I ignored the warnings buzzing in my head like angry hornets. Phobos and Deimos had been at it the whole climb up this godforsaken tower, Phobos muttering about traps and Deimos egging me on for a rematch. But here I was, I stood in the doorway, my hand hovering near the pendants. "I doubt you dragged me all the way up here for small talk, Scorpio. What do you want? Phobos thinks it's a trap, and Deimos... well, he's just itching to finish what we started in the warehouse."
A soft chuckle escaped him, echoing off the walls. Finally, he turned, his pale face catching the moonlight. Those black eyes, deep as voids, met mine, and for the first time, I saw something besides madness in them. Weariness? Regret? His thin smile didn't reach his eyes, but it wasn't the predatory grin from our fight. He set the orb down on a dusty pedestal with a gentle click, the symbols inside pulsing faintly before dimming.
"The name's Jay," he said, his voice dropping the distorted edge from his Rider form. "Jay Harlan. Scorpio's just the curse they slapped on me. And no, this isn't a trap. It's an offer. You want to know what I'm after with all this 'uniting the zodiac' nonsense? Sit. Or stand. But listen."
I didn't move. My legs felt rooted to the spot, like the tower's gravity was pulling me in. Jay stepped closer, the orb's light bouncing off the walls, casting dancing shadows of zodiac signs around us. Aries charging, Taurus standing firm, Gemini splitting into twins. It was hypnotic, but I shook it off. "An offer? From the guy who tried to turn me into a lab rat? Yeah, sounds legit."
He sighed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. It was the first human gesture I'd seen from him, and it threw me off. "Fair enough. You killed me once, took my first life. I get why you'd be skeptical. But hear me out, Rei. We're not so different, you and I. Both forbidden in our own ways, both screwed over by this twisted game the gods play."
I crossed my arms, leaning against the doorframe to look casual, even though my pulse was racing. "Different? You were experimenting on tar monsters, fusing zodiac essences like some mad scientist. I saw the notes in your lab, Project Stinger, symbiosis protocols. You were planning to merge Riders, turn us into abominations. That's not 'different'; that's insane."
Jay's eyes darkened, but not with anger. Pain, maybe. He paced slowly, his coat swishing against the grimy floor. "Insane? Maybe. But it started with good intentions. Or at least, that's what I tell myself." He stopped, staring out the broken window at the city lights far below. "Let me take you back a couple of years. I wasn't always like this, holed up in warehouses, playing god with vials and serums. I was just Jay, a guy with a job, a life, and a girl who made it all worth it. Her name was Lara."
Lara. The name hung in the air like a ghost. I felt a twinge in my chest, Andi's face flashed in my mind, her laugh erased from the world like she never existed. "What happened to her?"
He turned back to me, his face etched with lines that looked deeper in the moonlight. "The tournament happened. I got pulled into this zodiac crap just like you. Scorpio Rider, venom, regeneration, the whole package. I thought I could handle it, win it even. But during my first real fight... against the Aries Rider." His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. "It was chaos. Flames everywhere, my venom clashing with his fire. We were tearing up some abandoned lot on the city's edge. Lara, she wasn't supposed to be there. She was just... meeting me after work, you know? A surprise picnic or something stupid and normal."
I swallowed hard, the pendants growing warmer against my skin. Deimos grumbled faintly, but Phobos stayed silent, like she was listening too.
"The Aries Rider charged, and I countered with my tail. But the flames spread too fast, caught her in the crossfire. She screamed, god, that scream haunts me. By the time I got to her, it was too late. Burned, poisoned... gone." Jay's fists clenched at his sides. "I held her as she died, Rei. Begged the gods for mercy, but they don't care about us. We're just entertainment to them."
The room felt colder. I shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry. But that doesn't explain the experiments. Or why you're trying to 'unite' the zodiacs."
He nodded, his expression hardening. "After she died, something worse happened. The memory wipe. You know how it works, collateral damage gets erased from everyone's minds. Friends, family, even me at first. I woke up the next day feeling empty, like a piece of me was missing, but I couldn't place it. It took days for the fog to lift, for me to remember her face, her laugh. And when I did... rage. Pure rage. The gods didn't just kill her; they stole her from the world. Made it like she never existed. No one remembers Lara now except me. No gravesite, no photos, nothing."
I thought of Andi again, wiped clean after that supermarket brawl. The anger I'd felt then bubbled up now. "So you want revenge. Against the gods."
"Exactly." Jay's eyes lit up with a fierce intensity. "The tournament's their game, Rei. They pit us against each other, harvest our power, and discard the broken pieces. I started the experiments to find a way to break free, to unite the zodiac symbols not to rule, but to shatter their control. Fuse the essences, create something strong enough to kill them. End the cycle so no one else loses someone like I lost Lara. Or like you lost your friend, Andi, right?"
My breath caught. "How do you know about her?"
He smirked faintly. "I do my homework. Forbidden Rider shows up out of nowhere, takes down Sagittarius? Word travels in our circles. But that's not the point. I'm not here to kill other Riders, Rei. Not unless they get in my way. I want the gods gone. The tournament over. And I think you do too."
Phobos vibrated against my chest. "He's lying," she whispered in my mind. "Or twisting the truth. Don't trust him."
Deimos chuckled. "Sounds like a solid plan to me. Gods dead? Sign me up."
I ignored them, stepping forward. "Why tell me all this? Why not just fight me again?"
Jay reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a small, glowing card. It shimmered with a metallic green hue, Scorpio's symbol etched in silver. "Because you're different. Ophiuchus, the snake bearer, the forgotten thirteenth. Your power's not bound by their rules. We could be allies. Take this." He held it out. "It's a fragment of my essence. An upgrade for your suit. Slot it in during transformation, and it'll give you partial regeneration, no more burning through life days for every scratch. Venom resistance too. Consider it a token. Proof I'm not after Rider blood. Use it to fight the real enemy."
I stared at the card, hesitation gnawing at me. It felt warm in his hand, pulsing faintly like a heartbeat. "And if I say no?"
He shrugged. "Then walk away. But think about it. The gods will come for you eventually, Ophy can't protect you forever. And when they do, you'll wish you had more allies."
I took the card, its surface smooth and cool against my palm. A surge of energy rippled through me, like a promise of power. But doubts swirled. Was this really about revenge, or was Jay just playing a longer game? Lara's story hit too close to home, stirring up my own grief for Andi. Maybe he was right, we were alike. Outcasts in a game rigged against us.
"Fine," I said finally. "I'll think about it. But if this is a trick..."
"It's not." Jay stepped back, picking up the orb. The zodiac shadows flared once more before fading. "Contact me when you're ready. You have my number now." He nodded toward the card, then turned toward the window, his form blurring in the moonlight.
"Wait," I called. "How do I know you're telling the truth about Lara?"
He paused, his back to me. "You don't. But ask yourself, why else would I risk this? Good luck, Rei. The gods won't make it easy."
And just like that, he was gone, leaping out the window into the night. I stood there, card in hand, the tower's whispers starting up again. Phobos and Deimos argued in my head, but I tuned them out. For the first time since this all started, I felt like maybe I wasn't alone in this fight. But trust? That was a long way off.
The climb down felt longer, the stairs creaking under my weight. My mind raced with questions. Lara's death, the gods' cruelty, it all made sense. But allying with Jay? That could blow up in my face. Still, as I hit the street and biked home through the misty night, the card burned a hole in my pocket. Regeneration. Resistance. Tools to survive. To win.
By the time I crashed into bed, exhaustion pulling me under, one thought lingered: Maybe ending the gods wasn't such a crazy idea after all.