Urban Plundering: I Corrupted The System! - Chapter 228

Chapter 228: The Battle for Parker: Light, Dark, and… McDonald’s?
“Chosen? What a stupid thing to think in the presence of someone who stood there, did jack shit, and watched while you got wrecked.”The voice hit like gravity itself, heavy and suffocating, bending reality just by existing.

The man stood there, draped in dark royal clothes that didn’t just look expensive—they looked like they were stitched from the concept of power itself. Midnight threads shimmered like liquid void, woven with streaks of violet so deep they swallowed the light. His presence? It didn’t walk into the room—it owned the room. The air curved around him like the world wasn’t worthy of seeing his face, a blur of something too vast, too ancient, like reality itself refused to define him.

“Mmh, gotta say… I agree on that one,” drawled another voice, smooth like old money.

This guy leaned lazily to the side, dripped in billionaire swagger—tailored suit so sharp it could cut glass, gold cufflinks flashing with that fuck-you-I’m-rich energy. His whole vibe screamed effortless wealth, like he could buy the air you were breathing just for kicks.

“You can be stupid, Parker,” the man in black shot out, voice slick with mockery.

Parker just smirked, shrugging like the weight of the universe was light work. “Nah, not really. It’s a feeling—I couldn’t explain it since I was a kid. Gods? Hell, maybe I did come from you. After all, half the weird shit I couldn’t explain growing up was probably your fault anyway.”

“Say that again. Dare.” The darker version of Parker let out this dry, hollow chuckle, dripping with sarcasm and venom. “And why the hell do you talk about gods like they’re—oh, right. They’re supposed to be some kinda divine beings in this joke of a world?”

“Yeah, genius,” Parker shot back, voice flat, like he was talking to the slowest kid in class. “Humans need something to hold onto, something to make the chaos suck less. Obviously.”

“Figures,” the darker Parker scoffed, shaking his head like the disappointment was personal. “But gods? Really? Primordial spirits I’d get. But gods? That’s weak as hell. So much for my ninth life…”

Parker snorted. “Right. But hey—at least there’s McDonald’s, right?”

“Something we both agree on!” That actually got the darker Parker to pause and nod. He nodded slowly, the tiniest hint of agreement breaking through the snark. Some things were universal truths, and greasy fries at 2 a.m. was one of them.

But then the air thickened. Scenes—scenes of his another experience that had shifted his world—started playing out around them. Parker’s past, raw and ugly, looping like a damn horror movie stuck on repeat. Every slap, every cut, every failure clawed its way back to the surface.

Each wave of pain? It chipped away at him, dragging him down, deeper and deeper into the shadows.

And the darker Parker? He just watched with that cruel, satisfied smirk, feeding off every crack in his armor. Then—

“Forgive yourself.”

Her voice was soft—too soft for someone who knew damn well how deep his pain ran. It wasn’t just sympathy; it was like she felt it, like every crack in him echoed through her chest. “Forgive the little boy who didn’t know what the hell to do. The kid who was scared, alone… Forgive him, Parker.”

His throat tightened like a damn vice. His jaw clenched so hard it hurt. He shook his head, swallowing that lump burning in his throat like swallowing glass. “Tessa, I—”

“No,” she cut him off, sharp but gentle. Like ripping a band-aid off, but with a hand that didn’t let go. “It wasn’t his fault. Never was. And it’s bullshit—bullshit—for you to keep carrying that crap around like it belongs to you.”

Parker blinked hard, eyes glassy and stinging like hell. “There’s no such thing as fair or unfair, Tessa,” he muttered, voice rough, dragging every word like dead weight.

Tessa leaned in, pulling him close with no hesitation. His head rested against her chest, and—damn it—she kissed his forehead like he wasn’t the broken mess he felt like. Like maybe, just maybe, there was something left in him worth saving.

“I know,” she whispered into his hair. “But let it go, Parker. Not for them. For you. You want revenge? You want them to pay? Cool. But first, forgive yourself.”

And just like that—snap—the floodgates cracked open. No loud sobs, no dramatic breakdown—just quiet, shaky breaths, like his soul was leaking out through every crack in his chest. And he hated himself for it. For being weak. For breaking. But God, he couldn’t stop.

Tessa didn’t say a damn thing after that. She didn’t have to. She just held him tighter, arms wrapped around him like she was afraid he’d shatter into dust if she let go for even a second.

And honestly? In that moment, Parker didn’t feel like the cold, sharp version of himself he usually was. He felt like him—the scared kid who just wanted someone to hold him and not let go.

Of course, the other Parker had been watching, gagging in the corner like, “Bro, seriously? Tears? That’s weak as hell.”

But screw that. Sometimes, weakness wasn’t weakness. Sometimes, it was just being human. As the weight of her arms around him held him steady, the sobs finally slowing, he showed up.

That damn voice.

A dry chuckle echoed through the space like nails on glass—grating, smug, and every shade of irritating.

“Geez… Man, you cried?” The darker Parker’s voice dripped with mockery again, sharp like broken glass under bare feet. “That’s gross. Not so us, huh? Imagine the joke SHE would make if she knew—damn, SHE’d eat us alive. But seriously? How can you be so goddamn weak?”

But here’s the thing—even with all that venom, all that bite—something twitched in him. A crack. A hesitation.

And Parker felt it.

That pull.

Memories of Tessa, clear as daylight—her laugh, her stubborn eyes, the way she held him like he was worth saving—came crashing down on both of them like a tidal wave.

The darker Parker stumbled. “What the hell—”

“This is what you’re trying to hold on top of?!” The voice rose, bitter and clawing. “This weakness? This pathetic vulnerability? Really, dude? After everything we’ve been through? You’re gonna let love and…warmth be your anchor? Are you actually messed up in the head? Falling for a mundane human—how sad is that?”

Parker… chuckled. Low, steady, and—damn—it was cold.

“Yeah,” Parker muttered, turning toward him. “At least I got some warmth left in me. Something that reminds me I’m alive, not just some cold, empty shell walking through the motions like you.”

The darker Parker laughed—no, howled. Mockery rolled off him like smoke, thick and suffocating. “Bro, after all the shit we’ve survived? After all the betrayal, the blood, the loss? You really think love deserves even the last piece of us?”

Parker’s eyes narrowed, that grin not budging an inch. “You think love’s weak? Cool. Maybe it is.” He leaned in just enough, voice dropping to something razor-sharp. “But here’s the funny thing—it’s also strong as hell.”

The darker version faltered—just for a second.

“You know why?” Parker pressed on. “‘Cause if it wasn’t for that ‘soft side’—the side that gave enough of a damn to save her—we wouldn’t even be awake right now. You feel that? That crack running through you? That’s not weakness, asshole. That’s power. Love didn’t break us—it dragged our sorry asses back.”

Silence. Thick. Heavy.

The darker Parker’s sneer wavered—just a little—as memories of Tessa surged again, hotter, brighter, stronger than before. Every soft smile, every moment she held him when he couldn’t hold himself together.

“You…” The darker Parker’s voice cracked, low and venom-laced. “You’re gonna regret this.”

“Maybe,” Parker shrugged, stepping forward, voice steady now—stronger than it had been in forever. “But at least I’ll rather regret feeling this warmth. And not like some hollow ghost hiding behind bullshit and fear of the past using that to fuel some shitty revenges and more bullshit. I don’t need any of those as my driving force, I am powerful enough you coward!”

And that was the turning point.

A fight for the soul.

Whoever won? That was gonna be the Parker who opened his eyes next.