Chapter 3 — Rumors in the Town
Jenny held the doorknob. She had clearly turned it down, yet the door refused to open, which left her puzzled.
"Ivan, are you inside?"
"Yes, I am."
"Are you okay? Did you lock the door from the inside?"
"Yes, I'm fine, Mom. I'll be done cleaning up in just a moment."
Inside the room, Ivan pressed his palm toward the door. A faint glow radiated from his body, and his plaid shirt fluttered without any wind.
The door wasn't locked. He was using his psychic energy to control it, making it as immovable as a rock—no one could force their way in.
"Ivan, you're acting very strange today," Jenny said from outside the door.
"Aren't I a little strange every day?" Ivan replied. "Mom, don't worry about me."
"Oh… alright then. Once you're done, get some rest early," Jenny said helplessly. She couldn't understand why her son was so different from other children, always surrounded by odd incidents.
But after all these years, she had long since come to terms with it. As long as Ivan was safe, that was all that mattered.
"So cool." Ivan withdrew his psychic energy, and the fluttering plaid shirt settled down.
How did I not notice this earlier?
I'm a superpower user! ✪ω✪
"I thought fate giving me a second life—letting me experience a life without illness—was already my greatest happiness."
Ivan looked at his palm. Several blue points of light floated above it, like tiny blue fireflies.
He recalled something a nurse from his previous life had once told him.
'If you don't complain about fate, you'll be blessed by it.'
'Every kind child who dies under the torment of illness becomes a fortunate soul. In their next life, they will be the happiest person.'
oToTo… I really have become a happy person. Thank you.
Blue light burst forth from Ivan's entire body. The scattered objects in the room were lifted once more by psychic energy. The shattered picture frames were pieced back together, the upright bed settled firmly into place, and everything returned to its original position under the glow of azure light.
Ivan finished tidying up.
It took seven seconds.
The next morning, Ivan stretched lazily. He felt his body brimming with psychic power, as if he had an endless supply of energy.
It took him three seconds to get fully dressed. After washing up, he went downstairs and heard people talking outside.
In the yard, Richard was sitting with a middle-aged woman, discussing something.
"You're sure this is my house?" Richard asked uncertainly, staring at the photo in his hand.
The photo showed a two-story house floating in midair—his house.
"Absolutely! I saw it with my own eyes, and I took this photo myself! There's no mistake. I wasn't dreaming—this was a miracle!"
The woman spoke animatedly. Ivan recognized her—she was their neighbor, Cammy.
"It does look like my house, but that's impossible. Nothing happened last night. We slept just fine," Richard scratched his head. "You edited this with software, didn't you?"
"Why would I lie to you? What would I gain from it? Forget it—if you don't believe me, someone else will."
Not long after the woman left, the mayor arrived. From a distance, he called out as soon as he saw Richard.
"Richard! I heard your house ascended to the heavens last night?"
The mayor was an elderly man with a full head of white hair, yet he was in robust health, his voice loud and energetic.
"Who said that? Cammy?"
"I heard it from Sean. He even took photos with his phone," the mayor said as he walked into the yard with his hands clasped behind his back. He looked at Richard, then at Ivan standing in the doorway. "So… it's not true?"
"Of course it's not true. The house is perfectly fine—how could it possibly ascend? You believe this too, Mayor?"
Richard felt extremely uncomfortable. Early in the morning, neighbors kept telling him that his house had taken flight. He had no idea who was spreading such a ridiculous rumor.
He only wanted to say to the rumor-monger: You're the one who took flight—your whole family took flight!
"Alright. I also think it might just be a rumor. But the newspaper's already out," the mayor said. "Here—this is the Town Daily."
He brought his hands forward, revealing a newspaper.
Richard took it and looked—and his heart sank. The paper only had a few news items in total, and the largest headline read:
"Miracle! The Jones Family of Three Ascends to the Heavens! Shocking!"
There was even a color photo printed below, showing the house suspended in midair. The angle was different from Cammy's photo, clearly taken by someone else.
"Shocking my ass!"
If the mayor hadn't been standing right there, Richard might have torn the paper to shreds on the spot.
"Mayor, can you ask the town newspaper to stop publishing any news about my family? This is clearly someone trying to mess with us. It's a rumor," Richard said.
"Uh… if it were definitely a rumor, I could step in. But the problem is, we don't have proof that it is a rumor," the mayor replied slowly.
"What do you mean? Isn't this obvious? Our house can't possibly ascend—doesn't that alone prove it's a rumor?"
"Well… if there's nothing else, I'll be heading back. I still have things to take care of," the mayor said, changing the subject and turning to leave.
"What happened…?"
Ivan stood at the doorway. Behind him came Jessica's soft voice.
"Oh, you're awake. There are some unpleasant rumors going around town," Ivan explained weakly. In the entire household, only he knew this wasn't a rumor at all—it was true.
Only then did Richard notice that both kids were already up.
"Oh, you're both awake. Alright, I'll make breakfast."
"Thanks, Dad," Ivan said with a smile.
"By the way—what were you up to last night? With that kind of noise, I don't believe it was just a cup falling."
"Sorry… I rolled off the bed in my sleep."
"Oh my God. Be more careful next time—did you hit your head?" Richard asked worriedly.
"No."
"You silly kid."
While eating breakfast, Ivan began thinking about the future.
He knew this was an extraordinary world. It wasn't just him—many things in this world were unusual.
The town's weekly and monthly papers often reported major events from outside, and through them, Ivan had learned that this world had a weapons merchant named Tony Stark.
That meant the world he was in was, in all likelihood, the Marvel Universe.
A world that was far too dangerous.
Ivan had once believed that the best way to avoid danger was to spend his entire life with his family in this obscure little town, becoming a simple ranch owner.
He had watched Marvel movies. He stopped at the moment when Thanos snapped his fingers and wiped out half the life in the universe. Although Avengers 4 was released later, Ivan had been bedridden with organ failure at the time, constantly on IV drips, and never had the chance to see it.
Having only watched Avengers 3, he knew that at some point, half of all life in the world would perish. He and his family were no exception—each of them had a fifty-percent chance of disappearing.
But there was nothing he could do. All he could do was gamble—gamble that when the time came, no one would be taken from him.
Now, things were different.
He could feel the abundant psychic energy within his body—power that seemed capable of illuminating the darkest despair, of turning a blood-red sky into an endless expanse of blue.
Or destroy everything.