2026-07-31 07:28:07Darkness swallowed the warehouse.
Sophia instinctively grabbed Ethan’s arm.
“Ethan…”
“Stay behind me.”
His voice remained calm.
The Crown Watch vibrated softly.
A dim blue light appeared on its screen.
Night Vision Activated.
The warehouse slowly became visible through the watch’s enhanced display.
The armed men hadn’t moved.
Damian Voss still stood in the same place.
But he wasn’t looking at Ethan anymore.
Instead…
He lowered his head respectfully.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Slow footsteps echoed from the second floor.
Every member of the Black Dragon Syndicate straightened their backs.
Some even knelt on one knee.
A tall figure emerged from the shadows.
He wore a long black coat.
Black leather gloves.
A jet-black mask covered the upper half of his face.
Only his sharp gray eyes could be seen.
He walked down the metal staircase without saying a word.
Every step echoed through the warehouse.
When he reached the ground floor…
He stopped ten feet away from Ethan.
Damian bowed.
“Supreme Leader.”
The man didn’t respond.
His eyes remained fixed on Ethan.
After several seconds…
He smiled faintly.
“So…”
“You’re Ethan Cole.”
His voice was calm.
Refined.
It carried an invisible pressure that filled the entire warehouse.
Ethan met his gaze.
“You’ve been looking for me.”
The man nodded.
“I have.”
“You kidnapped an innocent woman just to meet me.”
“I did.”
Sophia glared at him.
“You’re insane.”
The man looked at her.
Then smiled politely.
“I apologize for frightening you.”
“But I knew Ethan would come.”
Sophia couldn’t believe what she had heard.
“This is your idea of an apology?”
The man ignored her.
Instead…
He looked back at Ethan.
“My name…”
“…is Lucien Draven.”
“The current leader of the Black Dragon Syndicate.”
The system suddenly flashed violently.
WARNING!
Target Identified.
Lucien Draven
Status: Supreme Leader
Threat Level: UNKNOWN
Current Analysis…
Analysis Failed.
Reason: Authority Level Too High.
For the first time…
The system failed.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Lucien noticed.
He smiled.
“Interesting.”
“It seems…”
“…you were trying to understand me.”
Ethan remained silent.
Lucien slowly removed one glove.
On the back of his hand…
Was a black dragon tattoo.
Its scales looked almost alive.
“I know who you are.”
“I know about your businesses.”
“I know about your system of investments.”
“I know about Professor Hayes.”
“I know about the Crown Society.”
Every sentence surprised Ethan.
Lucien knew far too much.
“What do you want?”
Lucien answered honestly.
“You.”
Damian looked at Ethan.
“Our leader has never personally invited anyone before.”
Lucien nodded.
“You possess something rare.”
“You’ve gained wealth.”
“But wealth hasn’t changed you.”
“You’ve gained influence.”
“But you still help strangers.”
He smiled.
“I admire that.”
Ethan calmly replied,
“I don’t admire kidnappers.”
Lucien laughed.
A genuine laugh.
“You have courage.”
“I like that too.”
He walked toward a nearby table.
There sat a wooden chessboard.
Half the pieces had already been arranged.
Lucien gestured toward the empty chair opposite him.
“Sit.”
Ethan didn’t move.
Lucien smiled.
“It’s only a game.”
“If I wanted to kill you…”
“I would’ve done it already.”
After a brief pause…
Ethan sat down.
Sophia looked worried.
“Ethan…”
He gave her a reassuring glance.
“It’ll be alright.”
Lucien placed a white chess piece forward.
“I enjoy chess.”
“Every move has consequences.”
“So does life.”
Ethan responded with a black piece.
Lucien smiled.
“Good.”
For the next several minutes…
Neither man spoke much.
The warehouse became silent.
Everyone watched.
Move after move.
Attack after attack.
Neither side gained an advantage.
Damian frowned.
“I’ve never seen anyone last this long.”
One of the syndicate members whispered,
“The boss usually wins in ten moves.”
Twenty minutes passed.
Lucien suddenly smiled.
“Check.”
Ethan looked at the board.
Then…
He smiled as well.
He moved one knight.
Lucien’s eyes widened slightly.
A few seconds later…
He laughed.
Loudly.
“Brilliant.”
He stood up.
“The game is over.”
Damian looked confused.
“But…”
“No one won.”
Lucien shook his head.
“No.”
“I lost.”
Everyone stared at the board.
Damian’s face slowly changed.
He finally understood.
Three moves later…
Lucien’s king had no escape.
He had been trapped long before he noticed.
Lucien looked at Ethan with genuine respect.
“In thirty years…”
“Only one other person has cornered me like that.”
Ethan stood.
“It was just a game.”
Lucien smiled.
“No.”
“It was an introduction.”
He extended his hand.
“I hope…”
“…we never become enemies.”
Ethan looked at the offered hand.
After a moment…
He shook it.
Lucien nodded once.
“You may leave.”
Sophia looked shocked.
“That’s it?”
Lucien smiled.
“Yes.”
As Ethan and Sophia walked toward the exit…
Lucien spoke one last time.
“Ethan.”
Without turning around…
Ethan stopped.
Lucien’s voice became serious.
“The Crown Society believes they’re preparing you to lead the future.”
He paused.
“But they don’t know…”
“…someone else is already searching for the one who created your system.”
Ethan’s heart skipped a beat.
His system.
Someone knew it existed.
The system suddenly flashed in bright crimson.
CRITICAL WARNING!
Highest Priority Storyline Activated.
Host Secret Has Been Exposed.
Emergency Main Mission Unlocked.
Find the Creator of the Billionaire System Before They Find You.
Mission Difficulty: SSS+
Failure Consequence: System Permanently Lost.
Ethan slowly turned around.
Lucien Draven was gone.
Only the unfinished chessboard remained.
And on Ethan’s side of the board…
A single black king had been left standing.
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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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