Ethan's clone vanished from the world in complete silence.
At the same instant, Ethan's true consciousness descended on it.
The clone's body stiffened briefly, then relaxed. When the eyes opened again, the gaze within them was no longer that of a mere extension. It was deep, boundless, carrying a weight that belonged only to the original.
Ethan had arrived.
He stood within a vast, ancient forest. Towering trees stretched endlessly in every direction, their trunks thicker than mountains, their canopies blotting out the sky. The air was dense with primordial energy, so pure that even breathing it felt heavy.
This was not a place meant for weak beings. It was a sanctuary chosen by a primordial creature to survive in isolation from the rest of the Origin World.
The moment Ethan appeared, the forest reacted.
Leaves trembled. The wind halted. The spiritual veins beneath the earth shuddered faintly.
And then the bird looked at him.
