"ᴍᴇᴀᴛ" - ᴘᴀʀᴛ 2

Co_Dheea March 04

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐫 (𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐬 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐬), 𝐎𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐫 (𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐬 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐬), 𝐋𝐮𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐚 (𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫, 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐬 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐬)

ᴱᵛᵉⁿᵗ ˢᵖᵃᶜⁱⁿᵍ: ᴿᴱ⁴ ⁻ ᶜᵃˢᵗˡᵉ ᵒᶠ ᴸᵒˢ ᴵˡˡᵘᵐⁱⁿᵃᵈᵒˢ, ᵗʰᵉ ᵗʳᵃⁱⁿⁱⁿᵍ ʰᵃˡˡ, ᴸᵘⁱˢ' ˡᵃᵇᵒʳᵃᵗᵒʳʸ.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

The training hall was vast and dimly lit, with cold stone walls that carried the echoes of every strike, step, and grunt. Astrid stood across from a high-ranked cultist, his imposing frame and disciplined posture a stark contrast to her lithe, nimble figure. Dressed in a simple, form-fitting black uniform, Astrid adjusted her gloves and focused on her opponent. Her expression was sharp, determined. This was more than training. It was a test of her resolve and skills.

The cultist, a seasoned combatant, nodded curtly before lunging forward. Astrid dodged to the side with a graceful twist, her movements like a dance. She preferred fluidity over brute strength, using agility and precise strikes to overcome larger foes.

The cultist swung his staff, and Astrid leapt back, narrowly avoiding the strike. She countered with a low sweep of her leg, aiming to destabilize him. He stumbled but regained his footing quickly, retaliating with a downward strike. Astrid rolled to the side, her movements effortless and calculated.

[[note: Astrid’s approach was unconventional, combining acrobatics and deceptive movements to confuse her opponent. She would feint to one side, then leap onto his shoulder in a fluid motion, aiming to knock him down with a spinning strike. Her combat was a blend of finesse and creativity, a stark contrast to the rigid and predictable styles of the cult. This was her signature, since she didn't have the same special fighting abilities that her father inherited from his plaga, weaponizing it and merging it with his body, brutalizing his strenght. Instead she had worked harder to catch up to him, creating her own system of techniques in hand to hand combat.]]

She darted in, feinting high before diving low to sweep his legs. As he stumbled, she seized the opportunity, leaping onto him with the agility of a predator. Mid-spin, she prepared to land a decisive blow.

But as she twisted her body, as she latched onto his oponent to prepare the throw, a sharp, searing pain erupted in her abdomen. It was sudden, debilitating, and unexpected. She gasped, losing her balance, and stumbled, at once with her oponent, her momentum pulling him with her to the ground with a loud thud.

Astrid clutched her abdomen, her face contorted in pain. The cultist, got up slowly, disoriented, his head searching for her. Programmed to stop only when commanded, he stood still, awaiting further instructions.

Astrid, through gritted teeth, she muttered, heaving against her knee as she slowly pushed herself back up and faced the cultist again.

"Keep going… I can still fight…"

Without hesitation, he swung his staff at her, and she managed to block it, but the motion sent another pang of agony through her body. She staggered, and when his follow-up strike connected with her side, the pain became unbearable.

Astrid collapsed to the ground, curling into herself as her breath hitched. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. Her body was rebelling against her.

Astrid, weakly, she grunted.

The cultist remained motionless, his blank gaze fixed ahead. He lacked the critical thinking to recognize her distress. Astrid’s vision blurred, her body shaking as she reached out mentally, focusing all her energy on the one person she knew could save her.

"Father… father, come to me... Please…"

---

Osmund Saddler arrived moments later, his face a mask of calm authority. As he swept into the training hall, deliberately scanning the area until his gaze spotted his daughter. Immediately, he assessed Astrid’s crumpled form. Without a word, he scooped her up, cradling her as if she were a fragile doll, and carried her to Luis Serra’s laboratory.

Luis, hunched over a desk cluttered with vials and notes, looked up as they entered. His easygoing demeanor faded when he saw Astrid’s pale face and trembling body.

"What happened?"

"She is in pain. Fix her."

Luis gestured to the examination table, and Saddler carefully placed Astrid down. She winced, her eyes fluttering open briefly. Luis rolled over a radiographic machine, his expression tense.

As he scanned her abdomen, the machine emitted a low hum. The screen lit up, displaying the faint silhouette of her Plaga. Luis squinted, adjusting the image for clarity.

Then he froze.

"No… that can’t be right."

He adjusted the machine again, leaning closer to the screen. His face paled, his jaw tightening as he muttered to himself in disbelief.

"She’s not… there’s no way…"

Astrid stirred slowly, her voice strained, "What? What’s wrong?"

Luis turned to her, his face a mixture of disbelief and hesitance.

"Astrid… your Plaga is feeding on you. It’s… it’s consuming your body."

Astrid’s eyes shot open, her breath hitching. Her heart sank as the weight of his words hit her.

"No… I… I’ve been eating… I…"

Luis ran a hand through his hair, pacing.

"Eating what, Astrid? Vegetables? Fish? Your Plaga doesn’t care about your preferences. It needs red meat to survive, or it will turn on its host. And that’s exactly what’s happening."

Saddler, who had been silent until now, narrowed his eyes before adding darkly, "You knew this would happen, Astrid. Yet you defied the natural order. This is the price of your choices."

Astrid turned her head away, tears forming, threathening to spill.

"I just… I didn’t want to…"

"Now’s not the time for blame, Saddler. She’s in danger. We need to act, or she’s not going to last much longer."

"Do what must be done."

Luis nodded and immediately began preparing an intravenous supplement to stabilize her condition. Saddler stood by, his expression unreadable as he watched his daughter’s fragile form on the table.

Inside, however, he felt a surge of anger and frustration, not just at her defiance, but at himself for allowing her to stray so far.

Mentally, to himself, he spoke:

"You will learn, Astrid. Even if it breaks you."

Astrid, weakened but conscious, clung to the faint hope that she could recover. But the pain in her body was nothing compared to the pain in her heart as she saw the cold disapproval in her father’s eyes.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

𝑀𝒶𝒹𝑒 𝒷𝓎 𝒞𝑜_𝒟𝒽𝑒𝑒𝒶

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟