You hold out. (Requires 4 Stamina)

Athena’s hold is agonizing, but you clench your teeth and make yourself power through the pain. There has to be a way out of this, even if you can’t see it from where you are.

“You must know how outmatched you are by now,” Athena murmurs, just loud enough for the microphone to pick up. “You are not the first arrogant fools to believe themselves strong enough to take on a pair of Goddesses. I will make an example of you just as I did to them.”

She bends you even further back, sending a spike of pain up your spinal cord, but you’re barely even paying attention to it anymore. The thing she’s managed to break isn’t your endurance—it’s your patience.

“Then...fucking...do it,” you growl through clenched teeth. “Don’t just...talk about it. Make me tap if you can, bitch.”

Athena chuckles softly. “Ah, this one shows some spirit. Let’s see if you can back it up!”

So saying, she wrenches the hold back as far as it will go. You groan in pain and desperately resist the urge to tap out. She’s got you bent so far you’re practically staring at the ceiling, but you’ll be damned if you’ll give her the satisfaction of a tap out after all the smug bullshit she’s thrown your way.

It might be your imagination, but you feel like her grip is just a little weaker than it was when you started. Is she...getting tired?

You soon get an answer. She holds you there, torturing you in a perfect camel clutch, for the longest ten seconds of your life before she finally gives up with a sigh of frustration. You almost sob with relief as she unlaces her fingers from under your chin and stands up, ready to try a new tactic.

“You’re...resilient, for a mortal,” she admits grudgingly.

You nod in acceptance of the backhanded compliment before glancing back at your corner, where Melody shoots you a relieved thumbs up. That submission hold took a lot out of you—you might have a better chance of winning if you tagged out. Then again, your partner might not be able to power through a hold like you just did.

It’s up to you...