It was Sunday. The day that most people would find it relaxing and peaceful. However, that was not the case for Ethan. His mind was racing and in a mess. Ethan had arrived home after a few days away.

  During his time at the Nemesis headquarters, any form of communication using normal devices was banned. It was to ensure nothing could get in or out without their consent.

  Now, Ethan finally had the chance to turn on his phone. It was an hour after arriving home, and the flood of messages from Jessica and David left him stunned. The worst news was the one he didn’t expect—Jordan was missing.

  “What exactly happened…” Ethan wondered. He was extremely worried. The thing he feared the most was the LaRues targeting Jordan. That would be disastrous.

  He replayed David’s and Jessica’s frantic texts in his mind as he video-called Ezra and Yamal. The video call connected, and Ezra’s familiar face appeared on the screen. Yamal’s screen beside him, both looking tense.

  “Ethan,” Ezra greeted, his tone serious, “I’m glad you called. We’ve got a serious situation.”

  Ethan didn’t waste any time. “Jordan’s gone? What the hell happened? I trusted you to take care of them, Ezra!”

  Ezra winced slightly, guilt creeping into his expression. “We did everything we could. I was tasked with keeping your family safe while Yamal was tasked to take care of the Moores.”

  “So, nobody protected Jordan?” Ethan cut him off with a question.

  Ezra shook his head. “It is not as you think. We assigned low-ranked Ascendants from Nemesis to guard Jordan at the hospital, but… they were all attacked. Most of them were severely injured or killed.”

  Ethan’s grip on his phone tightened. “Killed? By who?”

  Yamal spoke up. “We don’t know. The CCTV footage from the hospital was tampered with. The term perfectly suits this is ‘scrambled.’ It’s as if someone had adjusted or scrambled the entire system, rendering the footage useless.”

  Ethan clenched his jaw, fury bubbling beneath the surface. “And nobody thought to tell me about this while I was at headquarters?”

  Ezra and Yamal showed uncomfortable expressions. It was Yamal who answered, “We informed Luciano. He said they would handle it on your behalf since you were in the middle of something crucial. They didn’t want to risk you or Maya reacting badly again—like she did with Mark. They wanted to plan things properly and avoid any rash decisions.”

  Ethan took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. As much as he hated to admit it, their reasoning made sense. Maya had been unpredictable when Mark was in danger, and they couldn’t afford to lose control of the situation again. Besides, it was really a crucial time as he was using the opportunity to become stronger.

  No matter what or how he reacted, it didn’t change the fact that Jordan was missing. “What did you guys tell his family?”

  “That... His family mentioned that Jordan had done this a few times before when he was too stressed, so we decided to go with that for now,” Ezra explained.

  “Fine,” Ethan said through gritted teeth. “But Jordan is missing, and we need to plan for the mission. However, before we create a plan, I want to find Jordan first. Is that alright?”

  Ethan was placed on the same team as the Five Ghosts and Luciano. This was why he requested their permission. Meanwhile, they were still waiting for Steve to recover.

  “We understand,” Ezra said, his tone apologetic. “For the time being, we’ll double our efforts. I promise we won’t stop until we find him.”

  Both had heard from Steve about Ethan's achievement. They were both at the Middle Three-Star Ascendant rank. Although their levels were higher, Ethan managed to defeat Dravik, a High Three-Star Ascendant. The sudden increase in respect toward Ethan was due to that reason.

  “We’ll update you later, Ethan,” said Yamal.

  Ethan nodded and ended the call, frustration and worry swirling inside him. He needed answers, but they weren’t coming fast enough. He couldn’t sit around and wait for orders from Luciano or anyone else.

  With a sigh, he dialed David’s number next. His business partner picked up almost immediately, his voice filled with concern.

  “Ethan, thank God! Are you okay? I’ve been worried sick.”

  “I’m fine,” Ethan replied, though his tone betrayed his exhaustion. “I just… I saw your messages. About Jordan.”

  David exhaled heavily. “Yeah. It was chaotic. Jessica and I tried to contact you about Jordan, but we couldn’t reach you.”

  “I’m sorry,” Ethan said. “It’s my fault for not turning on my phone sooner. I didn’t even realize what had happened.”

  David’s voice softened. “It’s not your fault, Ethan. You were dealing with… whatever it is you’re dealing with. But we’ll find him. We’ll figure this out.”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Ethan appreciated David’s reassurance, but his mind was already calculating his next steps. “What about Nova Tech? Any issues while I was gone?”

  David chuckled softly, though it didn’t quite reach his usual lightheartedness. “Everything’s more than fine here, actually. The grand launch got postponed, but nobody’s complaining. The team is working hard, and we’ve been holding things together.”

  Ethan frowned. “No complaints? That’s unusual. I would’ve expected some backlash.”

  David hesitated for a moment before replying, “Well... The competitors claimed that we lack capability and are merely talk.”

  However, he brushed it off with a laugh. “But, who cares about that. The event was for highly influential people. The people that would not really be our target market.”

  He paused before adding, “But I think someone’s been working in the shadows to keep things running smoothly. You know, someone with more influence than I am.”

  Ethan’s thoughts immediately went to Lena Volkov. She was the only person with enough power and connections to manage things from behind the scenes. “Lena,” he muttered under his breath.

  “What was that?” David asked.

  “Nothing,” Ethan quickly replied, masking his suspicions. “I just… appreciate you handling things while I was away. I owe you.”

  David laughed, his usual upbeat tone returning. “Don’t sweat it, Ethan. We’ve got this. You just focus on finding Jordan and whatever else you’re up to.”

  Ethan smiled slightly, appreciating David’s loyalty and calmness in the face of chaos. “Thanks, David. I’ll catch up with you soon.”

  After hanging up, Ethan’s mind turned back to the urgent matters at hand. Jordan was missing, the LaRues were still out there, and Nemesis’s tech—while advanced—might not be enough to counter their growing power.

  Fortunately, Ethan had a few ideas to address that. He had already requested some high-level tech from Helena as part of his “rewards” for performing well during the tests. It was his chance to experiment, to push the boundaries of stealth technology, and to develop countermeasures for the LaRues’ silver pills.

  Helena had trusted him enough to grant him the resources, even though he wasn’t ready to share his findings just yet. But once he succeeded, everyone would benefit from the advancements he planned to make.

  Ethan gazed out the window of his room, his mind racing with thoughts of Jordan, the LaRues, and Nova Tech’s future. He couldn’t afford any more mistakes. Every move from now on had to be calculated and precise.

  Because of one wrong step, everything he had worked for could come crashing down.

  ***

  Mark was chained with a rare and ominous stone known as the Drakiel Stone. It was a stone infused with energy designed to suppress the strength and elemental abilities of any Ascendant who came into contact with it.

  Even a formidable Ascendant like Mark could not escape its binding power. His elemental strength was completely neutralized, rendering him helpless. The LaRues, however, ensured that Mark stayed healthy, injecting him with the necessary nutrition daily to maintain his blood essence at its highest quality—exactly how they wanted it.

  Mark could do nothing but endure the captivity. The facility he was imprisoned in was heavily secured, and with his powers sealed, escape was impossible. Just when Mark thought it couldn’t get worse, the familiar presence of a cloaked figure entered his cell—the same one that had given him the location of this very facility. Despite being concealed, Mark instantly recognized the aura. His heart sank.

  “What do you want this time?” Mark muttered, his voice heavy with frustration. “I’m already your prisoner.”

  This time, however, the figure did not use a voice modifier. The person spoke directly, but the voice was cold and unfiltered. “Who asked you to come with just two people? What happened to Nemesis?”

  The voice sent a chill down Mark’s spine. It was a woman’s voice—one he knew all too well. Mark’s face went pale, and he whispered in disbelief, “Sera?”

  With a silent motion, the cloaked figure lowered the hood, revealing a woman with a long, vertical scar running down her left eye, the eye itself replaced by a cybernetic implant glowing faintly.

  “It’s been a while, Mark,” Sera said, her expression cold, emotionless.

  Sera had once been Mark’s instructor at the Nemesis Academy, a Bronze Elementalist who had been killed ten years ago during a mission against one of the Great Families in Arkansa—or so everyone thought. She had been a Lower Three-Star Bronze Ascendant at the time, and Mark had mourned her loss deeply. Now, standing before him was the very woman he thought dead, alive but changed in ways he couldn’t comprehend. Mark believed she was a Higher Three-Star Ascendant now.

  “How… how are you still alive?” Mark stammered, his voice barely audible. “And how come your aura is different?”

  Sera showed no sign of warmth, no hint of the woman he once knew. “My life belongs to the LaRues now,” she said, her tone devoid of feeling. “I’m not the old Sera anymore. They… rebuilt me. I’m not much different than a cyborg now.”

  Mark struggled to process her words.

  "After my death, the LaRues had experimented on me, using me to increase the success rate of their artificial Ascendant project. But..." Sera paused before adding, "My blood essence was inferior to yours, Mark."

  “Your blood essence,” Sera continued, “is the key to completing the project. The LaRues are now producing numerous artificial Bronze Ascendants, and they’ve also been working on removing the side effects of the silver pill.”

  Mark’s brow furrowed. “Silver pill?” he asked, confusion mixing with dread.

  Sera nodded. “It’s a pill the LaRues developed. By using your blood essence and combining it with the essence of Alexander, the Silver Ascendant, they created a pill that allows any Ascendant who consumes it to battle those a rank or more above them.”

  Mark’s mind raced. This was beyond dangerous.

  Sera’s voice took on a darker tone. “Steve has already had a taste of it… and soon, so will Ethan.”

  Mark’s heart stopped. “I... I don’t really get it, Sera. What exactly do you mean by that?” he demanded.

  “Something happened a few days ago… Ethan, Jessica, Steve and Jordan. They were against hired Ascendants of Donald and… Lucien,” Sera said.

  Mark’s expression darkened. “Please tell me, Sera. What exactly happened?”

  “There’s no need to worry. Everyone is safe—except Jessica’s father,” Sera said nonchalantly. “And Ethan… well, he’s an Ascendant now. A Golden Ascendant, in fact.”

  Mark’s breath hitched. Golden Ascendant? That was a legendary title, and all of the known Golden Ascendants were divinely chosen to wield monstrous power. They were all old monsters.

  Without waiting for Mark's response, Sera continued, “The LaRues and a few other families have been notified about his ascension and about him being a Golden Ascendant. Like it or not, Ethan Cole has stepped into this world. He needs to be ready. It’s a pity you can’t be there for him.”

  Mark sighed, his mind heavy with guilt and frustration. He had failed to protect Ethan. Now, Ethan was walking into a world far more dangerous than he could ever imagine.

  “And the silver pill?” Mark pressed, his voice tight.

  Sera looked at him coldly. “With your and Alexander's blood essence, the pill allows any Ascendant to fight beyond their rank. With Ethan coming into this, he will be a target to enhance the pill further."

  Mark clenched his fists, his anger boiling. The LaRues had gone too far, and now Ethan was tangled in their web.

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