ROOOAR!

Vale’s foot crashed into Ethan’s back with enough force to split stone.

His eyes were bloodshot, unfocused, stripped of reason. Whatever restraint he once had was gone. The only instinct left inside him was rage, the lingering image of someone slipping away from his grasp just as he had been about to crush them.

Muscles swelled beneath his skin, veins standing out like cords ready to snap. His heel pressed down harder, trying to drive Ethan into the ground through sheer brute strength.

No one moved.

Everyone present understood exactly how dangerous Vale became in this state. Back home, when he lost control like this, even veteran warriors avoided standing in front of him. A direct hit was something few people survived.

And Ethan?

Throughout the entire journey, the Ancestral Star trial participant had seemed completely ordinary. His energy presence was faint, almost nonexistent, impossible to measure properly. Nothing about him suggested threat or brilliance.

If anything, they had all quietly begun to underestimate him.

Even Hayes, who hid far more about herself than simply her gender, had stopped paying him serious attention.

None of them realized that this unremarkable man had been the one who saved all of their lives moments ago.

"Help him!"

Hayes was the first to snap free from shock. Her sharp voice broke the paralysis gripping the group, and the others instinctively prepared to move.

But before anyone could step forward, Ethan moved first.

He rose to his feet as if the crushing weight on his back meant nothing at all. Riley rested securely in his arms.

Vale stumbled backward.

Stomp. Stomp. STOMP.

Three heavy steps. Each one forced Vale farther away until his balance failed and he staggered.

"Catch."

Ethan did not even glance at Vale again. He turned smoothly and tossed Riley toward Hayes, the motion controlled and precise despite everything happening around them.

Then he pivoted and rushed forward.

"Go easy on him."

Hayes caught Riley against her chest. Her voice softened, barely louder than a whisper, yet the words carried clearly to Ethan’s ears.

Behind her, Brock watched the approaching clash and muttered, almost in disbelief, "Vale’s about to get wrecked."

Even someone as tactically oblivious as Brock could see it. Ethan’s physical presence alone dwarfed Vale’s, and rage only made Vale predictable.

"You’re worried about him?" Onyx said quietly, tone flat. "Without Ethan, Riley would already be dead. Besides, Vale won’t come back to himself unless someone forces him down."

"Yeah, but who here can actually do that?" Ginger replied uneasily. She was fast enough to avoid Vale indefinitely, but speed was useless when the goal was to subdue him without causing permanent damage.

"Everyone, stay alert."

Hayes’ hands stopped glowing as she finished her initial examination of Riley. The warmth of healing energy faded from her palms.

"What’s wrong?" Ginger asked immediately.

Hayes didn’t answer right away. Her face had turned pale as she scanned the surrounding terrain, her eyes sharp with sudden caution.

"Riley was hit by a soul attack," she said at last. "Someone powerful. I can’t repair this."

The words landed like a blow.

"What?"

"No way."

"She’s the strongest soul user of our generation. She was supposed to become the next high shaman."

Brock, Onyx, and Ginger spoke over one another, disbelief plain on their faces.

Hayes nodded once, expression grim.

The three instantly shifted into defensive positions, forming a tight circle with Riley at the center, backs turned outward as they watched for threats that might already be closing in.

"But why would Riley attack us?" Brock asked, genuinely confused. "She’s close with Zatan, sure, but murder?"

Ginger shot him a look of pure exasperation. "You really are hopeless. Think about it. Riley was playing with us. She saved us. If she wanted us dead, she could’ve made us walk straight off that cliff. Instead she trapped us in a swamp to stall us."

Understanding slowly dawned on Brock’s face.

"Oh."

BOOM.

The conversation had lasted barely a minute. That was how long it took for Ethan and Vale to collide.

Vale launched himself forward like an enraged beast, both arms stretched wide, aiming to seize Ethan’s shoulders and crush him through sheer force. His chest remained completely exposed, sacrifice forgotten in favor of overwhelming aggression.

Ethan planted his feet firmly, body lowering like a bear bracing for impact. At the last instant, both fists drove upward into Vale’s unguarded ribs.

CRACK.

The sound echoed sharply.

Vale’s momentum reversed instantly, his massive frame thrown backward through the air.

Ethan’s legs coiled beneath him. He exploded forward, catching up before Vale could even begin to fall. One leg hooked around Vale’s waist midair.

WHAM.

Vale slammed into the ground hard enough to blast dirt and grass in every direction.

Ethan twisted with the motion and dropped his knee onto Vale’s chest, pinning him flat.

Vale struggled, strength gathering again beneath him, but It never had time to bloom.

SMACK. SMACK. SMACK.

Ethan’s palms descended one after another, open-handed strikes snapping across Vale’s face with ruthless rhythm.

"You stomp on me."

SMACK.

"You lose your damn mind at me."

SMACK.

"Wake the hell up."

SMACK.

He spoke calmly between hits, as though correcting a particularly stubborn student. It was an old habit, talking while fighting, keeping his own focus steady through motion.

Vale thrashed violently, but each surge of power was cut off the moment Ethan’s palm landed. The blows disrupted his gathering strength again and again, bleeding away the frenzy driving him.

Ethan eventually lost count.

Normally he restrained himself carefully. One mistake against ordinary people could turn a skull into pulp.

With Vale, he did not need to worry. And, if he was honest, it felt strangely satisfying.

At last, the red haze faded from Vale’s eyes. Clarity returned, leaving him staring upward in dazed silence.

Ethan, still enjoying himself, failed to notice the change.

"Okay, okay, that’s enough!"

Brock hurried forward and grabbed Ethan’s arm. Ethan’s head snapped toward him and for a single heartbeat, Brock froze.

The gaze that met his felt wild and predatory, like standing too close to something that existed higher on the food chain. Cold fear crawled up his spine, and his hand released Ethan instinctively as he stepped back.

Then the feeling vanished.

Ethan stood, stepping off Vale as if nothing unusual had happened. He casually clapped Brock on the shoulder while passing him and walked straight toward Hayes.

"Let me."

He crouched beside Riley.

She trembled uncontrollably, sweat soaking her clothes, her complexion drained of all color.

"You?" Hayes frowned. "You know what’s wrong with her?"

She had just watched him physically overpower Vale, but that hardly qualified him as a healer. Hayes herself was the clan’s medicine woman, and even she could do nothing. Injuries of this level normally required Riley’s father to intervene personally.

"Soul trauma," Ethan said quietly, touching his forehead. "If she hadn’t panicked when I struck her, if the illusion hadn’t collapsed... she would’ve died instantly."

A white vortex began spinning at the center of his brow. A thread of visible soul energy emerged, luminous and unmistakable, drifting toward Riley’s forehead.

Ginger tightened her grip on Hayes’ arm. "Am I imagining things? That’s... soul energy?"

Onyx’s whisper barely carried. "A soul wielder. And stronger than the high shaman. That’s how we escaped the formation. He broke it."

His eyes never left Ethan.

Ethan guided the strand of energy carefully into Riley’s mind.

The moment the illusion shattered earlier, he had understood their situation. Riley had never intended to kill them. If she truly wished it, she could have led them off a cliff with ease. Instead, she had stalled them, trapped them somewhere inconvenient but survivable.

He had even glimpsed her expression before striking her. A guilty child caught stealing sweets, mischievous rather than murderous.

That was why he pulled the punch. Even so, he had hurt her far more than intended.

Now he saw the damage clearly.

Her Gate of Ascension was fractured, cracks spreading across its structure like shattered glass. Soul energy leaked endlessly through the fissures, bleeding her existence away.

There was only one solution.

He would take control of her Gate as if it were his own and use both their energies to seal it.

Ethan pushed his consciousness forward.

Normally, entering another person’s Gate required permission. Forcing entry almost always ended in madness or death. At best, the victim lost their sanity. More often, their head simply exploded under the strain.

That was why his Soul Reading technique left so many minds broken.

But Riley’s Gate was already shattered. Openings existed everywhere. His consciousness slipped through one of the cracks without resistance.

Inside, he found a tiny figure scrambling desperately, trying to gather escaping strands of soul energy with frantic, helpless movements.

She noticed him immediately.

"You! I recognize your energy. You did this to me! I’ll destroy you!"

Her miniature form charged.

Ethan stepped aside calmly. "Do you want to live or die?"

She was fading even as she glared at him, fury blazing brighter than her weakening existence.

"Live? Like this? Fine. Then I’ll take you down with me."

Her form began to swell violently.

’She’s completely insane.’

"Listen," Ethan said quickly. "That was an accident. You ambushed us with an illusion, I reacted. I’m Hayes’ friend. I can fix this. Or you can blow yourself up and achieve absolutely nothing."

He spoke fast, confidence masking uncertainty. Truthfully, he had no idea whether her self-destruction would harm him, but hesitation now would kill them both.

She paused.

"Hayes’ friend... I saw you earlier. Where are you from?"

The swelling stopped.

"Questions later," Ethan said. "I need control of your Gate to repair it. No resistance, can you do that?"

It was an enormous request. Allowing him access meant trusting him with her very existence. He could erase her with a thought.

"Okay."

She replied with no hesitation and her form dissolved instantly.

Ethan’s consciousness expanded, taking control of the damaged Gate. Outside, his physical body poured soul energy steadily into Riley’s forehead.

Energy surged inward, reversing the leak and forcing the escaping essence back into place.

He concentrated.

’Soul Technique...’

Light erupted within the Gate. His soul energy spread across the fractures like molten glass sealing broken stone, binding the cracks together piece by piece.

He had never attempted anything like this before.

He had underestimated the extent of the damage.

His reserves began to drain rapidly. Nearly a tenth of his energy vanished, yet the repair remained incomplete.

Ethan clenched his teeth and pushed harder.

More energy flowed.

Slowly, a thin membrane of soul power formed around Riley’s Gate, stabilizing it just enough to hold everything together.