Chapter 27 · Symbiosis in the Neon Gutters

"Stop fighting me, Kael, or we both end up as organic sludge on this sidewalk," Nyx’s voice screamed inside my skull, vibrating against my optic nerves.

I didn't answer. I couldn't. I was too busy trying to keep my left leg from twitching into a seizure while three corporate Enforcers closed in, their boots clicking rhythmically against the wet pavement. My vision was flickering—static lines of neon pink and electric blue cutting across the world like a broken monitor.

"Left. Now!" she barked.

I lunged left, my muscles screaming. The movement was jagged, wrong. It felt like my tendons were being pulled by a puppeteer who hated me. A burst of plasma fire scorched the air where I’d been standing a second ago, smelling of ozone and burnt trash.

"I can't... keep this up," I wheezed, slamming my back against a grime-streaked wall. My chest felt like it was full of hot glass. Every breath was a gamble. "My body is rejecting you, you glitchy bitch."

"Correct," she snapped, her tone dripping with a lethal kind of sarcasm. "Your pathetic human biology is failing the upgrade.