I kept running.
My bare feet slapped painfully against the cracked stone floors of the Haven's outer corridors. Each step sent jolts of pain up my legs. The golden light inside me surged erratically, giving me bursts of unnatural speed that only made the panic feel sharper and more uncontrollable. I didn't know where I was going. I just knew I couldn't stop moving. I couldn't let them catch me. I couldn't let myself stay still long enough for another one of those horrifying memories to rip through my mind.
Behind me their voices echoed through the ruined halls.
"Alex, stop!"
"Please, you're going to hurt yourself!"
"Whatever you saw, it wasn't real!"
Liora's voice was the clearest, soft and breaking with worry. Kaia's was deeper and more insistent. Morgana's cut through them all like a blade, commanding and cold. I didn't look back. I couldn't. The images from those glitches were still flashing behind my eyes every few seconds, vivid and merciless.
Another one hit me as I rounded a corner into a collapsed gallery.
I was behind Kaia, slamming into her with brutal force. One hand was fisted in her silver hair, yanking her head back sharply. She was moaning, crying, begging. I laughed, a cold and cruel sound that wasn't mine, and slapped her ass hard enough to leave a bright red handprint. "Take it, you greedy whore," I growled in a voice deeper than my own. "You wanted the real Chosen. Now choke on it." I thrust harder, viciously, making her sob with overstimulation.
I staggered and slammed my shoulder into a broken pillar. The pain helped for half a second, grounding me in the present. I pushed off the stone and kept running, breath sawing in and out of my lungs.
This wasn't me.
I would never talk to them like that. I would never hurt them. But the version of me that had taken over last night had done exactly that, and they had loved it. They were still chasing me, still calling out with concern and confusion, completely unaware that something else had been wearing my body like a suit while I was busy dying in a dirty alley.
The corridor opened into one of the old gardens, now nothing but shattered fountains and ash-covered soil. Moonlight poured down through the broken glass dome above, turning everything silver and ghostly. I sprinted across the open space, feet kicking up clouds of fine gray ash with every stride.
Another flash assaulted me.
Liora was on all fours, face pressed into the sheets, ass raised high. I was behind her, gripping her narrow hips hard enough to leave bruises as I fucked her with brutal, punishing strokes. Her small body jolted forward with every thrust. She was crying, moaning, begging incoherently. I slapped her ass hard, then again, leaving bright red handprints. "Louder," I snarled. "Let them all hear how much you love being broken." She came so hard her arms gave out, collapsing forward while her cunt spasmed around me.
I cried out and nearly fell, catching myself on the edge of a broken fountain. My knees scraped against the stone. Blood trickled down my shin, but I barely felt it. The panic was swallowing everything now.
"Alex!"
Liora's voice was much closer. I looked back and saw her running across the garden, still completely naked, silver hair streaming behind her like moonlight. Kaia and Morgana were right behind her, their expressions a mix of worry and determination.
I turned and ran again, deeper into the ruined wing, my mind screaming.
What if it happens again?
What if next time I don't come back?
What if that thing is still inside me, waiting?
I burst through a half-collapsed doorway into an old training hall. The roof was gone, exposing the night sky. Broken weapons and shattered training dummies littered the floor. I stumbled over a piece of debris and fell hard, scraping my palms and knees on the broken stone. The pain was sharp and real, but it was nothing compared to the horror twisting in my chest.
The girls were getting closer.
I crawled to my feet again, tears burning in my eyes, and kept running.
To be continued.