Chapter 109

[Three Days Later – Biochemistry Lab, Vanguard University]

The lab lights buzzed overhead, casting sharp white beams across rows of metal tables and sealed containment units. Ryah worked like a woman possessed—hair in a tighter bun now, sleeves rolled up, gloves stained with traces of chemicals I couldn't even pronounce.

I sat in the corner, mostly watching. Mostly staying out of the way.

She glanced over her shoulder. "You pacing again?"

I froze mid-step. "No."

She smirked without looking up again. "You're literally a tank in disguise and somehow still manage to wear a hole in the floor."

"I'm just thinking."

"Well, stop. You're making the beakers nervous."

Despite myself, I huffed a laugh. She always did have that way of easing tension—like she knew just how tightly my mind was wound and where to cut the wire before it snapped.

She turned to face me, holding a vial of thick, glowing green liquid. "Okay. So. Here's what we've got so far."

I stepped closer, and she gestured to the sample tray.

"This compound destabilizes advanced regenerative cells. The toxin overwhelms the cell's internal balance and causes mutational fatigue. They keep trying to repair, but the 'instructions' get fuzzier every time."

"So their own regeneration eats them alive?"

"Basically." She handed me a tablet with the simulation on-screen. The Nomu's cells tried to fight back. Then faltered. Then failed.

"But," she added, pointing to the red blinking alert, "there's a reason this isn't already being used in the field."

I frowned. "Let me guess—lethal to humans?"

"Yeah. Very. Even a controlled dose could cripple someone without regenerative ability."

I looked down at the vial again, the faint pulse of its glow like a heartbeat in a jar.

"And the antidote?"

She paused. "I'm still working on it. I can stabilize the reaction after infection, but the window is tight. You'd have to be fast. Like... Superman-fast."

"Lucky me," I said dryly.

She raised an eyebrow. "You're actually considering using this yourself?"

"If I have to."

She studied me for a moment. "Still the same Anos."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Reckless. Noble. Always ready to break yourself if it means saving someone else."

Her voice was softer now. "Back in primary school, you were the only kid who stood up to those older jerks. Even when they pushed you around. I never forgot that."

I blinked, surprised. "You remember that?"

"I remember you. You disappeared before anyone could say goodbye."

I swallowed. "I didn't exactly have a choice."

She nodded. "Well... this time, I'm not letting you disappear again."

The air between us was quieter now, heavier—but not in a bad way. Like the space between two people who had been broken in different ways, and finally found someone who understood the fractures.

She turned back to the station. "Give me two more days. I'll have the antidote ready. Then... we test it."

[Later That Night]

I lay back on the guest cot Ryah had set up in a quiet room at the university, staring up at the ceiling tiles. My mind was spinning.

The compound could work. It could finally end this.

But it came at a cost.

A risk I might not come back from.

Still, if it meant giving Peter, Kenji, and Hizashi a chance to breathe… if it meant sparing someone else from ending up on a table with wires in their veins…

Then maybe it was worth it.

I closed my eyes, whispering a quiet thank-you to Ryah—just loud enough that the ghosts might hear it.