Chapter 3: Ethan Crimson.
"Don't look so shocked." The bearded man continued, his voice a mixture of scorn and amusement. "Look at yah. Blessed with everything every individual desires—the favor of the gods, an affinity for magic, those magnificent eyes. It's no wonder she feared her own child".
Ethan's lips trembled, but no words escaped as he lay there, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on the bearded man's face.
"I feel bad for yah, kid," the bandit continued, his voice tinged with an odd mix of pity and cruelty. "It's been three days, and it seems yab mom was unable to convince her husband to send the fees."
With a chilling deliberateness, the bandit extended his hand towards Ethan's face, conjuring an ice bullet with malicious intent.
"I guess this is it..." He mused, the threat hanging heavy in the air. "Say what, since I do feel bad for you, I'll let you choose. Do you want me to kill yah mom, or do you want me to let her go? Go ahead."
Ethan remained motionless, the initial shock morphing into a steely resolve as he met the bandit's gaze with quiet determination.
'Now I see, it took me a while, but I finally got it.' Ethan thought to himself, ' A very rare case, where two souls are merged into one, in this case, I am both Alphard Crimson and Ethan Astros'.
He continued,
'Two powerful individuals, merged into a single body… so right now, this rage I must be feeling must be Ethan's, and this urge to make them submit, must be Alphard's'.
"Time's up… Sorry kid, See yah in the afterlife." The bearded man smiled, fully ready to kill Ethan.
"Tell me …" Ethan uttered.
"If you were given the choice? How would you wish to die?".
"Uhn? Ohhhh, is your life flashing before yah eyes kid?" The man laughed.
"I, Ethan Crimson, command you…".
His eyes blazed with an intense red hue, a fiery defiance emanating from within as Ethan fixed his gaze on the bandit. In an instant, a potent energy surged forth, enveloping the man in its thrall as their eyes locked in an unbreakable connection.
Caught in the grip of Ethan's mesmerizing stare, the bandit fell into a trance-like state, his mind ensnared by the hypnotic power radiating from the young hero.
"Kill yourself!".
"As you wish." The bearded man replied instantly, his eyes in a trance like state as he stood upright and grabbed the ice bullet mid air.
Without wasting any time, he stabbed himself in the side of his head, Ice penetrating his skull, leaving blood to stream down the side of his head as his body collapsed to the ground.
The other bandit stood there frozen in shock as he stared at the dead body of his fallen comrade. Almost like he was slowly trying to accept the fact he just witnessed his friend kill himself.
"W…what happened here?" The bandit whispered to himself, his hand instinctively stretching to the side for magic circles to form in front of his hand.
There were still three more bandits inside the iron cell house, but neither of them could hear the noise happening outside.
Ethan, on the other hand, managed to stand to his feet, his arms still tied behind him and his mouth covered, but loose enough for him to get a few words out.
With his demonic eyes, he looked at the man and uttered, "Release me".
The bandit felt himself losing control of his own body. The grunt on his face suggested he was desperately trying to fight against it, but even then, he couldn't do anything.
Step by step, he moved towards Ethan, his hand reaching for the chains, and a small tug, the chains came loose and Ethan's hands were free.
"Thank you, what is your name again?" Ethan asked while massaging his wrist, his eyes looking left and right of the forest.
"W…what are you?" Asked the bandits, fear written all over his face.
Ethan looked at him for a while.
"I wish I had the answer to that too." He replied, "I'm surprised my demonic eyes worked… normally, it takes a huge toll on me when I use it on humans".
"Uhh?"
"Tell you what? Since I'm a good person, I'll give you a choice." Ethan placed his hand on the bandit's head, "Do you want me to kill your friends in there… or do you want me to let them go?".
Standing there, the bandit was filled with fear, not only was he unable to move, he also had no way of calling for help.
"Time's wasting." Ethan voiced out.
"Please… please spare my life, I beg of you. I never wanted to do any of this.. I was just poor and needed money." Tears almost fell from the eyes of the bandits.
A cold look appeared in Ethan's face,
"Just like how I pleaded."
"I… I can give you-"
"Shut up… you talk too much. Burn".
And just like that, the bandit's body was covered in flames, all the way from his head, so fast that even he couldn't scream in pain.
His body simply collapsed to the ground, turning into aches while Ethan remained there, staring at the burning carcass.
'Hmm… What is this feeling?' Ethan thought to himself, his hand on the left side of his chest, 'My human side must be feeling bad'.
He smirked.
'Now is not the time to feel such things.' Ethan veered around, facing the iron cell house, 'I refuse to let them leave this place alive'.
Just when he wanted to take a step forward, he felt a sharp pain in his head.
"Arrrrrgh!" He groaned painfully, at this point he was barely able to stand on his own two feet. Before he knew it, he was on his knees, looking at the ground.
Blood leaking from his eyes and mouth.
"The demonic eyes are working against me…" He said before coughing, blood spewing from his mouth, "This human body can handle the magic circuits… shit!".
In a few seconds, he was on the ground, unconscious in the open, with two other dead bodies and fire burning behind him.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone