The platform screamed under the abyss's pull. Metal cracked like bone, whole slabs tearing away and dropping into the glowing void below. Lin dangled at the edge, his body twisted in crimson chains that weren't metal at all but living light—writhing, tightening, each link embedding into his skin like barbed wire. His veins pulsed to the abyss's rhythm, his eyes burned in alternating flashes of black and red.
Keller's grip on Lin's arm was iron, but his boots skidded across the platform, sparks showering from steel as his strength began to fail. Min-joon clung to Lin's other arm, his small frame trembling violently, tears streaming freely. His voice was hoarse from screaming.
"Don't let go! Don't you dare let go!"
"I'm not—!" Keller spat, muscles straining, "—but he's not fighting it anymore!"
Lin's head lolled forward, crimson flickering under his skin like molten fire. The abyss's colossal eye pulsed, its voice splitting the air with godlike force:
"ASSIMILATE."
