MTLNOVEL Chapter 53: The Council’s Experiment
The Council's Experiment
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1. The Weight of Truth (Tom's POV – Processing the Revelation)
The chamber's cold metal walls seemed to close in around them. The low hum of unseen machinery thrummed through the floors, a sound that had long since faded into the background for those imprisoned here.
But for Tom, it was deafening.
The prisoners weren't criminals.
They weren't rebels, dissidents, or soldiers caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
They were test subjects.
And Tom's stomach twisted at the realization that he had been here before.
The woman he had pulled from the cryo-pod trembled against him, her grip weak but desperate. "You… I know you."
Tom stiffened. "What?"
Her eyes, hollow and sunken, focused on him with something between recognition and terror.
"You were here before. You fought against them. I remember…" She swallowed dryly, her throat barely able to function. "You were supposed to save us."
The words hit like a sledgehammer.
Tom's mind reeled.
His memories were still fragmented, but she wasn't lying. The truth was written in the way she looked at him—like a ghost returned.
Had he led an attack on this facility before?
Had he tried to stop this?
Had he… failed?
Or worse—had the Council erased his past here so he would never remember?
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2. The Facility's Dark Secret (Group POV – The Prisoners' Stories)
The others were still waking.
One by one, the remaining cryo-pods hissed open, releasing their occupants into the stale, clinical air.
Some of them collapsed immediately, their bodies too weak from prolonged stasis.
Others clutched their heads, their minds trying and failing to process the reality of being conscious again.
Stacy knelt beside a middle-aged man, his skin pale and stretched thin over his bones. "What did they do to you?"
The man's breath came in short gasps. "They… changed us. We weren't… people to them. Just… numbers."
Nyla's voice was grim. "The Council never takes prisoners without a reason."
Another prisoner, a child barely past ten years old, whimpered in Diane's arms. His voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper.
"They made us… lucky," he murmured.
Tom's blood turned to ice.
He turned sharply to the woman who had recognized him. "What did they do to you?"
Her eyes flickered toward one of the now-dark pods.
"They tried to give us your power."
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3. Imma's Warning (Tom's POV – System Reconnection Progresses)
A sudden pulse exploded in Tom's head, sending a sharp, electric current through his body.
His vision blurred, the world around him warping like static.
[System Reconnect: 72%]
Imma's voice crackled—stronger than before, but still fragmented.
[User… ALERT… Subject-01… is active.]
Tom's breath caught in his throat.
"Subject-01?"
The woman in his arms tensed violently, her whole body going stiff.
A prisoner in the far corner, still curled against the wall, began sobbing.
Then, like a phantom creeping through the air, a sound rippled through the chamber.
A sharp, cracking noise.
The air grew heavier, thick with something unnatural.
Then came the screech.
A horrific, guttural sound that was almost human—but not quite.
Something had awakened.
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4. The Nightmare the Council Created (Group POV – The First Encounter)
The far chamber doors—reinforced and heavily secured—shuddered violently.
Then again.
And again.
Each impact rattled the room, sending dust and debris cascading from the ceiling.
Tom instinctively stepped in front of the prisoners, every nerve in his body screaming.
Then—
The doors exploded outward.
A monstrous figure stepped into the dim light.
It was twisted, stretched, wrong.
Its limbs were too long, its frame humanoid but grotesquely enhanced. Veins of golden light pulsed beneath its skin, its eyes glowing like smoldering embers.
It wasn't just strong.
It was unnaturally lucky.
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5. A Battle of Probability (Tom's POV – Facing a Being With Luck Manipulation)
The creature moved without hesitation, without effort.
Every step was calculated, fluid, like a perfect dancer navigating chaos.
Stacy moved first, her blade flashing—but the moment she swung, she slipped.
Her foot caught on absolutely nothing, her momentum thrown off by a force that shouldn't exist.
Tom barely pulled her back in time.
It's using probability against us.
The creature lunged, and Nyla's gun jammed.
Orion tried to take a shot—his weapon misfired.
Diane sent out a blast of energy—it veered just an inch too far left.
Every single move against it failed.
Not because it was fast.
Not because it was strong.
Because the odds were in its favor.
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6. Tom's Countermove (Tom's POV – Testing His Own Luck Against the Creature)
Tom's breath came sharp and fast.
It was manipulating probability.
But he could too.
His mind reached for the roulette wheel inside him.
He didn't force it.
Didn't gamble wildly.
He nudged it.
Let it spin.
The creature lunged.
A vent above them collapsed.
Heavy steel debris slammed into the creature's back, knocking it off balance.
Tom grabbed Stacy and pulled her clear.
For a moment, luck wasn't on its side.
It was back in his hands.
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7. The Escape Decision (Group POV – Run or Fight?)
The creature shrieked, recovering too fast.
It wasn't just using luck—it was evolving.
Diane grabbed Tom's arm. "We can't win this right now!"
Nyla cursed. "We need an actual plan."
The prisoners were still too weak to fight.
If they stayed, they'd be slaughtered.
Orion's screen flashed, detecting another exit route through a collapsed tunnel.
Tom made the call.
"We run. Now."
As they bolted through the side passage, the creature let out a haunting, bone-rattling laugh.
Like it knew this wasn't over.
Like it knew they'd be back.
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