""Ha~ ha~...""
My labored breaths rasped in the still forest air, each one a jagged scrape that seemed to tear at my raw, overworked lungs. Sweat dripped steadily from my forehead, mingling with the blood of monsters already staining my cloak.
My hands trembled as I leaned heavily against the rough bark of an ancient oak tree, its gnarled roots seeming to pulse faintly with life beneath my boots. My vision blurred, the edges darkening as exhaustion clawed at me relentlessly.
""Ugh! ARGHH! Guh!""
I groaned, every single cell in my body screamed with pain. It wasn't just a dull ache or sharp pang—it was as though an unseen force had wormed its way inside me, tearing me apart from within with wild abandon. Each beat of my secondary heart, the only one still functioning, sent a ripple of agony through my chest and limbs. The secondary heart beat around
((F*ck! Using [Form Release] right after [Temporal Recoil] just wore off...what was I thinking?))
