Darkness lingered after the vision. Not the kind you could blink away, but the kind that stayed in the corners of your mind, echoing like a scream that never stopped.
I sat there, breathing hard, knees bruised against the cold metal floor. The Force still hummed in my bones, but it felt... warped. Like something had shifted. Like reality was fraying just a little around the edges.
Subject Nine was silent now, his golden eyes locked on me. Watching. Waiting. Like a goddamn Sith therapist.
"You alright?" Bucky asked. He was tense. Gun still aimed. Trigger halfway squeezed.
"I saw them," I muttered. "The Ones. The Father. The Daughter. The Son. And—her. Abeloth. She saw me."
Bucky didn't say a word. He didn't need to. His silence screamed we're in deep.
Then it happened.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
A voice. Not external. Not audible. It rang through my skull like a coded chime, clean and mechanical.
[Welcome, USER. FORCE ANOMALY DETECTED. SYSTEM INTERFACE NOW ONLINE.]
I staggered back. My knees hit the floor again.
[SYSTEM SYNC — 37%… 52%… 89%… COMPLETE.]
A glowing interface burst into existence in front of my eyes. Not in the room—in my vision. Semi-transparent. Blue glyphs. Star Wars meets sci-fi HUD.
Name: N/A
Designation: Unknown Asset
Alignment: Unstable Force Signature Detected
Midichlorian Index: 27,931 (Anomalous)
Status: Alive (barely)
Force Affinity: ???
Skills Unlocked: 3
Potential Tree: LOCKED
Galactic Origin: LEVIATHAN
Do you wish to initiate Force Path Protocol?
"What the actual hell…" I whispered.
"You seeing something?" Bucky asked, stepping closer. "You look like someone just kicked your brain into a loading screen."
"You're... not wrong."
I reached out—mentally, instinctively—and the interface responded.
[Path Protocol Options Available:]
Balance (Neutral Path)
Dark Side (Power & Will)
Light Side (Clarity & Harmony)
Unknown Path (Leviathan Protocol) ← [Locked]
*System Override Key Required.
The moment I tried to click on the "Unknown Path," the interface glitched—static and darkness rippling through it.
[Warning: External interference detected. Origin: ABEL Protocol.]
I reeled back. "She's inside it."
"Who?" Bucky asked sharply.
"Abeloth. Part of her's embedded in this... system. I don't know what this thing is—it's not just technology. It's like... some Force-driven construct. An interface inside my head. Like some galactic UI."
"Then shut it down."
I shook my head. "I can't. It's not just part of me now. It's always been part of me."
Subject Nine tilted his head, eyes narrowing as if he sensed the interface blooming inside me.
"You hear it now, don't you?" he said. "The voice beneath the Force. The code written into your marrow."
"I'm hearing a lot of things," I muttered, eyes still locked on the interface.
[New Feature Unlocked: Status Menu]
Attributes:
— Strength: 14
— Dexterity: 17
— Intelligence: 19
— Willpower: 25
— Force Sensitivity: ???
Force Skills (Basic):
— Telekinesis [Level 2]
— Precognition [Level 1]
— Force Sight [Locked]
Perks:
— [Instinctive Reaction] – You may reflexively slow time for 1.5 seconds once per encounter.
— [Residual Echo] – You leave a psychic trace in places of trauma. Can be meditated upon to unlock visions.
I blinked. "I have stats. Actual RPG stats."
"Is that bad?" Bucky asked, eyes flicking between me and Subject Nine like he was waiting for one of us to explode.
"No," I said. "It's weird. But it might be the only way I figure out what I am."
[Trial Protocol Suggested: 'Leviathan Initiation']
Would you like to begin? Y/N
Note: This trial cannot be safely exited once started.
Subject Nine stepped closer. "You should do it."
"Of course you'd say that."
"You want truth, don't you?" he said. "This is how you get it. Your system is seeded with a core remnant—an echo of the source that made both of us. If you don't confront it, it'll consume you."
"You mean Abeloth."
"No," he said. "I mean you."
That wasn't ominous at all.
I took a deep breath.
And selected: Yes.
The world shattered.
One second I was standing in the lab. The next, I was in a void—pure white stretching in every direction, like a blank canvas awaiting judgment.
[TRIAL INITIATED: LEVIATHAN PROTOCOL LEVEL ONE]
Survive your origin. Face your reflection. Reject or embrace the hunger.
Before I could process the ominous system message, it appeared: me—but not quite. A mirror version. Taller. Dressed in sleek black armor like a Sith Inquisitor. Yellow eyes. A lightsaber on his belt.
"Nice outfit," I said.
"It's what you would become if you stopped pretending," the reflection replied.
"Pretending to be what?"
"Human. Mortal. Weak."
He ignited the saber. It purred with a red hum.
"Here we go," I muttered.
The duel was fast. Brutal. My Force instincts flared, reacting faster than my body ever could. My real skills—still raw—barely kept up.
But I learned.
Every swing I dodged gave me experience.
Every counter taught me precision.
And as the system kicked in, I felt it:
[Skill Progress: Telekinesis Level 2 → Level 3]
[New Ability Unlocked: Force Push (Directional)]
[Trait Gained: Adaptive Reflex] – Gain 5% increased reaction time during combat events.
"I'm getting stronger," I said aloud, ducking under a saber swing and blasting my shadow with a sudden pulse of Force energy.
My reflection hit the ground hard.
"You can't kill me," it hissed, climbing to its feet. "I am inevitable. I am what you are becoming."
"Then maybe I'll just make you part of the package."
I focused—dug deep. The Force surged through me like lightning down a wire.
And I pulled him into me.
Literally.
His body shattered into light, and that light poured into my chest.
[System Notice: Trial Complete]
[Alignment Drift: Slightly Toward Balance]
[Force Skill Tree Partially Unlocked]
[New Power Available: Dark Resurgence – Consume pain to restore stamina and Force energy.]
I collapsed in the lab, gasping.
Bucky was kneeling beside me again.
Subject Nine stood exactly where I'd left him—smirking.
"You survived," he said. "That means it's begun."
"What has?"
"The war inside you. Between the being you were made to be—and the one you choose to become."
He turned toward the darkness beyond the lab. "This world won't understand what's coming. Not SHIELD. Not Stark. Not Xavier. Not even the ones you'll come to trust."
"Trust?" I laughed weakly. "Good one."
But part of me knew he was right.
[System Ping: Quest Unlocked — Crossroads]
Locate the fragments of your origin hidden across Earth.
Survive the Trials.
Resist the corruption—or embrace it.
Reward: Class Upgrade, Force Tier Ascension, System Override Key.
Bucky helped me up. "What now?"
I looked toward the steel corridors of the abandoned Leviathan base—and the shadows beyond it.
Bucky was the first to break the silence. "You really gonna let that thing live?"
We stood in the remains of the control chamber. Half the lights were fried. The energy fluctuations from the system interface had left scorch marks in the walls. And Subject Nine—he was still watching us from the shadows, arms folded like a smug Sith librarian.
"No," I said. "I'm not."
Because I'd seen what he was. What I could become.
Subject Nine wasn't just a warning. He was a branch of my potential future—twisted by obsession and swallowed by the whisper of Abeloth.
"I gave you clarity," he said as if reading my thoughts. "You should thank me."
"You gave me nightmares."
"You would've found them anyway."
I didn't argue. I just turned to Bucky.
"Prep the charges."
Turns out, HYDRA left the Leviathan facility with enough C-4 to take out a city block. We weren't subtle. We were thorough.
Bucky moved like a man who'd done this kind of demolition before—which, honestly, made me wonder just how many facilities he'd not blown up in his day job.
He looked at me, deadpan. "And trusted them to not dig it up again?"
"Point taken."
Subject Nine made no move to stop us. Just watched. "You're making a mistake," he said calmly. "You're erasing answers you'll never get back."
"No," I said. "I'm erasing the questions no one should have asked."
I gave Bucky the nod. He gave me the detonator.
We walked.
Subject Nine stayed behind.
The explosion lit up the Missouri sky like Judgment Day.
Fire roared up from the ground. Metal screamed. The earth buckled like it was trying to vomit out the filth we'd just buried. I felt the Force scream—not in pain, but in release.
Subject Nine's presence vanished. Nothing lingered.
Not even an echo.
[System Update Detected…]
Leviathan Protocol — Node Alpha: DESTROYED
Corruption Source Neutralized: Subject Nine
Alignment Drift: +5 Balance
New Objective: Trace the Fragment
A signal has been detected.
Origin: Remote Arctic Research Station (Greenland Sector)
Status: Dormant
Threat Level: Moderate
Objective: Locate Source Fragment | Engage Trial if available
Rewards: Memory Core, System Upgrade, Genetic Unlock
"Well," Bucky said as we watched the fire die. "What now?"
I stared at the system screen only I could see. "Greenland."
He raised a brow. "You serious?"
"No one ever goes to Greenland unless something awful is waiting for them."
He shrugged. "At least we're consistent."
"And we really need to get rid of your Hydra mental programing"