The icy feeling in his chest quickly turned into a piercing pain. The pain was so real that Satoshi could even feel the vibrations of his severed spine grinding against his metal arm.
All the Salvation Army soldiers around him, including several Disciples who had revealed their identities, were killed in a single blow by the Nanomechanical Robots that had charged in. Some even had their heads twisted off.
At the same time, Satoshi felt a numb, itching sensation at his wound. He looked down and saw it being rapidly devoured by the Nanomechanical Cluster. The silver-gray metal structure was spreading to the rest of his body!
And he wasn't dead yet!
This feeling, a fate worse than death, spread throughout his body. Finally, his vision went black, and he could see nothing at all.
The agonizing pain vanished in that same instant.
On the sofa, Satoshi sat up abruptly, pulling off the "Other Shore" virtual reality headset and looking down at his chest and abdomen.
