The Heart Beaten Ten Times
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Dry Bone King continued to drum the heartbone incessantly. Each sonic-boom made Han Sen cough more blood.
Each beat was stronger than the last, increasing the amount of pain and strain Han Sen's heart had to withstand. Dry Bone was going to do this ten times.
After the wooden fish's tenth strike, the damage each subsequent strike made would not increase, but Dry Bone King could still go on and on. And so far, it had been enough to suppress anything Han Sen thought to do.
By now, he had only struck the wooden fish seven times. There was more pain yet to come for Han Sen, and on the seventh strike, he fell to the ground in a puddle of his own blood. His heart did not yield yet, though.
Dry Bone King could read the fitness level of a person and evaluate what would be required to kill them. He had believed the sixth strike would be enough to kill Han Sen, yet there he was, unbent, unbowed, unbroken.