---
The sun rose with no consideration for hidden empires.
Alexis Prince blinked up at his ceiling, still not entirely sure if he had slept or just lay in a daze with his thoughts spinning between midterms and military-grade logistics. A crack in the plaster stared back at him like a mocking reminder: You live in a dump, King of the Shadows.
He groaned.
> System: "Good morning, Administrator. Estimated hydration: low. Sleep score: 42 out of 100. Suggest water, caffeine, and pretending to be functional."
"Add 'existential dread' to the list."
> System: "Queued."
He rolled out of bed like a man on a mission—except his mission was to not fail his International Trade Theory class. After splashing cold water on his face and pulling on the cleanest hoodie he owned (clean-ish), he made coffee. Well, it was instant. And terrible. But it was hot and slightly bitter, much like his life.
While the water boiled, he flicked on his laptop. The Axis interface flickered to life, seamlessly overlaid atop the normal OS.
> System: "Axis Goods earnings report: $326. Viral review: 'This dumb potato saved my thesis.' Mercenary Unit: Specter Wing, assembled. Training simulation initialized. Nova reports readiness."
Alexis stirred his coffee with one hand, scrolling through encrypted reports with the other. It was surreal, how he could be managing international assets, weapon shipments, and psychological warfare—and still worry about being late to class.
---
The university courtyard buzzed with life. Students zipped between classes with earbuds in, coffee cups in hand, and faces full of sleep deprivation.
Alexis slipped into the current like a shadow. Hood up. Neutral stride. No eye contact.
To them, he was just another student. Not the man who controlled over a hundred billion dollars in untraceable assets and answered only to himself.
He dodged a campus tour group and entered the economics building just as the lecture started.
Inside, he took his usual spot—third row, center. Safe. Ordinary.
Jordan flopped into the seat next to him.
"Yo, Prince. You see the midterm update? Group presentation."
Alexis winced. "My nightmare made real."
"I call dibs on you. You always make us look less dumb."
"Can't argue with that."
Jordan snorted. "You ever sleep, man? You look like the ghost of finals past."
"Sleep is for people who don't juggle three lives."
Before Jordan could respond, Iris Monroe slid into the seat behind Alexis with dramatic flair.
"Good morning, citizens," she declared to no one in particular.
Alexis didn't turn around. She was a walking conspiracy theory wrapped in denim, and lately, her radar had been pinging a little too close to home.
"You seem lively," Jordan muttered.
"Someone has to be," she replied. Then to Alexis: "You know, you've been weird lately."
"I think that's just my face."
"No, it's something else. You walk like you're carrying secrets."
> System: "Subject Monroe: suspicion level at 23%. Believes user is a caffeine-fueled oddball. No real threat."
---
After the lecture, Alexis ducked into the library to hammer out some group notes. On the surface, it looked like he was typing a presentation script.
In reality? He was also reviewing a dossier on a defunct private army in Eastern Europe.
> System: "Specter Wing training complete. Logistics nodes in Asia and South America online. Shall I proceed with funding protocols?"
"Schedule operations. No visible trails."
> "Affirmative."
He glanced around to make sure no one could see his screen, then minimized the overlay and returned to typing about import tariffs.
---
At lunch, he sat alone with a tray of mystery curry and a bottle of overpriced tea. The cafeteria was loud with conversation, laughter, and chair legs scraping on tile.
His phone buzzed.
Elena (Sister).
He stepped outside to answer.
"Hey, Lex! Did you get the care package?"
"Yeah. The taco socks haunt me."
"You're welcome. You sound tired."
"Midterms. Life."
"You need money?"
"No, I'm good."
A pause.
"You know, sometimes I wish you'd talk to me about... stuff. You always disappear."
Alexis hesitated. He wanted to say I'm fine. Instead, he said, "Just busy."
"Okay. Call me soon, alright? Love you."
"Yeah. You too."
He hung up.
> System: "Emotional response: elevated. Stress markers increased. Suggest rest or cat video playlist."
"Remind me to buy her something nice."
"Already flagged in expense queue."
---
By late afternoon, Alexis arrived at Axis Goods. The shop sat tucked between a failing laundromat and a bubble tea place with too many vowels in its name.
Inside, the lighting was soft, the shelves were arranged, and the jazz playlist gently filled the space.
He checked inventory: novelty pens, stress ducks, Bluetooth incense diffusers. All intentionally weird. All perfectly harmless. Unless you knew.
He flipped the sign to OPEN.
---
Customers trickled in.
A girl in oversized headphones asked if the moon lamp glowed based on mood.
A guy asked if the singing mugs came in bass.
One customer bought a potato plush and whispered, "This feels like destiny."
Alexis rang them all up with polite confusion and mild sarcasm.
> System: "Sales today: 17 items. Most popular: Existential Teacup. Least popular: USB Onion."
> "People have no taste."
Then the door chimed.
Iris Monroe stepped in.
Alexis barely looked up. "Back again?"
"This place is suspicious."
"You say that like it's a compliment."
She wandered, picked up a ceramic frog, turned it upside down, then eyed him.
"You really run this place?"
"I file paperwork and smell like incense. Does that count?"
She smirked. "You're weird, Prince. Not dangerous. Just... weird."
She paid with exact change and left.
> System: "Suspicion rating unchanged. She believes you may be hiding a role-playing addiction."
> "Better that than discovering Specter Wing."
---
That night, Alexis sat in his small kitchen eating cold noodles.
Laptop open. Reports flowing.
Orders issued. Logs approved. Plans aligned.
Yet he paused.
He scrolled back to Elena's message.
She had sent a photo of her son wrapped in a blanket that read Nap King.
He stared at it for a long time.
Then, finally, he smiled.
> System: "Administrator, do you wish to conclude today's operations?"
"Yeah. For now."
He powered down the screen, closed the curtains, and sat quietly.
Outside, the city kept moving.
Inside, the king without a crown exhaled.
Tomorrow, he would plan again.
But tonight, he let himself just be... Alexis.
---