Page 90 of Knot Your Fated M.U.S.E.

I'm coming, Riot. Just hold on.

Some instinct makes me look up, just for a moment.

My eyes widen as I see the massive metal sphere swinging toward the opening –— some kind of security measure designed to seal breaches in the system.

There's no time to think.

Not even seconds to plan.

My body moves on pure survival instinct, fingers releasing their grip seconds before the ball would have crushed them.

"NO! RIOT!"

The scream tears from my throat as the current catches me. I fight against it, trying to swim back, trying to reach her, but the force is too strong.

"RIOT! PLEASE!"

The last thing I can dare imagine is her still form, growing smaller as the water carries me away. Then darkness swallows everything as I hit the drop, the tunnel taking me down the same path as the others.

The shadows remain eerily silent as I fall, offering no comfort or guidance. There's only the rush of water, the screech of metal, and the knowledge that I've left someone behind to die.

I'm sorry, Riot.

I'm so sorry.

The tunnel becomes my whole world – cold water and colder metal, carrying me to whatever fate awaits at its end. But all I can see is her floating form, all I can think about is how she chose to sacrifice herself for us, how her final act was one of protection rather than destruction.

The water rushes faster now, stealing my breath, my choice to fight the dangerously fast current, and stealing any chance of going back to save her.

And in that moment, I understand something profound about what it means to be an Omega, to be more than just a weapon or experiment.

Sometimes the deepest pain comes not from what's done to us, but from what we're forced to leave behind…

A cruel truth I’ve had to now experience the hard way.

As the tunnel takes me deeper into unknown darkness, I carry that truth like an open wound – along with the memory of a fierce woman who taught me that sometimes the greatest strength lies not in survival, but in choosing how we face our end.

Goodbye, Riot.

I won't forget.

I'll make sure your sacrifice is worth it…

For the first time in a long time, I hope…pray…that Fate gives second chances and Riot could be given the opportunity to live…

To survive…

The drop comes suddenly, and I fall into whatever waits below, carrying the weight of one more loss in a life already too full of them.

All I can do is listen to my echoing scream.

14

RETRIEVAL BY ANY MEANS

~VALE~

The infiltration begins like a well-choreographed dance – fifteen alphas moving as one through Ravenscroft's underground passages.

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