2026-07-31 07:26:18The entire hall fell silent.
Alexander Kingsley’s expression darkened.
“What did you say?”
The guard took a deep breath.
“Miss Sophia Bennett was abducted twenty minutes ago.”
“Three armed men intercepted her car while she was returning from the hospital.”
“The driver was seriously injured.”
“The bodyguard is missing.”
Ethan’s face became cold.
“What about her father?”
“He wasn’t with her.”
“He stayed behind at the hospital.”
Ryan stood quietly at the side.
A faint smile flashed across his face.
Ethan noticed it.
“You knew about this.”
Ryan’s smile disappeared.
“What are you talking about?”
“You don’t look surprised.”
Ryan scoffed.
“Why would I care about that woman?”
Alexander’s sharp eyes moved toward Ryan.
“You’d better hope you have nothing to do with this.”
Ryan immediately lowered his head.
“I don’t.”
Alexander looked back at the guard.
“Any demands?”
The guard nodded.
“They contacted us five minutes ago.”
“They said…”
“…they only want one person.”
Everyone turned toward Ethan.
The guard continued.
“They want Ethan Cole.”
The room became deathly quiet.
Alexander asked,
“What exactly did they say?”
The guard opened a small notebook.
Then read aloud.
“Tell Ethan Cole to come alone.”
“Midnight.”
“Blackstone Harbor Warehouse Number Nine.”
“If he brings the police…”
“He’ll collect a corpse instead of a woman.”
The guard closed the notebook.
“That’s the full message.”
Ethan looked at Alexander.
“I’m going.”
Alexander immediately shook his head.
“No.”
“They’re expecting that.”
“It’s a trap.”
“I know.”
“Then why go?”
Ethan’s answer was simple.
“Because Sophia is innocent.”
Alexander remained silent.
One of the masked elders spoke.
“We can send our people.”
Another nodded.
“We have enough manpower.”
Ethan shook his head.
“They specifically asked for me.”
“If anyone else appears…”
“They’ll kill her.”
Alexander slowly walked toward the large window.
For the first time…
He looked troubled.
After nearly a minute…
He turned around.
“I’ll make you a deal.”
Ethan waited.
“I’ll allow you to go.”
“But you won’t go alone.”
Ethan frowned.
“They said—”
Alexander interrupted him.
“You’ll appear alone.”
“But you won’t be alone.”
He looked at the twelve masked members.
“Crown Guard.”
Immediately…
Four masked guards stepped forward.
Each carried themselves like elite soldiers.
Alexander spoke firmly.
“They’re invisible unless needed.”
“They won’t reveal themselves unless your life is in immediate danger.”
Ethan nodded.
“Fair enough.”
Alexander then walked toward a steel cabinet at the end of the hall.
He entered a code.
The cabinet opened.
Inside…
Was a black wooden box.
He carried it over and placed it on the table.
When he opened it…
A sleek black wristwatch rested inside.
It looked ordinary.
But its design was elegant.
Alexander picked it up.
“Wear it.”
Ethan did.
“It doesn’t look special.”
Alexander smiled.
“It isn’t.”
“At least…”
“Not on the outside.”
He pressed a tiny button on the side.
The watch face lit up.
“A tracker.”
“An encrypted communicator.”
“And an emergency distress beacon.”
“It can also monitor your heartbeat.”
Ethan nodded.
“Useful.”
Alexander smiled.
“I thought you’d say that.”
The system suddenly appeared.
New Equipment Acquired
Crown Watch
Functions Unlocked:
Secure Communication
GPS Tracking
Emergency Beacon
Vital Sign Monitoring
Equipment Rating: S-Class
The blue screen disappeared.
Alexander looked Ethan in the eyes.
“I have one question.”
Ethan waited.
“If you discover Sophia is already dead…”
“What will you do?”
The room became silent again.
Everyone looked at Ethan.
He answered after a few seconds.
“I’ll still bring her home.”
Alexander stared at him.
“And the kidnappers?”
Ethan’s eyes turned ice cold.
“They’ll answer for what they’ve done.”
Alexander slowly smiled.
“Good.”
He extended his hand.
“This time…”
“It isn’t a test.”
“It’s war.”
At exactly 11:45 PM…
A black SUV stopped a few streets away from Blackstone Harbor.
Ethan stepped out alone.
The harbor was old.
Abandoned.
Fog drifted across the ground.
The sound of waves crashing against the docks echoed through the darkness.
Warehouse Number Nine stood at the far end of the pier.
Its large metal doors were slightly open.
A single light flickered inside.
Ethan adjusted the Crown Watch.
Its screen displayed only one message.
Signal Stable.
He took a slow breath.
Then walked toward the warehouse.
Inside…
Sophia sat tied to a wooden chair.
Her mouth was covered with tape.
Her eyes were filled with fear.
When she saw Ethan walk through the doorway…
She desperately shook her head.
As if begging him to run.
Then…
A slow clap echoed through the warehouse.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
A tall man stepped out of the shadows.
He wore a black suit.
A silver dragon pin was attached to his collar.
He smiled.
“So…”
“You’re Ethan Cole.”
“I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
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
You may also like
Rise Of The General's Forgotten Son
Dragon Sly110.2K viewsThe Legendary Conglomerate
Lord MOH123.6K viewsEthan Storm’s Dark Awakening
Magical Inspirations291.0K viewsReturn of the son-in-law
Chessman78.2K viewsRise of the Forsaken Heir
CosMik 11 viewsThe Homeless Man Who Knew The Future
Tessy Ben88 viewsTHE PRIESTESS'S WORTHLESS HUSBAND IS A DRAGON
Universeleap160 views3 years Owed
Eleme46 views