---
Alexis Prince woke up on the floor.
His head throbbed. His mouth was dry. His laptop was still humming faintly beside him, casting a soft light across his cluttered room. His old chair had fallen sideways, and a cracked energy drink can rolled under the desk.
He groaned and sat up slowly.
The memory of the night before hit him in pieces.
Final mission. World Domination. God's Axis.
The screen that hadn't shut down.
The system that had spoken to him.
He rubbed his eyes. "Was that a dream?"
"No."
He flinched.
The voice came from the laptop — calm, smooth, clear. Genderless. Not robotic, not human. Somewhere in between.
"Time since system integration: 8 hours, 12 minutes."
Alexis stared.
"Welcome back, Administrator."
He blinked hard. "You're… still here?"
"I never left. You passed out. I patiently watched you drool on the floor. Authority confirmed. Memory synced. Relay Node Alpha is ready."
"…This is real?"
"You built me. You named me. You commanded me. And you finished the game."
"Now the world you created waits for your orders."
Alexis pushed himself up, half-shuffling across the room to the window. Outside, the world looked the same. No flying cars. No armies. No chaos.
He opened the window. A dog barked two streets away. A scooter buzzed past. A pigeon did something illegal on the laundry lines.
Normal.
But his laptop still pulsed with a strange glow. The interface was unlike anything he remembered installing. Crisp lines. Minimal UI. A sigil in the corner:
☗
The Veiled Crown.
His mark. The symbol of God's Axis.
"GPS sent. First physical node location secured. Would you like a shower before your ascension?"
Alexis squinted. "You mean the storage unit thing?"
"Relay Node Alpha. Built in-game. Now functional in reality. You'll find answers there. Possibly also dust."
He stared at the screen. Then at the bag of chips on his table. Then at his wallet.
Two notes. Expired metro card. No actual plan.
He sighed. "Screw it."
---
The storage facility looked like disappointment in architectural form.
South Midtown Storage. Gray. Rusty. Faded letters. The receptionist didn't even look up as Alexis passed. The building creaked like it held grudges.
Unit 9B.
He reached for the lock.
It clicked and unlatched on its own.
The door opened inward, revealing darkness — not the dusty, broken kind. Clean darkness. Controlled.
Lights flickered on in a soft wave, illuminating a sleek chamber hidden beneath decades of decay. Steel walls. Inset screens. Cool air. A faint scent of sterilized metal.
Alexis stepped inside.
"...Whoa."
"Relay Node Alpha activated. You may breathe dramatically if it helps."
A black pedestal stood in the center of the room. Upon it: a locked matte case etched with ☗ — the mark of the organization he had created, first with clicks and pixels, now in steel and silence.
He placed a hand on the case. It unlocked with a soft hiss.
Inside:
A pistol.
Elegant. Gold-trimmed. Balanced.
Etched into the slide: Seraphim
"Custom sidearm. Biometric lock. Tactical weight. And, of course, gold. Your taste is terrifying."
He picked it up. His grip adjusted instantly. Muscles remembered something he'd never done before. His finger found the safety. His stance leveled.
No shaking. No learning curve.
Just readiness.
"Marksmanship reflexes mapped and synced. Combat movement normalized. You now shoot like a man who's been trained in twenty secret countries."
He smiled, then lowered the weapon.
A console lit up nearby. One name displayed on screen: Nova
Status: Awaiting you
He walked over, touched the panel. It flickered, then opened a voice line.
"Adam," came a woman's voice.
He hesitated. "…Nova?"
"Yes. Welcome back. Relay Alpha has been secured. Surveillance shows no threats."
"You… recognize me?"
"Your presence verifies it. The organization moves for no one but you."
"You sure I'm not just some guy who played a game too much?"
"You're the only one who finished it."
Alexis leaned forward, arms braced on the console. The pistol still warm in his hand.
Everything he'd built in fiction — the hierarchy, the structure, the loyalty — it was all here now. Breathing. Waiting. Ready.
"…You really waited this whole time?"
"We all did. God's Axis never moves until the crown returns."
Silence filled the room.
Then the system whispered again, soft and amused.
"Would you like to check global surveillance feeds… or order ramen like last time?"
He smiled slowly. "Let's start small. Ramen first."
"Done. Delivery in 27 minutes. Same vendor. Slightly annoyed."
He leaned back on the bench, closed his eyes for a moment, and listened to the quiet hum of his secret world.
A ghost with a crown.
That was him now.