Location: London – MI-13 Black Site (Codename: Iron Casket)
Time: 2:12 a.m.
Rain fell sideways.
Lightning snapped like gunfire over the shattered rooftop of MI-13's hidden headquarters beneath Westminster. This wasn't the London people saw in brochures. It was the hidden underbelly where magical threats were buried under paperwork and protective runes.
Tonight, those runes failed.
And I was already late.
---
[System Alert: Omega Host Identified – Codename: "Revenant"]
> Composite Template: Ghost Rider / Ultron / Red Hood
Ability: Pain Loop Protocol – Converts physical trauma into exponential energy
Threat Level: Omega-Class (Temporal Disruptor)
I stepped through Wong's portal and immediately ducked—a flaming chain tore through the air, nearly taking my head off.
"Victor Wick," a voice rasped like a broken speaker. "The Anti-God arrives."
I turned slowly.
The figure standing in the crater wore a cracked red helmet fused to metal plating. His jacket looked like melted armor, half robotic, half scorched leather. His spine glowed blue like reactor coils.
He was on fire… and smiling.
---
"You're Revenant," I said.
He cracked his neck, the sound more metallic pop than bones.
"I was once Mason Gray. MI-13's secret weapon. Then the System chose me. Pain became my fuel. Dying made me immortal. And now…"
He lifted a hand, and the sky above us bled red.
"…I'm the reset button."
---
[System Notification: Combat Imminent]
> Objective: Defeat Revenant
Bonus Objective: Prevent Temporal Detonation (within 15 minutes)
Reward: "Hell-Trace" Trait | Bonus Skill: Chrono-Focus (Locked)
Time to dance.
---
Round One: Fire & Steel
He struck first.
His chain ignited mid-air, hurling toward me like a burning whip. I rolled left, pulled a pistol from my Inventory, and unloaded three rounds.
The bullets hit his chest—and vaporized into ash.
He laughed.
"Pain loop," he grinned. "Hit me harder. I want to feel it."
His next punch sent me skidding across wet asphalt, ribs screaming.
---
[Health: -14 HP]
[Armor Integrity: 72%]
[Status Effect: Burn (Minor)]
"Okay," I growled. "No more warm-up."
I reached into my Inventory and pulled out the John Wick Combat Template, overlaying it with my current form.
[Template Active: Wick Mode – Ghost Sync: 74%]
Focus sharpened. Time slowed slightly. Muscle memory surged.
I ducked low, spun under his chain, and fired three quick shots into his mechanical knee joint.
He stumbled.
That was my opening.
---
Round Two: Close-Quarters Chaos
I closed the distance, grabbed a broken pipe, and jabbed it into his exposed shoulder wiring. Sparks flew.
He roared in agony—then laughed harder.
"You're getting it now! The more I hurt—the stronger I become!"
His body pulsed red. Energy rippled. The ground beneath him cracked.
This guy was a walking supernova with a masochist complex.
---
[System Alert: Temporal Detonation Count – 12:44 Remaining]
A swirling energy core began rising behind him—a miniature black hole tethered to a dimensional tear.
If that thing detonated, this timeline could collapse in on itself.
Wong's voice echoed through my comm-link.
> "Victor, he's triggering a time quake. You can't kill him head-on. You need to suppress his loop."
"Any ideas?"
> "Chrono-Focus. The Ancient One encoded it in your scroll."
I reached into my coat, pulled the Gate Sigil Scroll, and unfurled it.
The runes blazed gold.
[Skill Unlocked: Chrono-Focus]
> Allows temporary manipulation of subjective time
Grants immunity to temporal anomalies for 15 seconds
Cooldown: 3 minutes
Let's try this.
---
Round Three: Countering the Loop
I activated Chrono-Focus.
Time fractured.
Everything slowed except me.
The raindrops froze mid-air. Flames flickered in place. Revenant moved like he was underwater.
I surged forward, dodged his attack, and injected a Null-Spike—a custom-made temporal anchor—directly into his spinal port.
"Let's see you heal from this."
I snapped the spike.
Revenant screamed. The glow in his chest faltered. His pain loop paused—disrupted.
I didn't waste time.
Elbow to the throat. Knee to the gut. Pistol whip to the head.
---
[System Critical Hit – Loop Interrupted]
> Duration: 18 seconds
I aimed my pistol at his reactor core and whispered, "Rest."
Then I fired.
Boom.
---
The explosion didn't shatter buildings—it shattered the air.
Revenant crumpled into the rubble, the reactor on his back fizzling out like a dying star.
The timeline stabilized.
For now.
---
[System Update: Host Defeated – Revenant Neutralized]
> Trait Acquired: Hell-Trace
– Absorbs heat-based damage to increase reflexes
– Grants flame-resistant armor coating
– Unlocks "Ashstep" (short-range fire-dash)
---
Wong arrived through a portal, robes singed.
"You're alive," he muttered.
"Barely."
I knelt beside Revenant's unconscious form.
His voice, weak, wheezed out.
"He's coming…"
"Who?" I asked.
He laughed, coughing black smoke.
"The Sovereign… The final version of you… he's already awake."
---
Post-Credit Scene
In a remote digital void, Sovereign Prime opened his eyes.
Floating above a cosmic battlefield, fragments of broken timelines orbiting him like moons.
His skin was pale as bone. His eyes glowed gold and black.
He watched everything through system-linked vision.
And he smiled.
> "Victor is progressing faster than predicted. Good. I want him strong… before he dies."
---