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The metallic groans of the straps keeping my head in place grew louder and more frequent.
I imagined them like old, rusted chains holding back an ancient beast.
I had felt so restrained, so powerless.
I had been hoping for any opportunity, no matter how small, to break free.
But that liberation seemed distant, unattainable.
In the end, it wasn’t the straps themselves that yielded, but the very anchors they were attached to.
With a sharp and sudden crack, the fastenings shattered.
My head, no longer held in its forced upright position, slumped forward.
The weight of my weariness, my loss of strength, brought me to a pitiful bowed stance.
I wanted to push up, to defy gravity and the intense pull of that infernal machine.
But I simply couldn’t.
It felt like massive boulders were pressing down on my shoulders, forcing me to remain in this debased state.
It was humiliating.
Here I was, a once mighty wielder of unparalleled power, now reduced to this.
Ikhax had won, and the realization of that was almost as painful as the physical torment I was undergoing.
“Kuana!” Violet’s voice was frantic, her tone laced with panic.
I could hear the anguish, the helplessness.
It broke my heart more than the machine was breaking my spirit.
I wished I could console her, tell her I was okay, even if it was a lie.
But the simple act of forming words, of drawing breath, was beyond me.
The machine continued its relentless hum, its lights pulsating in a rhythm that felt like it was mocking my weakening heartbeats.
The cruel dance of blue and purple glows painted grotesque patterns on the walls, ever shifting, ever taunting.
How had it come to this?
How had we been ensnared in Ikhax’s trap?
The answers were just as distant as my memories of a normal life, of a time before the plasma, before the power.
Was this the price of love?
Of daring to hope for a better future with Violet?
The cost seemed too high, and despair threatened to overwhelm me.
Amidst the tumult, a warm touch found my hand.
It was Violet, her fingers weaving through mine, her grip firm and determined.
