Page 76 of Knot Your Fated M.U.S.E.

To my past…to my future…the holder of my destiny.

I’m returning to where we came from, approaching the white van that awaits. The transportation that will take me back to the hellhole that has kept me locked away like some prized possession.

Back to the cycle of agony, torture, and ultimately…survival.

The shadows sing mournfully as the scene dissolves, their frustration matching my own. They wanted me to see this, to understand something crucial about this moment, this woman, this piece of my past.

Instead, I'm left with more questions than answers. With the echo of tears, I don't understand and pain that feels both foreign and intimately familiar.

I see the van door open, expecting my cooperation to enter into its metal clutches. It’s like I’m a dog returning to its cage, only that crate isn’t deemed a safe haven of comfort.

This one is a sufferable prison.

The corners of the memory are all fading away, just as I look backward, as if sensing someone’s lingering gaze. The sight of me and my youthful glance makes me realize I’m no longer in the moment, but seeing the perspective like a third person witnessing the forbidden.

I watch myself peer back, and I follow the trail of attention until it lands on a man. The instance is so quick, barely giving me details but striking eyes of blue lock onto mine.

A scent hits me then — clean rain and aged books, mountain air, and something richer. Cologne of musk with hints of pine. Like comfort and strength wrapped into a single breath.

The kind of scent that promises safety, protection...

"NYX! WAKE UP!"

Reality crashes back as Riot's screams pierce through the memory. I flail in shocking cold water, gasping as I realize I'm not just wet — I'm floating near the ceiling of our confinement.

Wild-eyed, I spin in the rising water, trying to orient myself. Luna and Azurite are at the far end, desperately searching for any kind of escape route — a vent, a crack, anything that might offer hope.

"There's nothing!" Azurite shouts, her heterochromatic eyes wide with panic. "Just solid concrete!"

The shadows scream in my head, their song reaching a crescendo that threatens to split my skull. They're trying to tell me something, trying to hold onto that memory of blue eyes and rain scent, but the present danger demands attention.

"I need…I need space," I gasp, pushing away from Riot's reaching hands. My head pounds with the shadows' increasingly frantic song, their volume rising to match the blaring alarms.

"Are you okay?" Riot demands, but there's something in her eyes — recognition of a specific kind of danger.

"Triggered," I manage through gritted teeth. "Like the experiments. Don't…don't want to hurt any of you."

Instead of backing away, Riot surges forward through the water. Her hand clamps around my throat, squeezing hard enough to make me splutter and growl.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I snarl, but she just tightens her grip. My hands voluntarily try to stop her by trapping her wrists, which makes it almost impossible to keep afloat with my kicking feet down under, but I’m trying my best.

She pulls herself close, her face inches from mine as she whispers, "I am your enemy. If you lose your shit, you will only hurt me, you understand?!"

Before I can process her words, she slams her forehead into mine. The impact makes me gasp, more from surprise than pain. The shadows howl their protest as I hiss at her, but something about the contact helps ground me.

Or it makes my attention narrow on her.

To be the first one to feel my wrath…

"What are you doing to her?" Luna calls out, her unseeing eyes somehow finding us in the chaos.

"Stop it!" Azurite demands, starting to swim toward us.

Another alarm joins the cacophony, this one higher-pitched and more urgent. The water rises faster now, eating up what little air space remains near the ceiling.

Riot maintains her grip on my throat, her eyes locked on mine with fierce determination. She's giving me something to focus on besides the memories, besides the shadows' song, besides the rising panic of being trapped in flooding darkness.

She's making herself a target so the others stay safe.

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