The Masked Virtuoso-Chapter 69: The Riftborn’s Return

The Weight of Truth

Ethan’s mind reeled.

A fragment of God?

The Rift. The artifacts. The wars. The suffering. All of it—caused by something divine.

His fists clenched as he stared at the massive, pulsing black crystal floating in the void before him. He could feel it now—something ancient, something powerful, something beyond mortal understanding.

And yet—it was part of him.

Dr. Harrow sighed, rubbing his temples. "Yeah, kid. I know it’s a lot."

Ethan exhaled sharply. "So, let me get this straight—" He pointed at the Shard. "That thing? It’s literally a piece of God?"

Dr. Harrow nodded. "Yep."

Ethan scowled. "And I’ve been carrying a part of God inside me this whole time?"

"Pretty much."

Ethan ran a hand down his face. "Of course. Why wouldn’t that be a thing?"

Dr. Harrow smirked. "Honestly, I was wondering when you’d figure it out."

Ethan turned back toward the Shard, his golden-shadow aura flickering around him.

A fragment of God’s power...

Was that why the Death Sea Scroll failed?

Because the power of death itself came from this Shard?

Dr. Harrow crossed his arms. "So. You ready to go back?"

Ethan looked at him. "Just like that?"

Harrow shook his head. "Not quite. I have one last thing to tell you."

Ethan narrowed his eyes. "What?"

Dr. Harrow’s smirk faded. His voice became serious. "The Council Leader still doesn’t understand what he just did."

Ethan tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

Dr. Harrow took a deep breath. "He thinks he won. He thinks you’re dead. But he has no idea... that by using the Death Sea Scroll on you—"

"He just made you invincible."

Ethan’s eyes widened. What?

Dr. Harrow gestured at the Shard. "You already figured it out, right? The artifacts, the Scroll, the Rift—they all come from the same source."

Ethan exhaled slowly. "The Obsidian Shard."

Harrow nodded. "Exactly. And guess what, kid? If the Death Sea Scroll is powered by the Shard—"

Ethan’s golden eyes burned with realization.

"Then it can’t kill me."

---

Dr. Harrow’s Secret & Mia’s Past

Ethan was about to leave—but paused.

Something had been bothering him for a while.

He turned back to Dr. Harrow. "Oh, one last thing."

Harrow raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

Ethan crossed his arms. "What’s your relationship with Mia?"

For the first time since their conversation started—Dr. Harrow’s expression changed.

His usual smirk vanished. His eyes, sharp and calculating, turned numb.

A silence stretched between them.

Then, in a quiet voice—

"She’s my daughter."

Ethan wasn’t shocked. He simply nodded. "Yeah, figured."

Dr. Harrow blinked. "...You’re not surprised?"

Ethan shrugged. "I mean, come on. This is exactly the kind of dramatic twist our story needed."

Dr. Harrow exhaled, shaking his head. "Damn kid."

Ethan’s amusement faded. "What happened?"

For a moment—Dr. Harrow hesitated.

Then, he sighed.

Flashback Begins.

---

Dr. Harrow’s POV: The Night Everything Fell Apart

He remembered the bloodstained lab.

The alarms blaring. The Rift energy rupturing through reality.

And his best friend betraying him.

"Harrow, you don’t understand. The power in this Shard... it’s beyond us. We can become something greater."

Dr. Harrow had stood over his dying colleagues, gripping the Obsidian Shard in his hands. He could feel its pulse, the raw, unfiltered energy that could reshape the world.

But it was never meant for them.

And his daughter—Mia—was in the room.

A small girl, no older than five, standing in the chaos, her eyes wide with fear.

His best friend lunged at him, screaming.

Dr. Harrow acted on instinct.

The knife plunged into his chest.

The pain was instant.

But he didn’t hesitate.

With his last ounce of strength, he grabbed Mia—

And ran.

---

He found a hidden passage—a backdoor leading out of the facility.

The Obsidian Shard burned against his palm.

Mia was crying, her tiny hands gripping his shirt. "Daddy, what’s happening?"

Dr. Harrow knelt in front of her, his breath ragged. "Mia, listen to me."

He wiped the blood from his face.

"I need you to be strong."

Mia shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I don’t want to go!"

Dr. Harrow’s chest tightened. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

He pressed a small pendant into her hands. A gift from her mother.

He smiled. "I love you, Mia."

Then—

He sealed the door.

And never saw her again.

---

Back to the Present

Ethan stayed silent.

Dr. Harrow exhaled heavily, running a hand through his hair.

"I thought I was protecting her. I thought if she never got involved, she’d be safe."

Ethan muttered, "Yeah, well... fate had other plans."

Dr. Harrow let out a dry laugh. "Tell me about it."

Ethan studied him. "You regret it?"

Dr. Harrow looked at him.

"Every damn day."

A long silence passed.

Then—Ethan smirked. "Well, I guess you get a second chance."

Dr. Harrow raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Ethan cracked his knuckles. "Yeah. Because I’m about to bring her back."

And with that—he stepped into the light.

---

The Return of the Godslayer

The battlefield was dead.

A graveyard of heroes and traitors alike.

The bodies of Ethan’s team—**Mia, Orion, Kieran, Nefera, Selene—**lay motionless across the ruins, the echoes of their last breaths fading into the wind.

The Death Sea Scroll had ended them without struggle. Without warning. Without mercy.

Above it all, standing like a god surveying his conquest, was the Council Leader.

His long cloak fluttered in the broken wind. His fingers tapped against the ancient scroll still pulsing with cursed energy.

He exhaled slowly, as if bored.

"Is this truly all fate had to offer?"

His gaze swept across the destruction, pausing briefly at Ethan’s lifeless body.

A smirk curled across his lips.

Victory.

Absolute.

Undeniable.

Permanent.

Then—

A heartbeat.

A single, echoing pulse of energy rippled through the battlefield.

The Council Leader froze.

The air grew heavy—thick with something unnatural, ancient, unrelenting.

A vibration in the very core of existence itself.

A sound that should not exist.

A heartbeat that should not be beating.

The ground cracked.

The sky split open.

And then—

The world roared.

The Impossible Revival

BOOM.

A golden-black eruption of power exploded from Ethan’s body, splitting the battlefield apart.

The Council Leader staggered back, his smirk twisting into an expression of genuine disbelief.

"No."

The shockwave of energy sent cracks racing across the ground, twisting reality itself. The sky, once shrouded in the Rift’s eternal chaos, flared with golden flames.

The Council Leader’s voice shook for the first time.

"Impossible."

A hand moved.

Then—

A breath.

Then—

A golden gaze snapped open.

Ethan Cross stood.

His body, once still, once claimed by death, rose.

Not weak.

Not uncertain.

But with the weight of a Godslayer.

His golden-shadow aura surged violently, flickering like a dying star—then stabilizing into something unbreakable.

His fingers curled into a fist.

His presence alone sent cracks spiraling across reality, bending the rules of existence itself.

He exhaled once—and the battlefield trembled.

Then, he spoke.

"Miss me?"

The Council Leader’s Horror

The Council Leader’s throat tightened.

The Death Sea Scroll had erased him. Obliterated him from existence.

And yet—

He was here.

Not a ghost.

Not a fragment.

But whole.

Alive.

And stronger.

A low, eerie chuckle slipped from Ethan’s lips as he rolled his shoulders, golden energy flickering at his fingertips.

"What’s wrong?" His voice was dangerous, almost amused. "You look like you’ve seen a ghost."

The Council Leader gritted his teeth. "You were dead."

Ethan smirked. "Yeah. About that."

The air shifted.

The Death Sea Scroll in the Council Leader’s grip trembled—not by his will.

But by something greater.

Ethan raised a hand.

The artifact twitched violently.

Then—

It ripped itself free from the Council Leader’s grasp, soaring through the air—straight into Ethan’s waiting palm.

The Council Leader’s eyes widened in horror.

"No—"

Ethan crushed it.

The scroll, once an artifact of absolute death, crumbled into dust in his grip, its power collapsing into nothingness.

The sky flashed, as if reality itself had been rewritten.

Ethan turned his golden gaze toward the Council Leader.

And smiled.

"Your turn."

---

To Be Continued...