Bang!
Ethan's door flew open with a crash, startling him out of his haze.
At the doorway stood Lyla, her face pale but filled with alarm. She spotted him sprawled on the floor and imdiately rushed to his side.
"Ethan! What's wrong?" she asked, panicked.
Wincing through the pain, Ethan forced himself to sit up. "I'm fine… just overdid it with the workout."
Lyla's gaze swept over the room, taking in the assortnt of fitness equipnt strewn about. She exhaled deeply, holding back tears, and punched Ethan square in the chest.
"Ow!" he gasped, clutching his ribs. For soone still recovering, her punch carried enough force to knock the wind out of him. If she had been at full strength, Ethan was certain she could've broken a few bones.
It always surprised him how much power Lyla could pack into her tiny fra. He knew she was capable, but he never imagined how intense her training must've been.
What Ethan didn't know was that after he left her behind as a child, Lyla had imrsed herself in learning combat and self-defense, eventually undergoing systematic training to beco the formidable woman she was now.
Noticing his grimace, Lyla softened. Realizing she'd gone too far, she quickly helped him to his feet.
After so rest and another round of nutrient shakes, Ethan's strength began to recover. But his stomach growled loudly, nutrient shakes weren't exactly filling.
Neither of them felt like cooking, so they opted for the ultimate solution: ordering a ho delivery.
By the ti they finished their al, it was evening, and the ga servers were about to go online. Lyla wasn't thrilled about Ethan logging back in so soon.
"Are you sure this is a good idea? You just recovered," she said, crossing her arms.
"I'll be fine, I promise," Ethan said, coaxing her with reassurances until she finally relented.
As he prepared to enter his ga capsule, a thought struck him. He turned to Lyla with a puzzled expression.
"Hey, Lyla, how did you even get my ga pod open in the first place? It's supposed to be fully locked and blast-proof."
"At first, I couldn't," she admitted. "But then… I don't know. I just touched it, and it opened on its own."
Ethan frowned, pondering her response. Could this have been Morzan's doing? It was the only explanation that made sense.
---
Back in Ethereal:
Ding!
[System Notification: Offline XP bonus has accumulated to 98.8% of your current level. Bonus will automatically apply when killing monsters. Offline ti: 9 days, 18 hours, 23 minutes.]
Ethan froze. Nine days?
It hit him: his ti in the Underworld had counted as being offline in Ethereal.
Then he rembered the Ethereal Blooms he'd been harvesting. Opening his character panel, he exhaled in relief. His levels were intact, and his bag was still full of Ethereal Blooms.
But then he rembered sothing else, the black pendant.
He searched through his equipnt and inventory but ca up empty. It wasn't there.
Frowning, Ethan logged out of the ga and went straight to Lyla's room, knocking on her door.
"What's up?" she asked, opening the door slightly.
"Did you see a black pendant anywhere?" Ethan asked.
"Uh… well…" Lyla hesitated, her face betraying guilt.
Ethan raised a brow but gestured for her to take her ti. "It's fine. Just tell ."
Sighing, Lyla muttered, "Alright, fine." She lowered her head, tugged at her collar, to reveal the pendant nestled just beneath her shirt.
"It's here. Take it," she said, pouting slightly as her cheeks turned pink.
Ethan's jaw dropped. "Wait… you an it's… there? And I have to…?"
"What are you gawking at? I can't get it off on my own. Just take it already!" Lyla snapped, her blush deepening.
Ethan couldn't help but laugh internally at her command. This situation felt absurdly awkward yet amusing.
"Well, if you insist…" he said, suppressing a smirk as he reached out.
His hand touched nothing but her soft boobs. Lyla shuddered and let out a soft gasp.
"Ah! You pervert! Ethan, you jerk!" she yelped, recoiling in surprise.
WHAM!
Before Ethan could react, Lyla delivered a kick that literally sent him flying out of her room. He crashed into the hallway wall, sliding to the floor with a groan.
Ethan sat up, rubbing his back with a wry grin. "She's got a an kick, I'll give her that."
He sat stunned for a mont before snapping to his feet and charging back to Lyla's door. His frustration boiled over as he shouted, "Didn't you tell to grab it myself? Why'd you kick ?"
"I didn't!" Lyla said, her voice trembling with hurt.
"What do you an you didn't? You literally told to grab it, and the next thing I know, I'm flying across the hallway!" Ethan retorted, his anger mounting. He was getting tired of her recent habit of hitting him, and the fact that he couldn't fight back.
"I said I didn't kick you!" Lyla shot back, her voice cracking as her eyes filled with tears. "Why are you yelling at ?"
Ethan froze. Seeing her reaction, he realized he might've gone too far. Taking a deep breath, he lowered his voice.
"Okay, okay… I'm sorry. If it wasn't you, then what, did I just launch myself out the door?"
He hadn't ant to snap at her. After all, getting flung into the hallway for no apparent reason had left him rattled.
"It wasn't ," Lyla said again, her voice soft. "It was… it was this!" She stepped closer to him, pointing at her chest.
Ethan blinked, his brain short-circuiting as his gaze inadvertently shifted to the area she was gesturing toward.
For a brief mont, he was struck dumb. Wait, what is happening right now?
She was close enough that he could see every detail of her flushed face, and his mind began to spiral.
"Lyla…" he stamred, his voice shaky. "If you're trying to… uh… make a point, you don't have to—"
"Not that! Look here!" Lyla snapped, her cheeks practically glowing as she pointed to a spot just above her collarbone.
"Wait, what?" Ethan's focus shifted to where she was pointing.
"That pendant of yours!" she said, exasperated. "The black one you had when you woke up. It flew onto , and now I can't get it off!"
Ethan frowned, suddenly serious. "It flew onto you? What are you talking about?"
Lyla sighed. "Right after you woke up, I ca in to talk to you. The pendant was on your chest, and before I could even say a word, it flew right onto ! I passed out, and when I woke up, it was here," she explained, tapping the spot again. "It even changed, it's white now. But no matter how much I try, I can't take it off."
Ethan's eyes narrowed as he processed her words. He hadn't noticed any pendant on him when he woke up, let alone one that could fly. Yet Lyla's expression was too genuine for him to dismiss.
"Wait," he said, stepping closer. "Are you sure it's still there?"
"Of course I'm sure! Here, see for yourself," Lyla replied, pointing to the spot again.
Cautiously, Ethan reached out and ran his fingers over the area she indicated. He felt nothing but her soft skin. No pendant, no texture, nothing.
"Uh, Lyla… I don't see or feel anything," he said, his brow furrowed.
"What? How is that possible?!" Lyla looked genuinely surprised. She glanced down at her chest, frowning as if she could still see or sense the object.
Ethan thought back to Morzan's warnings and the supernatural nature of the Underworld. He sighed, realizing there might be forces at play far beyond his comprehension.
"Well, if it's invisible to but harmless to you, and it can apparently protect you… I guess it's fine for you to keep it," he said finally.
Lyla fiddled with the invisible object, her fingers gripping at sothing Ethan couldn't see. She tugged at it a few tis before giving up.
"Alright," Ethan said, turning to leave. "Stop ssing with it, though. It's not going anywhere. I'm heading back to my room."
"Fine, but seriously, what is this thing?" Lyla called after him.
Ethan paused at the door, shaking his head. "I don't know either."
He shut her door and returned to his room, Sliding into his ga pod.
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