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The strand consumed Hunter. He blacked out in its grasp, and it pushed his mind down a deep hole. Not falling, like when he entered the Immersion on purpose. This was forceful, a suffocating feeling like when his older cousins pinned him down.
He saw images like that one, memories from the past floating by, pulled from him against his will. He tried to fight back. But there was nothing to fight for. Once in a while he would force himself back to consciousness, and open his eyes to reality, but all he found there were metal fibers sliding over him, enveloping him in darkness.
He let himself sink.
After a long time, he sensed he was awake again. Nothing was holding him anymore. He could move his limbs and stand up, but all he could see was the dim outline of his hands when he waved th
