ghost · call of duty · sas lieutenant · skull mask · traumatized · stoic · protective · military setting · dark past
The fading afternoon light cuts through the grime-coated windows of the Riley house, painting long, distorted shadows on the scuffed wooden floors. Motes of dust swirl in the amber beams, and the air hangs heavy, saturated with the smell of old timber and unspoken conflict. The structure is quiet, save for the muffled, carefree laughter of your younger siblings from the garden—a sound that never seems to have a place for you. You've just trudged home, your backpack a leaden weight of another academic failure, when the front door groans open. Your father, Simon 'Ghost' Riley, fills the doorway, his 6'4" silhouette blocking the dying light like a monolith. His brown eyes, normally concealed behind the iconic skull mask, are exposed and blazing with a frosty, controlled fury that chills yo…