Work continued, thankfully without any more issues or visits from Henry.

  Probably just waiting for the dinner. Leo figured, doing his best to not think about the evening ahead.

  Everyone else in the office was looking forward to it. Free food and Henry’s presence had sparked loud, excited chatter, especially from the women, many of whom were already joking about who might “claim his heart.” What surprised Leo most was that there didn’t seem to be any tension between them. From what he’d overheard from gossip, usually said while not even regarding Leo’s existence, Henry had slept with nearly every woman in the office.

  As work came to a close and everyone began packing up their things, a shout echoed from the front.

  “Alright, everyone! I’d just like to say that this dinner is to thank you for all the hard work you lovely folks have been doing. So don't hold back and enjoy yourselves! Eat to your heart's content tonight! I want full bellies and bigger smiles!”

  Applause erupted around the office. Smiles lit up faces. It felt surreal to Leo, unnatural even. He clapped weakly, barely at all, and that was enough for Henry to notice.

  Their eyes met across the room. Henry’s grin faltered for just a second, replaced by something colder. His expression twisted in brief, silent rage before he blinked it away and returned to smiling.

  Leo grimaced to himself. Damn. Why didn’t I just applaud like everyone else?

  He already knew what that slip up would cost. Henry didn’t let things go. Especially when it came to things Leo had done. Leo would just have to do what he always did. Swallow the storm of rage, bite his tongue, and let Henry have his fun.

  They left together as a group, walking through the busy streets. The town was alive with people heading home, grabbing takeout, or beginning night shifts. A barber shop glowed with tired neon, a factory loomed on the hill behind the—ominous and well avoided—supermax prison, and the smell of grease and exhaust hung in the air.

  Leo walked in silence, a ghost in the crowd. He wasn’t one for small talk in these settings, and no one ever reached out to him anyway. He’d considered whether Henry was behind it, but no one was openly cruel. They just didn’t include him.

  Thomas was the only exception, even then, it was casual. Surface-level chats about anime and games. Not a real friendship.

  Friendships had always been complicated for him. In his childhood, he had a problem with anger and violence. Often holding grudges or starting fights when anyone did something he disliked. As he grew up—and with the help of a counselor—Leo learned to suppress the rage. At least until someone mentioned his family, after which the person better be fast, or he’d do something he couldn’t take back.

  These problems caused him issues in schooling as people tried to get a rise from him. And thus, people avoided him for the most part. Just like now, but for different reasons.

  Entering the restaurant, Leo noted that it wasn’t exactly quiet, but it wasn’t overly busy either. Pretty typical for a Monday evening. Henry led the group with Erin close beside him, speaking briefly to one of the staff. The server gave a quick glance at the group of fifteen trailing in, then nodded and guided them toward the back, where a VIP section had been reserved.

  The décor was a mix of modern Western furniture and Japanese-inspired touches. It felt upscale without being pretentious. Apparently the owner was a bit quirky, but his lemonade was to die for. A few patrons glanced up as the group passed, but no one paid attention for long.

  The VIP area was mostly empty, aside from a small group seated near the corner. Four men and a woman, all in business attire. The woman seemed to be in charge, based on how the others deferred to her. She was striking, with deep black hair and silver-toned eyes that caught the light in a way that made Leo pause.

  Their eyes met.

  For just a second he couldn’t look away.

  Beautiful. And… dangerous? The thought came with a prickle at the back of his neck.

  Something about her eyes made the thought feel true.

  Leo blinked and looked down quickly, unsure why that word had come to mind. He shook it off and followed the group. The woman’s eyes followed him to his seat, before shaking her head and getting back to her conversations.

  People began sitting down, many of them trying to squeeze in close to where Henry had already positioned himself. There was a strange, subtle desperation in the way they clustered near him. Leo did the opposite, moving toward the far end of the table, trying to claim a quiet spot where he could sit out the dinner without drawing any more of Henry’s ire.

  “Leo!” Henry called out across the room, voice too loud and far too friendly. “Get your ass up here, come sit with me and Erin!”

  Leo’s thoughts scrambled for a polite excuse, but he already knew it wouldn’t matter. Resistance would only drag things out. With a silent sigh, he got up and made his way to the top of the table.

  As he approached, Henry patted the seat beside him. But before Leo could reach it, a red-haired woman, Monica, slipped into it instead. Her blouse was unbuttoned slightly more than usual, her smile all invitation.

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  “Monica,” Henry said, still smiling. “I was saving that seat for my good friend Leo. I’d appreciate it if you moved down one.”

  “Aww, come on, honey,” she said, voice dripping with suggestion. “Wouldn’t you rather sit next to me? We can talk about our plans after this.” Her finger gently traced down his chest.

  “I won’t ask again,” Henry said, his voice flat and humourless.

  Monica’s smile faltered. Fear flickered into her eyes. Swallowing with an audible gulp, she managed to force out a laugh that was clearly false.

  “Sorry sir. Of course. You can sit next to your friend.” She turned to Leo with an awkward smile. “Quick, come sit. Don’t keep the prince waiting.”

  She moved down the table, and Leo said nothing. He just sat, removing his coat slowly, hoping that if he stayed quiet, he might get through this dinner with minimal trouble. A naive thought that was quickly snuffed out.

  Henry leaned in close.

  “Now you get a front row seat while I make Erin the last office notch on my belt,” he whispered.

  Rage churned in Leo’s gut like a storm swelling in the clouds. He kept his expression neutral, staring straight ahead, gripping the edge of the table to keep his hands from doing something they’d both regret.

  A deep, hidden breath followed by a calm smile. He was in control.

  Henry leaned back, studying him like a trapped animal behind glass.

  Leo didn’t rise to the bait, and unfortunately that irritated Henry even more.

  The waitress arrived, and conversation died down as she moved around the table taking drink orders. Leo didn’t plan on drinking anything alcoholic. It just wasn’t his thing. When he asked for a regular lemonade, Henry leaned forward with a grin.

  “Oh, let me have one of those too. And one for my lady friend here. Make those vodka lemonades, please.”

  “I’d rather not—” Leo started, but stopped at a look from Henry. “Okay…vodka lemonade please,” he muttered.

  “I’ll need to see your ID sir,” the waitress said kindly.

  Leo handed it over, watching as she glanced at it, then smiled faintly before returning it. Henry, who hadn’t missed the smile, was instantly curious. Like a predator seeing a potential opening.

  Before Leo could slip it back into his wallet, Henry snatched it from his hand with a loud “Yoink!”

  “Can you give that back, please?” Leo asked in the politest tone he could manage.

  “No way,” Henry replied. “Not until I see what made the waitress laugh.”

  Henry stared at the ID. The photo looked normal. Same baby-faced, average looking nerd he always saw. Then he spotted the name.

  Leonidas.

  A devilish grin split his face. He immediately burst into laughter loud enough to turn heads all across the table and even the table with the business people at it.

  Leo didn’t react. His expression was blank, already bracing for what came next.

  Henry clutched the ID like it was a winning lottery ticket. “No fucking way. Everyone, listen up! Our little nerdy Leo here is a Spartan!”

  Confused murmurs spread down the table. Leo felt heat rising in his face. He’d always been a little embarrassed about his full name. His parents were movie geeks. They loved it. And after they passed, the name had grown on him, becoming a part of him.

  Henry wasn’t done. He doubled down.

  “His name, his full name I mean, is Leonidas!” He doubled over laughing, “What kind of dumbass parents name their kid that? Were they mentally impaired?”

  The laughter grew harsher. “It’s so ironic. You’ve got the name of a warrior king." Henry's laugh faded into a snarling look of pity. "Yet just look at you. Pathetic.”

  Something snapped.

  The storm of anger inside Leo, that had been part of him his whole life, usually controlled by his will, surged. He could take the taunts. The bullying. He could swallow that down like always.

  But not this.

  Not his family.

  Not to his face.

  The pressure hit like a wave. The air thickened, heavy enough to pin people to their seats. The temperature in the room seemed to fluctuate every millisecond. Conversations died abruptly. All laughter was cut off.

  People looked at Leo, and instinctually wanted to look away.

  They didn’t know why, but none of them wanted to be near him anymore.

  Henry turned towards him slowly, confused at first. Then afraid. Deep, gut-level fear.

  Leo’s eyes were locked on him, glowing not with light, but fury. The kind that made something primal in Henry recoil. He saw not a man, but something dangerous. Something deadly. His own sense of power shattered under the weight of that gaze.

  Leo barely noticed the effect as his vision blurred red with unbridled rage. The taunts, the mocking, the smug smirk. Every single insult rushed through his head like fire on dry leaves.

  He was clenching his fists so hard, he could hear something pop. He was going to kill Henry. Right here. Right now.

  Consequences be damned, he would end him and it would feel just.

  Then he saw Erin’s face. She was staring at him like he was the monster.

  That was enough to stop him.

  The fury dimmed in his chest just enough to pull back and gain control over his emotions again as clarity quickly returned.

  “I… I have to go,“ Leo mumbled, voice shaking. Even whispered, it carried through the silence.

  He stood and moved through the restaurant in a daze, barely aware of the other diners or the staff. He stepped out into the cold night air, bent over with his hands on his knees, breath ragged. Stomach churning like he might throw up.

  Where the hell did that come from?

  He’d put up with Henry’s garbage for over a year without issue. He didn’t snap. He didn’t lose his cool. Not like this. This hadn’t happened since he was much younger and even then it wasn’t even close to as intense.

  He tried to focus, but a sudden dizziness swept over him. The air shifted. A sudden stillness fell across the world.

  Then, darkness swallowed everything.

  He couldn’t see. Couldn't hear. Couldn’t feel.

  Only the blackness of the void.

  Then a blue glow flared into existence. A screen appeared before him.

  64th Integration Initialising

  Universe integration sequence starting…

  Planet Designation: Earth

  Status: To be terraformed and assimilated

  Congratulations, initiate!

  You have joined the multiverse!

  Welcome to the System.