I stumbled back and fell as the goblet glowed bright crimson. The liquid inside it stirred as the man's hand that once grasped the goblet unclenched.
The goblet didn't fall; however, it levitated instead. It wasn't just levitating; it was actually moving? It slowly crept its way towards me, its red light was shining and mesmerizing.
Before I knew what I was even doing, my body automatically moved towards the artifact out of something akin to reflex. There was just something so perfect about it—something I just had to get my hands on. It felt like it was calling out to me, reaching for me.
I blinked, and the goblet was in my hands. I blinked again, and I was hungrily drinking from the goblet without even being conscious of what I was doing.
What the hell? What in the world did I just do!? I threw the goblet away, snapping out of my momentary haze. I immediately began trying to throw up whatever the hell I just drank.
Then a wave of pain hit me like a tsunami—inexorable. My legs instantly gave out, my seven orifices started bleeding, and before I knew what was even happening, I coughed up a mouthful of blood. My body felt like it was collapsing upon itself.
Ah, what the hell did you do to get yourself into Cassian? God, Ando is not going to be happy.
Immediately after that wave of pain, another came right at the center of my sternum. I gasped and let out a scream that I didn't think my vocal cords were capable of. Just what kind of horrible poison did I moronically drink?
Blood kept flowing out of my 7 orifices and i kept coughing up blood. The pain in my sternum increased, and it kept doing so without stopping. The pain was overwhelming. So, so, so overwhelming.
The ship suddenly vibrated, and I was flung left towards a bunch of crates near me. My body didn't even register it, as I was on the brink of passing out from the pain coming from my sternum.
That enforcer drank what I drank and died, didn't he? Why? My mind felt muddy, on the brink of collapse, but I could only think about that man's corpse and the way I curiously searched for it. Why did I do that? That's—that wasn't like me.
When my body felt like it was on its last breath, the pain stopped. Rather, something else was stopping that intense wave of pain. The source of absolute agony that radiated from my sternum stopped, and instead I felt as if it were burning. A flame ignited within me, and it couldn't be extinguished.
A familiar yet foreign sensation entered my body, and the pain that seemed so overwhelming subsided and was firmly replaced by something that radiated undeniable power. I threw up another mouthful of blood as my body struggled to keep itself functioning.
Then a loud crash resounded through the ship. The ship shuddered and trembled. I could hear the yells and shouts of the men above, but I couldn't be bothered to concern myself over that.
I felt something pulsate from my sternum, and the blood that kept flowing from my eyes, nose, and ears stopped. My hands reached out to grab the nearest crate near me, to hold onto something—anything that I could squeeze to help me control my pain.
Then the burning sensation that ebbed and flowed within my sternum traveled to my arm. The wooden crate that I grabbed was instantly crushed firmly within my palms.
It was firmly crushed. What? It was crushed?
Another thud resounded through the hull, and before I had the chance to process what was happening, a loud crash resounded and everything went black.