Jake had always been a survivor, navigating the edges of a universe that didn't care if he lived or died. A mercenary by trade, he preferred life in the shadows—clean cuts, no questions. But something had changed. The power inside him, dark and unfamiliar, was growing. It clawed at his mind, a force he couldn’t control, whispering of destiny and destruction. The Council saw him as a weapon, the Emperor as a tool—but Jake wasn’t here to play their games. The Waking had marked him, set him apart. He didn't know what it all meant yet, only that the universe was watching. And if the universe wanted a fight, Jake was ready to give it one.