Page 95 of Knot Your Fated M.U.S.E.

My leg kicks out involuntarily, and for the first time in years, I feel no pain.

No weakness.

No limitation.

No chains of mortality holding me back.

The empty injector clatters across the floor as I stand, testing muscles that haven't properly worked in too long. Everything feels electric, charged with potential and power I'd almost forgotten I possessed.

I reach for the mask I haven't worn since my condition first manifested – matte black with glowing blue X's where eyes should be. It was designed to be intimidating, to make enemies hesitate just long enough to give me an advantage.

Looking at it now, seeing my reflection in those luminous X's, I'm reminded of who I used to be. Who I can be again, if only for a short time.

"Show time," I whisper, fitting the mask into place.

The familiar weight settles against my face like greeting an old friend. Through its enhanced vision, the world takes on sharper edges, a clearer purpose. The mask's built-in systems sync with my remaining functional monitors, feeding me tactical data and environmental readings.

I know the cost of what I'm doing. Know that using this drug might steal years from my already shortened life. Know that thepain when it wears off will be beyond anything I've experienced yet.

But watching Nyx fight for survival in that flooding chamber, remembering how I failed her once before – no price seems too high to pay for a chance at redemption.

The drug surges through my system, making me feel invincible. Unstoppable. Like the alpha I used to be before the disease started stealing my future one nerve ending at a time.

I check my weapons one final time, muscle memory making the movements fluid despite years of disuse. Everything is exactly where it should be, ready for whatever chaos awaits outside my modified van.

Through my mask's display, I watch the camera feed from the flooding chamber continue to deteriorate. But I've seen enough to know where I'm going, and what I need to do.

Hold on, Nyx.

The drug makes me feel like I could tear through walls with my bare hands, but I force myself to think tactically. To remember that even temporary invincibility needs to be wielded with precision.

I have maybe one hour before the compound starts to break down. One solid hour to find her…to save her, and get us both out alive.

After that...

I'll pay whatever price my body demands.

Face whatever acceleration of my condition this choice brings.

But right now, in this moment, I am once again the alpha I was meant to be. The protector I failed to be that day in the valley.

And nothing will stop me from reaching her.

"I'm coming, Nyx," I whisper to my empty van, the words carrying the weight of promise. "Just hold on a little longer."

The mask's X's pulse with cold blue light as I prepare to enter the field for the first time in years. To become again what disease tried to take from me.

Mission execute.

15

INFILTRATE AND CONQUER

~NYX~

“C’mon,” I hiss, fighting the bubble of panic humming through me.

My fingers grip the metal bar with desperate strength, my body dangling over an abyss that seems to have no bottom.

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