pulsed, the light searing into his mind, burning away any remnants of hope.
Codey dropped to his knees, clawing at the ground to keep himself from falling further into the abyss. His breathing became ragged, his vision flickering. "This... isn't real. It's the mist. It's all in my head," he whispered, more to himself than anyone else.
But the shadow's grin widened still, the ticking now a relentless storm inside his skull. And Parthena's voice, soft yet venomous, coiled around him like a noose. "Real or not, little admiral... it doesn't matter. The mist always wins."
To be continued...