[The Puppet Master]The dawn over New Macau was a cruel, mocking gold, painting the ruins of the Core in a beauty we hadn't earned. Jinyan’s hand was a vice around mine, his knuckles white, his breath hitched in a jagged rhythm that signaled the return of the ghost. The monitor’s red text—Biological Overwrite Initiated—wasn't just a notification; it was the sound of a lid closing on a coffin.I had just taught a man without a memory how to feel again, only to realize that by waking his heart, I had provided the perfect conductor for the very poison that was designed to consume him—and now, to save Jinyan, I have to become the monster he once was, rewriting his soul before Elara can claim the body.~~~The transition was agonizing to watch. Jinyan’s body arched, his spine snapping taut as the silver ring on his finger began to glow with a sickly, incandescent heat. The scent of ozone and burning circuitry filled the air, mixing with the salt of my tears. His eyes, which had just begun
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