Kruger gasped, his lungs burning as the plague clawed deeper into his flesh. Each breath felt like swallowing embers, his veins pulsing with sickly black rot. The cathedral walls blurred around him, the torchlight smearing into grotesque shadows that danced mockingly.
Selene Nocturna towered above him, her wound already sealing, black ichor hardening into something unnatural. She held her wrist up to the dim light, watching the last remnants of the cut disappear.
"You surprise me, Kruger." Her voice dripped with venom, though amusement lingered beneath. "Most men crumble by now. You? You still cling to this… righteous defiance."
Kruger spat dark blood onto the cold stone. His fingers trembled, but he forced himself upright, sword dragging behind him.
"You talk too much," he rasped, his body shaking under the weight of the affliction.
Selene's lips twisted into a grin.
"Then allow me to sing instead."
She stepped back into the center of the cathedral, arms raised, fingers curling in eldritch patterns. The air thickened, humming with unseen forces. The twisted stained-glass windows shuddered, and from the depths of the cathedral's crypt, a chorus of whispers slithered through the air.
Kruger's stomach twisted. This was no spell. This was something worse.
The voices swelled—hundreds, thousands—wretched and hollow, a lamentation of the forsaken. The sound dug into his skull, crawled beneath his skin, laced itself into the marrow of his bones.
Selene swayed, her voice joining the unholy choir. It was intoxicating, reverberating with ancient power.
Kruger felt his grip loosening. His vision darkened at the edges. His knees buckled, his will slipping—
With a final burst of strength, he drove his sword into the stone floor, anchoring himself. The runes along the blade flared, pulsing with divine energy, pushing against Selene's spell.
For a moment, the hymn faltered.
Selene's golden eyes snapped open.
"Fascinating," she whispered, stepping toward him. Each movement was predatory, deliberate. "You still resist. Let's see how much longer you can."
She reached into the folds of her robe, producing a vial filled with thick, writhing darkness. With a flick of her wrist, she shattered it at his feet.
They coiled around Kruger's limbs, seeping into his flesh. He roared in agony as they burned, twisting into something unnatural.
Selene leaned close, her breath cool against his ear.
"Let go, Kruger." Her voice was almost tender. "Sing with me."
His vision swam. The hymn clawed deeper. The rot festered.