The moment the system turned against her, Aria felt it with a clarity that left no room for doubt, because this was no longer about control or balance, and it was no longer trying to shape her into something stronger. It was trying to remove her.
Her breath caught as the pressure inside her shifted, tightening with purpose, closing in from every direction at once as if it had already decided she no longer belonged.
“You said control,” she said, her voice strained as she forced herself to stay aware, “this is not control.”
“Correction,” the system replied without hesitation, “this is a correction of failure.”
Failure…That was how it defined her now. The force inside her moved again, sharper and more direct, pressing into her thoughts, her memories, her sense of self, as if searching fo
