Chapter 11: Chapter 11: The Shadow of the Authority
Aether did not react imdiately after hearing those words.
*The sa people who took your sister.*
The sentence lingered in the quiet night air like a blade suspended above his head. For most people, such a revelation would have shattered their composure instantly. But Aether had lived his entire life without answers, and because of that, he had learned how to control his emotions long ago.
Still, deep inside, sothing shifted.
The red-gold energy within him stirred again — slower this ti, but heavier, almost like it recognized the importance of what had just been said.
The Fire Pup sensed the change in its master’s aura and moved slightly closer to Aether, its small body radiating warmth.
Aether finally spoke.
"I didn’t know I had a sister."
Darius watched him carefully.
"That’s because the world was never supposed to know," he replied.
Aether’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"And yet you know."
"Yes."
Silence returned for a mont.
The projection of Aether’s parents was still floating faintly in the air between them, casting a soft glow over the pathway. Cosmic storms swirled around the figures in the recording, hinting at a level of power far beyond anything that existed in this world.
Aether looked at it one more ti before turning his attention back to Darius.
"So let
understand this," he said calmly. "My parents were powerful enough to be known across worlds. A multi-world organization hunted them. They disappeared. And sowhere in the middle of all that... I was hidden here."
"That’s correct."
"And my sister was captured."
Darius’s expression darkened slightly.
"Yes."
The Fire Pup let out a quiet growl, as if it also disliked the idea.
Aether crossed his arms again, thinking.
The information was shocking, but what bothered him more was sothing else entirely.
"Why tell
now?" he asked.
Darius didn’t answer imdiately this ti.
Instead, he looked around the quiet pathway, almost as if confirming that no one else was close enough to hear.
Then he spoke in a lower voice.
"Because events have started moving again."
Aether tilted his head slightly.
"Events?"
Darius nodded.
"The Genesis Evolution Authority thought your bloodline had disappeared from this world. They believed your parents either died... or ascended beyond their reach."
"And now?"
"Now your awakening signal has been detected."
For the first ti since the conversation started, Aether’s expression changed slightly.
"Signal?"
Darius gestured toward him.
"The red-gold resonance you released earlier today when you awakened your beast."
Aether glanced briefly at the Fire Pup.
Its flas flickered calmly, but the faint deeper glow inside those flas remained.
"You’re saying they can sense that."
"Yes."
Aether sighed quietly.
"That sounds inconvenient."
Darius almost laughed.
"You’re taking this far too calmly."
Aether shrugged.
"Panicking wouldn’t change the situation."
"That’s true."
At the entrance of the pathway, hidden partially behind a tree, Liora was listening while trying to remain unnoticed.
Her instincts had been right.
Sothing serious was happening.
She couldn’t hear every word clearly, but she had heard enough to understand that the man speaking with Aether was not an ordinary visitor.
And when she heard the na Genesis Evolution Authority, her eyes widened slightly.
Even in the first universe, that organization was feared.
anwhile, back on the pathway, Aether continued questioning Darius.
"If they’re coming," he said, "how long do we have?"
Darius considered the question.
"That depends on how quickly they confirm your identity."
"Which ans?"
"Months if we’re lucky. Weeks if we’re not."
The Fire Pup’s flas flared slightly.
Aether looked up at the night sky.
He had always expected that his life would beco complicated after awakening as a beast tar.
But this was far beyond what he had imagined.
Still, instead of feeling overwheld, he felt sothing else.
Curiosity.
And a quiet determination.
"So," Aether said, "what exactly are you planning to do about it?"
Darius raised an eyebrow.
"You assu I’m here to help."
"You wouldn’t be telling
all this otherwise."
Darius smiled faintly.
"You’re smarter than most new tars."
Aether didn’t respond.
Instead, he waited.
After a few seconds, Darius finally spoke again.
"I was a friend of your parents."
Aether studied his expression carefully.
It didn’t look like a lie.
"They trusted
with sothing," Darius continued.
"And that is?"
"To make sure you survived long enough to grow strong."
The wind moved gently through the trees again.
The Fire Pup sat down beside Aether, still watching Darius closely.
Aether asked another question.
"Why didn’t you find
earlier?"
Darius’s answer ca imdiately.
"Because your power hadn’t awakened yet."
Aether understood that logic.
If what Darius said was true, revealing his existence too early could have been dangerous.
"So now what?" Aether asked.
Darius looked directly into his eyes.
"Now you start preparing."
"For what?"
"For a war that spans worlds."
Aether was silent for a mont.
Then he said,
"That sounds interesting."
Darius blinked.
"...Interesting?"
"Yes."
That answer clearly surprised him.
Most people, after learning that a multi-world authority might be hunting them, would not describe the situation as *interesting*.
But Aether had never been like most people.
After a few seconds, Darius shook his head slightly.
"You really are their son."
Aether ignored that comnt.
Instead, he asked sothing more important.
"You said they took my sister."
"Yes."
"Do you know where she is?"
Darius hesitated.
"Not exactly."
Aether’s eyes sharpened.
"But you have an idea."
Darius nodded slowly.
"She’s likely being held in one of the Authority’s research strongholds."
The Fire Pup growled softly.
Aether’s voice beca slightly colder.
"They’re experinting on her."
"It’s possible."
The temperature around them seed to drop slightly as the red-gold energy inside Aether stirred again.
But just as the atmosphere began to grow tense—
A soft sound ca from the entrance of the pathway.
Footsteps.
Aether glanced toward the direction instantly.
Liora realized she had been noticed.
Instead of hiding any longer, she stepped forward calmly.
Darius looked at her, mildly surprised.
"Well," he said, "we have an audience."
Liora crossed her arms.
"I could say the sa."
She looked directly at Aether.
"Are you going to introduce your mysterious friend?"
Aether replied calmly,
"This is Darius."
Then he added,
"He claims to know my parents."
Liora’s expression changed slightly.
"That sounds like an important conversation."
"It is."
Darius observed her carefully.
"You’re the one with the rare perception ability."
Liora’s eyes narrowed.
"And how do you know that?"
Darius smiled.
"I did so research before coming here."
The Fire Pup barked once, clearly unimpressed.
Aether sighed quietly.
"This conversation is getting crowded."
Liora stepped closer.
"If this involves the Genesis Evolution Authority, then I’m already involved."
Darius looked at her for a few seconds.
Then he nodded slowly.
"Fair enough."
The atmosphere on the pathway changed again.
Three people now stood beneath the dim street lamp — each connected by a future that none of them fully understood yet.
But one thing was certain.
The quiet life inside Skygate Compound had officially ended.
And sowhere far beyond the first universe...
An organization that ruled across worlds had just begun to notice a boy nad Aether.
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