Chapter 1429: Tell Me Your Story

Ethan was hiding inside one of the clouds.

He looked down at Silas, arms spread wide. White arcs of electricity sprang from his fingertips and spread across his shoulders and wings. Each bolt twisted into a different shape, but all of them pointed toward the same target below.

The lightning turned the cloud pure white.

"Receive grace!"

Ethan thrust both hands down.

The white lightning stored within the cloud came crashing out.

Silas vanished beneath the barrage. The sword fragments searching for Ethan were the first to be hit. White arcs punched through their centers and blasted them into fine dust.

By the time Silas looked up, it was too late to dodge.

The lightning pierced his golden shield with ease and struck through his shoulders. Violent currents tore through every inch of his body, severing his control over his limbs.

Pain.

That was all Silas could clearly feel.

Agonizing pain.

He gritted his teeth and dragged his rapidly numbing body toward the edge of the lightning field. The arcs soon burned both hands into a bloody mess, while his legs lost all sensation. All he could do was crawl, inch by inch, using what little strength remained.

Just when Silas thought he would never escape, the lightning overhead abruptly stopped.

Energy began gathering inside the cloud again. It clearly needed time to recharge.

Seeing that brief opening, Silas almost believed heaven itself had granted him one final stroke of luck.

Ethan had already stepped out of the cloud and was hovering nearby, watching.

"Why does it need to charge?"

He looked at the temporarily quiet thundercloud, puzzled himself.

"I’m not the one controlling it. How should I know?"

Silas had no interest in making sense of that.

He used the last of his strength to crawl beyond the lightning field, then pushed himself upright with both arms. Green light climbed from his feet, spreading over his wounds and restoring his damaged flesh.

As the healing energy flowed through him, his swollen body gradually shrank back to its original size.

Ethan stood nearby and watched for a long time.

Only after Silas had mostly recovered did he walk over, quietly raising one hand beside the man’s face.

Smack!

The crisp slap echoed across the white space.

Silas toppled sideways. His freshly healed body rolled across the ground, and the black space surrounding him shuddered violently before collapsing altogether.

He braced both hands against the ground, his mind completely blank.

He was about to look up and see who had dared slap him when he realized Ethan’s hand was still hovering beside his face.

Silas gave up on trying to stand.

"What?"

Ethan looked down at him.

"Getting up to fight me?"

Silas shook his head, then hesitantly nodded.

He raised his eyes and looked at Ethan with a pitiful expression.

The string of reactions left Ethan baffled.

Had the slap knocked him stupid?

Ethan raised his hand again to check.

Silas reacted as if he had seen something horrifying. He shook his head frantically and threw both hands up to shield his face.

That slap could barely hurt him, yet he feared it more than the lightning storm he had just endured.

Ethan frowned and was about to ask what was wrong.

Silas dropped to his knees.

He struck his forehead against the white floor again and again, each impact producing a dull thud.

A miserable life often marked the beginning of evil.

Silas and Adrian were no exception.

As a child, Silas had watched his father beat his mother. He hid nearby, unable to fight back and too afraid to make a sound.

The final blow had been a slap.

His father’s palm struck his mother’s face, spraying blood across young Silas’s cheeks.

From that day forward, that gesture became his deepest fear.

Years later, Silas encountered it while away from home.

The Divine Deer.

It gave him power and immeasurable wealth, then told him he could use those gifts to take revenge.

Silas couldn’t understand why he had been granted such a blessing, so he followed the Divine Deer all the way to this region. Once they arrived, however, the Divine Deer disappeared, leaving behind only a few words.

"A special individual will arrive before long."

"Until then, you may do whatever you believe is just."

The young Silas took those words to heart.

A shapeless, ever-changing cloud appeared in his palm.

Armed with the power the Divine Deer had given him, he returned to his family and slaughtered them all.

Even now, he could still remember his father’s reaction as he died.

The man hadn’t been afraid. If anything, he seemed thrilled. As he stared at Silas and the power he now possessed, pride even appeared on his face.

"My son really is the legendary Dragon Child!"

"No one will ever dare talk about our family behind our backs again!"

His father collapsed into a pool of blood, still smiling.

"My wife, I’m coming to join you!"

Everyone living around the family estate feared Silas.

They backed away and lowered their heads, yet still looked at him with deep respect. Under those reverent gazes, a power of domination awakened within Silas for the first time.

He tried to control them.

Again and again, he failed.

Then the Divine Deer returned.

It regarded Silas with satisfaction before transporting him and his younger brother, Adrian, to this beach.

Silas gained wisdom, power, and wealth.

The cost revealed itself little by little.

Adrian grew more and more afraid of him.

He had destroyed his own family with his own hands.

He no longer had a home.

No matter how much he gained, Silas could never forget the moment his father killed his mother.

That slap had remained in his memory ever since.

If heaven truly offered him another choice, Silas would rather have followed his mother in death the moment she died.

Now he lay curled on the ground, both arms wrapped tightly around his head.

He no longer looked like the master of the Vane family. He looked like a terrified three-year-old with nowhere to run.

Ethan knew nothing about his past.

But he could tell Silas had lost the will to keep fighting.

In that case, Ethan was willing to give him a relatively dignified death.

For Silas, that was an honor in itself.

His breathing and movements gradually slowed. Only after confirming that Ethan wasn’t raising his hand again did Silas cautiously lift his head and place the black umbrella at Ethan’s feet.

"Ethan."

Silas’s voice was quiet.

"Can you bury me with my brother?"

He paused, as though he had something else to say.

"I..."

Ethan considered it for a moment, then nodded.

He formed a sphere of white energy and gently set it beside Silas. Its light illuminated both their faces, but it didn’t explode.

"Then how about you talk with me for a while first?"

Ethan sat down in front of him.

"Tell me your story."