CHAPTER 16
After the woman spoke the name St. Lawrence, Ethan and Ivan exchanged a brief look. Then Ethan turned back to her.
"Can we rest at your place for a while?" he asked. "We need time to sort out a few things."
The woman glanced at her injured arm, then at her son, and quickly nodded. "Of course. After what you've done for us… please, follow me."
They walked with her through the quiet streets until they reached a house noticeably sturdier and cleaner than the others. The wood was polished, the windows clearer, and the yard neatly kept.
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Your home looks… different."
The woman smiled awkwardly. "I'm a merchant. A well-known one, actually. Business has been good these past years. But… I was unlucky enough to awaken a divine bl—" She caught herself. "Superpower. I mean superpower."
They stepped inside. The interior was even more refined — decorated shelves, woven rugs, sturdy furniture. It felt almost out of place compared to the rest of the town.
Ethan didn't sit immediately. "We need to ask you something," he said. "You said people here get their… divine blessings from a crystal. Why? Superpowers don't usually work that way. People awaken them naturally. Sometimes objects can boost or modify powers, but they don't normally give them."
Angela stared at him as if he had asked why the sky wasn't green.
"You really don't know?" she said slowly.
Ivan crossed his arms. "Pretend we're toddlers. Explain it from the beginning."
Angela nodded and took a seat.
"Long ago," she began, "everyone could awaken divine blessings naturally. But one day, the gods became dissatisfied with mankind. So they gave a single crystal to the general of the Isaac family. Since then, only the Isaac family has the right to grant divine blessings. They decide who is worthy. They decide who receives power. Even the royal family cannot force themselves into it."
Ethan and Ivan exchanged another look — this one sharper, heavier.
Ivan muttered, "So the Isaac family controls every power here…"
"And they're the only ones who know the crystal's true location," Ethan added.
Angela nodded. "Yes. They protect it."
Ethan frowned. "Interesting."
Too interesting.
Everything about it felt wrong — not just the idea of power distribution but the idea that the entire island had no natural awakenings at all. Even isolated worlds followed the rules of superpower awakening. Something — or someone — was interfering with that rule.
And the Isaac family was in the middle of it.
Ethan stretched his hand out, letting a faint glow flicker between his fingers. "We'll look into it. Tomorrow."
They rested. And by dawn, sunlight poured through the window in warm golden bars.
Ethan sat up first, stretching. "Morning."
"Morning," Ivan replied.
They cleaned up, stepped out into the hallway, and greeted their hosts.
Angela smiled. "Good morning."
Jacob gave a small, shy wave.
After a quick farewell, Ethan and Ivan stepped outside — then immediately launched into the air, streaking upward before angling toward the largest estate on the horizon.
The Isaac family manor.
The moment they crossed the perimeter, both of them stopped mid-air.
Their expressions changed instantly.
"…Did your power just drop?" Ivan asked sharply.
"Yes," Ethan said. "Yours too?"
Ivan nodded. "It's weaker. Not by much — but enough that I can feel it."
That was alarming. Nothing in the Outer Zone should ever be able to decrease the power of an Inner Zone being. It was supposed to be impossible.
They descended quietly and activated their invisibility. Their bodies shifted into a semi-transparent form — not perfect invisibility, but enough to slip past casual glances.
Moving through the manor, they examined room after room, checking corridors, ceilings, floors, and door frames. They listened in on servants' conversations:
"Did the Isaac heir return yet?"
"No, he's still with the elders."
"They say the crystal is glowing again."
Nothing useful. Nothing concrete. Nothing that explained the power drop.
Eventually, Ivan whispered, "We're wasting time. Let's head back."
But just as they turned, both of them froze.
A faint sound — more like a frequency than noise — pulsed through their ears. A rhythm. A vibration. Soft but distinct.
"You feel that?" Ethan asked.
"Yes. This way."
They followed the strange rhythm to a section of the manor's library — but the wall in front of them was solid, smooth, featureless.
Ivan placed his hand on it, then tried phasing through.
Nothing happened.
His hand bounced off.
Ivan's expression hardened. "Impossible."
Ethan attempted the same.
Still nothing.
A wall that inner Zone beings couldn't pass through? That was far beyond strange.
They stepped back, scanning the shelves, and Ivan absent-mindedly pulled a book at random.
Click.
The book slid forward an inch — then stopped, locked in place.
A rumble spread through the wall.
The entire section split apart, sliding open to reveal a dark passage leading deeper into the manor.
Ethan nodded once.
"We found it."