Back in Ember City, Ethan finally felt like he was ho.
At the gym, he didn't say much—just told everyone to et at his place that evening. There was sothing they needed to hear.
He shot a look at Williams. "That wife of yours—secretly married and all—maybe it's ti she showed her face?"
"Uh..." Williams hesitated.
"Haha! Bro, he's already secretly divorced," Leo blurted out, laughing with zero restraint.
Ethan raised an eyebrow. What the hell? He'd only been gone a few days. Divorced already?
He didn't press it. Just let it slide.
After so quick small talk, Ethan took off. He had a lot to prepare—starting with supplies.
On the way back, he got the final green light from Matriarch Whitmore. He'd be staying with their family for now. No chance he was returning to the Silverwoods—not with the chaos swirling around that place.
Surprisingly, the old woman seed pleased about it.
Truth be told, Ethan felt more at ease with the Whitmores. With them, he actually felt like he belonged.
He spent the rest of the afternoon running errands. Markham had been blunt—their ho had no functioning electrical infrastructure. So Ethan bought ten full-scale solar panel rigs, along with a set of industrial-grade batteries. Sa kind he'd seen back at the Silverwoods.
The Whitmores didn't have anything like that. They'd need to be self-sufficient.
From what Markham hinted, the family wasn't doing great financially. Small household. Fewer cases lately. They only stepped in when things got truly out of hand.
Most of their work was pro bono—for the community, for public safety.
And even though Markham played the clown half the ti, Ethan knew the guy was carrying the weight of the entire family.
Because... he was the last able-bodied man left.
Ethan had once asked what illness had taken his father. Markham just gave him a bitter smile and shook his head.
Then added, jokingly—but not really—"Ethan, if I ever end up bedridden too, you'll help out around the house, yeah?"
Ethan had laughed. But Markham hadn't looked like he was kidding.
They didn't talk about it again.
---
By sundown, Ethan had nearly wiped out MapleMart's entire stockroom.
At exactly 7:00 PM, Leo, Williams, and Victor showed up—Victor with his wife, Celia, in tow.
They'd planned to take Ethan out for dinner, to give him a proper welco ho.
He declined.
"Ethan, what's with the mystery?" Leo asked, clearly itching to know sothing.
"Yeah, man," Williams added, "you've got a whole ss waiting in the guild. You go missing, and I'm the one juggling everything."
"Whole leadership disappeared today. That's gonna raise flags," Leo muttered.
Celia smiled. "Co on, just say it."
Once everyone was seated, Ethan didn't waste ti.
"We're moving out," he said flatly.
"Moving?" Leo echoed, frowning.
Ethan nodded and laid it all out—the situation with Celeste, everything.
When he finished, the room fell into silence.
Victor stood abruptly. "Then we move tonight. I've felt sothing these past few days. Like we're being watched. And it's not passive—it's killing intent.
You all know the kind of energy I've awakened. I don't imagine this stuff."
Leo and Williams exchanged looks but stayed quiet.
Out of the three of them, only Victor had reached Energy Awakening. If he felt it, it was real.
"What about the gym?" Celia asked, turning to Ethan. He was the actual owner, after all.
Ethan paused. "ssage the staff. Let them know we're closing for now. Were going on an indefinite break. Salaries continue as normal."
Celia nodded and pulled out her phone, drafting a ssage in the group chat.
Not that there were many employees left—just two front desk clerks and a high school girl working part-ti while caring for her dad.
"Wait until after we leave," Victor said suddenly.
Celia blinked. Then nodded.
"I'll go pack."
"I'll help," Victor said, following her.
"One hour," Ethan called after them. "We leave tonight."
Leo and Williams got up too, heading to the spare rooms in the gym to gather their things.
Half an hour later, they returned, each with a single backpack slung over their shoulders.
But Victor and Celia still hadn't co back.
Concerned, Ethan grabbed Leo and stepped outside.
Across the street, every floor of Victor and Celia's place was lit up. He could see their shadows moving through the second-floor window.
Looked like... an argunt?
"Will, go start the car," Ethan said, tossing him the keys to the Predator Beast X.
"Leo, let's check it out."
The two crossed the road and knocked.
Turns out, it wasn't a fight—just an intense debate over what to bring.
Victor wanted to travel light, but Celia was firm. "Ethan said we don't know how long this break'll be. If we're not sure we're coming back, I'm taking everything we need. That car has space."
She ant the Predator Beast X, of course.
Victor looked like he'd aged ten years in the last half hour.
Ethan glanced around at the mountain of items already packed in the living room—pots and pans, bedding, clothes, spices, pantry supplies—even their wedding photo.
Celia was halfway through dragging down the mattress when Victor caught her.
If he hadn't stepped in, she might've hauled the bed fra down too.
To be fair, they'd furnished the whole place themselves. The house had only co with the renovations. No furniture, no appliances. Not even curtains.
So yeah—she had a point.
That "fight" Ethan had seen from the street? It had been about the bed. Eventually, Celia realized the mattress wasn't going to fit anyway.
Now all their belongings sat in towering stacks across the living room.
"Celia... maybe just reconsider?" Victor pleaded, rubbing his temples. "Even two Predators couldn't hold all this."
"No biggie. We'll manage," she replied without missing a beat.
Ethan stepped forward casually. "If there's anything else you want to bring, just let know."
He caught the look on her face—a faint pout. She didn't want to leave anything behind. She'd picked every one of these items with Victor.
"Ethan?" Victor looked at him, confused.
"Seriously?" Celia's eyes lit up.
But Ethan didn't answer. Just smiled, slightly mysterious.
"Store," he whispered, snapping his fingers.
Whoosh—
Everything in the living room vanished without a trace.
"Oh!" Celia gasped, covering her mouth.
"Holy—" Leo's jaw dropped. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, stunned.
"Retrieve," Ethan said calmly, snapping again.
Whoosh—
Everything reappeared, exactly where it had been. For a few seconds, nobody moved.
Then all three of them turned toward Ethan with the sa wide-eyed expression. Celia's awe quickly morphed into pure excitent.
"Ethan, co here—now!" she shouted, grabbing his arm and dragging him toward the bedroom.
Victor just shook his head, smiling helplessly.
As Ethan passed, he gave Victor a light pat on the shoulder. A knowing look passed between them.
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