The camera fades in to a dimly lit warehouse, the glow of old monitors flickering against the walls. In the centre of the room stands a steel ladder.

Nero steps into frame, hood up, eyes locked on the top rung. He reaches out, gripping the sides.

“I’ve spent my whole life climbing ladders. First, it was the Arcadia Police Department, rising through the ranks under The Baron himself. I believed that the higher I climbed, the more I could change. I was young; blind to the truth. I thought the system worked. That if I followed orders, played by the rules, I’d eventually get a seat at the table and a chance to fix what was broken.”

He places one boot on the bottom rung, pressing down slightly as if testing its strength.

“But the thing about climbing in a corrupt system? The ladder only goes as high as they allow. Every time I got close to the truth and saw the cracks in Zeus’ foundation, he made sure I fell.”

“The moment I asked the wrong questions, looked in the wrong places, tried to expose the truth instead of burying it, I was shoved back down to the bottom.”

He tightens his grip on the ladder, shaking it slightly.

“That’s how Zeus controls Arcadia. He dangles hope – makes you believe you’re getting somewhere – then he rips it away. I see it every day. People grinding, fighting, convinced that if they push hard enough, they’ll break through. They don’t see the truth; that the system isn’t built to let them win. It’s built to keep them desperate. To keep them climbing toward something they’ll never reach. And the second they get too close? They fall.”

“Again. And again. And again.”

Nero shakes his head in disagreement.

“I don’t climb Zeus’ ladders anymore. I don’t play by his rules. I broke free – stopped asking permission – stopped believing the lies. I found the backdoors; the weak points in his empire. And now? I climb because I choose to.

Nero steps onto the ladder, climbing one rung at a time.

“Invasion will serve as the proof in the pudding. This ladder? Zeus doesn’t control it. There’s no corrupt authority pulling the strings. No rigged system deciding who rises and who falls. Just rungs. Just a path to the top. While everyone else fights, claws, and struggles – only to get knocked back down – I’ll keep climbing.”

He reaches the summit, standing tall.

“Because this isn’t just about winning: it’s about breaking the cycle. About proving Zeus doesn’t decide who rises and who falls. When I reach the top, it won’t just be a victory – it’ll be a breach in the system.”

“A message to Arcadia that the walls are cracking, the firewalls are failing, and soon, Zeus will have nothing left to stand on.”

Nero glances upward, as if picturing the briefcase hanging above him.

“And when I cash in that contract – I won’t just take the championship.”

“I’ll take everything from him.”

The screen flickers to reveal the W4TCH_DOG5 logo.

“Because every system has a flaw. And guess what, asshole?”

The image glitches, cutting to black.

“I found yours a long time ago.”