---
Chapter Five: The Gate of Blood and Fire
He carried her in his arms as if bearing the weight of his own penance…
Iris… his sister… unconscious, and nearly consumed twice by the flames of fate—in two lives.
His face was pale, his eyes glowed with a calm light that betrayed the storm raging within.
He vanished from the academy grounds through a void gate, leaving behind the ruins of battle and frozen blood.
But his heart… had already decided to rewrite destiny with his own hands.
---
He took Iris to a safe place—an ancient cave woven between the folds of time and space, existing only in Ethan's mind.
He gently laid her down on a bed made of pure void energy, then turned his back.
"Stay safe, Iris… I was too late before, but not this time."
A sudden scream shattered the stillness of the cave…
A scream in his mind, not in reality.
He had returned.
Returned to the academy…
---
He opened a void gate in the academy courtyard.
The air was thick with ash and blood, the sky torn apart by rising tongues of flame.
The screams of mutated beasts were the melody of ruin, but Ethan heard only the pounding of his heart.
Those monsters who had survived Iris's freezing power now roared, moved, hunted.
Unfortunate for them… they stood at the eye of a void storm.
He raised his hand…
Fingers cloaked in a silver-black aura, and then—
Boom!
The ground erupted, the sky split open, and a hellish rain of void-laced spears, forged in wrath, shredded the creatures one by one.
He left no survivors.
When the dust finally settled, he stood alone in a sea of disfigured corpses.
But somewhere… beyond the walls, down the corridors… madness crept closer.
---
"Steps toward the future… you're already here,"
He muttered in a raspy voice, eyes locked on a point only he could see.
This wasn't coincidence.
The tampering with Iris's past and present wasn't the work of strangers… No.
The hands pulling the strings began right here—inside the academy.
He had to find out who.
Then he invoked one of the most complex void techniques: The Eye of Nothingness.
Dozens of spectral eyes appeared around his head, each observing a different temporal thread, analyzing, watching.
And then he saw him.
He saw them.
Familiar faces from the academy's inner administration… whispering to those who should not have been there…
Agents of Steps Toward the Future.
"You're the ones who manipulate gifts… the ones who nearly stole my sister's life."
---
He didn't need time to think…
He opened a gate behind one of the administrators.
His hand shot out like lightning, grabbing the man by the throat and dragging him through the gate.
"Where is the high council?! Who gave the orders?!"
He roared like a wild beast.
The man gasped for air, but his face still dripped with arrogance.
"You're just a boy… You wouldn't dare kill me. You're just a child playing with fire."
Ethan smirked coldly, then said:
"I didn't come to threaten…"
He raised his left hand, and finished:
"…I came to execute."
A muffled explosion erupted inside the man's head, and it burst like a doll smashed by a furious child.
---
Rummaging through the corpse's pocket, Ethan found a coded map.
With a touch of his void consciousness, he decrypted it instantly and located the high council.
He opened a new gate, stepped through…
But the moment his feet hit the ground—
They smiled.
A chilling, demonic grin from the council. Behind them, iron doors creaked open…
And through them came new men… faceless figures in suits fused with advanced tech.
"Steps Toward the Future… in person,"
Ethan muttered, gripping his spear.
The battle began immediately.
A void gate here, a time fissure there, strikes that carved through flesh—
But they were many.
They fired bullets designed to counter abilities, launched aura-seeking explosives.
Ethan weaved between them with void teleportation, slashing, burning, freezing—
But then, one of them appeared…
A man unlike the rest.
He hovered midair, his eyes glowing with dark violet light.
His very presence made Ethan's spear tremble.
Ethan tried to summon the full force of the void—but couldn't maintain control.
"Damn it… am I… too weak to fight them?!"
He dropped to his knees for a moment, then rose slowly, screaming in rage:
"I'll tear you all apart!!"
He slaughtered them one by one… until the place was filled with mangled remains.
And then—
A face appeared in the sky.
Every academy screen lit up.
A man… with a face too handsome to be real, eyes like blades, and a smile that felt like a mocking slap.
He said:
> "Oh… the Sixth. I didn't expect you to get here so fast."
"Three days since you awoke… and you think you've understood anything?"
Ethan shouted:
"Who are you?!"
The man replied:
> "I am the ruler of this planet. The bearer of Time. No one… stands against me."
"But don't worry—I won't kill you yet.
You're still… far too young, and far too weak."
He laughed, a sound that cracked the air…
Ethan screamed, shattered all the screens in a hysterical rage—until one exploded in his face.
He opened a gate and fled immediately.
---
He returned to the cave.
Iris was still asleep, breathing shallowly.
He sat beside her and began extracting the parasite feeding on her memories—
A technique he'd learned from an old friend… in a life where everything had already died.
A blue void energy danced like a tranquil waterfall.
Minutes later, Iris took a deep breath…
And opened her eyes.
"Ethan…? What's happening? Where am I?"
He smiled and said:
"The world you once knew… is gone."
---
He explained everything.
The zombies, the beasts, the end of the world…
And that she was a Mirror.
She asked him:
"Mirror? What does that even mean?"
He replied:
"A Mirror is someone who fights for this world.
Someone who stands against annihilation.
Someone who wields their power like a blade—not a decoration."
She was quiet for a moment, then asked:
"Am I… strong?"
He answered with a smile:
"You're SS-rank… Stronger than 99% of humanity."
---
Then her training began.
And with every move… she blew something up.
Ethan chuckled inwardly:
"What a stubborn sister… She'll surpass me in no time."
---
Afterward, he entered a deep meditation.
And the realm of imaginary void opened before him.
There… in the center of his mind, an old man awaited.
The old man said:
"You're evolving fast, but still a child compared to the others."
"Who are they?" Ethan asked.
"The Six Sovereigns… bearers of the legendary powers."
Their names:
Void
Time
Red Shadows
Grace
Light
Absorption
The old man continued:
"The one who gathers them all… is born of Rank Z. Just like the Emperor… the Lord of Ruin."
Ethan was in awe, then declared:
"I will collect them all."
The old man laughed:
"With your current power? You can barely keep up with an SS.
Let alone the Legendary."
Then he concluded:
"But… when you reach the edge—
I'll send you to my friend.
There… you will become a monster unstoppable."
Ethan smiled and said:
"Then let's begin."