Nyx's name trended by evening.
Not her alias.
Her real one.
Old footage surfaced—grainy, deliberately incomplete.
A younger Nyx in a medical ward. Restrained. Surrounded by monitors.
Headlines followed.
REGISTRY FILE LEAK: UNSTABLE NULL-WEAVE SUBJECT
EXPERIMENTAL CULTIVATOR LINKED TO MULTIPLE FAILURES
DOCKSIDE HARBORS BIOHAZARD RISK
Nyx stared at the screen, face drained of color.
"That's… not all of it," she whispered.
Alpha already knew.
[Shadow Sense: Emotional Trauma — Active]
Rex swore. "They're framing her as a failed experiment."
Nyx shook her head slowly. "I wasn't failed," she said. "I escaped."
Silence fell.
Alpha turned to her. "Tell me."
Nyx hesitated.
Then spoke.
"They sealed me because Null Weave didn't just reject order," she said. "It reflected it."
She met Alpha's eyes. "People using registered techniques around me started collapsing. Feedback loops. Neural damage."
Rex went pale. "So they labeled you hazardous."
"They labeled me inconvenient," Nyx corrected.
Outside, protesters gathered.
Not violent.
Afraid.
They held signs.
WE DESERVE SAFETY
NO EXPERIMENTS NEAR CIVILIANS
Nyx's hands trembled.
"I never wanted to hurt anyone," she said. "If I stay, Dockside becomes a target."
Alpha felt the pull of the Guardian Anchor twist painfully.
This was the kind of decision it demanded.
Nyx looked at him. "Let me go."
Alpha didn't answer immediately.
He stepped outside.
Faced the crowd.
"No one here is being experimented on," Alpha said. "No one here is a weapon."
A man shouted, "Then why hide her past?"
Alpha replied, "Because the Registry turned survival into a crime."
Nyx walked out beside him.
Every camera turned.
"I won't hurt you," she said clearly. "And I won't stay if you don't want me here."
The crowd hesitated.
Fear warred with humanity.
A child tugged her mother's sleeve. "She looks sad."
The woman lowered her sign.
Then another.
Not all.
But enough.
[Public Sentiment: Divided — Stabilizing]
Nyx exhaled shakily.
Alpha turned to her.
"I won't cage you," he said quietly. "But I won't abandon you either."
She nodded, eyes wet. "Then I'll choose."
[Decision Pending: FMC Agency — Active]
Far away, Chairman Lu watched the feeds.
"Good," Lu said. "She's exposed."
An aide asked, "Next step?"
Lu's voice was cold.
"Force her hand."