October 14, 1990.
Ethan Stark leaned back in his chair, one leg swinging lazily under the desk as though he hadn't just been through hell last night—literally. He'd tested the System's penalty zone again like a lunatic and had the claw marks and sore muscles to prove it. The stat growth was worth it, but now he was trying to look like a bored teenager who hadn't been chased through a death desert by monsters.
Midtown High didn't make it easy.
"…Stark, are you listening?"
Ethan blinked and turned toward Hope Van Dyne, who was glaring at him with her usual mix of annoyance and fondness. Her braid was sharp, her expression sharper, and Ethan decided that Hope was probably the type of girl who'd lecture a god into doing his homework.
"Of course," Ethan said smoothly. "I was just calculating the chances of you inviting me to dinner at your place. Spoiler: odds are low, but never zero."
Danny Rand laughed from two seats back, clapping Ethan on the shoulder. "You've got a death wish, man."
Hope rolled her eyes. "You wish."
"I do, in fact," Ethan replied, grinning.
The whole corner of the classroom chuckled. Ethan thrived in this role—the clown, the flirty Stark heir, the unserious younger brother of a prodigy named Tony. It was his mask, the same way he wore a smirk during fights when inside his head he was calculating angles, predicting movements, or silently reciting the countdown to his parents' deaths.
December 16th, 1991. Long Island. A Hydra assassin named Bucky Barnes.
Not this time.
The day dragged with the usual blend of lectures, gossip, and Ethan making jokes too sharp for his teachers to catch until it was too late. He managed to snag a detention for "inappropriate commentary" after loudly suggesting their history teacher was secretly a DC villain.
"What's a DC villain?" a girl asked.
Ethan just smirked. "Exactly. You'll never know."
At lunch, he sat with his usual circle—Hope, Danny, a shy girl named Mary who always carried sketchbooks (and, Ethan noticed, always blushed when he sat too close), and a couple of the soccer team guys who thought Ethan was hilarious even though he never actually played.
"So what's your excuse today?" Hope asked as Ethan winced, stretching his shoulder. "You've been stiff all morning. Did your ego finally weigh too much for your body?"
Ethan grinned. "I was chased through the desert by nightmarish monsters that wanted to devour my soul."
Danny snorted soda out his nose. "Translation: you worked out too hard."
"Ah," Ethan pointed a finger, "but you see, in every joke lies a core of truth. Maybe I really was chased by monsters. Maybe I fought them off with my bare hands."
Hope leaned in. "And maybe you just fell asleep on the bench press again."
Mary giggled softly, ducking behind her sketchbook. Ethan caught the movement, smirked, and made a show of sliding closer to peek at her doodles. "You know, Mary, if you're sketching me shirtless again, at least get the jawline right. Tony says I have the 'better Stark jawline.'"
Mary turned crimson. "I–I wasn't—"
Danny and Hope burst out laughing, and Ethan leaned back, satisfied. He enjoyed the act, the banter, the role he played here. It was normalcy. And if it also gave him a little distraction from the System whispering in the back of his mind, all the better.
That night, the city was different.
Ethan walked home through Queens, the shadows stretching a little too long under the flickering streetlights. His Sense stat—already sharper than most trained adults—caught faint vibrations in the air. Like the city itself was holding its breath.
He slowed near a corner store and glanced into the glass. For a second, his reflection wasn't his.
Instead of New York's skyline, the window showed a sky split by rivers of flame. Chains dragging across cracked earth. A horizon glowing like a furnace.
Hell.
Ethan stiffened. The Shadow Wolf materialized beside him with a growl, unprompted, hackles raised. Even Igris shimmered faintly into view, a knight's gauntlet resting on his hilt like he was waiting for Ethan's word.
"I know," Ethan whispered. "You feel it too."
When he blinked, the vision was gone. The store window reflected nothing but his smirking teenage self. But the chill stayed in his spine.
Back at the manor, warmth wrapped around him like a blanket. Maria hummed as she set the dinner table, Howard muttered something to Jarvis about propulsion tests, and Ethan leaned in the doorway, memorizing it all.
This was what he was fighting for. This moment. This family.
But his parents had no idea that in barely a year, Hydra would take it all away.
Not this time.
The System chimed suddenly, a sound like a bell only he could hear.
[Emergency Quest – Demonic Presence Detected]
Location: Queens, New York
Time Limit: 48 hours
Objective: Investigate and Eliminate the Source
Reward: ???
Penalty: Immediate Death
Ethan's heart raced. Not just dungeons. Not just monsters. Demons. Real ones. The whispers weren't hallucinations—they were warnings. The multiverse wasn't just science fiction, and Hell wasn't just a preacher's threat.
"Looks like we're not done." Ethan murmured.
Igris bowed low in silent acknowledgment. The Brute's skull-face tilted as if eager for combat, and the Wolf pressed its head against Ethan's palm, growling softly.
Ethan let his smirk return, sharp and confident. "Alright then. If Hell's sending scouts into my city, I'll send them back in pieces."
He glanced back at the dining room, where his parents were laughing about something Howard said. His chest tightened, but this time it wasn't fear—it was determination.
The countdown to December 1991 was still ticking. But now? Ethan Stark was ready to fight destiny itself.
End of Chapter 11 Status Update
Name: Ethan Stark
Level: 8
HP: 820/820
MP: 290/290
Fatigue: 12
Strength: 48
Agility: 46
Vitality: 44
Intelligence: 50
Sense: 45
Skills:
Passive:
Tenacity Lv.2
Unarmed Combat Basics Lv.3
Active:
Arise Lv.1
Shadow Storage Lv.2
Shadow Storage (6/10):
Igris [Lv.7 | Rank: Knight]
Skeletal Brute [Lv.5 | Rank: Normal]
Lesser Goblin Soldier ×2 [Lv.4 | Rank: Normal]
Shadow Wolf [Lv.3 | Rank: Beast]
Newly-Risen [Lv.2 | Rank: Normal]
Quest Active: [Emergency Quest – Demonic Presence in Queens]Time Left: 47h 12m