The Fracture's Edge

The hesitation broke like glass under a hammer.

The darkness surged, a tidal wave of shadow and weight, crashing over us with a force that stole the air from my lungs. Liv's sparks flared brighter, a defiant burst of light, but they flickered, strained against the onslaught. Her grip on my arm tightened, her nails biting into my skin, anchoring me as the ground beneath us buckled—not stone anymore, not even an imitation, but something alive, pulsing, writhing like muscle under strain. I stumbled, my rifle slipping in my hands, the kinetic charge stuttering as the system screamed in my skull.

System Critical:

Core Anomaly Overload.

Psionic Saturation: 99%.

Host Integrity: 12% and Falling.

Countermeasures Failing.

Recommendation: Abort. Abort. Abort.

Abort.

Like there was a way out.

Like I could just turn off the Hollow, shut down the thing reaching into me, rewriting me.