The Sprawl burned like a fever dream.
Streets glimmered with shattered neon, mech husks steamed in the rain, and drones fell from the sky like dead hornets. Authority banners flickered with propaganda—SHELTER OR BE PURGED—as scavenger gangs crouched in shattered doorways, whispering.
Some whispered Jack's name like a curse.
Others like a prayer.
Jack walked through it all, blade dripping, coat heavy with rain and blood. Victor followed close, rifle raised, scanning the shadows where glowing eyes peered out.
One scavenger stepped forward, trembling, and dropped his rifle to the ground with a clang. His mask tilted low. "…King."
Jack stopped. For a beat, the world went still, rain pattering against steel and bone.
His lips curled into a slow, dangerous smile. "You finally figured it out."
A ripple of unease passed through the crowd. Some scavengers lowered their weapons; others tightened their grips, unsure. Jack didn't break stride as he passed them, his presence filling the alley like a storm.
Victor muttered behind him, "They're scared of you."
Jack didn't look back. "Good."
The System flickered red static across his vision:
⸻
[Blood Oath Surge: 92%]
[Warning: Identity Fracture Detected]
[Jack King = Marcus Revenant?]
⸻
Jack blinked hard, and for half a second, he didn't see Victor. He saw Marcus—red-eyed, grinning.
His blade swung before he could stop it.
Victor cursed, ducking back. "Jack! It's me!"
Jack froze, his chest heaving. The world snapped back into focus. Victor's pale face replaced Marcus's.
Jack lowered his weapon slowly, voice cold. "He's in my head."
Victor's jaw clenched. "Then fight harder, Jack. Or he wins."
Jack wiped blood from his mouth and smiled, wild and sharp. "No. I win."
A roar split the street.
A block away, an Authority tank exploded, its carcass ripped apart by something massive crawling from the wreckage. It wasn't a man. It wasn't one thing.
The creature was a nightmare of fused bodies and metal, five soldiers merged into one towering frame, glowing red glyphs carved into its skin. A cannon arm hummed with power, and a blade the size of a car scraped the asphalt as it moved.
Victor's face drained of color. "That… is not standard issue."
Jack gripped his blade, calm as a reaper. "Good. I was getting bored."
The Harbinger charged. Its cannon screamed, melting a wall into slag. Jack dove into the chaos, moving faster than a man should. Sparks lit his face as his blade sank into a writhing limb. The monster shrieked, swinging its blade down, carving the street in two.
Victor fired armor-piercing rounds, sparks bouncing off its chest. The Harbinger roared, charging him, but Jack leapt onto its back, ripping open a panel with his bare hands. Black fluid sprayed as Jack's blade pierced deep into its core.
Marcus's voice slithered through his vision like static:
⸻
<>
⸻
Jack snarled and ripped the blade down. The Harbinger screamed, collapsing in a heap of twitching metal and limbs.
The streets went silent. Then whispers rose like wind through the alleys:
"…King…"
"Jack King…"
Some scavengers dropped to their knees. Others raised rifles—not at him, but for him.
Victor looked at Jack with something like fear. "They're rallying to you."
Jack stood atop the Harbinger's corpse, blade glinting under the neon haze, eyes glowing faintly. "Good."
Far away, Marcus watched the feed, his own reflection fractured into shards. Jack's face flickered over his own in the mirror.
The System screamed warnings:
⸻
[Stability: 40% → 35%]
[Neural Signature Sync: 75%]
⸻
Marcus's laugh cracked like glass. "He thinks he's wearing a crown. He doesn't know it's mine."
In the penthouse, Helena sat across from the man in the white coat. He swirled his glass lazily, eyes sharp behind rimless lenses.
"You don't see it yet," he said softly. "Jack won't kill Marcus."
Helena's heart pounded. "Then what?"
"He'll replace him."
Her hand tightened around the pistol in her lap. She'd called for help. She wasn't sure if she'd just doomed the man she loved.
The Sprawl descended into chaos.
Gangs clashed with Authority squads under flickering lights. Drones screamed overhead, sparks rained down, and Jack's name spread like wildfire.
Jack stood in the heart of it all, fire painting his silhouette. His reflection in a shattered shop window showed Marcus's grin. Red eyes.
Jack didn't flinch.
He turned from the glass, raised his blade high, and the roar of his name echoed through the Sprawl like a war drum.
"I don't run from crowns," Jack growled. "I take them."
The System chimed, ominous and final:
⸻
[Questline: KINGSLAYER ASCENSION — UNLOCKED]
[Objective: Kill Marcus. Claim the Crown.]
⸻
And the war for Halo began.