MTLNOVEL Chapter 49: A Whisper in the Dark
A Whisper in the Dark
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1. The Weight of the Mission (Tom's POV)
The underground bunker buzzed with tension. Maps and data projections flickered against the cracked stone walls, outlining the Council's black site—a fortress buried beneath layers of security, illusions, and sentient defenses.
Tom stood over the schematics, studying the entry points, guard rotations, and weaknesses like a puzzle waiting to be solved.
But something felt off.
Not about the mission.
About him.
For the past hour, there had been a subtle pull at the edges of his mind, like something was trying to surface.
A whisper just out of reach.
He rubbed his temples, frustration building.
Something was waking up inside him.
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2. The First Glitch (Subtle System Reawakening – Tom's POV)
"Tom?"
Diane's voice cut through his thoughts. He blinked and realized he'd been staring at the same point on the map for too long.
"Yeah. Sorry."
"You okay?" Stacy asked, frowning. "You've been quiet."
Tom exhaled, shaking his head. "Just—" He paused.
There it was again.
A faint hum in his mind. A static-like distortion at the edge of his thoughts.
Then, suddenly—
[…To…]
The voice was clipped, broken, like a radio struggling for signal.
[…Tom…]
His pulse spiked.
The system.
Imma.
No. That's impossible.
He hadn't heard anything from his system since waking up. The illusion had cut him off, severed him from his own power.
So why now?
"Tom?" Diane called again, concern lacing her voice.
He forced himself to focus, pushing aside the rising unease.
"Yeah," he said, voice steady. "I'm fine."
But he wasn't.
Because he knew—something was waking up.
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3. A Message from the Void (Tom's POV – First Contact with Imma)
The briefing continued, but Tom barely processed it.
His fingers twitched, the pull in his mind growing stronger.
Then—
[Tom…]
A sudden jolt ran through his body, as if something inside him had been forcibly rebooted.
His vision flickered, the world glitching for just a split second.
And then he heard it—not just a whisper, but a voice he hadn't heard in what felt like eternity.
[—System Reconnect… Incomplete. Error. Error.]
[User Memory Fragmentation Detected.]
[Imma… trying…]
Tom's breath caught in his throat.
She's still there.
His system wasn't gone.
It had been suppressed. Locked away with his memories.
And now, it was trying to reach him.
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4. Nyla's Observation (Nyla's POV – Noticing Tom's Shift)
Nyla had been watching Tom closely since he walked into the war room.
She knew him better than most.
And something was off.
He was still sharp, still focused—but there was a flicker in his eyes, a tension in his movements that wasn't there before.
She had seen this before.
When soldiers started remembering what had been stolen from them.
After the briefing ended, she caught up to him in the hallway.
"You're distracted," she said flatly.
Tom exhaled. "Lot on my mind."
Nyla's gaze didn't waver. "You sure that's all it is?"
A long silence.
Then, finally, Tom's expression shifted—something between uncertainty and realization.
"I think…" His voice was quiet, almost hesitant. "I think something's waking up in me."
Nyla's fingers tightened into fists.
That could mean a lot of things.
But in a war like this, waking up was never just waking up.
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5. The Road to the Black Site (Group POV – Setting Up the Next Mission)
With the plan set, the team gathered their supplies and prepared for departure.
The black site was buried beneath a barren wasteland, camouflaged from all conventional tracking.
They had one way in—a covert insertion through a collapsed sector that hadn't been reinforced yet.
Diane finished adjusting her gear and glanced at Tom. "You ready?"
He wasn't sure how to answer that.
His abilities were coming back. His system was trying to reconnect.
And with every step, the roulette wheel inside him felt like it was spinning faster.
Tom forced a smirk.
"Always."
The war was just getting started.
And so was he.
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