Truth was, Nausica knew what was happening when the strings on her began to break.
She heard the voices of Shan, Shiliew, and Angor. Yet she could not reach out to them. She dared not.
Even if she knew that her friends were there to help, something in her mind convinced her that she could not afford to show any sign of weakness in front of them, or an inner demon would immediately seize control.
She kept her eyes shut. She refused to let her guard down. She did everything she could to resist the biggest crisis she would expect.
Each broken string was like an energy pipe built from a hot iron that sent burning pain directly into her bones and organs until her entire body felt like on fire. The process was not better than going through the worst torment in this world many times.
But Nausica held fast.