Chapter 455: Dormant

Elara placed a hand against Ethan’s arm.

"Ethan? Can you hear me?"

He didn’t respond.

She glanced at Kaela and Mark, unease tightening her chest.

"Something’s wrong. This isn’t his usual sleep training."

Kaela folded her arms, though her gaze remained fixed on Ethan.

"Looks the same to me."

"No, listen." Elara shook her head. "He just came back from the Tower. From what he’s told me, he can’t enter it twice in one day. And he is clearly fighting something in his mind, or somewhere even deeper."

Mark’s expression hardened.

"I can kinda feel it too..."

He clenched his fists.

’What the hell have you gotten yourself into this time?’

Ethan had helped him many times when he was in trouble, even when doing so meant putting himself at risk and landed him seven years in prison. Now, it was their turn, and he had no idea how to help.

"Can we do something?" Mark asked, turning towards Elara. "Your friend might know what’s happening."

Elara immediately understood who he meant.

The Blood Demon.

She hesitated before reaching inward, searching for the familiar presence residing within her consciousness. The demon’s knowledge of spiritual matters far surpassed her own. If anyone could understand what was happening to Ethan, perhaps it could.

’Come on. Just this once.’

Nothing.

Elara frowned and tried again, pushing deeper into her consciousness.

The Blood Demon remained silent.

It had been like this ever since helping stabilise Mark.

At first, Elara had been relieved, assuming that it was dormant to recover. She’d wanted nothing more than to escape its constant interference and regain some control over her own life.

But now, its silence bothered her for an entirely different reason.

The demon had always been intrusive, eccentric, and impossible to ignore. Even when it wasn’t speaking directly to her, she had been aware of its presence, its attention lurking somewhere in the depths of her mind.

Now, there was nothing.

And somehow, that felt wrong.

It wasn’t simply the absence of its voice.

The demon’s presence seemed buried beneath an unnatural stillness, as though it had withdrawn into itself and was waiting for something.

Biding its time.

Elara couldn’t explain why the thought occurred to her, but she couldn’t shake it either.

’What are you doing in there?’

For the first time, she wondered whether its dormancy was really as innocent as she’d assumed.

She slowly opened her eyes.

"I can’t reach it."

Mark’s expression darkened. "Really?"

"It hasn’t responded since it helped stabilise you."

"Great," he muttered.

’He’s right there, and we don’t even know what’s happening to him.’

The trio of Titled, who had taken on monsters and beasts that most couldn’t imagine, felt helpless. Elara turned back to Ethan and carefully brushed a strand of hair away from his forehead.

’You idiot.’

There was no real anger behind the thought, only worry.

’You always do this. You run straight into danger, and you never think about what it’ll do to the rest of us.’

Elara recalled the state he’d been in after returning from the Tower. She could only imagine what horrors he experienced every night, yet he always acted as though everything was fine.

But how many times could he keep doing that?

’Please, just wake up.’

Kaela had grown unusually quiet as well.

Mark paced around the room, occasionally stopping to check whether Ethan had moved.

Minutes dragged by.

Elara tried calling Ethan’s name again.

She checked his pulse, watched his breathing, and searched for any sign that he was aware of them.

Nothing changed.

Then, at last, Ethan stirred.

It was a small movement, barely more than a twitch of his fingers.

All three noticed immediately and rushed over.

"Ethan?" Elara leaned forward.

His brow furrowed.

His breathing changed, and his head shifted slightly, as though he were struggling to emerge from an exhausting dream.

Then, his eyes snapped open.

For several seconds, Ethan stared blankly at the ceiling.

He instinctively checked his spiritual state.

The parasite was gone, and his soul felt like his own again.

Relief washed over him.

’Thank fuck.’

Then he became aware of three faces hovering above him.

Elara looked as though she’d been holding her breath for an hour. Kaela’s expression was caught somewhere between relief and the desire to strangle him. Mark, meanwhile, looked ready to launch into a furious lecture.

Ethan blinked.

"Why are you all staring at me like that?"

There was a moment of silence, then Elara grabbed his shoulders.

"What happened?!"

Kaela immediately leaned forward.

"Yeah, what the hell was that? You had us thinking you were in a coma."

Mark pointed at him.

"And don’t even think about telling us it was nothing!"

Ethan opened his mouth.

Then closed it again.

’Shit...’

From their perspective, he’d simply shut down without warning.

Elara tightened her grip on his shoulders.

"Ethan, I could sense that something was wrong."

Her voice had softened, but the worry in her eyes remained, which made it harder for him to brush the situation aside.

He exhaled slowly before quietly saying, "I’m sorry."

That caught them off guard.

Ethan rarely apologised without trying to explain himself first.

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I ran into something unexpected while meditating. Something dangerous."

Mark’s expression immediately hardened.

"Something dangerous? What kind of something?"

Ethan hesitated.

How was he supposed to explain that a parasitic entity had been living inside his soul, quietly consuming his spiritual essence until it tried to devour his entire existence?

And that he’d somehow managed to fight it off with the help of his beasts?

’Yeah. That’ll go over well.’

He looked at Elara, who was watching him with an intensity that made it clear she wouldn’t accept a half-hearted explanation. But he couldn’t help but notice the tension in her expression even after he had regained consciousness.

"Is something else wrong?" he asked.

Elara hesitated, glancing briefly at Mark and Kaela before looking back at him.

Ethan straightened slightly.

"The Blood Demon." Her expression tightened. "It hasn’t responded to me since it helped stabilise Mark. I thought it was just dormant, but now..." She paused, searching for the right words. "I don’t know. Its silence feels wrong, almost deliberate."

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

’The demon, huh?’

One would think that was a good thing, but he understood her feeling of discomfort.

"What makes you think it’s deliberate?" he asked.

"I can’t explain it. It feels like it’s withdrawn completely and is waiting for something."

The words lingered in the air.

But none of them knew what to do with them, and so it was Ethan’s turn to explain what he had just experienced.

Mark pulled up a chair.

"Your turn."

Ethan took a slow breath, mentally preparing himself for what was sure to be a long conversation. He’d survived the parasite, but now he had to explain it to his friends.

Somehow, he wasn’t entirely sure which would be harder...