The world had split into two terrible battles happening at the same time.
Two fronts in a war against a single, broken god.
In the heart chamber, they were fighting the soul.
In the lair above, they were fighting the body.
And on both fronts, they were about to be destroyed.
---
The mental shockwave of Masha's fall was a physical blow to Dante.
A sharp reminder that their time, bought with the blood of his teammates, was measured in seconds.
The Bone Dragon was distracted. Its ancient mind reeling from the attack on its core.
But it would not stay that way for long.
In the heart chamber, the battle was a stalemate.
His Abyssal Shadow, Ouroboros, was a storm of living darkness.
Its seven heads tore and bit at the sickly, deathly green shield protecting the Black Diamond Heart.
But the shield was being constantly refilled by the skeletal Rina.
Whose power was drawn directly from the heart itself.
A perfect, self-powering loop of defense.
They could not break it.
