Chapter 456: California

Ethan barely had time to open his eyes before the interrogation began.

"Start talking."

Kaela stood in front of him with her arms crossed, while Elara sat nearby, her gaze fixed on the strange, cage-like engraving on Ethan’s right palm. Mark had pulled up a chair, apparently eager to watch the show.

Ethan glanced at his hand.

’Ah, right... That.’

"What does that do this time?" Kaela demanded.

He shrugged.

"It’s just a tattoo."

"Ethan!"

He grinned.

Winding Kaela up was almost too easy.

"Stop messing around. We want to know what happened to you," Elara said as she stepped between them before they destroyed the house.

Mark laughed.

"And it feels like every other day, there’s something new. At this rate, you’re going to run out of skin, dude."

"That’s a legit concern," Ethan replied with a laugh.

But his smile soon faded.

For a moment, he’d genuinely wondered whether he’d ever get to sit around with these idiots again, and that was his second death scare within the space of an hour. The parasite had nearly consumed his soul, and without his beasts reinforcing their spiritual bonds, he might have lost himself entirely.

And he still had no idea what Aisha had intended.

’That woman is going to be a problem.’

A big one.

But for now, he needed to explain enough to satisfy his friends without revealing everything.

"Remember the vampire woman from the compound? The one who bit my neck? The same one who’s part of that cult and made that announcement on the news."

"Aisha," Elara said, her expression hardening.

"That’s the one. She left something inside me when she marked me. I didn’t realise it at first, but it was growing and eating away at me."

Kaela’s eyes widened. "Something was growing inside you?"

"Think about the monstrous instinct that was eating away at Mark’s mind," Ethan explained. "It wasn’t exactly the same, but the principle was similar. Whatever she left behind was consuming something that belonged to me."

"Your soul?" Elara asked.

"Something like that."

"And you got rid of it?" Mark asked.

"Yep."

"Just like that?"

"Well, it was a pain in the ass, actually."

Kaela stared at him before slapping a hand against her forehead.

"You could have died!"

Ethan’s grin faded as he noticed the genuine concern on her face, which was rare for the reckless alcoholic. Elara looked even more worried, and Mark had stopped joking.

"Yeah," he admitted quietly. "I know."

He wasn’t good at talking about this sort of thing. Years in prison had taught him to keep his problems to himself, and old habits were hard to break.

Still, he understood why they were upset.

"I’ll try not to make a habit of it."

"That’s what you said the last hundred times," Mark shot back.

"Did I?"

"Yes!"

"Huh. Must’ve been someone else."

"Ethan!"

He chuckled, and Kaela finally cracked a smile.

Elara, however, continued studying him.

"You feel different," she said. "Stronger, perhaps. Your spiritual presence seems more substantial than before."

’Of course, it does.’

The parasite was gone, and the strange changes it had inflicted on him were no longer dragging him down. More importantly, the ordeal had left him with a new skill that he was sure would prove extremely useful.

And there was no denying that he felt somewhat stronger.

"I guess getting rid of a parasite in your body does that to you," he replied.

Elara narrowed her eyes.

"You’re not telling us everything, are you?"

Ethan gave her a cheeky smile.

She sighed, knowing that it would be hard to get much else out of him.

"Fine. Just don’t make us worry like that again."

"Wouldn’t dream of it."

"He’s definitely doing it again," Kaela murmured.

"I mean, we kinda all do," Mark chimed in.

All three of them turned to the large man, and he immediately fell silent.

"That’s rich coming from monster boy."

"Hey!"

And thus began their usual banter, the tension quickly fading into laughter.

But it wasn’t long before Elara’s phone vibrated.

She glanced at the screen.

"Oh?"

Kaela leaned over. "What is it?"

"A B Rank Gate has appeared in California."

"Another one?"

"Yup." Elara put her phone away and looked at the others. "Who’s up for it?"

Ethan raised his hand.

"I am."

Three pairs of eyes turned towards him.

Even he was a little surprised by how quickly he’d volunteered. His Tower Token was still waiting to reset, leaving him with little to do in the meantime.

’It’s not like I have a normal job.’

A trip across the country sounded like a decent way to pass the time. Besides, he’d barely explored the world since getting out of prison.

"Why not?" he said with a shrug. "I haven’t been to Cali before. Could be fun."

Kaela’s eyes lit up.

"You’re going? Then I’m definitely coming!"

The last time she had entered a Gate with him had been one of the craziest days of her life. If this was even slightly as insane, it was going to be fun, especially since it was in a place she wanted to visit anyway.

Elara stared at them. "You’re treating this like a holiday."

"Can’t it be both?" Ethan asked.

"No."

"Sounds like a lack of imagination to me."

Kaela nodded enthusiastically.

Elara sighed.

Then all three of them looked at Mark.

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Coming?" Ethan asked.

Mark hesitated.

His last Gate expedition ended in a rampage and left everyone concerned about his condition. Although he’d stabilised, none of them knew whether the problem had truly disappeared.

Elara was especially cautious. "Are you sure you’re ready?"

Mark flexed his fingers. "I feel fine. Besides, I’m not going to get anywhere by sitting around."

Ethan nodded.

"That makes sense."

’He needs to feed on monsters anyway. This could be a good way to see what he can do.’

As long as they kept an eye on him, a B Rank Gate should be manageable.

Should be.

"All right," Elara finally agreed. "But if anything feels wrong, we leave immediately. No arguments."

Mark nodded. "Agreed."

"Good."

Ethan stood and stretched.

A trip to California with some friends, some action, and some fun across the country after they cleared it.

’Who says getting nearly devoured by a soul parasite has to ruin your day?’

He grinned.

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

Elara gave him a flat look.

"Give me a second."

’Who needs a jet when you have Elara?’

She raised one hand.

"Everyone ready?"

The air in front of her began to distort. Red sparks flickered through the growing darkness as space twisted and split apart, revealing a black-and-red rift whose edges rippled like torn fabric.

Ethan whistled.

"Still looks creepy as hell."

"Would you prefer sitting in a plane for a couple of hours?"

"No, this is fine."

Ethan stepped towards the opening, fascinated despite himself. The ability to tear open space and travel across the country was absurd.

’Humanity really went off the rails after the Gates appeared.’

"After you," he said.

Kaela practically bounced through the rift without hesitation.

Ethan followed, with Mark close behind.

Elara stepped through last.

The moment Ethan crossed the threshold, the world disappeared.

For a fraction of a second, he felt as though his body had been stretched across an impossible distance. Red and black streaks flashed around him, and he couldn’t tell which way was up.

Then his feet struck solid ground.

Warm sunlight spilt over his face, and a salty breeze swept through his hair.

Ethan blinked.

’California baby!’