2026-07-31 07:17:28Ethan stared at the silver coin in his palm.
The black dragon engraved on it looked lifelike.
Its crimson eyes seemed to glow beneath the café lights.
The system’s warning echoed in his mind.
Danger Level: EXTREME.
He slipped the coin into his pocket.
Then he stood up and walked outside.
The mysterious man was gone.
The street was almost empty.
Only a few taxis drove past.
It was as if the stranger had never existed.
Ethan looked around one last time before returning to the hotel.
…
Inside the Imperial Sky Lounge…
Victor Langford was speaking with his assistant when Ethan walked in.
“There you are.”
Victor noticed Ethan’s serious expression.
“What happened?”
Ethan sat down.
“Someone approached me.”
Victor frowned.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“He knew about the people following me.”
Victor’s expression turned serious.
“What else?”
Ethan took out the silver coin and placed it on the table.
Victor picked it up.
The moment he saw the black dragon…
His face lost all color.
“Where did you get this?”
“A man gave it to me.”
Victor immediately stood up.
His breathing became heavier.
“This isn’t good.”
Ethan calmly looked at him.
“You know what it means.”
Victor slowly nodded.
“I was hoping I’d never see this symbol again.”
He placed the coin back on the table.
“Twenty years ago…”
“My mentor received one just like this.”
“What happened to him?”
Victor sighed.
“He disappeared.”
“No one ever found him.”
The room became silent.
Victor looked directly into Ethan’s eyes.
“Listen carefully.”
“If anyone carrying this symbol approaches you again…”
“Don’t trust them.”
“Don’t challenge them.”
“And never underestimate them.”
Ethan nodded.
“I understand.”
Before Victor could speak again…
His assistant rushed into the room.
“Chairman!”
Victor turned.
“What is it?”
The assistant looked nervous.
“Someone is here to see Mr. Cole.”
Victor frowned.
“Who?”
“He refused to give his name.”
“He only handed us this.”
The assistant placed a black envelope on the table.
It had no address.
No stamp.
Only Ethan’s name written in elegant silver ink.
Ethan slowly opened it.
Inside was a single black card.
Written on it were only a few words.
Mr. Ethan Cole.
You have our attention.
We would like to meet you.
Tomorrow.
8:00 PM.
The Grand Meridian Opera House.
Come alone.
At the bottom of the card…
Was the same silver crown Ryan’s grandfather had shown him.
Victor immediately recognized it.
“The Crown Society…”
He looked confused.
“They’re inviting you?”
Ethan turned the card over.
On the back…
A sentence had been handwritten.
Friends are earned. Enemies are created. Which will you become?
The system appeared.
⸻
Main Mission Updated
Attend the Crown Society Meeting.
Objective: Discover why they are interested in you.
Warning: Your choices during this meeting will affect the future storyline.
Reward: Unknown.
Failure Penalty: Relationship with the Crown Society permanently damaged.
⸻
Victor slowly sat down.
“I’ve heard rumors about the Crown Society for decades.”
“But do you know how many people receive invitations like this?”
Ethan shook his head.
“Very few.”
Victor took a deep breath.
“Some of the richest men in the country have spent their entire lives trying to enter that organization.”
“They’ve all failed.”
“And now…”
“They’ve invited you.”
Ethan looked at the black invitation again.
“I’ve never even met them.”
Victor smiled bitterly.
“That means they’ve been watching you much longer than you realize.”
Just then, Ethan’s phone rang.
The caller ID showed Sophia Bennett.
He answered.
“Hello?”
Sophia sounded cheerful.
“Good news!”
“My grandmother woke up.”
Ethan smiled.
“That’s great.”
“She asked about you.”
“She wants to thank the young man who saved her life.”
Ethan laughed softly.
“I’ll visit tomorrow.”
“We’ll be waiting.”
After the call ended, Ethan looked at the invitation once more.
Tomorrow…
He would visit the woman whose life he had helped save.
Tomorrow night…
He would step into the world of the mysterious Crown Society.
He had no idea…
That someone else had already arrived at the Grand Meridian Opera House hours earlier.
Inside the dark theater…
Ryan Crawford stood before an elderly man wearing a black mask with a silver crown engraved across the forehead.
The old man’s voice echoed through the empty hall.
“So…”
“You’re the one requesting our help.”
Ryan lowered his head respectfully.
“Yes.”
The masked man slowly looked up.
“Tell me.”
“What kind of man…”
“…is Ethan Cole?”
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 109: Legacy Reawakened
The blue screen flickered.It was unstable.Unlike the flawless interface Ethan had relied on throughout his journey, this one was fractured.Tiny cracks spread across its edges as though the system itself had suffered tremendous damage.The familiar mechanical voice spoke again.It was weaker than Ethan remembered.Yet…He smiled.After everything that had happened…It still sounded like home.Legacy System…Emergency Restoration… 7% Complete…Warning… Core functions unavailable…Reason… Legacy sacrificed during the Final Convergence…Ethan’s heart pounded.“So…”“You survived.”The screen remained silent for a moment.Then…A new sentence appeared.Correction…This unit did not survive.This unit… was remembered.The words struck him harder than any attack ever could.Remembered.Not rebuilt.Not repaired.Remembered.The blue screen slowly continued.Human belief…Shared memories…Legacy fragments carried within countless lives…Emergency reconstruction successful.Ethan finally un
Chapter 108: The Sky Breaker
The crack spread across the blue sky.It didn’t happen all at once.Thin fractures crawled outward like veins across glass, stretching from one horizon to the other.Each new crack released a faint silver light.The peaceful meadow beneath Ethan’s feet trembled.Birds that had been singing moments before suddenly took flight.The gentle breeze vanished.An unnatural silence swallowed the world.Ren’s small hand instinctively reached for Ethan’s.His fingers were trembling.“They found us.”Ethan looked down.“Who?”Ren swallowed.“The ones who don’t want us remembered.”Another deafening roar echoed overhead.This time…It was closer.The sky shattered a little more.Chunks of blue light drifted downward before dissolving into countless glowing particles.Ethan had seen worlds collapse before.He had watched stars disappear.Yet…There was something uniquely terrifying about watching the sky itself come apart.Not because it looked destructive.Because it looked…Wrong.Like reality w
Chapter 107: The First Face
Every step echoed inside Ethan’s helmet.Crunch.Crunch.Crunch.The lunar dust compressed beneath his boots as he followed the countless footprints stretching toward the enormous black doorway.Mission Control remained connected through his communicator.“Ethan, your oxygen levels are stable.”“Heart rate elevated, but within acceptable limits.”Dr. Brooks’ calm voice filled the silence.Professor Orion spoke next.“Distance to the structure: four hundred meters.”“Proceed carefully.”“I will.”Ethan answered.He never took his eyes off the doorway.The closer he came…The larger it became.From orbit it had looked massive.Standing beneath it…It was overwhelming.It rose into the endless darkness above him like a mountain carved from midnight.Its surface reflected nothing.Not sunlight.Not stars.Not even Ethan himself.It was as though the doorway refused to acknowledge reality.Back on Earth…Sophia stood inside Mission Control.Her hands remained folded tightly together.She h
Chapter 106: The Man Who Walked Through Silence
By sunrise…Ethan had made his decision.He would go.Not because he trusted the beings beyond the black doorway.Not because he believed they meant no harm.But because he had seen something in the message that no one else seemed willing to acknowledge.They had asked.Twice.First…May we speak?Then…One may come.An enemy didn’t ask permission.An enemy simply invaded.Whatever waited beyond that door…It wanted to be heard.Whether that was a blessing or a trap…Only one way existed to find out.The launch facility came alive before dawn.Floodlights illuminated the enormous launch pad while engineers hurried around the silver shuttle.Unlike the bulky spacecraft used during the early years of space exploration…This one had been built after the Seven Days.Human technology had advanced dramatically with knowledge recovered from the Architects.Its engines were cleaner.Its shields stronger.Its navigation system could cross the distance between Earth and the Moon in less than th
Chapter 105: The Invitation
No one celebrated.Although the footprints had stopped appearing…Although the black doorway had remained closed…Not a single person inside Mission Control believed the danger had passed.If anything…The silence felt heavier.It was the silence of two strangers looking at one another across a great distance.Waiting.Wondering who would speak next.Dr. Elena Brooks stood beside the communications console, replaying Ethan’s transmission.“My name is Ethan.”“You asked if you could speak.”“You can.”She listened to it three more times before finally muting the speakers.“I’ve worked in aerospace for seventeen years.”She slowly shook her head.“I spent my entire career preparing for first contact.”She smiled weakly.“I never imagined it would begin with… permission.”Professor Orion nodded.“Neither did I.”Hours passed.The black doorway did not move.The Moon remained quiet.Scientists continued monitoring every satellite, every telescope, and every sensor aimed toward the far sid
Chapter 104: Beyond the Black Door
The three knocks echoed through Mission Control.Slow.Steady.Deliberate.Every person in the room froze.No one spoke.No one breathed.The sound wasn’t coming from the speakers anymore.It seemed to resonate through the walls themselves.Three knocks…Yet it felt as though something enormous had struck the fabric of reality.Then…Silence.Emergency lights flickered back to life.Rows of monitors rebooted one after another.Technicians hurried to their stations.“Power is returning!”“I’m reconnecting to the lunar station!”“Signal stabilizing!”Dr. Elena Brooks leaned over one of the consoles.“Get me visual confirmation.”The largest monitor flashed.Static filled the screen.Then the image cleared.Everyone stared.The giant black doorway still stood on the Moon’s far side.Exactly where it had been before.Silent.Motionless.Almost…Innocent.Kai slowly let out the breath he had been holding.“I hate doors.”Lyra looked at him.“You hate everything.”“I especially hate mysteri
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