LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 56: Reckoning and Response
Reckoning and Response
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1. The Ruins of Probability (Group POV – Surveying the Aftermath)
The battlefield was unrecognizable.
The once sterile halls of the black site were now twisted and warped, not by physical destruction—but by the aftershocks of probability manipulation.
Walls that should have been intact had collapsed in places they shouldn't have.
Lights flickered inconsistently, some burned out while others shone with unnatural brightness.
Metal beams bent in impossible angles, as if space itself had folded under the weight of altered chance.
Even time felt strange here.
Diane looked at a digital readout on one of the shattered consoles. "This… this says we've been down here for an hour."
Nyla frowned. "That's wrong. It hasn't been more than twenty minutes."
Orion's jaw clenched. "Probability warping." He gestured to the scene around them. "It didn't just change what happened—it rewrote how it happened."
Tom felt a cold certainty settle into his bones.
Subject-01 had left its mark.
And so had he.
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2. A Monster's Legacy (Celeste's POV – The Truth About Subject-01)
Celeste sat against a fallen console, breathing heavily, her body still recovering from her long stasis imprisonment.
But her eyes—they were haunted.
She had known Subject-01 before it became… that.
"It wasn't always like this," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.
Tom turned to her. "Then tell me. What was it?"
She swallowed hard. "A person. A prisoner like me. Like all of us."
The team went silent.
Nyla, normally composed, cursed under her breath. "You're telling me that… thing… was human once?"
Celeste's expression darkened.
"Not just human. A prototype."
The words hit like a gunshot.
She continued.
"The Council's first attempt to force probability manipulation into a body."
A chill ran through Tom. "And it survived?"
Celeste laughed bitterly. "Not at first."
Her eyes flickered toward the ruins of the battle. "They ran thousands of experiments. Every single one of them failed. The human body isn't meant to control probability—it collapses under the weight of too many possible existences."
She exhaled, gripping the fabric of her ruined jumpsuit.
"Except for one."
Tom knew before she even said it.
"Subject-01."
Celeste nodded. "It adapted. But not in the way the Council intended. It wasn't just surviving the probabilities—it was consuming them."
Tom clenched his fists.
That thing… it wasn't an accident.
It was a lesson.
A warning about what happened when probability was forced onto someone unworthy of wielding it.
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3. The Council's Next Move (Council POV – Watching from the Shadows)
Far above the ruins of the black site, far beyond what the team could see, eyes were already watching.
In a vast chamber of pure obsidian, figures stood around a floating display, watching live feeds of the destruction.
The Celestial Council had seen everything.
One of the figures—a woman with sharp, angular features—steepled her fingers.
"Subject-01 was forced into retreat," she murmured.
Across from her, a man in ornate golden robes tapped his chin. "But it survived. More importantly…"
He gestured toward the display, freezing it on a single frame.
Tom.
Standing over Subject-01, probability bending to his will.
"…He has evolved."
Silence hung in the air.
Then, the woman nodded.
"He is no longer an anomaly. He is a threat."
The golden-robed man exhaled, turning to the others.
"Then it is time."
His voice was cold.
"We eliminate Tom Peters."
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4. Tom's Dilemma (Tom's POV – Wrestling With His Power)
Tom stood in the remains of the facility, staring at his hands.
The roulette wheel in his mind was still spinning slowly, waiting.
Obedient.
He had done more than just fight Subject-01.
He had taken away its luck.
Just like he had taken it from the galaxies, long ago.
And that terrified him.
Because he hadn't hesitated.
Before, he had feared using his power too much—feared what it could do.
Now?
He had no fear left.
He had rewritten reality in a battle of probability… and he had won effortlessly.
The others had seen it.
And they were watching him differently now.
Not with fear. Not yet.
But with caution.
As if they had realized—
Tom wasn't just lucky anymore.
He was something else entirely.
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5. What Comes Next (Group POV – Preparing for the Future)
The team had two choices.
1. Escape the black site and lay low.
2. Strike first before the Council could react.
Orion frowned. "They won't just let this slide. We just humiliated their pet project."
Nyla checked her weapon. "So, what? We hit them before they hit us?"
Celeste shook her head. "That's suicide. The Council is bigger than you think."
Stacy crossed her arms. "Then what do we do?"
Tom exhaled slowly.
"…We make sure they can't control probability ever again."
Eyes turned to him.
Diane's voice was cautious. "And how do you plan to do that?"
Tom's golden eyes gleamed.
"By breaking their game entirely."
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