Rain still clung to the ground when Jason Carter was dragged out of the house like a criminal.He stumbled as Lee Brandon yanked his arm, while two cousins held his other side. His shirt was wrinkled. His face was still marked from yesterday’s slaps.“Let go of me!” Jason shouted, struggling. “Where are you taking me?”“To where you belong,” Brandon spat. “Trash should be thrown out in public.”They pulled him past the front gate of the Lee mansion. The guards didn’t even blink. The maid who once smiled at him now looked away.He was invisible. Or worse — scum.“Stop it! You can’t do this—!”Mrs. Lee walked behind them, umbrella in hand, her lips pursed in satisfaction.A bystander near the sidewalk stared.“What’s going on?”“This man,” Mrs. Lee said loudly, “beat his pregnant wife and caused her miscarriage. Let the world see what a monster looks like!”More people turned. Phones came out. Whispers started.“I didn’t touch her!” Jason shouted. “This is all a lie!”Brandon smirked

Pain was the first thing he felt.Not sharp, Just dull, like the kind that sat in your bones.Jason Carter groaned, sitting up from the cold floor. The air was damp and thick with mildew. Broken windows rattled in the wind. Rain dripped somewhere in the distance.An abandoned warehouse.He didn’t remember getting here.His shirt was gone.His skin felt… hot.He turned, glancing over his shoulder — and stopped breathing.There was something glowing across his back.There were Lines, Symbols and Script.Golden and ancient.Moving and Breathing with him.“What… the hell am I?”His fingers brushed the edge of a glowing line, but it vanished the moment he touched it.Then — that voice again. Calm, ancient.[SYSTEM: Welcome back, Ar-Zekar.][Trial Two: Mastery of Will — Initiated.][Observe. Judge. Begin.]He blinked. “Observe?”“You were a god of judgment,” the voice replied. “You don’t need a sword to destroy evil. Start small. See. Learn. Judge.”Later that night, the cold faded into n

The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, revealing the penthouse lounge of Lee Global Ventures. Gold-accented marble floors reflected the amber light of the chandeliers, and the wide glass windows framed the Manhattan skyline like a painting.Jason Carter stepped out slowly, adjusting the sleeves of his secondhand designer suit which he had stolen around the streets. It didn’t quite fit… too snug at the shoulders, a little frayed at the cuffs, but he held himself like a man wearing armor.Don’t hesitateOwn the space. They feed on weakness.He murmured these words to himself whilst he moved towards the door.Voices hushed the moment he stepped in. Half a dozen men in tailored suits and two women in smart blazers turned to look. They weren’t just investors, they were sharks. Venture capitalists, hedge fund managers, real estate magnates. All sipping aged scotch and talking tech with that smug, empty laughter of people who believed they couldn’t be touched.A man with a silver b

Detroit – Midnight AlleyJason’s boots splashed through shallow puddles as he stalked down the alley. The city was a far cry from New York’s glossy skyscrapers—Detroit felt raw, like the bones of America were exposed here.Then he heard it.A scuffle.Gravel skidding. A voice gasping…. It was young, maybe seventeen.He turned the corner.Two men cornered a teen against a dumpster, knives drawn. One had a ski mask, the other wore a hoodie and a desperate grin.“Give me your fucking wallet now!”Jason didn’t speak. He moved gently.One kick shattered the first mugger’s kneecap. The second didn’t even see the elbow that dropped him.The teen bolted.Jason stood still, letting his breath settle. Blood pounded in his ears, not from exertion, but something else.The shift. The strange clarity that came right before the System spoke.But nothing came.Instead, from behind a stack of crates, a voice rasped:“You’re not like them. You reek of judgment.”He spun.A woman stepped forward, blindf

Newark, New Jersey – Co-Working Space, 3rd FloorThe place still smelled like paint and ambition.Jason slid a new keycard into the lock of Suite 3B. The glass door clicked open. Inside: a few folding tables, unplugged monitors, an old coffee machine wheezing in the corner.“Not Olympus,” he muttered, “but it’ll do.”A soft ping from the System pulsed faintly in his ear.System Status: Temporal Stability – Level Green.Divine Threads Unspooling… Suggest Team Assembly.“Already on it,” Jason murmured.⸻Gabriel was first. Towering. Quiet. A face like carved stone.He didn’t speak right away—just nodded, dropped a duffel bag on the floor.“They said you died,” he finally said.“I got better,” Jason replied.Then came Jules—lanky, jittery, twirling a flash drive like a magician.“Okay, I heard rumors you tanked Wall Street and walked out of a fire. Either you’re insane or… I want in.”Jason raised an eyebrow. “How about both?”Last was Tammy. Mid-thirties. Soft smile. Wide eyes that shim