Kael jolted awake.
He was on a bed.
Darkness surrounded him—thick and total, like a blanket pulled too tight. The air felt stale. His breath echoed faintly, as if the world had shrunk around him.
Then—he saw someone.
A figure. Barely illuminated.
A boy.
Him.
Kael's pulse slipped. "Who… are you?" he whispered.
The boy stepped forward, utterly calm. His voice was dull. Cold.
"Of course you idiot," he said. "I'm you. And you are me."
Kael's lips parted. "How is this… possible?"
The boy shrugged.
"Short answer?"
He leaned in.
"Your mind's pretty fucked up."
Noir tilted his head, bored.
"All those sleepless nights, all the serum, all the shit you never talk about? Congratulations—you're breaking."
Kael pressed his palms against his skull. "I can't do anything to help myself."
"You can," Noir murmured.
"…How?"
"Run away," he said flatly. "Run away and never come back."
"You've got to be kidding me—"
"These people aren't worth you, Kael."
Noir smiled—a crooked, wrong thing.
"Take my hand. I promise—everything will be alright."
He held it out. Still. Steady.
Kael hesitated. The shape was familiar but… off.
A younger version of himself, but scarred in the wrong places. Paler. Eyes like empty glass.
His body flickered around the edges, like bad static.
"No," Kael whispered.
"I refuse."
The world twisted.
---
He woke up.
For real this time.
He wasn't on a bed.
He was strapped to a metal chair. The mattress was gone—softness replaced with rusted steel. The interrogation room around him was old and rotting. Stained walls. A flickering bulb. The sour smell of iron and old heat.
The door creaked. Footsteps—slow, deliberate.
A tall man in his thirties stepped in. Sharp jaw. Black jacket. No insignia.
He walked like someone who owned the building.
Maybe he did.
"Well, well. Super soldier." He smirked. "Finally awake."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "Archangel…"
"Mm. Heard a lot about you."
Kael didn't respond.
But then—his stomach dropped.
Someone else was in the room.
In the far corner. Quiet. Unmoving.
A boy.
Himself.
Again.
Noir stood there as solid as a real person, but flickering slightly, like a corrupted frame of reality. Arms crossed. Dead eyes.
Noir sighed.
"An interrogation room again? Lazy writing."
Kael twitched. "What?"
"You can't win, Kael," Noir said, voice sharp, dry. "This guy's a pain."
"I can do this," Kael hissed.
Archangel raised an eyebrow. "Who the hell are you talking to?"
Kael blinked. "Nothing."
He exhaled shaky breath. "Why am I captured?"
Archangel leaned forward, elbows on the table.
"Can't let a super soldier—especially a kid—run loose in my country after running from your president."
"You're the—?"
"No, no." Archangel smiled. "Different president here. But I run this place."
Kael's jaw tightened. "I see."
Noir drifted closer, lips curling.
"I'm warning you, Kael."
Kael's muscles froze.
"I see Raegal. Alex. Nila," Noir whispered. "Guns at their heads."
His tone sharpened into a delighted hiss.
"They're not safe."
Kael froze.
"Where are they?" he demanded.
Archangel tilted his head. "They?"
"Oh. Those guys."
He pointed lazily at the hallway.
"Not safe. Probably."
Kael swallowed. "…He wasn't lying."
"What do you want?" Kael asked.
Archangel leaned back. "I need you to bring me a man. From another country."
Kael cut in. "And in exchange—"
"I help you kill Ryuzaki," Archangel finished. "And let your people go."
He flicked his hand toward the glass.
"Let them go."
"Yes, sir," a voice replied over the speaker.
Archangel's expression darkened.
"And Kael… I heard you took out some of my men."
He spoke low, blunt.
"If you do that again—
I won't be nice."
Kael stared. "What…?"
He looked at Noir.
Noir smirked.
Kael groaned. "Don't tell me…"
---
The door clicked open.
Kael stood, breathing hard—but relief never came.
Noir grinned, flickering like a dying hologram.
"Well, you got out. Barely."
He stepped up to Kael's face.
"You'll need me, Kael. You know that."
Kael looked away.
Noir's voice softened—almost gentle.
"Oh… I get it."
"You're right," Noir whispered.
Silence.
Then that crooked smile returned.
"Enjoy pretending you're normal," he said.
"You know I'll be back."
Kael turned slightly. "There's a girl out there," he murmured.
Archangel looked up.
"She's smart. A super soldier. And she'll kill if she has to."
Kael stood fully now.
"Do what you need to do."
Archangel smirked. "Alright, kid. Let's see what you're made of."
Kael looked down.
A pendant.
Noir's sudden squeal shattered the tension.
"You still wear that?! Aww—adorable."
"Shut up," Kael muttered.