Page 151 of Godslayer
Feeling a little bit better in the near darkness, I open my eyes and find him standing up now, hand still on a light switch on the wall. He’s lit up. Entirely lit up. Every part of his visible skin is glowing with lights. Some kind of tech that should be on the screen of a computer, but is now embedded into his body.
“What happened to you?”
His brow furrows, eyes narrowing. “What?”
“Your body, Tyse! What the hell happened to your body!”
“Oh.” He blows out a breath, looking down at his arms where all his tattoos are now covered in orange and green glowing patterns. “This is just…” His eyes find mine. “An upgrade.”
“Upgrade? You’re glowing with lights!” I might be getting hysterical. “I don’t understand. What happened to you? Because this doesn’t look like an upgrade, Tyse. You look like one of thosethings!”
He sighs now, glancing away. Absently rubs his hand through his hair. A flicker of something clenches in his jaw.
I just compared him to a Delta Factory worker bot. It’s an insult. He’s well aware of what has happened to him and he’s not in the mood for my judgment.
He looks back at me. “It’s just augments, Clara. Like the eyes.” He points to his eyes, which are the least glow-y thing about him right now. “Nothin’ to get upset about.”
My mouth drops open.Nothing to get upset about?
He uses my dumbstruck silence as an opportunity to duck into another room. From the steam pouring out, I decide that this is the bathroom. When he returns a few moments later, he’s wearing a pair of black tactical pants, a belt, and a piece of sleeveless chest armor that should dial back his bot factor, but instead only adds to it.
Because this armor looks like it grew out of him. It’s so tight and sculpted to his muscles. Plus, it’s got lights on it as well.
“Tyse,” I breathe. “Where… what? I don’t understand.”
“It’s all right. You’ll be OK.”
“You keep saying that, but I don’t feel OK, Tyse. I feel like shit, actually. And I’m not even that worried about me. It’s… you.”
“You’re just confused, that’s all.” He draws in a deep breath and lets it out as a tired sigh. “You were drained.”
Drained. It takes… well, much longer than it should for me to connect the dots. To remember where I am. What we’re doing.
What I agreed to.
Drained. Of spark, he’s saying. Harvested.
Because I gave the god Epsilon permission to take everything I have and give it to Tyse so he can survive the experiments and the fights that come after.
And this is what I gave Epsilon permission to do to him.
He doesn’t even look human.
“How long? How long have we been doing this?”
“Ten days.”
“Ten—” I gasp. “Ten?”
He doesn’t answer, just nods.
“And… how many times have I asked you these questions?”
“Seven. You recovered pretty quick the first several times—just a few hours. But it’s takin’ longer now.”
“I’ve lost my memory?”
“Not exactly. You do remember. At least, you will. It just… takes time. And it’s… gettin’ worse.”
