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"Stop squirming, or I’ll give you a reason to bleed," Kane hissed. He didn't move the blade away from my chest; instead, he pressed it harder, the cold steel biting through my thin, monster-skin tunic.
I choked back a gasp, my back slammed against the damp stone wall of the corridor. "I told you, I don't know how the loop works! I just wake up, I die, and I eat things. That's the whole damn deal!"
"Liar." His voice was a low vibration that I felt in my own ribs. He stepped closer, closing the gap until I could smell the metallic tang of his armor and the faint, sharp scent of ozone. He was too close. Way too close. My heart was hammering against the knife, and he definitely felt it. "You’re a glitch. A mistake in the Maw’s code. And glitches get patched."
I glared up at him, trying to find some scrap of leverage. "Then patch me. Kill me right now. I’ll just wake up as a Level 1 rat again and maybe this time I'll bite your ankles."
Kane’s eyes narrowed. He didn't laugh. He just leaned in, his breath warm against my ear, a stark contrast to the freezing air of the dungeon. "Not this time. The system is flagging you. You've looped too many times with too much retained data. You're not a reset anymore, Jessa. You're a target."
He pulled back just enough to look me in the eye. His gaze was heavy, dominant, like he already owned every breath I took. "The Maw is starting a Purge. Every anomaly, every corrupted entity—including you—gets wiped. Permanently. No more waking up. No more eating. Just... gone."
I froze. "What?"
"You heard me," he said. He finally slid the knife away, but only to grab my wrist in a grip that felt like a vice. He yanked me forward, forcing me to stumble. "You want to survive? You stop playing the victim and start being useful."
"Useful how?" I snapped, trying to wrench my arm away. He didn't budge. His fingers were calloused, hot, and completely immovable.
"The Purge doesn't touch registered assets," Kane explained, his tone clinical, like he was discussing a business contract. "If you bind your essence to a high-rank human hunter, the system recognizes you as a pet. A familiar. A piece of gear. You become an extension of me, and the Purge ignores you."
I stared at him, horrified. "A pet? You want me to be your damn dog?"
"Better a dog than a smudge on the floor," he countered. He stepped into my space again, his chest nearly brushing mine. I could feel the heat radiating off him, a physical pressure that made my skin prickle. "But there's a catch. Binding isn't free. To the system, you're an anomaly. To make you an asset, we have to rewrite your core. Every level you gain while bound to me will erase a piece of your previous memories. The more you evolve, the less 'Jessa' stays behind."
My stomach dropped. "Wait. You're saying if I get stronger, I forget who I am?"
"Precisely," Kane said. He looked at me with something that almost looked like pity, but was mostly just hunger for information. "The system demands balance. You want the power to survive? You pay with your identity. That's the price of the contract."
I backed away, my boots scraping on the grit. "Hell no. I'm not doing that. I'd rather take my chances with the Purge."
"With what chances?" Kane asked. He gestured vaguely behind us, toward the deeper tunnels where a low, rhythmic thrumming had started to echo. It sounded like a giant heartbeat, slow and menacing. "The countdown has already started. You can feel it, can't you? The air getting thinner? The shadows starting to eat at your edges?"
I looked down at my hands. He was right. The tips of my fingers were flickering, turning translucent for a split second before snapping back. I felt a sudden, sharp void in my chest, like a piece of me was already being deleted. Panic surged, hot and blinding.
"I can't... I can't just forget everything!" I shouted, my voice echoing off the cavern walls. "Who am I if I don't remember why I'm fighting this place?"
"You'll be alive," Kane said. He stepped forward, his hand moving from my wrist to the back of my neck, his palm heavy and warm. He didn't squeeze, but the possessive weight of it made my breath hitch. "And you'll be mine. Which means you'll be protected. For now."
I shivered, not from the cold, but from the way he was looking at me—like I was a puzzle he was determined to solve, or a tool he couldn't wait to break in. "Why do you even care? You're a top delver. You could just leave me here and collect the bounty for a dead anomaly."
"Because you're the only thing in this hellhole that doesn't follow the rules," he whispered, his face inches from mine. I could see the gold flecks in his pupils, the predatory intensity there. "And I've always liked breaking the rules."
I wanted to spit in his face. I wanted to scream. But the flickering in my hands was getting worse. The thrumming in the walls grew louder, turning into a roar that vibrated in my teeth.
"Fine," I hissed, my voice trembling. "But I want a deal. You get me out of the Maw. You find a way to break this loop without erasing my brain. And in return, I'll be your... whatever the hell you want."
Kane's lips curved into a ghost of a smirk. "Deal. But remember, Jessa—once the bind is set, you can't opt out. If I die, you vanish. If I discard you, you're erased."
"Just do it before I change my mind," I snapped, though we both knew I had no choice.
He didn't waste another second. He grabbed my hand, his fingers interlocking with mine in a grip that was far too intimate for two people who hated each other. He began to chant something in a low, guttural language that sounded like grinding stone.
Suddenly, a blinding gold light erupted between our palms. It wasn't a gentle glow; it felt like a brand, searing into my skin. I gasped, trying to pull away, but he held me tight, pulling me flush against his chest. I could feel the hard lines of his muscles, the frantic beat of his own heart mirroring mine.
*Sizzle.*
It felt like a hot needle was being threaded through my consciousness. A flash of a memory—a birthday cake, a red ribbon, a voice calling my name—flickered and then vanished, snuffed out like a candle in a gale.
"Damn it!" I yelled, the pain spiking. "It's already taking things!"
"Stay still!" Kane commanded, his voice booming. "Focus on me. Only me!"
I clung to him, my nails digging into his leather armor, my breath coming in ragged sobs. For a moment, the world disappeared. There was nothing but the heat of his body, the scent of ozone, and the terrifying sensation of being rewritten.
Then, the light snapped shut.
Silence rushed back into the corridor, heavy and oppressive. I slumped against him, exhausted, my mind feeling strangely hollow, like a room where some of the furniture had been moved out while I wasn't looking.
I pulled away slowly, looking at my hand. A faint, glowing mark—a geometric seal—was etched into my skin.
"Did it work?" I whispered.
Kane didn't answer immediately. He was staring at the air in front of us. I followed his gaze and saw a shimmering blue screen manifesting from the void. It was a system notification, but it wasn't mine. It was his.
*Asset Bound: Jessa Quinn (Anomaly/Glitch)* *Status: Protected from Purge* *Current Sync: 1%*
"You're officially my property," Kane said, his voice returning to that cool, detached tone. He stepped back, the sudden loss of his warmth leaving me feeling cold and exposed. "Now we move. The Purge is just the first wave. The Maw doesn't like losing its toys, and it's already sending the cleanup crew."
"Cleanup crew?" I asked, wiping sweat from my forehead. "What does that even mean?"
As if in answer, a piercing shriek ripped through the tunnels, a sound so loud it made my ears bleed. It wasn't a monster. It was something worse—a system sentinel.
Kane grabbed my arm again, not gently. "Run. Now."
We bolted down the corridor, our footsteps echoing in the dark. I could feel the sentinel closing in, the air behind us beginning to dissolve into static. Every time I breathed, I felt a tiny piece of something—a face, a name, a feeling—slip away, replaced by a cold, artificial strength.
We rounded a corner, sliding into a narrow alcove. Kane pressed me back into the shadows, his body shielding mine from the main path. He was breathing hard, his eyes scanning the darkness.
"Listen," he whispered, his lips brushing my temple. "Whatever happens next, don't let go of my hand. If the connection breaks while the sentinel is scanning, you're dead."
I nodded, my fingers trembling as I gripped his hand. I looked up at him, and for a split second, the hatred was gone, replaced by a raw, terrifying vulnerability.
"Why did you really save me, Kane?"
He didn't answer. He just tightened his grip and looked toward the tunnel entrance.
A small, holographic screen flickered into existence above the corridor, a red alert flashing for every entity in the sector. It was a global bounty board.
My eyes widened as I read the top entry.
*TARGET: JESSA QUINN. STATUS: GLITCH. REWARD: 1,000,000 CREDITS. DEAD OR ALIVE.*
"You've got to be kidding me," I breathed.
"I'm not," Kane said, his voice grim. "And look at the second entry."
I looked. My heart stopped. The second entry wasn't a target. It was a warning.
*PURGE COUNTDOWN: 60 SECONDS. ONLY EXEMPTION: BIND TO HUMAN HUNTER.*
I looked at the seal on my hand, then at the clock ticking down in red numbers above us.
"Wait," I whispered, a sudden realization hitting me. "If the bind is the only way to survive... then who the hell is actually in control here?"
Before he could answer, the wall behind us exploded in a shower of stone and sparks, and a voice boomed through the cavern—a voice that sounded exactly like my own, but colder, older, and infinitely more cruel.
"Found you,"