In a certain corner of the city, a place that lacked any sign of human activity..... well, almost.
An abandoned warehouse stood in what looked like the middle of nowhere.
Inside, the lights dimly flickered. There were multiple puppdles on the floor showing exactly how long it had been since this place was last used.
But oddly, the air was thick with the scent of blood, sweat, and decay.
Deeper inside, a single, rusted chair sat in the center of the room, and in it, bound by thick steel chains, was Ethan Carter—battered, bruised, and barely clinging to consciousness.
His head lolled forward, his black hair stained with blood. His left eye was swollen shut and a deep cut ran across his temple, and his once-neat suit was torn, stained crimson with his own blood.
His breathing was ragged and uneven, each breath he took sent a sharp pain through his ribs, reminding him that at least three of them were broken.
A slow clap echoed through the room.
Ethan forced his good eye open, vision blurry, but the voice was enough. He didn't need to see to recognize the man who had orchestrated his downfall.
Nathaniel Langley.
The head of the National Security Division and the son of a military general. He was a man who wore a clean suit, yet had a soul as rotten as the filth pooling at his feet.
He stepped forward, his shoes producing a tapping sound against the floor, stopping just inches from Ethan.
"You know, Carter," Nathaniel said, his voice almost amused. "For a man as smart as you, I expected you to see this coming."
Ethan's lips curled, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth as he chuckled weakly. "Forgive me for not anticipating that my wife—the woman I loved, the woman I gave everything to—would sell me out like a cheap stock option."
Nathaniel smirked, nodding toward the person in the shadows behind him.
From the darkness, she emerged.
Olivia Carter.
Ethan's wife—no, the woman who had once pretended to love him. She stood tall, her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders, dressed in a tailored suit that screamed power. But it was her eyes that cut him the deepest.
Cold. Emotionless. Unbothered.
There was no regret in them. He had expected her to at least show a bit of regret, even if a fake one.
'But I guess even that's too much to ask' Ethan thought to himself.
"Hello, Ethan," she said, her voice devoid of warmth.
Ethan let out a dry laugh. "You really did it, huh? You actually went through with it."
"You were always an obstacle," she said, crossing her arms. "You thought your tech could change the world. But in reality? You were just a fool who got in the way of the people who actually run things."
"You used me," His jaw clenched " all those nights, all those dreams we talked about—was it all a lie?"
She tilted her head, considering his words before giving him a small, almost pitying smile.
"Some of it was real. But at the end of the day, power is everything, Ethan. And you? You have none of it" She said "You're just a man with big, foolish ideas."
Ethan exhaled sharply through his nose, the rage in his veins bubbled hotter than the pain in his body.
They took everything from him. His company, his ideas, his reputation, every single thing and for what?
Just because he refused to work under them? Just because he refused to become another pet to the government.
But all that wouldn't have mattered if the woman that swore to stand by his side through everything wasn't the one to sell him out.
"You had a good run, Carter. You almost created an empire from nothing," Nathaniel crouched to his level, looking him in the eye "but here's the thing—men like you don't get to keep what they build. The world doesn't let that happen."
Ethan's lips curled into a grin, his bloodied teeth baring at Nathaniel.
"You think you've won, huh?" he rasped.
Nathaniel laughed, patting his cheek condescendingly. "Oh, but we have. And after you're gone, your legacy will be rewritten. The world will remember you as a traitor, a man who sold classified tech to foreign powers."
"Funny," Ethan murmured. "That sounds a lot like your crimes, Langley."
Nathaniel's smile froze for half a second, this wasn't something Ethan should have known, but it didn't matter now.
"Enough talk" he said and signalled to the two guards behind him.
The guards approached, one pressing a gun barrel against Ethan's forehead.
"Any last words, Carter" Nathaniel said with a grin.
"If there's a hell, I'll be waiting for you two right at the gates" Ethan let out.
"Take the shot Marcus" Nathaniel ordered with a frown on his face.
He took a slow breath, feeling no fear—only the seething, unrelenting hatered for the two of them.
As if to rub in his victory, Nathaniel pulled Olivia into a triumphant kiss.
He swore, with every ounce of his being, that if there was any chance—any possibility—he would make them pay.
He smiled before,
Bang!
A single gunshot rang out in the warehouse and Ethan was immediately consumed by darkness, not even getting a chance to register the pain of getting shot.
Olivia immediately pushed Nathaniel away as soon as the shot rang out.
"You got what you wanted, now can you release my mom" she demanded, but her previous cold tone was now missing, replaced by slight trembles.
"Not so fast, my sweet Olivia," Nathaniel said as he caressed Olivia's cheeks "you'll get your mother back once I get everything I want"
___________
Ethan's soul aimlessly floated through the endless void.
"Is this hell?" he muttered, or at least tried to but no sound came out.
Suddenly, a bright blue panel popped up before him.
[SYSTEM BOOTING…]
[LOADING USER DATA…]
[ERROR: USER DEAD.]
[REVERSING TIME…]
[INITIALIZING…]
The darkness suddenly shattered, replaced by a blinding white light.