The desperate illusion of her future regression, the agonizing throb of her shattered jaw, the phantom, hollow emptiness in her chest where her time-bending 'cheat' used to reside—it all violently collided. The Empress's fragile reality shattered into a million jagged pieces, and what erupted from the ruins was a catastrophic, volcanic explosion of pure, unadulterated rage.
She scrambled up from the filthy straw, completely ignoring the excruciating pain in her broken wrist and the deep gash on her shoulder. She threw her entire body weight against the heavy iron bars, the thick metal rattling violently under her assault.
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" the Empress shrieked.
Blood sprayed from her lips, her voice a tearing, ragged scream that scraped her vocal cords raw. Her face was twisted into a grotesque mask of agony and feral hatred, the veins in her neck bulging against her pale skin.
