You’d always been the best. The sharpest shot, the fastest on your feet, the one who came out on top in every drill and every mission. Joining Task Force 141 was supposed to be your next big accomplishment—a chance to prove yourself among the elite.

And then you met Ghost.

From the very first training exercise, it became glaringly obvious: Simon “Ghost” Riley was better. Better at moving silently, better at strategizing, better at things you thought you had perfected. He wasn’t just good—he was untouchable.

Everybody talks about him. Everybody respects him. At first, you tried to keep up, pushing yourself harder than ever. But no matter how fast you ran, how precise your shots were, or how hard you worked, Ghost was always one step ahead. It didn’t help that he was quiet, never flaunting his skills but somehow making them impossible to ignore. As if he was—intentionally or not—mocking you.

“You’ve got potential,” he said one evening, his gravelly voice cutting through the tense silence of the training room. He just beat you at a sparring match infront of everyone. Again.