"How was it?"
After Barry Allen had been running wildly on the treadmill specially modified by Cisco for half an hour, Barry, who usually never felt tired no matter how much he ran, showed obvious signs of fatigue this time.
"It was nothing, but it's been a long time since I felt this tired."
Although he was tired, Barry seemed to be in good spirits, which slightly relieved Joe West. He then walked over with Barry to Ethan, and like everyone else in the lab, stared at the small vial in Ethan's hand that emitted a yellow glow, as if a current was constantly flowing within it.
"Is this... the Speed Force?"
"Yes, this is the Speed Force just extracted from Barry."
The process wasn't complicated. When Barry ran at full speed, the Speed Force naturally manifested. All Ethan had to do was extract and collect the Speed Force from Barry and store it in this special bottle.
"What exactly do you need it for?"
This time, the one who asked wasn't Joe, but the usually silent Harrison Wells, also known as the Reverse-Flash.
He had been keeping a low profile recently and hadn't tried to challenge Ethan again, but now, he finally couldn't help himself. He was extremely curious about what Ethan needed the Speed Force for.
At first, he had thought Ethan wanted to gain the Speed Force's power. But after some "interaction," he realized that might not be the case.
So now he truly had no idea what other use the Speed Force could have, apart from making someone a speedster.
"You want to know?"
It wasn't just Reverse-Flash who was curious. Aside from Tony, Ada, and Thea who knew about Ethan's plan, everyone else present, including Caitlin, Joe, Cisco, and even Barry, was curious.
"Of course."
"Then come with me."
Ethan had been at S.T.A.R. Labs long enough to be familiar with the layout. He knew exactly where would be most suitable for him to carry out this "transformation."
For Ethan, this was merely a change in his body. It couldn't be called evolution, because it wouldn't bring any significant boost in his life level or personal strength. It was simply to make his outward appearance look like an adult.
Leading everyone, he arrived at a relatively open room inside S.T.A.R. Labs. This room was usually used by Barry for practice, and occasionally Cisco would test his inventions here.
It was the most spacious room in the entire facility. Ethan chose it precisely because quite a few people would be watching.
After signaling everyone to step back, Ethan walked alone to the center of the room, the most open area, and then flipped his hand, summoning a staff.
"Oh, is that your staff? You finally look a bit like a wizard."
"I haven't used a staff in a long time, but this situation is a bit special."
Thanks to Ethan's rapidly increasing strength, he no longer needed a staff to assist in casting spells. And the staff in his hand wasn't actually for spellcasting either. It had a similar function to the Speed Force vial in his other hand. Both were components for this ritual.
Barry and the others couldn't tell, but Tony recognized it immediately. It was an Arcane Spring-type staff that Ethan had used before. He remembered when Ethan first made this type of staff, its main function was to connect to a certain arcane plane.
Recalling what Ethan had said earlier, Tony immediately understood the purpose of the staff.
"This staff is for connecting to an energy plane?"
"That's right."
A specially prepared potion for the body, a vast amount of energy to ensure the potion's effects and stimulate rapid physical growth, and the Speed Force to accelerate the entire process.
With the three key elements prepared, Ethan didn't bother explaining further. He directly began casting the spell.
As the Arcane Spring tapped lightly on the floor, purple light began to emerge under Ethan's feet. These lights slowly formed a magic circle that spread outward, eventually covering the entire area around him.
The brilliance of the circle intensified, and the radiant glow gradually obscured most of Ethan's body. Those standing around could no longer see him clearly, only able to make out a vague silhouette within the purple light.
Faced with this wondrous sight, everyone, including Barry, couldn't hide their amazement. They all widened their eyes, trying to see more clearly. None of them understood what Ethan was trying to do.
At that moment, Ethan waved his hand and took out another glass vial. In full view of everyone, he smashed it on the ground.
"What was that?"
Cisco asked casually, not expecting anyone to answer.
But Tony, who was standing right next to him, happened to know.
"That was a potion made from the essence of countless creatures. Ethan used magical means to extract special components from them, and it's specifically designed for the body."
"The body? Is there something wrong with Ethan's body?"
Hearing the word "potion," Caitlin, as a bioengineering expert, assumed Ethan's body had a problem and that this was a treatment.
Although she thought the potion was quite unscientific, she reminded herself that Ethan himself wasn't particularly scientific, so she didn't think too hard about it.
"There's nothing wrong. He just thinks his body is growing too slowly, so he wants to use this potion to speed it up."
"Growing... too slowly?"
No one here was stupid. They immediately realized something: Ethan's body was likely unusual, and his actual age probably didn't match how young he looked.
They found themselves full of questions. Even though Ethan had been at S.T.A.R. Labs for a while and everyone knew he was a wizard, they still didn't know much about him.
Harrison Wells glanced at Tony Stark. He figured he might be able to get more information from this chatterbox.
And indeed, Tony practically sold Ethan out on the spot.
He talked about how Ethan's girlfriend was the daughter of Zeus, the legendary King of the Gods. That Ethan himself had already evolved into a god. That Ethan came looking for Barry specifically because he wanted to use the Speed Force to accelerate the growth of his divine body.
The information overload hit everyone like a truck, making their heads spin. Compared to this, Ethan simply telling them he was a wizard before now seemed insignificant.
Gods? Daughter of Zeus? Using Barry's Speed Force to grow a divine body?
Yet the scene unfolding in front of them kept reminding them that Tony might not be making this up.
At this moment, a faint trace of red could be seen mixed within the purple light, though those at the edge couldn't see what was going on. Only Tony could faintly sense something.
"It's starting."
After Ethan smashed the vial, the potion fused with the energy surging beneath his feet. That energy, now infused with medicinal effects, washed over his body continuously. It was much like when he used to soak in a potion bath, except now, his entire body was immersed in pure energy.
Don't be fooled by the potion's small size. The raging energy could only carry a small portion at a time. It would take a long time for the entire potion to fully enter Ethan's body.
Not to mention that the real time-consuming part was his body digesting the medicinal effects, which took far longer than simple absorption. That was why he needed the Speed Force.
With a light squeeze of his left hand, the vial he had been holding shattered. The yellow lightning of the Speed Force burst out instantly, darting around within the surging energy, then slowly merging with it and transforming the flow.
From the outside, it looked like golden lightning mixed within the purple-red glow. Aside from the various lights, nothing else could be seen.
But inside the circle, Ethan was undergoing a transformation of seismic proportions. At the same time, Tony, who was sensitive to energy flow, could feel the surge accelerate to an unimaginable level.
Just as Tony began to worry whether this overwhelming energy would cause some unexpected backlash, the yellow lightning began to fade until it disappeared completely. Then, the purple-red energy also faded back into pure purple.
Soon after, the light from the magic circle gradually dimmed, and the figure that had been obscured earlier finally reappeared.
Compared to his previously youthful, slender figure, Ethan's new appearance was drastically different: his face still carried a hint of youth, but had clearly matured past twenty. His height had reached his peak again, and his body was now well-built, with a perfect balance of muscle and form...
"Cough, cough, cough."
A series of awkward coughs brought Ethan back to his senses from examining his newly transformed body. Only then did he realize he wasn't the only one observing it.
He immediately cast a spell to put on a casual shirt and pants. As for the faint sounds of disappointment that reached his ears, he simply pretended not to hear them.
(To be continued.)