The ground beneath Fade's boots rippled—not from motion, but instability.His vision stuttered. The golem hadn't even landed a second blow, but reality itself was starting to fold. Lines blurred. Angles twisted. The silence was too sharp, like a blade drawn across thought.
Then—
A pulse. Not heard. Felt. Like something inside his bones had been struck.
Fade staggered sideways, his palm pressed to the ground—but even the texture of the stone felt wrong. It was smooth and cracked and wet and hot all at once. His breathing grew shallow.
[Chemosense Triggered – Emergency Protocol Engaged]
[Cognitive Distortion Detected – Analyzing Environmental Data]
The world vibrated behind his eyes. Smells returned first—charred protein, wet copper, the sour tang of discharged ether residue.
Then came emotion.
Not his.
[Emotive Echoes Detected – Despair. Confusion. Dismemberment.]