The platform shook as if the entire world beneath them was waking up. Machinery whined, metal teeth clashed together, and the crimson glow of the abyss pulsed like a beating heart. That colossal eye remained fixed on Lin, its gaze unblinking, its light slicing straight through the marrow of his bones.
"Designation: Lin."
The words thundered again, not just echoing through the chamber, but vibrating inside his skull. Lin clutched his head, his breathing sharp and ragged. His body wasn't responding the way he wanted. His muscles locked, his pulse raced out of rhythm, and his mind fractured under the weight of memories that weren't entirely his.
Needles. Restraints. White light flooding vision.
Hands pressing him down, voices cold, clinical.
Jin's scream—then silence.
Jin's laughter cracked through the memory.
"They carved you out of me. Or maybe they carved me out of you. Doesn't matter. Either way, we're pieces of the same puzzle."
