Chapter 357: Avoidant

Mark sighed as he watched Ethan continue to avoid the subject.

For someone who could throw himself headfirst into a fight against giant beasts, monsters, and insane Titled without a second thought, Ethan had an almost impressive talent for avoiding anything that required him to actually deal with his own feelings.

Mark shook his head.

’This guy would take on an S Rank, but he can’t face a little girl and his ex-girlfriend.’

It was almost ridiculous.

Almost.

Mark knew Ethan well enough to understand that there was a reason behind it.

Fighting was simple.

There were enemies, strengths, weaknesses, and consequences. Ethan could look at a monster and immediately start calculating how to kill it. He could throw himself into situations where one wrong move meant death because, at least there, he understood what was expected of him.

His personal life was different.

It wasn’t nearly as black and white, nor was it a game. Sometimes, the only thing Ethan needed to do was actually open up, and that seemed to terrify him more than any opponent.

Mark let out another sigh before bringing up the subject of the second letter.

"And your father?"

Ethan’s expression hardened almost immediately.

"Fuck him."

The answer came without hesitation.

"I don’t owe him shit."

The words came easily, much more so than when about his supposed daughter.

Mark studied Ethan’s face.

Ethan had never known who his father was his entire life.

He hadn’t known whether the man was still alive. Since he seemed to be, he had no idea where he had been all these years, why he had stayed away for so long, or why he had suddenly decided to reach out now.

As far as Ethan was concerned, the man had abandoned him for twenty-five years.

’Now he decides to send a letter.’

He laughed internally.

It was difficult to blame Ethan for reacting that way, especially when you considered how his mother unfortunately made a living. But not dealing with the influx of emotions would only be to his own detriment.

And while his disdain for his supposed father was understandable, the same couldn’t be said for Jessica.

She had been his girlfriend before everything had fallen apart.

Before the prison sentence, before the Gates, before Ethan became the Lord of Beasts, and before his entire life had been torn apart and rebuilt into something he never could have imagined.

If anything, he owed her an apology.

’I don’t think we even broke up, I just got locked up and...’

He sighed.

Ethan had no feelings for her even before he had gotten so close to Elara.

Jessica belonged to a version of Ethan that barely existed anymore. A teenage version of him, who was a troublemaker, had a girlfriend, and had actually believed his future would be somewhat normal.

But that didn’t change that speaking to her would be a difficult conversation.

One that he would rather not have.

Ethan, as avoidant as ever, asked, "Why didn’t they reach out when I was released?"

Mark answered bluntly.

"I mean, do you remember how you were?"

Mark continued before the man covered in blue crackling lightning could even respond.

"Would you have reached out to yourself at that point?"

Ethan opened his mouth, then closed it.

He couldn’t argue with that.

Mark was right.

When Ethan had first walked out of prison, he hadn’t exactly been someone people would have wanted to approach. He had been angry, lost, and suspicious of everyone.

Hell, Ethan hadn’t even gone to see his own family.

Seven years behind bars had changed him in ways he hadn’t fully understood at the time. He had walked out carrying years of resentment, bitterness, and instincts that had been sharpened by survival.

He hadn’t known what he was going to do with his freedom or what kind of person he was supposed to become. And if someone from his old life had approached him during that first month, Ethan probably would have shrugged them off.

That was if he didn’t frighten them while drowning away his sorrows in the Black Howl.

But that didn’t make receiving those letters any easier, though.

Just as Ethan had thought his life, as crazy as it was, had somewhat stabilised, it was uprooted almost overnight.

’A dad, an ex, and a daughter...’

He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.

’It’s always something in my life.’

Whenever Ethan thought he had finally dealt with one problem, another appeared immediately afterwards.

The world itself was becoming increasingly chaotic, the Blessed had declared war on the existing order, and the Gates were changing humanity. And somewhere beyond all of that were the Lords, whose plans and existence Ethan still barely understood.

Then there was Ethan himself.

The Lord Of Beasts as well as an Enforcer for the Association.

He had beasts to raise, a Tower to conquer, abilities to understand, enemies to kill, and mysteries surrounding his very existence that seemed to grow with every answer he found.

Yet somehow, his personal life seemed just as complicated.

Maybe even more so.

For all the supernatural chaos surrounding him, Ethan had never expected the past to come looking for him. He certainly hadn’t expected it to arrive in the form of two letters as they had.

’But maybe they aren’t a bad thing.’

Mark watched him quietly for several seconds, then the corner of his mouth lifted.

"You’re warming up to the idea of having a kid, right? I can see it. You’d make a great father too."

Ethan glanced at him.

"You think so?"

"No."

Mark grinned.

"I think you’d suck at it just like you do everything outside fighting and causing a mess."

For a moment, Ethan simply stared at him.

Then he laughed.

"Fuck you."

"There he is."

The tension finally broke.

Ethan shook his head and raised his fists again, planning on clearing his mind with a good old fist fight.

"Come on."

Mark cracked his knuckles, his grin widening.

"Thought you’d never ask."

The two charged at each other once more.

Across from them, Kaela was still wrestling with Wolfy.

The enormous Fenrir had long since grown beyond anything resembling the small beast Ethan had originally summoned, yet Kaela treated him almost like an oversized dog. Wolfy seemed perfectly happy with the arrangement, being the weaker party for once.

Elara stood nearby, watching the chaos with an amused smile.

For a brief moment, Ethan forgot about the letters and the questions waiting for him outside this room.

He simply fought.

There was something comforting about it.

The impact of fists, the movement of bodies, and the instinctive reactions that came without conscious thought. But as he let loose on his giant brother, things around the world were moving.

And whether he liked it or not, they were all converging on Ethan Crowe...