Beyond Reality : the beginning of the end : Ethan path

Ethan woke up the next morning feeling as though his body was demanding an entire day of sleep.

He opened his eyes with difficulty and spent a few moments staring at the ceiling, trying to remember where the previous night had ended.

The auction.

Adrian.

The speed.

The alley.

Then the journey home, which had somehow felt much longer than it should have.

He finally got up, put on his coat, and picked up the black card from his desk.

He stopped at the door and looked at it.

A card that gave him access to practically unlimited money.

He thought about it for a moment.

If money was no longer a problem...

Why was he still working as a private detective?

He couldn't find an immediate answer.

But he wasn't ready to abandon his job that easily either.

Investigating was the only thing he knew how to do before entering this strange world.

He left his apartment.

Instead of heading straight to his office, he decided to have breakfast first.

He entered a small café tucked away in one of the alleys he often visited.

He chose a table near the window, ordered a black coffee and a plate of pancakes, then opened the morning newspaper.

He needed something normal.

Anything that had nothing to do with elves, magic, or watches that could stop time.

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His breakfast arrived.

Ethan took a sip of his coffee and placed the cup back on the table.

Then he began reading.

A political story.

A traffic accident.

An economic problem.

Normal things.

He smiled faintly.

Maybe he could still live a normal life after all.

He reached for his coffee again.

His fingers stopped in midair.

They couldn't find the cup.

He lowered the newspaper slightly.

The table was empty.

No coffee.

No pancakes.

Slowly, he raised his eyes.

Trevor Anderson was sitting across from him.

He was calmly drinking Ethan's coffee.

In his other hand was a piece of pancake.

Ethan stared at him for several seconds.

Trevor didn't seem to care.

"I have a few questions for you."

Ethan kept staring at him.

Then he said:

"My breakfast."

Trevor took another sip.

"What?"

"My breakfast."

"Oh."

He continued eating.

"I wanted to ask you about the auction."

"Hey... my breakfast."

"I heard you chose a book as your weapon."

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"Hey!"

Trevor didn't stop.

"Out of all the weapons available, you chose a book."

"Because I can use it."

"And that's exactly what I want to know."

Trevor cut another piece of pancake.

"Have you tested its power?"

"No, because someone decided to steal my breakfast."

"You can eat later."

Ethan looked at the plate.

There were only a few crumbs left.

"You're eating it right now!"

"That's true."

Trevor looked up at him.

"Why don't you come with me and test it?"

"Where?"

"Somewhere empty."

He pointed toward the book Ethan was carrying.

"You won't know whether it's right for you until you actually use it."

Ethan looked at his plate.

Then at Trevor.

"Hey! My breakfast!"

Trevor continued eating.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"You bastard, you ate all of it!"

Trevor didn't answer.

He placed the fork down.

Then he took out his pocket watch.

Ethan immediately realized what was about to happen.

"Wait. What are you doing?"

Trevor opened the watch.

The world stopped.

The sounds of the café disappeared.

The people behind Ethan froze in place.

Even the steam rising from a nearby coffee cup remained suspended in the air.

Ethan looked around.

"I'm still not used to this."

Trevor stepped closer.

"It won't take long."

He reached out his hand.

The next moment, the café was gone.

Ethan felt as though the space around him had folded in on itself.

Then time resumed.

He opened his eyes.

He was standing inside a massive warehouse.

It was completely empty.

Metal walls.

A wide floor.

No one else around them.

Ethan looked at Trevor.

"Where are we?"

"Somewhere no one can hear us."

Trevor pointed at the book.

"Now open it."

Ethan slowly took out the book.

The cover was old, and the symbols carved into it belonged to no language he recognized.

He ran his fingers across them.

A faint sensation traveled through his fingertips.

He looked at Trevor.

"Are you sure this is going to be my weapon?"

"No."

"What?"

"I told you. The weapon chooses its owner."

Trevor stepped in front of him.

"Open it."

Ethan opened the cover.

The first page was completely blank.

No words.

No symbols.

Nothing.

Ethan frowned.

"Looks like I bought an empty book."

"Maybe."

"That's very reassuring."

Ethan reached for the next page.

The moment his fingers touched it...

The first word appeared.

His expression changed.

The word wasn't written in ink.

It was forming right before his eyes.

As if the book itself had begun writing.

Trevor stared at it in silence.

Ethan still didn't understand what it meant.

But his intuition...

Had already begun to work.

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