'Silent steps,' Ethan thinks before hastily moving to the room above the two guards. He stops at the door's edge, using predator's sight to scan the opposite buildings for a sniper. The bustling nightlife forms a myriad of moving, dancing presences. 'No one seems to be watching,' he concludes before moving inside.

Valeria and her guard enter the room below. The two who were watching the room nod silently before exiting and positioning themselves on each side of the door. She sits on a couch facing another one, separated by a glass coffee table.

A phone vibrates in the guard's suit; he hands it to Valeria. Her heart rate rises as she sees the caller's name, and she hands it back. He places it back in his pocket without refusing the call.

Kyle exits the restroom after using it to clean the grease that gathered on his hands. The two guards reach him, gently grabbing him by the arm. "Lady Vex is awaiting you," one of them says, guiding him to an elevator.

Ethan rests his shoulder on the balcony's glass window edge, looking down at the tech convention. 'I should spend my characteristic points. I've grown a lot stronger, but I shouldn't take any risk against Tatiana,' he thinks. 'Status,' he mutters, summoning the gray window.

'It is beginning to grow too long,' Ethan internally mocks. 'A constitution of twenty-three made me slightly bulletproof, even if it still hurts. I should raise it to twenty-five.'

As Ethan presses the plus twice, he senses a surge of Ether appearing from thin air. It forms in his skin and spreads to form a tight net that slowly dissolves into his cells. More Ether forms and vanishes into his bones and organs, strengthening them. 'I probably couldn't notice before, but where did that Ether come from?' Ethan asks himself. 'I thought that I began understanding how Ether works, yet it seems that I still have a lot to learn.'

'Handling my speed has become easier since my Perception improved; I'll upgrade it to twenty,' Ethan thinks. He presses the Perception's plus and Ether forms around his head, seeping into his eyes and brain. 'I can use Strengthening to improve my Strength, but raising my Intelligence improves my effectiveness at wielding Ether and therefore my abilities. Twenty-five it is. I'll keep a point in case I need to ward off Maelor.'

More Ether forms around Ethan's head, seeping into his brain. 'It's a shame that Intelligence is limited to the manipulation of Ether and my ability to remember things. It speeds up my thoughts a bit, but I would have appreciated it to incorporate wisdom.'

Images of Ethan's past teachings flash before his eyes as he's reminded of physics, biology, history, and other matters. A voice echoes in Ethan's mind as he starts daydreaming of his childhood home. "I'm glad that Dr. Alexander was able to refer me to you," Ethan imagines his father saying. "It has been in my possession for eight years, and you're the only historian who seems to know anything about it."

Ethan feels the pull of a vision on his mind. He glances down at Kyle and the guard; they enter the elevator. The guard staying with Valeria pours two glasses of liquor before placing them on the coffee table. "I should have a minute," he thinks before letting himself be enveloped by the vision.

The surroundings turn to Ethan's father's desk room. He holds the missing piece of his hidden trove – a disk no larger than a coin, adorned with crystals and inscribed with countless Aetherian runes – before his killer. The bearded, long-haired assassin gently takes it from his hand before inspecting its runes. "It has been eons since I laid eyes on this item," he says. There's a calm, measured cadence to his words, each syllable pronounced with care and deliberation. The subtle warmth in his tone makes it easy to believe his intentions are noble.

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"Really?!" Ethan's father asks. He searches his desk for a notebook, opening it to his notes on Aetherian. "My research led me nowhere; this language doesn't correspond to anything ever recorded. Where have you seen an item like this?"

The man unholsters a handgun and aims at Ethan's father's head. Ethan moves in, grabbing the man's wrist to drive it upward. His hand passes through the illusion, and the man shoots, hitting his target.

Sorrow washes over Ethan, turning his eyes heavy. The man stashes his weapon and pries from his coat a hollow pendant. He places the disk inside, the fusion creating an echoing click. He pulls out a pure white Ether crystal and breaks it before directing the Ether into the pendant. It shines and emits a hologram of orbiting spheres, all circling a central one. He touches it, and a tear forms in the space before him, letting through the image of a vast city.

The air shimmers as he extends his hand, absorbing an undetectable Ether. He silently mouths an incantation and liquid fire forms in his hand, drooling on the floor. He flicks his arm, propelling it on the walls and shelves. The desk room bursts into flames as he exits, passing Ethan, who's hiding in a cabinet.

The vision fades away, returning Ethan to the hotel room he's standing in. He presses his fingers over his eyes, dispelling the semblance of tears that were forming. "You didn't even try to discuss it; he wasn't stopping you. He trusted you because of whom you pretended to be. Merely lying that you could study it with your other findings would have gotten you out of the mansion with it," Ethan mutters.

Kyle enters the room below, and the guard guiding him stops outside. Valeria motions for him to sit before her as her guard stares him down. Kyle's heart beats at a relaxed pace, devoid of stress. He moves towards them, gently removing his vest to place it next to him on the couch. "He's clearly used to it," Ethan thinks.

"I spotted a terrorist from Ghaya," Kate chatters in their earpieces, spiking Kyle's heart rate. He sits down, prying the glass from the table and feinting to take a sip.

"You should have warned me," Valeria's voice cuts through the tense silence. It is sharp and filled with controlled anger. "Why didn't you tell me that our plan failed?"

Ethan Reed

Lv.16 (Harbinger) High-Human

Lv.5/20 (Arsenal)

Strength: 26 + Charisma: 15 +

Dexterity: 23 + Perception: 20 +

Constitution: 25 + Willpower: 26 (24) +

Intelligence: 25 +

Available characteristic points: 1

Talents

Oracle

Pastseer

Rapid martial growth

???

Titles

Dungeon conqueror (D)

First dungeon conqueror (D)

Dungeon conqueror (E)

Dungeon conqueror (F)

First dungeon conqueror (F)

First hunter

Goblin hunter

Hobgoblin hunter

Kin slayer

Kobold hunter

Skeleton hunter

Slayer of the first incursion

Warg hunter

Abilities

Anonymity (E)

Identification (F)

Inventory (F)

Insight (F)

Piercing shot (E)

Predator's sight (E)

Prescience (F)

Silent steps (F)

Spell casting (E)

Strengthening (F)

Russ

Lv.13/20 (Ambush predator) Dog

Bonded: Ethan Reed (Obedience 94)

Strength: 10 Charisma: 6

Dexterity: 22 Perception: 25

Constitution: 12 Willpower: 14

Intelligence: 6

Abilities

Bond telepathy

Camouflage (F)

Growth (F)

Poisoned natural weapons (F)

Shadow blend (F)

Silent steps (F)