Fallen Star City...
Inside the Fallen Star Squad’s enhancent chambers...
Everyone stopped training. They just stood there, watching Ethan with open expectation, not daring to make a sound.
Ethan, anwhile, had slipped back into that void space again. He stared at the dense scatter of light points and started searching carefully for what he wanted.
At this point, he had mobility, control, and damage. What he was still missing was reliable AOE and—more importantly—sothing that would keep him alive.
Sure, for crowd-clearing he could use Telekinesis to control multiple daggers at once, but that was manual. It wasn’t the kind of casual, lazy swipe that deleted a whole area. Convenient AOE could wait. Other people could cover that role. Ethan’s real job was decapitation—cut the head off the snake.
What he needed now was a true survival tool.
His speed and offense were way ahead of his Tier... but his defense wasn’t.
And lately, the opponents he’d been forced to fight were multiple Tiers above him—people who could absolutely one-shot him if he made a single mistake.
Teleportation wasn’t magic immunity. If he spaced out for half a second, he could still die without even understanding how.
So this ti, Ethan was hunting one thing:
A lifesaver.
After reaching Stage A, the void space was still packed with lights, but compared to the "major breakthrough" version, it was noticeably less overwhelming.
He searched for a few minutes.
Then his eyes locked.
His expression lit up.
"There you are," he muttered. "You’re mine."
He selected the skill without hesitation.
The light point shot into his consciousness, sinking into the center of his forehead—and Ethan’s awareness snapped back to the real world.
A mont later, Ethan opened his eyes, smiling.
Everyone leaned in.
"Well?" soone whispered. "Boss, what kind of broken skill did you pull this ti?"
They were already used to Ethan’s skills being unfair. He got to choose. They didn’t. At this point, they weren’t even shocked anymore—just curious what flavor of "cheat" it was.
Ethan’s smile widened. Then he looked straight at Big Mike.
"Big Mike. Toss a fireball at ."
"Hell yeah."
Big Mike didn’t hesitate for even a second. He lifted a hand and flung a fireball right at Ethan’s face.
"..."
The rest of them turned and stared at Big Mike like he’d lost his mind.
This idiot really would.
The fireball scread toward Ethan—
And when it got within about three feet of him...
It vanished.
Like it had been erased.
"Huh?" Big Mike blinked. "What the—"
The room went dead quiet for a beat, then everyone’s eyes lit up.
Ethan chuckled. "You guys try too."
That did it.
All of them imdiately got interested, and one attack after another flew at Ethan.
Blades of wind. Bursts of force. Lightning. Even Garrick’s ground spikes—
But no matter who attacked, the mont their ability reached that three-foot radius, it disappeared without a trace. Garrick’s spikes didn’t even get the chance to poke out of the floor before they were gone.
"Holy shit," Big Mike breathed, eyes wide. "Boss—what the hell is that? That’s insane!"
Ethan nodded, clearly pleased with himself. "It’s called Nullspace Domain. Once I activate it, any attack aid at gets forcibly redirected into the void space. It can’t touch ."
"Holy shit!" soone echoed. "That’s not a skill—that’s a hack!"
Chris frowned, still thinking. "What about physical attacks?"
Ethan tilted his head. "Try."
"Alright."
Chris nodded, pulled out his spear, and thrust at Ethan.
And then everyone’s eyes blew open.
The spear’s tip crossed into that three-foot range—
And vanished.
Chris instinctively pushed forward—and the deeper the spear went, the more of it disappeared, as if the air itself was eating it.
In the blink of an eye, the entire spear was gone.
And then—
Chris’s hand.
Then his wrist.
Then half his forearm disappeared too.
Chris jerked backward.
And as he retreated, his arm and the spear slid back out—perfectly intact.
The whole thing was so freaky it made everyone’s skin crawl. There was nothing visible around Ethan, but it felt like so invisible mouth was sitting there, swallowing anything that got close.
Chris stared at his own arm, then looked back at Ethan. "So if I kept pushing forward... what happens?"
"Probably gets transferred into the void space," Ethan said. "Whether you could co back out... no idea."
He didn’t actually know what that Nullspace was like on the other end. That was a "test later when we have a spare idiot" kind of question.
Big Mike’s eyes went round. "So you’re basically invincible now, right? They can’t hit you, but you can still kill them?"
Ethan sighed. "Don’t get too excited. It has a limit. If soone hits it with an attack that exceeds what Nullspace Domain can handle, they can shatter the Domain."
Everyone leaned in imdiately. "So what’s the limit?"
"No clue," Ethan said, shaking his head. "Haven’t tested it."
Big Mike, ever helpful, blurted, "Boss, let Dopey try!"
Everyone turned on him like he’d just suggested juggling grenades indoors.
"Bro, are you trying to send the boss to the afterlife?"
"Big Mike," Ethan said, narrowing his eyes, "you’ve been getting kinda rebellious lately."
"Ah—no! Boss, I’m not! I swear I’m loyal!" Big Mike folded instantly under that look.
Ethan didn’t even blink. "Sean. In a bit, go spar with Big Mike. See if his strength’s gone up."
"Got it," Sean said, nodding.
Honestly, Big Mike had been getting a little too jumpy lately. He needed to be reminded what consequences felt like.
And Sean was perfect for it—Sean used to be Big Mike’s direct superior. If anyone could "educate" him properly, it was Sean.
Big Mike’s face went tragic. "No... Sean, please..."
Henry casually stepped in too. "I’ll go with you guys. Sean, don’t hold back. If sothing happens, I’m here."
Big Mike’s soul left his body. "Huh...?"
Ethan ignored the whining and looked back to Chris. "You asked what changed with my own ability, right?"
Chris nodded. "Yeah. Anything new?"
"A pretty solid offensive option," Ethan said. "Death Gaze."
"Death Gaze?" The room blinked in sync.
Ethan spread his hands. "Basically, I look at you, decide I want you dead... and you die."
"...Bullshit." Big Mike said it on instinct, then imdiately regretted it.
"Not bullshit," Ethan said, amused. "It’s a soul attack. If soone makes eye contact with , I can directly wipe their soul."
He raised a finger. "Condition: their ntal energy has to be lower than mine. If it’s higher, I can still hurt them—just not delete them."
Chris let out a low whistle. "That’s still insane."
"Yeah," Ethan said. "It’s a nice hidden tool. The whole point is surprise."
Big Mike, who’d sohow recovered enough to speak again, gave him a thumbs-up. "Boss is boss. That’s cracked."
Ethan stared at him. "Your flattery doesn’t work on . You’re still sparring."
Big Mike’s shoulders slumped.
"Sean," Ethan said, waving them off, "take these three to the training complex. Work it out."
"Got it," Sean said.
He grabbed Big Mike by the collar and started dragging him toward the door like he was taking out the trash.
Henry followed along, way too cheerful about it.
"No—wait—don’t—!" Big Mike’s wail echoed down the hallway, getting fainter and fainter.
The rest of them just laughed.
Big Mike talked before his brain checked in. A little discipline was good for him.
Ethan stretched once, then nodded toward the exit. "Alright. Let’s go see Miles. I want an update—any news on that Zombie King?"
"Yeah," Chris said, falling into step. "Let’s go."
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