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The procedure started. She felt it. Almost on its own. A transformation on the surface of her mind. She steadied it. Guided it. Traced its path along her skull.

She envisioned her desire. A new connection in her mind. A way to see more of the world. To reveal its secrets. In the trees, especially. In this tree, right in front of her. There was more it could tell. In her heart, she knew that to be true.

And Agam’s knowledge was there, too. Whispering to her. This was possible. Along with so much more.

But how, exactly? A new connection? With what materials? Proteins? Keratin? Injecting right onto the surface of her brain?

Fear was back. Doubt. Worry. And this time, they had teeth to them. Merit. Not killed so easily.

She felt herself faltering. What was she thinking? All this confidence? She was still so young. Inexperienced. Her first real attempt at using mutation was on her own brain? Had she gone mad?

Quite possibly. She and Chergoa hadn’t even utilized pan-wzrost yet. That hyper-state was supposed to be key for helping both integration and mutation users to expand their repertoire. Their material base. All she had currently was keratin.

Realistically. Logically. Reasonably. That was simply not enough.

Agam’s knowledge was the source of her confidence, but was that not still foolish? The man’s knowledge was not the man himself. Nor was it complete.

Chergoa. Where was Chergoa? Emiliana desperately wanted the reaper’s help, right now, if only to hear her voice. That always seemed to calm her.

But she felt so lost. Stuck in a labyrinth of her own mind with a burning orb in her hand. A raging star, threatening her with its plasma.

The mutation was ready. Waiting for her. She’d provoked it. Too late for cold feet now, it told her. Don’t succumb to fear. Where had all that certainty gone? Where was Agam?

He’d never been there, of course. She didn’t actually know him.

Agh. She was trembling now. Physically. She could feel it.

Chergoa. Chergoa, please...

She tried to reach out. With her thoughts. Were they getting through? She couldn’t even tell. She was stuck. In this headspace. Wherever it was.

The emotions were boiling now. She felt them all around her. Not touching her quite yet, thankfully. Not infecting her with their disorder. Their chaos. But they were right there. Ready to wash over her like a flood.

This was going bad. Of course it was. She was an overconfident child. An idiot out of her depth. And she was about to break. The mutation was going to be so bad. Worse than she could possibly imagine. A nightmare carved into her flesh for the rest of her life.