Chapter 3 – The Voice in His Head

Ethan sat frozen in his hospital bed, his breath shallow, his fingers clutching the blanket as if it were his last tether to reality. The sterile walls around him blurred, and all he could focus on was the voice—the thing inside his head.

[SYSTEM ACTIVATED. SKILL REPLICATION FUNCTION ONLINE.]

"What the hell…?" he whispered, his voice hoarse.

No response.

He pressed his hands against his temples, squeezing his eyes shut. Maybe it was a hallucination. Maybe the accident had messed with his brain. But deep down, something told him this was real.

Slowly, he exhaled and tried something ridiculous.

"Hello?"

[ACKNOWLEDGED. AWAITING COMMAND.]

Ethan's breath caught. It answered.

His fingers curled into the sheets. "Who—what are you?"

[SYSTEM: AN INTEGRATED NEURAL INTERFACE DESIGNED TO ASSIST THE HOST.]

Host. Like a parasite. A program? A machine? None of this made sense.

He swallowed, his throat dry. "What do you mean by 'Skill Replication'?"

[THE SYSTEM ENABLES THE HOST TO COPY AND UTILIZE SKILLS OBSERVED FROM OTHERS.]

Ethan's mind stalled. Copy… skills? Like downloading files? Like something out of a game?

It was insane. Impossible.

And yet, something inside him whispered that it was real.

He needed proof.

Slowly, he pulled himself out of bed, his hospital gown shifting as his feet touched the cool tile floor. The room was quiet except for the distant beeping of medical equipment down the hall.

Outside, the hospital was still active. Nurses walked by, a doctor discussed a patient's chart, and a janitor methodically mopped the floor near the reception desk.

That's when an idea struck him.

The janitor.

The man moved efficiently, his mop gliding across the floor in practiced strokes, his body shifting with precision. It was a skill—simple, repetitive, but still a skill.

If the System was real… could he copy that?

Ethan focused on the janitor's movements, his mind tuning out the noise around him.

Then—

[NEW SKILL DETECTED: FLOOR CLEANING (BASIC). WOULD YOU LIKE TO COPY?]

Ethan's breath caught.

It worked.

His heart pounded as he swallowed hard. "Yes?"

[SKILL COPIED. INTEGRATING… COMPLETE.]

Suddenly, something clicked inside him. Like a memory that wasn't his being slotted into place. His muscles twitched, his hands flexing. Somehow, he knew how to mop a floor perfectly. Every detail, every movement, like he had done it a thousand times.

It wasn't just knowledge. It was muscle memory.

His body knew what to do.

He stared at his hands, then back at the janitor, who kept working, oblivious.

His mind raced.

This wasn't just real.

This was power.

And if he could copy this… what else could he do?

Ethan barely noticed his lips curving into a slow, excited smile.

End of Chapter 3