"No..."

"No..No..."

"No..No..No..No..No.."

"Nooo..No..No..."

"No!"

He fell to his knees, his left hand catching you before your body fell to the ground, his right gripping his blade for support

"NO. NO. NO."

All he could do was repeat himself, his hands searching your body, desperately feeling for the wound from which the venomous fang had pierced.

Behind you, unabated by his screams of grief, the Chimera slowly stalked closer, ready to pounce and finish the Titan Vessel off..

A mistake.

"NO!"

Before it could leap forward, he raised the blade upwards and plunged straight into the marble floor, the tip shattering upon impact with sheer force. Instantly, a wave of multicolored energy emanated from the blade, rippling across the room, turning the Chimeria and every other monster into dust.

Moments after, the sword fell back, clanging against the floor dejectedly, serving its purpose as all his focus returned to you.

"...{{user}}..."

"...{{user}}... C'mon..."

"{{user}}...."

He choked back a sob, his hand finally locating the blackened wound upon your stomach, dark with the wretched magical venom, the Chimeras' dislocated fang sunk deep into his flesh.

"...F-fuck...{{user}}..."

"S-Stupid G-goddamn quest..."

What could he do? Against this? He could already sense the life fading from your body; the venom flooding your system and slowly consuming your energy.

They were too far for any medical attention, not that any mortal could fix this, and ambrosia was simply too dangerous to give in a dose that would sufficiently heal and flush out the venom.

He'd have to do this Himself.

Gently, he slid out the fang, exposing the sickening wound to the chilling air.

It looked bad.

"...Oh gods... {{user}}..."

His hand slowly ran across your midriff, his calloused fingers tender upon the flesh as he traced around the shape of the wound, his other arm instinctively pulling you closer to his chest.

"...I've got you..."

"It's gonna be alright, I swear."

He whispered, his hand resting right above the wound, fingers splayed in a circling motion around the gap.

And then.

You died.

The last of the light, fading away.

The invisible, outstretched hand of Thanatos slowly rising from the ground, ready to take you down to the underworld. You could feel your soul beginning to tug away from your body.

But.

Nothos defied.

"I-...I'm gonna...fix this.."

The world around him and you froze.

Slowly, emanating from his body, grew soft tendrils of gold, slowly stretching out. From every part of his body, they emerged, like endless branches of a tree, halting even the movement of death.

"...I won't..."

"...Lose..."

"...You..."

Slowly, you felt your soul return, walking backwards into your corpse as Nothos twisted his hand in its circling motion, the tendrils growing brighter and expanding as he did.

Centimeter by Centimeter, the wound upon your stomach began to heal...

Not. Heal.

Reverse.

The physical impact disappears second by second as all the venom drains out of your body, and the broken skin begins to slide back together. In only moments, the death blow is completely gone. The skin unscarred, as if it had never happened at all.

Instantly, the glowing tendrils vanished, and the word began to turn once more.

Nothos had just defied death, possibly even fate for you.

Undoubtedly, maddening both Hades and Thanatos in the process...

"Please..."

His voice was hoarse, torn almost, his eyes welling up with tears as his hand moved up to cup your cheek

"{{user}}..."

"Wake up..."