The den reeked of iron and frost. A piercing screech echoed through the frozen cavern—not a warning, but a desperate cry.
The pale serpent coiled fiercely around its last egg, scales torn and bleeding onto the cracked ice.
Another creature—a hulking beast with cracked horns—had crushed two of the frost-slicked eggs before turning away, sated.
Lyne stood at the edge of the den, Odachi in hand, heart pounding with a dark hunger. The snake was bruised, broken, but still alive. A mother guarding what little remained.
Her mind flickered—just for a second.
Is this justice? Or cruelty?
She swallowed the thought like bitter ice and stepped forward.
Steel sang through the cold air.
One slash—white scales shredded like parchment.
The serpent hissed in pain, striking weakly but missing.
Slash after slash—Lyne's arms burned, muscles trembling, breath ragged.
Blood blossomed on the snow—red staining white, heat bleeding into cold.
Five hundred slashes. A thousand. Five thousand.
The serpent's movements slowed, then stopped.
Its last eye glazed over, dull as the frozen lake.
Lyne's blade finally fell silent.
Then the whispering voice echoed clear:
[20000/20000 slashes completed]
[You have slain the pale serpent]
[You have unlocked the forgotten skill: Forgotten Slash]
Lyne dropped the Odachi to her side and stared down at the crimson pool reflecting her hollow eyes.
The Odachi shimmered cold and bright.
She did not.