The punch that Etsu threw earlier had not achieved the results that she needed it too. True, it was a strong punch; there was no denying that. And it must have had enough of an impact for the attacking creature to feel that, surely. But it didn't even bring the creature
down, much less out. For something so frail, it was evident that this... thing, had an inhuman amount of resilience.
Etsu had prepared for that and had already reared her first for another punch, but it was too little too late. She hadn't noticed the tightening on her leg, but she would indeed notice that the creature had begun to strangle her, using that same appendage that she only just freed herself from. All the while, the creature allowed its jaw to hang loose, waiting for the opportunity to bite into her and rip a nice chunk of flesh from her. Her face whitening from the pressure on her airways, Etsu tried her damnedest to wrest herself free, clawing away at the appendage in hopes that she could ascertain some form of grasp on it that would help her pry herself free. She put up as good a fight as she was ever going to be able to... but in the end, her strength slowly declined, and the world as she perceived it faded into oblivion.
...
'A simple test. Can you state your name?'"Huh?" Etsu snapped herself awake, only to see herself standing in what appeared to be an abyss of pure darkness, with no source of light to be seen for miles. Was this her subs-conscience? And if so, who or what was trying to reach out to her? She hadn't the slightest recollection of who that voice could belong to. All she had to
go on was what it just said.
"My... my name?" she wondered aloud, still confused about this whole ordeal,
"I... Izumo... Etsu?"Silence ensued for a few seconds, as all that could be done was to wait for a response. Etsu bit her lip. This was a trying time, and her nerves were fraying by the second. She looked around, on edge due to the attack on her earlier.
"I... I'm scared. I don't know what happened to me. I don't know where I am and I have no idea where I'm meant to go. If you can hear me, then... please, tell me..." she shook her head mid-sentence,
"No. Show me that everything's going to be OK."