The air shimmered with burning red letters, their glow flickering across my weapons. Something was happening. Perhaps the system had finally decided to lend me a hand, realizing I'd never be able to retrieve those needles on my own.
I reached out, my finger trembling as I stretched it toward the light. The hesitation was brief; after all, there was nothing to fear from my own system, right?
My fingertip brushed against a soft surface, sinking halfway before a sharp sting shot through it, followed by a spreading warmth. Blood. The system had cut me open. I tried to pull back, but my finger wouldn't move, held fast as if the air itself had turned solid around it.
The letters on the system screen slowly burst into a dance, the chaos making my head spin. Until it all settled into a circle, turning slowly like a lock where my finger was the key.
