They gave Marcus a room. Not a cell. An actual room with a bed, bathroom, and clothes that fit. Court headquarters was buried three floors underground, but they'd made it comfortable. Like a bunker designed by interior decorators who'd watched too many spy movies.Marcus showered. Watched blood circle the drain. No enhanced healing meant the hot water stung like hell on his cuts and bruises. His reflection showed damage. Black eye, split lip, bruises covering his torso like a map of violence.But his eyes were different. Clearer. The system's red tint was gone. Just brown eyes. Human eyes. Tired, but human.He found fresh clothes on the bed. Tactical pants, black shirt, boots. Court standard issue. They fit perfectly. They'd measured him while he was unconscious.A knock on the door.Sarah entered, carrying a tablet and a bag from some fast-food place. "Figured you hadn't eaten in a while."Marcus's stomach growled at the smell. He grabbed the bag. Burger, fries, soda. Cheap shit that

The white light consumed everything.Marcus felt his body dissolve. Not dying. Transcending. Becoming something between matter and consciousness. The Judgment System pulled him from the present into the realm of possibilities.Two paths stretched before him. Parallel timelines. Futures that could be.The first path glowed with red light."THE PATH OF ACCEPTANCE," the Judgment Archon's voice echoed. "WITNESS WHAT COMES IF YOU TAKE THE BURDEN."Marcus fell into the vision.VISION ONE: ACCEPTANCESix days from now.Marcus lay strapped to the same chair Victor had occupied. The pharmaceutical plant's sublevel hummed with equipment. Monroe and her scientists worked frantically around him.Victor's body was on a gurney beside him. Empty. Dead. The Domination Archon had been extracted. A glowing red mass of divine energy suspended in containment fields."Are you ready?" Monroe asked.Vision-Marcus nodded. His face was calm. Resolved. He'd made his choice.The transfer began.Pain beyond desc

THREE MONTHS LATERMarcus stood on the roof of Court headquarters, watching the city wake up. Six million people going about their lives. None of them knew he could dominate every single one with a thought.The temptation was constant."DO IT," the Archon whispered in his mind. It always whispered. "SHOW THEM TRUE POWER. MAKE THEM UNDERSTAND.""No.""YOU SAY NO. BUT YOUR HEART RACES AT THE THOUGHT. YOU WANT IT. THE CONTROL. THE DOMINION."Marcus clenched his fists. The Archon was right. Part of him. A growing part. Wanted to reach out and take every mind in the city. Make them worship him. Obey him. Love him.That was the 75% corruption talking.His phone buzzed. Sarah: Mission briefing in twenty. Your first solo op.Marcus headed inside. Three months of training had transformed him. He moved differently now. Fluid, predatory. His senses were sharper. He could hear heartbeats three rooms away. Could smell fear on people's skin.He was becoming something other than human.The briefing

TWO WEEKS LATERThey'd moved five times in fourteen days. Different safe houses. Different cities. Always staying ahead of the Court's search.Marcus sat in a dingy motel room in Portland, surrounded by papers. Mina had been using her Judgment System carefully. Just enough to identify Court operatives with dark secrets, not enough to spike her corruption. She was up to 49% now. Dangerous, but manageable.The evidence they'd gathered was damning.Monroe had been running unauthorized experiments for three years. Not just Victor Kane. She'd captured twelve system users before him. Experimented on them. Tried to extract Archon fragments. All twelve had died in agony."This is enough," Sarah said, reviewing the documents. "We take this to the Court's oversight committee. Monroe gets removed. Maybe executed.""The oversight committee reports to Monroe," Marcus said. "She's had thirty years to build loyalty. Plant allies. She controls the entire North American division.""Then we go internat

ONE MONTH LATERThe abandoned warehouse in Detroit had become their headquarters. Not by choice. By necessity. After Manhattan, the Court had put a global bounty on Marcus: $50 million, dead or alive.Every hunter, mercenary, and desperate fool on Earth was looking for him.Marcus stood in front of a makeshift war room. Maps covered the walls. Red pins marked Court facilities. Blue pins marked potential allies. Yellow pins marked other system users they'd identified.There were twelve yellow pins. Twelve people carrying fragments of dead gods. Twelve potential apocalypses or twelve potential allies.Sarah entered with coffee. "Mina's corruption hit 52% this morning. She's stable but it's climbing faster. Using the Judgment System to investigate Court facilities is taking its toll.""Tell her to stop. We have enough intel.""She won't. Says she needs to keep digging. Says there's something else. Something Monroe was hiding even from her own people." Sarah set the coffee down. "How's yo