Capítulo 45: Heart of Steel
Severe pain causes Chernov to moan and even roll on the ground, with painful expression
Those outside hesitate to open the door and enter. They are uncertain about what might happen, as this situation is unlike any before.
The officers in the room watch the signal displayed by the machine with confusion, while someone holds a camera, recording what is happening now.
Chernov now has some additional feelings, apart from the pain in the brain, he not even feel it in his eyes. It just feels like someone wants to take and occupy his body and look outside through his eyes.
A whisper came to his ear,
"Relax, Chernov, have some rest. Why do you resist, Chernov? There is no need for pain… let me see what lies beyond through your eyes."
Chernov has his jaw clenched and closes his eyes tightly. But the whisper continues,
"Have you ever come out of confusion about your country? About socialism and communism? About all that you have been told? You see only shadows… but I could bring you clarity. So much hidden from your sight, all the truth, you can know, if you let me in."
Chernov seems can't stand it and decided to give his reply.
"Fuck you, I don't give a fuck about who you are, I don't need your truth, I don't need your help, get the fuck out of my brain."
After finishing saying this, his pain level increased once more, resulting in another moan of agony.
"Ah, such fire. But you're tired, aren't you? The pain, the weight of it all. It would be so easy to let go… to rest… I can take the burden for you. I know you feel me, feel my gaze through your eyes. It's only a matter of time, Chernov. You can resist for now… but I am patient."
By this time, Chernov starts to feel his mind slowly erosion by something. His mind starts to become confused: Who am I, why am I here? Such questions start to come out. His mind and body seem to not be controlled by him now.
Chernov feels like he is dying, memories flashing before him like a fierce fire, tough training exercises, gritted teeth, comrades fallen beside him, missions where he'd pushed through impossible odds. The whisper claws deeper, sensing his resolve, but meets Chernov's will fighting back with greater force.
A single thought reverberates through him, This is my mind. My body. I am in control.
The whisper trembles, its taunting voice faltering.
The whisper starts to become desperate, and even weaken.
"No… this strength… it's impossible…"
"You'll find I'm more stubborn than you think," Chernov replies to the whisper in his heart.
"Then we'll see, won't we? Every moment, I'll be here… watching, waiting. I'll be in every shadow… every whisper in the night. The pain will grow… until there's nowhere left to hide."
The sound started to fade, becoming softer but lingering.
"How long can you keep it up? Time is on my side, Chernov… and soon, you'll beg for my voice…"
Until the whisper disappeared, Chernov fainted on the ground. Those outside now immediately enter and provide medical support to him.
Meanwhile at the same time,
Elowen at Karakum opened his eyes.
"How was it?" People aside from him asked.
"Failed."
"Again? How was it able to be, we are using different ways this time. Suppose we can control him without him knowing it."
"I sense that he has entered one of the places where the power is concentrated, so I tried to take control of him, but I never thought that it could reduce the connection between me and him. I can't take over him in a moment, he feels that and has a strong resistance." He said helplessly.
At least, now the Soviets know how their people may be controlled and find a corresponding method to due with it, they have the ability and knowledge.
"So how are we able to do it now?"
"Not much, at least until I come up with a better plan. Or perhaps in other ways, controlling them before they enter those areas, but I doubt it would be easy detect by the Soviets."
"Are we supposed to keep working? Since they are already aware of it."
Elowen pondered for a moment; even though he could use magic to visualize most parts of the country, there were still areas he couldn't see, shrouded in mist. However, given his knowledge of the USSR's military strength, it might not be crucial to keep monitoring those locations.
"Never mind, we will pause temporarily until I find a better approach. Continuing would be pointless and a waste of effort."
---
Sevastopol,
Chernov opened his eyes slowly, the sterile light overhead casting a faint, clinical glow. He found himself in a different room than before. His body was covered with various medical patches.
"Colonel Chernov, welcome back. We were beginning to wonder if you'd gotten lost in there." A voice comes out, Chernov looks in the direction of it and realises it is from a speaker.
"We monitored unusual brain activity, a spike in stress, and some neural disruption. It looked like you were fighting something off. Did they… try to infiltrate your mind ?"
Chernov struggled to sit up and start to recall what just happened. A moment later, he answered,
"Yes, there is a whisper in my brain and mind. It trying to let me get relaxed and let him in. But at the same time, it didn't just whisper, it tried to overpower me. I felt like it wanted to look through my eyes, to control me."
After his words, he can faintly hear the sound of a pen writing on paper on the other side of the radio.
"And yet you fought them off. That's impressive, Colonel. But we need to know, how did you do it? Most people would have shown their submission under that kind of pressure. I hope you would not mind Colonel, you will have to stay here for some days. Do you remember what you wrote before you fainted, could you write it again, it is not personal, just to be sure you are still you, Chernov."
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