Chapter 109: Between Uncle and Nephew

Ethan and Sir Van stood before the heavy doors of the command room. Van stepped forward to knock, but before his knuckles could graze the wood, Marcus’s voice emerged from within.

"Come in."

Both of them entered with Rune quietly following. Marcus sat at his desk, closing the report he’d just finished reviewing, and lifted his head to look at Ethan, only to find himself genuinely surprised.

Hmm... this brat. How did he grow taller again in just two weeks? What in the world is he even eating?

Even knowing the Ravencrest bloodline was known for its resilience and height, watching Ethan grow at this pace over the past few months still left Marcus quietly shaken. He quickly suppressed the urge to ask.

"Sit down," Marcus said finally, after a few seconds.

Ethan took the seat without hurry, meeting his uncle’s curious gaze evenly. Sir Van stepped outside, quietly closing the heavy doors behind to stand guard in the hallway.

The silence stretched for several long minutes before Marcus finally broke it.

"It shouldn’t take that long for a delivery mission." Marcus released a dense wave of aura that filled the entire room. "What did you actually do this time?"

Even though his mind had denied the possibility earlier, some instinct in him had kept tingling for days now, circling back again and again to the report on House Bluemoon and the mysterious Black Knight.

Ethan looked at his uncle steadily. Even though the pressure wasn’t aimed directly at him, Marcus had simply released it so no prying ears outside could catch their conversation, the weight of a Heaven Knight’s aura still pressed down, suffocating in its own right.

In response Ethan let out a thin thread of his own aura, laced with Intent, redirecting Marcus’s pressure back with quiet precision. The instant he did, Marcus’s eyes went wide, the hair along his arms rising on end.

"That’s... Intent." Marcus stammered, the words momentarily catching in his throat. He reined in his expression almost immediately, but his mind was already reeling, completely overwhelmed.

Intent was not simply energy, aura, or mana. It represented the first true awakening of one’s inner will. Aura and Magical Energy were both born from the Mana of the world, transformed respectively by the Warrior Core and Mana Core as they circulated through their cultivation techniques, but Intent was something else entirely, an expression of a person’s consciousness, their determination, their complete understanding of their own power. When Intent was woven into aura or mana, it projected the user’s will directly into the world through that power.

Most warriors only developed it after surviving dozens of genuine life-and-death battles, and even then, the minimum threshold for most cultivators sat at Peak Knight Lord or Mage Lord. Even Adrian had unlocked his at Beginner Knight Lord while Marcus had unlocked his own at Intermediate Knight Lord, forged through constant, relentless exposure to battle.

Even though Ethan’s Intent wasn’t as strong as what they had unlocked at higher realms, his ability to precisely control it also contributed to Marcus’s shock. But unknown to Marcus, it wasn’t that his Intent lacked strength; it was that using it fully would place an enormous burden on his body due to the realm restrictions.

"Brat..." Marcus’s eyes burned with intense light, a slow grin curving his lips into a crescent shape. "Don’t tell me... you are the Black Knight."

Ethan met his uncle gaze, his expression growing dead serious. "Should I answer you now as the Commander of Northwatch or as my uncle?"

Marcus was caught entirely off guard by the sharp remark. He didn’t fully understand why, but something about the way Ethan had asked told him the answer would shape exactly what got revealed tonight. Looking into his nephew’s unusually serious eyes, Marcus forced himself to take a slow, steadying breath, reining in the emotions already threatening to overwhelm him.

"Alright, brat. Using my own words against me..." He exhaled sharply, throwing his hands "Tch. My mistake. You can speak to your uncle, and say whatever you need to."

"Then promise me you’ll answer all my questions afterward." Ethan replied smoothly.

"Yeah, yeah. Now tell me everything."

Ethan withdrew the Eclipse Conclave’s artifacts and began recounting everything that had happened since he’d left Northwatch along with the information he obtained about their infiltration route to the North, continuing on to deliver the artifact to Bloomside, then deciding to visit Bluewind out of curiosity after hearing of its former prosperity, intending only to rest for a short while. He explained how, during his stay, he’d noticed suspicious movement from Bluewind’s Vanguard Commander and followed it, discovering a collision between the commander and bandits responsible for destroying Bluewind’s trade routes, who he then brought before Countess Luna after a brutal fight.

From there, he wove in careful fabrications: that House Bluemoon had been secretly researching a new elixir, knowledge that had reached Count Thorn and other nobles through spies planted inside the house, prompting them to attempt a surprise takeover, a plot Ethan claimed to have foiled. He explained that reporting back to Northwatch or the House would have taken at least a week for the help to arrive, so he’d made the decision to act alone rather than wait, unable to stand by and watch the atrocities Thorn intended to commit.

Ethan also explained about the black box, the one he’d asked Marcus weeks earlier as a reward, out of simple curiosity, already knowing it had been recovered from an ancient ruin by Severus. It was actually an ancient artifact which chose its own owner, and it contained the legacy of the Mercenary King. Ethan had already been almost certain the wolf mercenaries were a branch of the Ancient Order, a suspicion the battle had gone on to confirm, and one they’d used to their advantage.

Then he shifted to the counterattack strategy that followed, and finally the battle itself: The moment Peter recognized him as the Mercenary King’s Successor. Thorn’s descent into berserker rage, the desperate fight alongside Luna and Sir Peter to bring him down.

Finally, he described how the Mage Saint had arrived to take him to House Valerian, curious about him while claiming to treat his injuries. He left out everything the System’s restriction still forbade him from speaking, weaving careful lies wherever the gaps demanded it, making certain nothing he said would raise Marcus’s suspicion.

He explained how Luna and the Ancient Order had ultimately pledged their loyalty to him, how House Bluemoon intended to accept a formal alliance with House Ravencrest, and how thirty percent of the elixir trade’s profits would flow toward House Ravencrest. He mentioned leaving the mercenaries behind to assist House Bluemoon with trade, and outlined the Order’s conditions.

He left out the details he still wasn’t certain of himself along with what happened in Iris study about the golden dragon mark, Severus’s words about the Ravencrest bloodline being chosen, and his own private suspicions.

Ethan had already known Gareth would eventually reveal to Adrian that the Mage Saint had personally sought him out—if not now, then soon, once the question inevitably arose. Better to control the reveal himself than have it come from somewhere else, and doing so now meant he could use the Mercenary King’s War Art openly, without needing to hide it any longer.

He’d also looked carefully into rumours and how much information had already spread, and found that Marcus would know relatively little, which made the whole explanation considerably easier to manage.

Each revelation left Marcus’s hands trembling further, his knuckles whitening against the desk as Ethan described the events in vivid detail, drawn out at Marcus’s own insistence. By the end, Marcus looked as though he might shatter the table beneath his palms entirely.

Marcus interrupted with questions here and there throughout, which Ethan answered calmly, without hesitation.

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

Marcus’s booming laughter finally echoed through the room once Ethan finished. He’d never imagined being handed this many shocks in a single sitting. Even accounting for how surprised he already was by everything Ethan had accomplished at his age, his earlier missions had already proven his nephew possessed a sharp, calculating mind, the kind that only acted when success seemed genuinely within reach.

Beyond the occasional scolding for recklessness, Marcus couldn’t bring himself to call any of it truly foolish. House Ravencrest had gained far too much from it to complain.

"To think you achieved enlightenment and unlocked Intent in a single battle." Marcus shook his head, a note of genuine irritation creeping into his voice. "Tch. I really should have been there to see it." The thought that the Mage Saint had witnessed it firsthand while he’d missed the entire spectacle clearly stung more than he wanted to admit.

"Now. Tell me what you wanted to ask."

"Then let me ask you for a confirmation," Ethan said.

"Confirmation?" Marcus’s eyes narrowed slightly at the choice of word.

"What happened to Rune’s mother?" Ethan asked, looking directly into his uncle’s eyes. "Did the Eclipse Conclave really take her?"

Ethan already suspected the answer was close to certain, but some small, quiet part of him had still hoped it wasn’t true.

"W—where did you hear that?" Marcus asked, the words slipping out before he could stop them, an involuntary swallow following right behind.

"So it’s true."

Marcus fell silent for several long seconds, his gaze drifting down to where Rune sat curled at Ethan’s feet, watching him with quiet, curious eyes. He found he couldn’t bring himself to say anything further. He’d meant to tell Ethan eventually; he’d simply worried it might disrupt his training, or weigh on him more than he could handle at the time. He hadn’t expected Ethan to uncover it on his own.

Marcus nodded slowly, still looking at him.

"Sorry, brat. I just thought you’d feel worse knowing."

Ethan had already sensed his uncle’s reasoning before he explained it, and found he couldn’t hold it against him. His attention shifted to Rune instead, who looked back at him steadily. He didn’t know exactly what the cub had understood from their conversation, but through the bond between them, he could feel a deep, quiet sadness settling in.

For a few long seconds, Ethan simply sat with the feeling, letting it settle over him without flinching from it.

"It’s okay... Rune." His voice was soft, certain with an edge of sadness he tried to conceal. Ethan lifted him slowly and placed him on his legs gently patting his head.

Marcus watched him quietly. Only moments ago, Ethan had carried himself like a battle-hardened veteran twice his age—and now, within the span of a single breath, he was simply a child again, grieving quietly for a creature he loved. Marcus couldn’t say which version of him was more real. Perhaps both were. Either way, something in his chest swelled with quiet, unmistakable pride as he watched his nephew.

Ethan said he’d save his remaining questions for later, and silence settled over the room once more.

After several long minutes, Marcus finally spoke again.

"Now, let me tell you why I actually called you here."

Ethan’s attention snapped fully back to him.

"You’ll begin in the Inner Fortress tomorrow. You’re joining the next Beast Tide."