Chapter 365: Fucked-Up Family

"Phantom, can you not cause trouble for once?"

Victor’s voice carried the same calm authority it had throughout the meeting. He had instructed Phantom to show up when he gave the signal, but he certainly hadn’t told him to appear in the form of a little girl.

Phantom laughed.

"I just wanted to give him a surprise and prank him a little."

He then turned toward Ethan with a grin.

"What’s up, bro?"

Ethan was still reeling slightly from all the revelations and stared at the man who, despite everything, did somewhat resemble him.

"You’re not my brother, asshole. And how do I even know if that’s your real face?"

The man simply shrugged.

"You don’t. Hahaha!"

He laughed like he had just delivered the funniest joke in the world.

’This guy’s fucking crazy.’

And he didn’t seem capable of going more than a few seconds without joking about something.

’What are the odds that he’s my dad, and my dad and my brother are both Titled too? I thought even two Titled in a single family was super rare, and yet here the three of us are.’

Ethan had always considered himself unlucky-lucky, and this was the perfect example of that.

But even he had to admit.

’This is getting ridiculous. It’s like I’m the main character of some stupid novel.’

And aside from the absurdity of it all, if everything Victor had shown him was true...

’This is one fucked-up family.’

A family Ethan was increasingly leaning toward culling entirely.

Unfortunately, doing that seemed even more difficult now.

He had already sensed a fraction of the Cyclops’ power, and he still had no idea what Phantom was capable of. Killing either of them wasn’t something Ethan could casually attempt without knowing what he was getting himself into.

For now, he decided to humour them and see where this went.

"You’ve got some strong genetics," Ethan said to Victor.

Looking at the two of them, it was hard to deny.

Assuming Phantom really was Ethan’s half-brother, the resemblance was almost eerie.

Victor had an extremely cold exterior, which made sense considering the life Ethan had witnessed through Victor’s memories. His supposed brother, meanwhile, was almost the complete opposite. He was loud, playful, unpredictable, and seemingly incapable of taking anything seriously.

Ethan found himself somewhere between the two of them, both in personality and appearance.

"So who’s your mom? Another of his..."

"Whores?" Phantom finished for him when Ethan hesitated.

"Yup," he then confirmed casually.

Ethan didn’t exactly take kindly to his deceased mother being referred to that way, but he decided not to start an argument over it.

There were already enough things to deal with.

"Anyway, what’s your name?"

"Nathan," the man replied. "But most people call me Nate."

Ethan glanced toward Victor, who remained as stoic as ever.

’Definitely not a shitty copy of my name.’

"Who’s most people?" Ethan asked.

Nate laughed.

"Um, no one. Pops calls me Phantom, but you can be the first."

The man clearly had a screw loose, but Ethan didn’t mind him as much as he probably should have. He and the people around him were crazy enough that this somehow felt relatively normal. Still, Ethan could only imagine what kind of life Phantom had lived to turn out like this.

"Sure. I’ll call you Nate."

Ethan extended his hand, the gesture almost deliberate. He had refused Victor’s handshake earlier, so shaking Nate’s hand now felt like a small way of spitefully reminding Victor of that fact.

Nate eagerly grabbed his hand and shook it.

"I’ve got a fucking brother! I never imagined this."

He practically bounced with excitement.

"Before, when I was watching you, it was because Dad forced me to. He’s pretty scary sometimes and treats me like another one of his underlings. But if I’d known you were my brother earlier-"

Nate’s excitement was almost infectious.

Almost.

Ethan still remained uneasy around him.

There was something dangerous beneath Nate’s playful exterior, an instinct that told Ethan this man was far more capable than he acted. And after the distasteful prank he’d just pulled, Ethan certainly didn’t see them becoming the closest of friends, at least not anytime soon.

Then Nate brought up something that made Ethan’s heart skip a beat.

"I transformed into your daughter just now, but she’s real."

Ethan grabbed him by the shirt.

"Where is she?!"

Even Ethan hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from himself.

His body had practically moved on its own.

"Easy, bro."

Nate calmly pushed Ethan’s arms away.

"I even helped take care of them, just like the Boss instructed. They’re both safe. She’s with her mother, Jessica, somewhere. Maybe at home, maybe at the mall or something."

Ethan stepped back.

He stared at Nate for a moment before looking toward Victor.

"And... you’re sure she’s my daughter?"

Both men nodded.

"Already done a DNA test," Victor stated calmly. "As I did with the two of you."

He said it as though testing the paternity of his son and introducing himself to his long-lost child two and a half decades late were perfectly normal things to do.

Ethan rubbed his face.

"Okay. I’ll go see her at some point. But why did you bring me here?"

That part still didn’t make sense to him.

He understood wanting to potentially make amends or meet a long-lost son, but why now? Why hadn’t Victor approached him immediately after his release from prison?

Then again, Ethan couldn’t exactly blame him for hesitating.

If the roles were reversed, he probably wouldn’t have approached either.

"I just wanted to introduce myself to you, son," Victor said. "And to your brother. I also wanted to see the empire you’re now a part of."

"Empire?"

Ethan snorted.

"Should I just work for Crowe Inc. now and sell you my soul? That’s not how it works."

"I wouldn’t expect that."

Victor paused before continuing.

"But just know that in the face of your mother, the Cyclops may lend you a hand if you ever need it."

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"So, not in my face? The face of your supposed son?"

Victor simply stared at him for a moment before a faint smile appeared.

"As you wish."

Ethan wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

’This shit is all fucking crazy.’

The Cyclops had gone from being at the very top of his potential enemy list to being a potential ally, and somehow was also his father. He had no idea what the hell his life was anymore, and at this rate, nothing was impossible.

"I’ll take it," Ethan said. "We can continue this talk another time."

With that, Ethan turned around.

He had far too much to digest, and more than anything, he wanted somewhere he could clear his head.

"Wait up, bro!"

Nate quickly followed after him.

"Where you going now?"

"To a place only I can go to."

That wasn’t a lie.

There was only one place Ethan had in mind where he could freely let loose, forget about the mess that was his life, and clear his head.

The Tower Of Beasts...