Chapter 23 · Echoes of the Abyss

"Stop it! Kane, stop it right now!"

Lyra’s voice cracked, barely audible over the screech of twisting metal. I didn't hear her. Not really. All I could hear was the screaming—not from her, but from the air itself. The void energy was leaking out of my palms in jagged, violet streaks, tearing into the floor of the derelict hangar.

I slammed my fist into a rusted support beam, and the steel didn't just bend; it disintegrated. The power didn't feel like mine. It felt like a parasite, a starving thing that had finally found a door and was trying to kick it wide open.

"I can't... I can't shut it off," I gasped, my voice sounding like gravel grinding together.

Lyra lunged forward, grabbing my wrist. Her skin was hot against my freezing flesh, a sharp contrast that almost snapped me back to reality. She tried to pull me away from the flickering console, but I was anchored by the sheer force of the discharge.

"Look at me!" she yelled, stepping into my space, her chest nearly brushing mine. Her eyes were wide, terrified, but she didn't let go. "You're not a weapon, Kane. You're a man.