The pain was unlike anything Jack had experienced.
This experience surpassed the severity of any physical trauma, including stab wounds or bone fractures, that his augmented physique had previously sustained.
This was cellular death, every nerve ending in his hand screaming simultaneously as moisture vaporized and tissue collapsed.
'It won't stop,' Jack realized with ice-cold clarity that cut through the agony. 'The technique is self-sustaining. It won't stop. If it reaches my torso, if it gets to my heart or lungs or major organs, I'm dead. Regeneration won't matter because there won't be enough living tissue left to regenerate from. My entire body will become a dried husk in seconds.'
The creeping heat was spreading faster now, feeding on the rich blood vessels, racing toward his forearm with terrifying acceleration.
Jack had about one second before the technique reached his forearm. Two seconds before it invaded his shoulder.
