Phei laughed.
Not a weak chuckle. Not a broken wheeze.
A loud, booming, defiant roar that echoed through the infinite void like thunder clapping inside a cathedral of bone. Blood sprayed from his lips with every syllable, painting the stone in dark arcs, but he didn't care.
He bared his throat—head thrown back, Adam's apple exposed, veins throbbing purple-black under pale skin—and stared straight up at the descending sword with wild, bloodshot eyes.
"Did you really think I came unprepared?"
Phei's voice cracked on the edges—raw, shredded from the earlier crushing—but it carried, defiant and booming through the void like a cracked bell refusing to shatter. Blood flecked his lips with every word, dripping in thick crimson beads onto the stone beneath him.
"You might not have done your research very well. I might be weak compared to you… but you know the one universal thing that connects us all?"
