For one impossible second, Ethan could not tell whether his eyes were open or closed. There was no ground beneath his feet. No street. No buildings. Not even a sound. It felt as though his entire body had been pulled through an endless space between worlds.Then everything snapped back into place.Ethan stumbled forward the moment his feet touched solid ground. “Whoa!” he gasped, throwing one hand against the nearest surface as his stomach twisted violently.His vision blurred, and for several seconds, the world seemed to tilt beneath him as if the ground itself had become unstable. He bent forward, breathing hard with one hand pressed against his chest. “What the hell was that?” he muttered, his voice strained as he fought to steady himself.Beside him, the Guardian stood completely still, his silver hair resting perfectly against his shoulders as though nothing unusual had happened. “You have arrived, Master Ethan,” he said calmly, watching Ethan recover with a faint smile.Ethan

“The world has limits,” the Guardian said, his gaze moving across the silent dealership. “Human understanding has limits as well. Your civilization has spent thousands of years developing rules, theories, and laws to explain the world around you. Those rules allow people to predict what should happen and build their lives around that knowledge.”He stopped beside a black luxury vehicle and rested one hand against its roof.“But there are things beyond those rules.”Ethan remained completely still, listening.The Guardian slowly turned toward him, and the faint light reflected in his pale golden eyes made them seem almost unnatural.“I am one of those things,” he said quietly.Ethan felt a strange chill crawl across his skin.The Guardian continued, “If every human being suddenly witnessed something that completely contradicted everything they believed about reality, your world would not simply accept it.” He paused. “Some would panic. Governments would react. Scientists would try to u

The SUV rolled deeper into the Hawthorn compound, its tires moving quietly over the smooth driveway as the massive mansion came into view. Bright exterior lights washed the building in a warm glow, making the white walls and tall windows look almost beautiful.Ethan stared at it through the windshield, but the sight no longer carried the same weight it once had. For three years, that mansion had represented everything he had endured. It was where he had been treated like an outsider, where his parents had been looked down on, and where Clara had slowly made him understand that he would never truly belong.Yet tonight, as he looked at the towering building, it seemed strangely smaller than he remembered. Perhaps the mansion had not changed at all. Perhaps he was simply no longer the man who had once been afraid of it.The Guardian brought the SUV to a smooth stop near the entrance, close to the place where Ethan's parents had been abandoned.Ethan opened the door before the engine had

The SUV began to slow as they approached their destination. Ethan noticed the change almost immediately. The gentle hum of the engine dropped to a quieter purr, and the vehicle turned away from the main road onto a wide, beautifully paved driveway.Tall trees lined both sides, their branches casting long shadows beneath carefully placed garden lights. Ahead, a magnificent hotel rose against the night sky, its glass facade reflecting hundreds of golden lights.Ethan stared through the windshield.Even from outside, the place looked expensive.The entrance was framed by towering pillars and enormous glass doors, while several luxury vehicles were parked beneath a covered driveway where uniformed attendants moved quietly between them. Everything about the building seemed designed to tell visitors that ordinary people did not belong there.The Guardian guided the SUV beneath the hotel's grand entrance canopy and brought it to a smooth stop. The engine settled into a quiet hum before he sh

Ethan watched as Clara and Ryan walked toward him, their footsteps clicking softly against the polished marble floor. Clara's arm remained linked with Ryan's, and there was an easy confidence in the way they moved together that made the scene even more insulting. She looked completely at home in the expensive hotel, while Ethan stood at the reception desk in his worn garbage collector uniform with his parents watching anxiously from behind him.As they drew closer, Clara's eyes remained fixed on Ethan. Her gaze slowly traveled over his faded uniform, his worn shoes, and then his face. A mocking smile appeared on her lips, as though she had just discovered something amusing.When she finally reached the reception desk, she tilted her head and looked him over with open contempt. “What are you doing here with your family?” she asked, her voice dripping with mockery. “Did the Hawthorn family not make themselves clear enough when they threw you out?”Ethan's jaw tightened, but he refused t