Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!-Chapter 196: Hidden Threads

Ethan's Soul Sense was stretched to its limit, covering an area far larger than he usually dared. He suspected someone nearby was controlling the black mist.

It had finally clicked where he'd seen it before—back when they were returning from Ravenwood, after the ambush. The woman they'd captured, the one without a tongue, had exploded, and something had shot out of her head, trailing the same black mist.

At the time, Ethan had only caught a fleeting glimpse of it. The thing had moved too fast, and by the time he'd expanded his Soul Sense to track it, all he'd seen was a faint tail disappearing at the edge of his range.

It had been a split-second impression, barely enough to register, which was why he hadn't connected it until now.

On the way back from Ravenwood, Ethan and Victor had discussed the woman and the two other bodies that had vanished. They'd theorized that all of them were puppets, controlled by whatever had escaped from the woman's head.

And now, that same black mist was here, inside his friends.

Ethan's Soul Sense flared to its maximum range, and for a moment, he felt like his head was about to split open. He staggered, clutching his temples, and Victor quickly steadied him.

"Ethan, what's wrong?" Victor asked, his voice tight with concern.

Ethan waved him off, gritting his teeth as he fought through the overwhelming sensory overload.

Releasing his Soul Sense in the middle of a bustling city was nothing like doing it in the quiet of the forest. The noise, the movement, the sheer volume of life—it all crashed into his mind like a sledgehammer.

It took him two minutes to adjust, but even then, he found nothing useful. The only anomaly he detected was a cold, eerie presence coming from the hospital's morgue. It stood out like a sore thumb in the otherwise lively city, but upon closer inspection, it was just what you'd expect from a place filled with the dead—cold, gray, and lifeless.

Just as Ethan was about to pull his Soul Sense back, defeated, he felt something. A sharp, icy presence, far colder than the morgue, and it was coming from right beside him.

Ethan froze, his focus snapping to Victor. The faint, almost imperceptible aura around Victor was a deep, blood-red haze.

"Victor, you…" Ethan started, his voice trailing off as he stared at his friend.

"What?" Victor asked, confused by Ethan's sudden intensity.

In Ethan's perception, the red haze around Victor pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat. It was subtle, but unmistakable.

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"Well, well… this kid's not bad. His Energy is tinged with a killing aura," Morzan's voice echoed in Ethan's mind, startling him.

Ethan blinked, then let out a relieved sigh. So that was it. Victor had mentioned breaking through recently, but Ethan hadn't realized he'd also become an Energy User. The red haze was Victor's Energy, just like the faint green glow that had surrounded Ethan when he'd first unlocked his own.

Morzan had explained that Ethan's Energy was tied to nature, hence the green hue. Victor's, on the other hand, was steeped in combat and aggression—hence the red.

If Morzan hadn't chimed in, Ethan might've thought Victor was the one controlling the black mist in Rowan's body. After all, the moment Victor had entered the room, the mist had retreated.

But if it wasn't Victor, then what—or who was behind it?

"It's because of him…" Morzan's voice echoed in Ethan's mind again.

"What do you mean?" Ethan asked immediately.

"Killing aura is the nemesis of dark entities," Morzan explained.

Ethan paused, then asked in surprise, "Are you saying they're possessed?"

He thought back to what Williams had mentioned earlier about water spirits.

Morzan didn't respond right away. After a moment, he said slowly, "Dark entities aren't necessarily ghosts."

Ethan was confused. If dark entities weren't necessarily ghosts, did that mean ghosts were a type of dark entity? Was Morzan implying that things like ghosts were actually common in this world?

"I didn't say that," Morzan cut in, clearly reading Ethan's thoughts.

"Then what did you mean?" Ethan pressed, but Morzan fell silent again.

"Ethan… Ethan?" Victor waved a hand in front of Ethan's face, snapping him out of his daze.

Ethan blinked, refocusing on Victor. According to Morzan, Victor's Energy could repel dark entities. Maybe Victor could drive whatever was inside their friends out?

Just then, Rowan's father returned to the room, his face grim. He didn't say a word to Ethan or Victor, just slumped into a chair by the bed. Ethan didn't take it personally—any parent would be distraught if their child was on the brink of death.

Ethan stood up and motioned for Victor to follow him out of the room. As they left, Ethan kept his Soul Sense locked on Rowan. The moment they stepped into the hallway, the black mist around Rowan's nose and mouth slowly seeped back out.

Ethan's eyes lit up. It seemed the mist really was reacting to Victor's presence. He turned to Victor and explained his theory. "Victor, do you think you can control your Energy enough to push it into someone else's body?"

Victor looked stunned. He was still new to this whole Energy thing. He knew that without Energy, a warrior wasn't even considered one. Only those with Energy were truly on the path of mastery, and most of them belonged to secretive agencies or powerful families.

Seeing the hope in Ethan's eyes, Victor nodded hesitantly. "I can try."

As they turned to head back into the room, Ethan noticed a group of strange people entering the ward. He quickened his pace, reaching the door just as an elderly man and two younger companions stepped inside.

The old man was hunched over, standing by Greg's bed. Greg's mother hovered nearby, her voice desperate. "Master, please save my son. I'll pay whatever it takes."

Her plea caught the attention of the other families in the room. They all turned, their eyes lighting up with hope. Even Rowan's father glanced over, though he quickly shook his head and returned to staring at his son.

Ethan studied the old man carefully, but he seemed completely ordinary—no Energy, no aura, nothing out of the ordinary. Could this "master" really have some kind of power he couldn't detect?

But when Greg's mother mentioned money, the old man's expression remained neutral. The two young men behind him, however, exchanged greedy, excited glances.