Up in the sky, Orun still hung there like a black-and-red mountain suspended over their heads.
Inside Ethan, power churned harder and harder.
He lifted one hand. In his palm, an energy sphere condensed in an instant—terrifyingly dense. Ash-gray light rose and sank inside it like silt in a storm, while white lightning coiled around the outer layer in tight rings.
He didn't throw it.
The moment it stabilized, he flipped his hand and slammed it straight into his own body.
The next second, Ethan scattered into countless black particles and vanished from where he stood.
Orun halted midair.
His black-and-red mechanical armor jerked, just slightly. Even the blue flame blasting from his thrusters shrank for a heartbeat. He stared at the spot Ethan had been, eyes wide, a near-fanatical glint flashing deep in his mechanical pupils.
"Black particulate dispersion…"
"I knew I wasn't seeing things!"
"You really are a genius! Hahaha—!"
