Kara's solitary pulse flickered as the slab's fractured edge ground into her skull, splintering bone with a sickening crunch, the molten rock flooding the crevice engulfing her torso, fusing her flesh to the stone in a searing inferno of agony. The neural clamp's prongs burrowed deeper, siphoning her last thought—her brother's "Fight!"—into a vortex of static, the feedback loop electrifying her brain, her body convulsing as her spine arched in a final, tortured spasm. The knife's flame licked her heart, its heat charring the muscle, each beat a thunderclap of pain, while the chasm's sealed walls pulsed with an ominous hum, OmniCorp's machinery drilling closer, a relentless predator.
The molten rock surged, a wave cresting over her chest, melting her ribs into a molten cage, the stench of her own burning flesh choking her as the gas jet flared, igniting her remaining hair, the crackle a death knell. The shard, lodged against the slab, shifted under the pressure, tilting to crush her face, its jagged edge slicing her lip, blood bubbling as her jaw dislocated with a wet snap. The enforcer's limp form slumped further, his knife twisting deeper, severing a nerve, sending a jolt of white-hot torment through her chest. The clamp's siphon stuttered, a glitch preserving a fragment of her will, but the prongs readjusted, plunging toward her brainstem.
A new tremor rocked the crevice, a hidden explosive detonating, blasting a shower of molten shards that peppered her back, one embedding in her neck, the pain a supernova exploding behind her eyes. The drill's hum intensified, breaking through the wall above, a mechanical arm extending, its claw snapping at her head, missing by a hair as she jerked, the movement tearing her scalp. The fireball roared, its flames consuming her arms, reducing them to charred stubs, the heat blistering her lungs as she gasped her last breathable air. The slab's weight increased, fracturing her collarbone, the crunch echoing in the void.
Marcus's voice, a ghostly echo through the rubble, rasped, "Kara… now…"—but a cave-in crushed the sound, burying him in eternal silence. The clamp's prongs struck her brainstem, a cold void spreading, her vision fracturing into a kaleidoscope of pain and defiance—Lena's laugh, her brother's face—merging as the siphon neared completion. The molten rock crested her shoulders, fusing her neck to the stone, the heat melting her eardrum, deafening her to the chasm's roar. The mechanical arm fired a tether, snaring her charred stump, yanking it upward, dislocating her spine with a grotesque pop, her body stretching to its breaking point.
The extractor's wipe hit 100%, a final surge erasing her identity, but a spark—her brother's laugh—jerked the system, jamming the clamp mid-siphon. The slab tilted fully, its edge a millimeter from her brain, the molten flood rising to her chin, burning her lips shut. The mechanical arm's claw malfunctioned, sparking and retracting, but the chasm's walls groaned, a final collapse imminent, the drill's hum deafening as it prepared to extract her lifeless form.