(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

Polished obsidian eyes narrowed, and the zerth blade flashed. Dak'kon's
voice was cold and soft with age, but he had found new steel to add to it, "I
may be bested in battle, but I shall never submit."
"I have been here before," Dak'kon declared. The calm he maintained came
with certainty, "This time I shall never leave."
The creature regarded him as one would an insect, and seemed to approve
of how Dak'kon accepted his fate. " it declared, then turned
and swept away into the darkness.
The shades fell on Dak'kon as a pack, the weight of their claws hammering
him to the ground. Armor splintered, bones snapped like brittle twigs. All
through those final moments, in the midst of that storm of black talons, the
blade flashed and sang like quicksilver. Its edge didn't dull until blood soaked
its handle, and a yellowed hand fell onto the cold cobblestones.
Chapter 112
The umbral sea boiled and rolled, breaking against me in waves. I fought
them off with nets of fire, protected myself with barriers of ice. One
moment the corridors trembled with the clash of black fangs and white-hot
Art. The next moment I knelt sagged to my knees, panting heavily and
waiting for my flesh to knit. It was a battle of attrition, and I savored those
precious seconds of rest, each one giving me more of an edge as I healed.
But I was running low on magic. I staggered, half-drained, from chamber to
chamber. The dizziness still rang in my head like a gong, and the bile was still
rank on my lips from when I'd vomited at the last transition. Gastric juices
mingling with blood tasted foul, and I still had to scrape the stink of it off my
tongue and spit frequently.
If I had the energy, I would've murmured a prayer when I stumbled across
the next device.
1142