The underground train station had long since died.
Concrete pillars lay cracked like broken bones. The ceiling sagged under its own weight, threatening to collapse at any moment. Rubble blanketed the ground in jagged layers, soaked in dust and blood. Flickering lights buzzed weakly overhead, each flash slicing the darkness apart for a split second before surrendering it back. Sparks rained down in erratic bursts, hissing as they struck the ground.
And in the middle of it—
Jake.
He dragged in a ragged breath.
Then another.
His body trembled as he forced himself upward, muscles screaming in protest. Slowly… painfully… he rose to his knees—only to sink into the thick, dark pool beneath him.
His own blood.
Warm.
Too much.
His hand pressed against his torn abdomen, fingers digging in as if he could hold himself together through sheer will alone.
The world around him sounded distant… muffled… like he was drowning beneath it.
A voice cut through.
Faint.
Distorted.
He turned his head.
To the left—
Adrian.
Lying flat on his back.
Still.
Too still.
A fly landed on his eye… crawled lazily across it.
No blink.
No reaction.
Nothing.
Jake's vision trembled.
No…
He forced himself to look away.
To the right—
A hand.
Barely visible beneath a mountain of rubble.
Dravers.
Unmoving.
Buried.
Gone.
The buzzing grew louder.
The world began to sharpen again.
"Let go of me!!"
A child's voice.
Desperate.
"Jake! Help me!"
Jake's head snapped forward.
Melda.
The girl they were supposed to protect—
Slung over the shoulder of a towering man with a metal jaw, her small fists pounding uselessly against his back.
"Let go of me!!" she screamed again, her voice cracking.
"Shut up already, you brat."
A woman's voice.
Lazy.
Annoyed.
She sat further back in the shadows, legs crossed, watching like this was nothing more than a show.
Footsteps echoed.
Slow.
Measured.
Approaching.
Jake lifted his head.
A figure stopped in front of him.
Young.
Too young.
Blue eyes.
Dark hair falling over his face.
And an expression that didn't belong on a battlefield—
Sadness.
Raw. Unfiltered.
"…Why?"
His voice trembled.
"Why…?"
A tear slipped down his cheek.
"You looked so strong…"
He took a step closer.
"I fell for you the moment I saw you… Shadow…"
Another step.
"…so why…?"
His lips quivered.
"Why are you so weak?"
Jake's vision blurred.
"I thought you were different… I thought you were stronger… I thought we could be…"
His voice broke.
"But now…"
A soft click.
The barrel of a gun pressed against Jake's forehead.
Cold.
Unforgiving.
"I have to kill you."
His hand shook.
"…and it hurts."
More tears fell.
"How many times… does my heart have to break?"
A hollow laugh escaped him.
"I've lost count…"
His eyes softened, almost tender.
"I don't think I'll ever love anyone the way I loved you, Shadow…"
Behind him—
"Don't kill him!!"
Melda's scream tore through the air.
"It's me you want!! Just leave him!! Please!!!"
The bulky man paused slightly.
"Huh?"
He glanced back, unimpressed.
"We're after you," he said flatly. "You and the woman."
A thumb jerk toward the shadows.
"But him?"
He looked at Jake.
"He's just a bonus."
A pause.
"That guy over there…" he nodded toward the blue-eyed man, "…he only joined this job to fight him."
A faint scoff.
"Didn't even want payment."
A beat.
"Freak."
Silence returned.
The young man's finger tightened on the trigger.
A final tear traced down his face.
"…Goodbye, my love."
"WAIT!! PLEASE—!"
Melda's voice shattered.
Jake's world went dark.
A gunshot echoed.
THREE DAYS BEFORE THE INCIDENT
The streets leading to City Hall were busy, loud… normal.
Unfortunately, they were not.
"You'd suck as an actor," Dravers said flatly, not even looking at him.
Adrian scoffed. "Keep your opinions to yourself. Maybe one day someone will ask for them."
Dravers' eye twitched.
"You little piece of—"
"Well, I think I'd do great as an actor," Adrian cut in, stepping ahead with a smug grin like he'd just won an award no one else knew about.
Dravers trailed behind him, muttering under her breath, clearly plotting several crimes.
And behind them both—
Jake.
Dragging his feet.
Pale.
Soulless.
Like a man who had already died but hadn't been informed yet.
It's bad enough I'm stuck under that psychopath… now I have to work with these two.
He tugged at his collar.
"Why the hell are these clothes so uncomfortable…?"
The jacket—borrowed from Micheal—felt like it was actively judging him.
Then—
"Huh?"
A small notification blinked at the corner of his vision.
[Logging in…]
"…Now what?"
[Completed]
A tiny figure popped into existence right in front of his face.
Floating.
Glowing.
A miniature… him.
With wings.
"…What."
[Hi! I'm Uniquix Version 19.0. My name is Max—your personal AI, designed to assist you and provide the most accurate data possible!]
Jake stared at it.
Expression blank.
"…Who the hell are you?"
The tiny hologram froze.
Then slowly—
[Sigh…]
[I'm Max. The drastically improved version of myself. Not that idiotic, inaccurate, embarrassing, disgrace of a previous model you were stuck with.]
Its voice rose with every insult like it had been waiting months to say that.
Jake blinked once.
"…I preferred the version of you that didn't talk."
Silence.
Heavy.
Dangerous silence.
Max's tiny face twitched.
[…What did you just say?]
Jake casually looked away.
"You heard me."
Max began vibrating.
[Huff—inhale—huff—inhale—]
It looked like a fairy-sized nuclear meltdown.
Jake didn't even react.
Max froze mid-rage… then straightened.
Composed.
Too composed.
[I see.]
A pause.
Then, smugly—
[I suppose you're not interested in learning your true abilities… or how you unlocked access to your own pocket dimension…]
Jake stopped walking.
"…What do you mean?"
Max folded its tiny arms, floating higher like it had just gained the upper hand in life.
[The previous version of me fed you inaccurate data.]
It began pacing mid-air like a lecturer.
[Your so-called "evolution" to Dark Overlord? Questionable.]
[Your current stats? Incomplete.]
[Those monsters you killed being classified as allies? Laughable.]
Jake's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Explain."
Max smirked.
Actually smirked.
On a two-inch holographic face.
[Why don't you ask the old version of me?]
A beat.
[Oh wait.]
It leaned closer.
[You can't.]
Jake stared at it.
Long.
Unblinking.
Then—
He sighed.
"…I already regret this update."
Ahead of him—
"You two done flirting back there?" Adrian called out without turning around.
Dravers snorted. "If that thing is his type, I'm concerned."
Jake closed his eyes.
I'm surrounded by idiots.
Max immediately responded—
[Correction: you are surrounded by liabilities.]
"…You're not helping."
[I wasn't trying to.]