"Dead. That's what I am."
Gray sat shackled, his body gaunt and broken, staring at the five faces he once called friends. His lips curled into a bitter smile.
'Aaron. My so-called best friend. The man who cheered me on, who told me I was destined for greatness. Turns out he was just waiting to steal it all. Should've known—no one claps that hard unless they're already counting your money.'
His gaze shifted.
'Layla. My fiancée. My heart. My future. We planned a wedding, a life together. She said she loved me. And yet here she is, standing beside Aaron like a queen beside her king. Guess love really does have a price tag.'
Then his eyes fell on the last three.
'Kim, Jack, Jake. My students. My legacy. I poured everything into them—knowledge, guidance, trust. And what did they do? They poured it right back into Aaron's pockets. Brilliant. Betrayed by the very ones who called me 'teacher.' '
Gray scoffed at his own misery. Gray Williams, genius inventor, reduced to a starving prisoner. What a joke.
He spoke, voice dripping with venom.
"You stole my project. You stole the credit. You stole my life. What more could you possibly want?"
The memory of that day burned fresh. He had overslept—drugged, no doubt. He ran anyway, desperate to make the appointment. And when he arrived? There they were, smiling, shaking hands, closing a multi-billion dollar deal with his invention. The God Chip. His God Chip!
Worse, they filed the patent before he could even breathe. Lawsuits drowned him, his cries silenced by endless paperwork.
Aaron crouched, blond hair gleaming, smile too polished to be sincere.
"Come on, Gray. A mind like yours doesn't stop at one invention. The God Chip was brilliant—but you must have something else hidden away."
Gray laughed, hollow and deranged.
"Hahaha… so that's why you dragged me here? Investors breathing down your necks, and you've got nothing left to steal? You parasites thought basking in my brilliance would last forever?"
The slap came fast—Aaron's hand cracked across his face, sending him sprawling. Rage twisted Aaron's features.
"You fool! Give it up, or I'll send you straight to the afterlife!"
Gray spat blood into his former friend's face. "Then do it. At least I'll die knowing you'll never be me."
Aaron's eyes narrowed. His boot crashed into Gray's ribs, bones snapping under the weight. Gray's body crumpled, but his eyes—deep purple, burning with madness—never wavered.
"Layla," Aaron barked. "Talk some sense into him."
She stepped forward, beauty like a blade. Once his fiancée, now nothing but bait. She crouched, lips curling.
"Gray… whatever you're hiding, it isn't worth your life. Just give it up."
Gray tried to speak, but only a bloody gurgle escaped. Layla recoiled in disgust.
"Tch. You've shattered his voice, Aaron. How are we supposed to get anything out of him now?"
Kim, his former student, watched silently before whispering, "He's finished. My teacher is truly done."
'Teacher? That's rich. You learned betrayal well, Kim. Guess I taught you too much.'
The twins hissed from the back. "You starved him for twenty-two days, and now you break him? Idiot."
Aaron waved them off. "Whatever. There are plenty more geniuses to exploit." He raised his gun, smirking.
"Any last words? Oh, right—you can't talk."
Bang.
The bullet tore through Gray's skull.
And darkness swallowed him whole.
---
"I'm dead? Just like that?" His thoughts echoed in the void.
Formless, massless, his consciousness drifted in endless black. Rage burned, a hunger for vengeance clawing at his nonexistent heart.
Aaron, Layla, Kim, Jack, Jake… their faces are carved into me. I'll never forget. I'll never forgive. If I had one chance—just one—I'd slaughter them all.
But it was useless. He was dead. Revenge was impossible.
"Who said so?"
The abyss trembled as a voice thundered. A throne of shadows appeared, vast and terrible. Upon it sat a being too immense to comprehend, a creature of boundless expanse contained in a single frame. A god of void.
Gray shuddered. "I-Is… is he God?"
The being's smile stretched impossibly wide.
"Who says your vengeance cannot be had?"
Crimson eyes glowed, deadly and entrancing. A sheen of endless bloodshed, war, and death radiated from them.
"Your rage is mine now. Your enemies will kneel. Your betrayers will scream. Let your hatred burn brighter. Rise, Demon King."
---
Back in the mortal world, Kim stared at her teacher's corpse. "He really died… just like that."
Her heart wavered, bile rising in her throat. He never wronged me. And yet… I chose this. I chose betrayal. She clenched her teeth. No regrets. Mediocrity was never an option.
Aaron blew smoke from his gun. "That's that. We erased the only man who knew the truth."
Layla sneered. "And the only man who could give the investors what they crave."
Then Jake pointed at the ground. "Um… guys? What's that?"
A glowing circle erupted beneath their feet.
"What the hell—?!" Aaron shouted, but it was too late. Space bent, reality twisted, and light swallowed them whole.
All they heard next was the thunderous chorus:
"WELCOME, GREAT HEROES!"
Their hearts raced in confusion and shock. Heroes? Us?