The cavern was a sea of blinding, unstable scarlet light. Anne's silhouette was framed by the halo of her own detonating life essence—a beauty and a tragedy combined. She was moments away from turning herself into a human bomb to save him.
[Host, her core is fracturing! If she completes the sequence, her soul will dissipate with the blast!" [Crul's voice cut through the static in Ethan's mind.] "Neutralize her immediately. Strike the five pressure points to collapse the energy flow!"
Ethan erupted from the rock wall like a shadow detached from the world. He appeared behind Anne in a blur of motion. With precision, his fingers struck: two heavy blows to her upper chest, one to the solar plexus, and two sharp jabs beneath the lower ribs. The raging crimson fire vanished instantly, sucked back into her dying ruby shard. Anne's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed into his arms, unconscious and pale.
