Elio's hand stopped. Not from mercy, but from the peculiar calm in his enemy's voice.
"When you kill me," Zahyla spoke through the blood, her voice strangely peaceful, "everything will start again. As it always does."
"What are you talking about?"
"The game," her eyes gleamed with amusement. "The 'eternal dance' between humans and artromus. Each time one side wins, everything returns to the beginning. Like a cycle of matches. Humans have won nine times, you know? Nine victories in a sea of defeats. I... I have won 9,999 times... One more and the final victory will belong to Nala. Not so eternal anymore, right?"
The metal prison tensed. "You're lying."
