Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory

Ethan’s pupils contracted.

Black particle form.

His opponent could use that too.

"I don’t believe it."

Ethan beat his wings at full force, sending a fierce wind across the sea to disrupt the black particles. He tossed an energy sphere high overhead while forming another in his palm.

The two spheres collided above him.

They didn’t explode.

White energy extended in six directions, rapidly forming a three-dimensional enclosure that sealed off the entire area. Every black particle was trapped inside, unable to escape across the water.

Ethan closed his eyes and searched for a moment, then snapped toward one corner of the white space.

"Found you!"

He crossed the distance and punched the false Ethan in the middle of reforming.

The man fell out of the cloud of black particles and went crashing toward the ground. Ethan dove after him, driving another punch toward his chest.

Blood stained the white floor.

Ethan thought it belonged to his opponent, but then pain tore through his own chest, stopping him cold.

The blood was his.

At some point, the false Ethan had already countered. His power had bypassed Ethan’s defenses and struck him from within.

Clutching his chest, Ethan slowly turned to face him again.

Violent energy erupted from Ethan’s body.

The blast crossed the space between them and smashed the false Ethan into a white wall.

"Who are you?"

Ethan’s voice echoed through the sealed space.

Anyone would be furious facing an opponent who could perfectly imitate them while possessing even more combat experience.

Pinned against the wall, the false Ethan said nothing.

Instead, he raised a hand and changed his long golden hair right in front of Ethan, matching Ethan’s color and length exactly.

Once the transformation was complete, there wasn’t a single visible difference between them from a distance.

The anger in Ethan’s eyes intensified.

He launched an energy sphere from his palm and followed directly behind it, kicking at the false Ethan’s side.

"Who the hell are you?"

The false Ethan watched the incoming sphere, planted both hands against the floor, and flipped sideways along the wall.

Both the energy sphere and Ethan’s kick missed.

At that moment, the surrounding space began to shift.

The vertical white wall slowly rotated until the true floor settled beneath them, while gravity continued pulling downward the entire time. Ethan landed without pause, gathered energy in his right hand, and concealed the sphere inside his palm before throwing a punch at the false Ethan beside him.

Just before his fist connected, the hidden sphere exploded.

White light swallowed the space between them.

Ethan thought he had landed the hit—until a tremendous force seized him by the back of the neck.

A hand lifted him off the ground.

The false Ethan stood behind him, pushing at the bridge of his nose with his free hand as he regarded Ethan with faint mockery.

An energy sphere had already formed in the hand holding him.

He drove it into Ethan’s body, then let go. The explosion expanded from inside Ethan’s chest and hurled him hard into the wall.

Before the smoke and dust could clear, the false Ethan was already on him.

His fist came down.

The blow drove Ethan away from the wall and into the floor, sending a ring of ripples through the white space. The false Ethan planted a foot on his chest and slowly lowered the energy sphere in his palm until it hovered over Ethan’s head.

"I’m curious."

He studied Ethan’s expression.

"What do you think would happen if I fired this into your head?"

Ethan stared at the sphere inches from his face but said nothing.

A thread of energy slipped unnoticed from his body, circled beyond the false Ethan’s line of sight, and moved above his head. It rapidly expanded into a sphere and dropped toward him.

The false Ethan merely looked bored.

He raised his other hand. Overwhelming golden energy surged from his palm and formed a small shield.

The falling sphere struck the golden barrier without causing so much as a ripple.

At the same time, the false Ethan removed his foot from Ethan’s chest.

"I only came to test your abilities for myself."

He stepped back.

"You really are strong."

Then he raised one finger.

"But you’re too impatient."

Ethan immediately sprang to his feet. White wings opened behind him and carried him away.

The descending energy sphere struck the golden shield, but its full force was blocked without leaving a single mark.

The man finally dropped his disguise.

His hair returned to gold and lengthened to his waist. White gloves covered his hands, and a black formal suit fit neatly over his body.

A pitch-black umbrella appeared in his grasp.

Its tip struck the white floor with a crisp knock.

"Allow me to introduce myself again."

The man raised his head.

"Silas Vane—the true head of the Vane family."

He smiled at Ethan.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you."

Ethan showed no surprise.

The instant his palm had touched the glass, he’d realized he had walked into some kind of trap. It had simply activated too quickly for him to warn the others.

Right now, he was more worried about what was happening outside.

Silas saw through him and walked closer, umbrella in hand.

"Worried about the ladies?"

His warm smile never faltered.

"Don’t worry. Once we’re done fighting, you’ll see them again."

As Silas drew closer, an inexplicable fear rose inside Ethan.

It wasn’t caution toward an incoming attack, nor was it tension from facing an unknown ability.

It was an urge to lower his head. To obey.

To stop resisting altogether.

Ethan forcibly called upon his power and suppressed the feeling. He shook his head, then met Silas’s gaze again.

In reality, the others were carrying Ethan through the steel complex.

The space beyond the glass was nothing like the containment area.

Neat rows of flowers and plants grew along both sides, bright with color and filling the air with a gentle fragrance. It looked like a beautiful garden, except for the exposed mechanical floor beneath them, which clashed with everything around it.

A solemn voice came from ahead.

With it came the crisp tapping of an umbrella against metal.

"Dear ladies."

A golden-haired figure slowly approached.

"Hello."

Everyone immediately recognized the conspicuous golden hair and the black umbrella in his hand.

This was the man who had put Ethan into a coma.

But the person standing before them wasn’t Silas.

It was Adrian Vane, appearing in his brother’s place.

Adrian adjusted the glasses on his nose. Imitating Silas’s composed manner, he tapped the umbrella against the mechanical floor.

The sharp sound traveled through the metal plates and entered everyone’s minds directly.

Space immediately closed around them.

A transparent cage formed above, below, and on every side, trapping the entire group in its center. Before they could attack, wormholes began opening all around the outside of the cage.

The black openings lined up in orderly rows, dense mechanical sounds coming from within.

Wave after wave of mechanical creatures emerged.

They didn’t approach. Instead, they formed several ranks at a distance as the launchers on their shoulders and arms opened in unison.

Missiles streaked toward the spatial cage, trailing fire.

Explosions spread across the transparent barrier, one after another, staining the garden red with continuous flames. The mechanical creatures kept firing from a safe distance until they had expended the last round in their magazines.

The empty magazines sprang open to either side.

The machines lowered their ranged weapons and drew their close-combat gear. Then they marched through the lingering flames and charged the people inside the cage.