Hello Readers!
[ A.N.:- Still late! Lord Saturn, I apologize for my tardiness.]
Here's the next dose!
Enjoy~
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MBH #21 - Echoes in the Dark
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"Nice ghosting, Boss," Silky chirped in my ear, her tone dropping its usual sarcasm. "We successfully broke her line of sight. But your heart rate is still climbing. What's the play?"
I walked out of the school's front entrance, the bright afternoon sun hitting my face, but my mind was completely locked in the dark. I pulled my hood down lower, shadowing my eyes as I stepped onto the pavement.
In the distance, the faint, overlapping echo of city sirens began to wail, accompanied by a sudden, unusual surge of black delivery vans speeding toward the East Industrial zone. Everything on the surface signaled that something major was going down over there—a loud, flashing invitation drawing everyone's attention across town.
I looked toward the East, but my jaw tightened. I wasn't going anywhere near that chaos. I knew exactly what I was right now: a monster in training, still fragile, still evolutionary raw material. Stepping into a hot zone filled with heavily armed corporate black-ops and whatever shadowy military forces were dropping in to fight them was a death sentence. My absolute priority was to keep myself in check, lay low, and stay buried in the shadows until my foundation was completely unbreakable.
Yet, as I turned my back on the eastern noise, a strange, faint sensation hummed deep inside my marrow. It wasn't a sensory ping, but a subtle, magnetic calling—an instinctive, gentle pull emanating from the exact opposite direction. It felt like a low-frequency vibration whispering straight to the starving furnace in my cells, drawing me toward the Western docks.
"Uh, Boss? You're walking the wrong way," Silky muttered, her interface pulsing with confusion in my ear. "The local chatter and emergency grids are all lighting up on the East side. If there's an asset or a distraction to exploit, it's over there. The West sector is just dead space and abandoned industrial ruins. There's literally nothing on my local sensors."
"The sensors don't feel what I feel, Silky," I thought back, my eyes narrowing as I slipped into a narrow, scuffed brick alleyway, letting the invisible current guide my steps. "If they're making that much noise to drag the world East, the dark is the only safe place to hide. And something is waiting for me in that dark."
"I despise unquantifiable variables, Alex," she murmured, her synthetic voice losing its mechanical edge, softening into a quiet layer of genuine caution. "If we walk completely off the grid, my predictive models drop to zero. I can't calculate the threats ahead, and I can't cover your blind spots. Just... stay sharp. Don't let whatever is pulling you override your survival."
I didn't answer. A quiet, calculated look crossed my face as I dissolved into the deep shadows of the western alleys, keeping my head down and letting my raw, unyielding intuition guide me toward the old Sector Nine decommissioned chemical refinery. Let those elite strike teams bleed each other dry over a loud decoy in the light.
I was going to follow the call, step into the dark, and claim whatever hidden prize was waiting to build the absolute power I needed.
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The sun was setting in the west, turning the sky dark purple and orange. By the time I walked deep into the Western Industrial zone, the city noise was gone. It was completely, heavily quiet.
This place was a graveyard. Tall, empty factories and old iron cranes cast long, dark shadows across the broken road. It was a forgotten place. The only sound was the wind blowing through rusty fences and my boots crunching on the gravel.
I walked down the middle of a wide, empty street, blending into the growing evening dark. The strange pull inside me beat stronger, guiding me forward.
Then, another sound cut through the dead air.
Crying. It was faint, echoing off the rusty metal walls. A low, painful sobbing.
I froze instantly. My muscles locked up. I dropped into a low, ready stance. In an empty dead zone like this, someone crying wasn't sad—it was a trap.
"Silky," I whispered, searching the dark alleys for any movement. "Tell me you hear that. Tell me it's just the wind."
"I have nothing, Alex," Silky replied, her robot voice sounding frustrated. "You know my limits. My scanner stops at exactly one foot. I can watch your fast heartbeat, but I can't reach past your personal space. I can't scan that building or tell you what's making that sound. You are completely blind here."
I wasn't going to play the hero, but I couldn't leave a danger hiding right in my path.
I reached into my bag and pulled out a solid metal baseball bat. With my strong Tier 2 body, I could smash concrete with it. Then, from my inside jacket pocket, I pulled out a small glass bottle. Inside was a thick green liquid—a deadly poison I made myself using strong chemicals. If the bat wasn't enough, the poison would do the job.
I hid in the long shadows, sneaking toward the broken office building where the crying was coming from. I pressed my back against the brick wall near the door.
"What's the plan, Boss?" Silky whispered. "If that's a monster copying a cry for help, you're walking into a trap. If it gets within one foot of us, my scanners will find its weak spots. But until then... I can't protect you."
"I'm not going in to save anyone," I thought back, holding the bat tight. "I'm just clearing the danger. If it attacks, I poison it, break its legs, and walk away. Just watch my heartbeat. If I get hurt, pump my body with adrenaline."
The heavy wooden door was broken and hanging open. I pushed it with my bat. It made a loud, long creak. I stepped into the dark room, my eyes quickly adjusting.
The crying was louder now. Desperate and sad.
I looked around the room, ready to swing. But as I checked the corners, my blood ran cold.
The room was completely empty.
There was only a broken desk and some trash. Nothing else. No one was hiding. But the crying was still happening. It bounced off the empty walls, making it impossible to tell where it was coming from. It sounded like the person was right next to me.
Then, the room got freezing cold.
A sharp, freezing chill hit the back of my neck, cutting right through my jacket.
My instincts screamed like a loud alarm.
The crying hadn't stopped. It had just moved.
It was right behind me.
I spun around as fast as lightning, raising the metal bat to swing. My other hand was ready to smash the poison glass on whatever was there—
Only to freeze completely still.
I held my breath, my eyes wide in pure shock, as I stared at the impossible thing right in the doorway.
Right in front of me was something unbelievable. But it was absolutely real.
I could see the clear outline of a human floating in the air. Her feet weren't touching the floor. It was the size of a young child. Long, messy hair hung down, completely covering its face. The loud, heartbreaking crying was coming right from it.
Seeing this, I froze completely. My strong Tier 2 body suddenly felt like stone. For the first time, I was caught totally off guard. My brain could not make sense of what my eyes were looking at.
Then, the loud crying paused. Slowly, the floating figure moved its head upwards.
As it looked up, the thick hair covering it's face slid to the sides. The dim evening light hit the pale features.
When I saw the face, my heart stopped. The metal bat in my hand suddenly felt very heavy, and the poison bottle almost slipped from my fingers. I was completely shocked.
It was her.
How could it be her?