2026-07-31 07:25:02The sun had completely disappeared.
Night covered the city.
At exactly 7:45 PM…
A black Rolls-Royce stopped outside the Grand Meridian Opera House.
Ethan stepped out.
He wore a tailored black suit with a white shirt.
Simple.
Elegant.
Nothing flashy.
He looked up at the century-old building.
Its lights were on.
Yet the streets around it were strangely empty.
Not a single pedestrian.
Not a single reporter.
It was as if the entire area had been sealed off.
A man in a black suit approached him.
“Mr. Ethan Cole?”
“Yes.”
“This way.”
Without another word, the man led him inside.
The grand lobby was silent.
No music.
No guests.
Only rows of antique chandeliers illuminating the marble floor.
After walking for several minutes, they reached a pair of enormous wooden doors.
The man stopped.
“They’re waiting.”
He pushed the doors open.
Creak…
The doors slowly revealed a magnificent circular hall.
Twelve people sat around a large round table.
Each wore a black robe.
Each wore a silver mask.
Only one seat remained empty.
It was directly opposite the chairman.
The man gestured.
“Please.”
Ethan walked forward calmly.
Every pair of eyes followed him.
Not a single word was spoken.
When he reached the empty chair…
He sat down.
Silence continued for another minute.
Finally…
The man seated at the head of the table spoke.
His silver mask was decorated with a golden crown.
“Welcome, Mr. Ethan Cole.”
His voice was calm.
Deep.
Powerful.
Ethan nodded politely.
“Thank you for inviting me.”
The chairman smiled.
“You arrived exactly on time.”
“I dislike making people wait.”
“So do I.”
Several masked members exchanged glances.
The chairman laughed softly.
“Good.”
“We value punctuality.”
He leaned slightly forward.
“You’ve probably wondered why you’re here.”
“I have.”
“We’ve been observing you for months.”
“You’ve shown compassion.”
“Discipline.”
“Patience.”
“And intelligence.”
He paused.
“But observation isn’t enough.”
“We prefer evidence.”
The chairman gently tapped the table.
A side door opened.
A young woman entered.
She looked to be around twenty-five.
She wore simple clothes.
Her eyes were red from crying.
She nervously stood in the center of the room.
The chairman looked at Ethan.
“This is Emma.”
“Three years ago…”
“She stole two million dollars from one of our member companies.”
Emma lowered her head.
“I did.”
The chairman continued.
“She was caught.”
“She confessed.”
“But before punishment could be carried out…”
“She disappeared.”
He looked directly at Ethan.
“We found her yesterday.”
Emma’s shoulders trembled.
The chairman folded his hands.
“Tonight…”
“You’ll decide her fate.”
The room became silent.
Ethan frowned.
“My decision?”
“Yes.”
“Whatever punishment you choose…”
“We’ll carry it out.”
Emma looked at Ethan with fearful eyes.
She slowly fell to her knees.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know I deserve punishment.”
“But…”
“My son was dying.”
“I had no money.”
“I begged everywhere.”
“No one helped me.”
“My only choice…”
“…was to steal.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“The surgery saved him.”
“But I’ve regretted what I did every day since.”
The chairman remained expressionless.
“So…”
“What should we do with her?”
The twelve members all looked at Ethan.
Waiting.
Testing.
Ethan didn’t answer immediately.
Instead…
He looked at Emma.
“Stand up.”
She hesitated.
“I said…”
“Stand.”
Slowly…
She stood.
Ethan asked,
“Where’s your son now?”
“He’s eight.”
“Healthy.”
“He goes to school.”
“Does he know what you did?”
Emma quickly shook her head.
“No.”
“I never wanted him to.”
Ethan nodded.
Then he turned to the chairman.
“My decision is simple.”
The room became completely silent.
“She should repay every dollar she stole.”
Emma immediately nodded.
“I will.”
“I’ve already saved almost half.”
Ethan continued.
“She should also work for the company she stole from.”
The chairman listened carefully.
“Her salary should be used to repay the remaining debt.”
“And after it’s fully repaid…”
“She should be free.”
One masked member frowned.
“No prison?”
Ethan looked at him.
“What purpose would prison serve?”
The man didn’t answer.
Ethan continued,
“She didn’t steal for luxury.”
“She didn’t gamble the money away.”
“She stole to save a child.”
“What she did was wrong.”
“But justice without mercy…”
“…is only revenge.”
Silence filled the hall.
The chairman stared at Ethan for several seconds.
Then…
He smiled.
For the first time that night.
“Excellent.”
He slowly stood.
“That…”
“…was the correct answer.”
Emma burst into tears.
She bowed repeatedly.
“Thank you…”
“Thank you…”
The chairman raised a hand.
“You don’t need to thank him.”
“You’ll thank him…”
“…by living honestly.”
She nodded again and again before being escorted out of the room.
Once the doors closed…
The chairman looked back at Ethan.
“You’ve passed the second trial.”
The system appeared.
Evaluation Complete.
Compassion: Passed.
Wisdom: Passed.
Current Evaluation Score: 70%.
Final Trial Remaining.
Category: Integrity.
The screen disappeared.
The chairman slowly sat down again.
“Mr. Cole…”
“The final test…”
“…will determine whether you become our ally.”
He snapped his fingers once.
The doors behind Ethan suddenly opened.
Footsteps echoed through the hall.
Ethan turned around.
His eyes narrowed.
Walking into the room…
With his hands in his pockets and a smug smile on his face…
Was Ryan Crawford.
Ryan smiled coldly.
“Ethan.”
“Looks like we’re taking the final test together.”
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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