Ethan- The Rise Of A Villain Or A Hero?

birth of something darker

My brain processed the danger mentioned in that message as the screen disappeared before I could read it again.

Surviving the coming attack, but how????

And what the f**k was that punishment?

My mind repeated the punishment if I fail.

{One of the siblings of your choice will lose a limb}

My stomach twisted violently, and so did my heart.

This was hard to believe, as it sounded like a game of survival, just like those survival games and dramas.

Players think that they are being helped, but they are being controlled by the plot.

The second gunshot snapped me out of my trance.

{Survive the coming attack with your siblings and come unharmed}

I forced myself to breathe slowly to calm my chaotic mind.

I pressed my palm against the cold wall beside the window.

“If I can see what’s coming.” I talked to myself while looking outside through the blurred glass of the window.

“Then I can stop it too.” I was surprised by the certainty and calmness in my voice.

Continuous gunshots suppressed the screams; their abusive, maniacal shouts were louder than gunshots, but for the first time, I wasn’t scared.

I was calm.

Then, a flicker in front of my eyes….

Stronger and longer than before….

A man with a shining gun in his hands, turning towards our home.

He raised his gun in my direction while stopping in front of the window.

I moved before the vision ended.

Time slowed down for me. I saw Walter and Iris widening their eyes in terror, but I had no time.

Survive….

The only word was reeling in my mind like a broken record.

I pushed the sofa in their direction while leaping in the air, grabbed them behind the sofa, and threw myself on the floor while securing them in my embrace.

The window glass shattered, making Iris scream in fear, but Walter covered her mouth.

Sofa frame vibrated when the bullet hit it.

Seven seconds…..

I got seven seconds before that man appeared in front of the window.

Not enough to run away, but enough for me to save my siblings again.

Running footsteps outside the yard were like a sharp thud on my chest.

They were now hunting.

Another flicker –

A man in his mid-thirties, with cold eyes was standing tall with a steady gun in his hand. He wasn’t firing blindly like others, but his moves were calculated, experienced………….and dangerous.

He moved in the alley like a predator, broke the backyard door, saw us, and then, with that cold smirk on his lips, his finger pressed the trigger. We were his aim.

My heart thud…

“No,” I whispered.

“E…than. I am scared.” Iris cried in whispers, her voice trembling hard in fear.

“Don’t get up, stay hidden behind the sofa,” I instructed them firmly, and slowly stood up.

How many seconds do I have now???

I jumped over the sofa to the other side.

“Ethan. What are you doing? You are not thinking straight.” Walter yelled fearfully, keeping his tone low, though.

“I am ending it, Walter,” I replied, looking around for something, then ran to my study desk, where I had hidden a short rod.

One… two…. Three…. Four…

I started counting seconds in my heart as soon as I got up from there.

I ran toward the door the man was about to break down.

I stopped abruptly, startled by the sudden bang on the door, but that sudden flicker of fear was for one second, I guess.

The next second, the man from my vision burst open the door. He was also startled by my presence at the door.

The sinister smile on his lips froze, but the next second, he aimed his gun at me, smiling more widely this time.

Nine seconds….

On pure instinct, I swung the rod, knocking the gun out of his hand, spun on my heel, swung the rod again, and hit his waist and lunged forward, catching the gun midway.

“Aaaahhhhh!”

“AAAAAhhhhhhhh!”

Everything happened in a blink.

My reflexes were sharper than ever.

My moves were precise and brutal.

I narrowed my eyes a little when the attacker suddenly moved his hand backward and took a knife out.

Not even a single flicker in my eyelid.

I lifted my foot and drove it straight into his stomach.

The attacker fell to the ground, holding both his broken wrist and his stomach, but his eyes widened in horror when I suddenly aimed the gun in his direction.

“Ethannnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.” I heard both Walter and Iris screaming at the top of their lungs, terror bursting in their voices.

BANG….

The bullet struck the middle of his forehead.

Fifteen seconds……

His body fell backward, but I didn’t feel anything.

I was never a violent person. This was the first time I raised a weapon against someone and killed them.

Yet, I felt nothing. Not even an uneven pulse.

“Ethan.” I heard Walter calling me in a trembling voice.

The chaos outside the house seemed distant to me.

My siblings….

They saw me killing a man.

I slowly turned in their direction. My gaze was calm, but their gazes were filled with terror.

There was no recognition for me in their eyes. They weren’t looking at their older and loving brother, but at a cold-blooded murderer.

I glanced at the man at the door now.

A strange realization hit me like a wall.

{Cost paid by you: 5% reduction in your emotional state}

Emotional suppression….

I wasn’t scared or showed any hesitation when I killed the man.

This wasn’t help, but a pure control over my emotions.

It felt wrong….

Too wrong to a normal teenager like me.

But it happened.

Then a flicker again.

Blood…. Fire…… screams…..darkness….

I couldn’t recognize the place, but then I saw myself standing right in the middle of the darkness.

I wasn’t a victim, nor was someone trapped there….. something far worse than I could ever think.

It was gone before I could process it.

I closed my eyes, my grip tightened on both the rod and the gun.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked at my siblings calmly.

“They took Mom and Dad…… they almost took you too,” I spoke in a colder tone, colder than I had ever thought about speaking.

“I won’t give them the third chance.” I finished with determination.

“If the future wants to come for us,” I mumbled to myself and looked outside the door.

“Then I’ll hunt it first.” I finished in the coldest tone and took a deep breath.

I stiffened when they held my t-shirt from behind.

A flicker again – this time, not something dangerous, but the consequences.

Police…. Our imprisonment…. Questions…. Name written down….. witnesses raising their fingers on him……And Iris and Walter are crying in fear…our end again….

No….

I gasped…

I can’t let this happen. My siblings were now alive…. And I must make sure that they will be safe for the rest of their lives.

Every action has its consequences…

This is the basic law of nature… but there is also a very basic law….

Fittest always survives…

“What next, brother?” Walter asked me shakily, holding my t-shirt tightly.

The same transparent screen appeared in front of my eyes again.

[system notification:-

Status of task assigned: Success

Price you paid: Emotional suppression-2%

Reward you get: A place to hide, and $1 million in your account credited.]

What the f**k?????

Before I could blink, I felt something cold and heavy inside my fist.

My heart raced at the same time. I slowly looked down at my fist and opened it.

My eyes widened in shock when I saw a small key pouch in my hand.

A shrill sound of a message notification broke the tense and heavy silence in the room.

"You..... you got $1 million, Ethan," Iris whispered in a shaky and fearful tone.

My heart skipped so many beats in a row.

If .... if the reward is really here, then......

That punishment...............