LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 43: Back to Reality
Back to Reality
1. The Fall from the Dream (Tom's POV)
Tom jerked upright, his lungs burning as he sucked in a sharp breath. For a moment, he thought he was still falling—plummeting through the fractured remains of the illusion, tumbling through endless void—
But then cold metal met his back.
Reality hit him like a hammer.
He coughed violently, his chest heaving as his body fought to reorient itself. The air was stale and metallic, lacking the crispness of the illusion's fabricated perfection. It felt thicker, heavier, as if the act of breathing itself required more effort.
His head throbbed. His thoughts were sluggish, wrapped in a haze that refused to clear.
For a split second, panic flared.
Was this another dream?
Had they actually escaped—or was this just another layer of the Council's deception?
He forced his aching muscles to move, gritting his teeth as he blinked against the harsh, artificial glow overhead. His surroundings swam into focus.
Metallic walls. Dim blue lighting. Sterile air.
Not the city. Not the Hunter's Guild.
A containment facility.
Tom exhaled sharply, rubbing his temple as reality cemented itself.
The illusion was gone.
And he was awake.
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2. The Weight of Waking Up (Stacy's POV)
Stacy's return to consciousness was violent.
Her first breath was a ragged, broken gasp, her body lurching upright as if she had been drowning.
Her fingers clawed at the surface beneath her—cold metal, unyielding. Nothing soft, nothing warm, nothing comforting.
She choked, her body rejecting reality for a split second before her mind caught up.
Not the arena.
Not the Academy.
Not the life she had built.
A shudder ran through her.
She turned, her blurry gaze locking onto the shapes of the others. Tom. Diane. Orion.
They were waking up too, each of them moving slowly, groggily, like prisoners slipping out of sedation.
Her stomach twisted.
This wasn't right.
She felt… off.
Her limbs were heavy, her muscles sore in a way that didn't make sense.
How long had they been asleep?
And worse—
Where were they now?
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3. The Echoes of What Was Lost (Diane's POV)
Diane sat up with a sharp inhale, her heart pounding.
For a single, horrible moment, she was still in the house.
The scent of fresh-cooked food lingered on her senses. The echo of Jerry's voice whispered at the edges of her mind, soft and loving, as if he was just in the next room—
But then reality slammed into her like a freight train.
The dream was gone.
The house wasn't real.
Her husband wasn't real.
Her perfect world had never existed.
Diane's breath hitched, her fingers curling into fists against the metal surface beneath her.
It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real.
Then why did it hurt so much?
She forced herself to lift her gaze, taking in their surroundings.
The walls were smooth, reinforced, coldly industrial. The dim lighting pulsed with an unsettling rhythm, casting flickering shadows along the floor.
It was a prison.
That much was obvious.
But why weren't there any guards?
Her hands trembled as she forced herself to her feet. She glanced at Orion, who hadn't moved yet—his breathing even, but his body too still.
A sense of dread settled in her stomach.
She reached out.
"Mike?"
His eyes snapped open.
And Diane realized her mistake.
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4. Orion's Return (Mike's POV)
Mike—no, Orion—woke without a sound.
No gasping. No disorientation. No moment of hesitation.
His body stiffened, assessing.
Weight distribution: different. Surface beneath him: cold metal. Oxygen levels: artificially maintained.
Not the illusion.
Not the world they had been stolen into.
We're back.
His fingers curled into fists.
His mind moved through a rapid checklist.
Where were the restraints?
Where were the monitoring devices?
Where were the guards?
Why were they left unbound?
There were only two possible reasons:
1. Their captors believed they were too weak to resist.
2. This wasn't a containment cell—it was an observation chamber.
His jaw tightened.
They were being watched.
Or worse—
They were being tested.
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5. The Silence That Shouldn't Be There (Group POV – Final Scene)
The four of them gathered instinctively, forming a loose circle as they took in their surroundings.
There was no furniture, no markings on the walls, no visible security systems—just smooth, reinforced metal and a single sealed door at the far end of the room.
The air felt wrong.
Too still. Too artificial.
No hum of machinery. No distant echoes.
Just… silence.
Tom exhaled slowly, exchanging glances with Stacy, Diane, and Orion.
"Where do you think we are?" Stacy murmured.
Tom hesitated before answering. "A place that doesn't expect us to leave."
Orion frowned.
"No." His voice was low, calculating. "A place that expects us to struggle. But not to win."
The words sent a chill down Diane's spine.
And then—
A sound.
A single, mechanical click.
The blue lights lining the walls flickered, shifting to red.
Tom tensed.
"Guess we're about to find out."
The door slid open.
And everything changed.
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