The next morning,
Henry slowly woke up as the sunlight slipped through the curtains into the bedroom. For a moment he didn't move, still half-asleep, trying to figure out where he was.
Then he felt it.
Something was wrapped around his waist from behind.
Henry opened his eyes slightly and looked down.
An arm.
Madison's arm was loosely wrapped around him from the back while she slept, her head resting against his shoulder. The room was quiet except for the faint sound of traffic outside.
Henry stared at the ceiling for a second.
"Well," he muttered quietly to himself, "that escalated quickly."
Henry quietly slipped out of the bed without waking Madison.
The sheet shifted slightly as he stood up. He glanced down and realized he wasn't wearing anything on the lower half—actually, he wasn't wearing anything at all.
His jeans and shirt were scattered on the floor near the bed along with the rest of his clothes.
"That explains yesterday," he muttered.
He pulled his pants on quickly and walked toward the bathroom.
Cold water splashed across his face as he leaned over the sink. The shock helped clear the last bits of sleep from his mind. As he wiped his face with a towel, the memories of the previous night surfaced again.
Madison jumping on him.
The kiss.
And the rest of the night that followed.
Then something appeared in front of his vision.
The system window.
[Supernatural Points: 53]
Henry straightened slightly.
He had received five points for killing the werewolf, but that wasn't the interesting part.
The real reward was the gacha spin.
This time the system had triggered something far rarer.
[Epic Tier Gacha]
The same tier he had triggered the first time he arrived in this world.
[Spin the wheel]
The wheel appeared and began spinning, glowing symbols flashing past rapidly—various weapons, artifacts, strange abilities.
The rotation slowed.
Then stopped.
[Item Obtained: Mark of Ether]
[Description]
A mark granted to those who infuse themselves with Ether — a rare cosmic energy born from the collision of planetary forces and meteorite fragments carrying primordial power.
More lines appeared beneath it.
[Abilities]
• Accelerated Healing — wounds close rapidly and even severed limbs can regenerate over time.
• Enhanced Physical Parameters — greatly improves speed, stamina, strength, endurance, and reflexes.
Henry read the last section.
[Unique Trait: Ether Mode]
When activated, the Mark of Ether manifests across the user's body as luminous ether patterns.
Ether Mode grants additional abilities:
• Ether Burst — releases concentrated Ether energy through strikes, creating destructive shockwaves.
• Phase Step — short-distance instantaneous movement using Ether distortion.
• Ether Guard — generates a temporary energy barrier that absorbs heavy damage.
• Astral Sense — heightened perception allowing the user to detect supernatural entities and energy signatures nearby.
Henry stared at the screen for a moment.
"Yep, it's one of the most powerful items I've ever pulled."
Before Henry could read the rest of the system window, something appeared in front of him.
A small crystal—no bigger than a marble—floated in the air.
It hovered right in front of his face, glowing faintly with pale blue light.
"…Okay, that's new."
The crystal suddenly shot forward.
Straight into his eye.
"F—!"
Henry stumbled backward and grabbed his face as a violent surge of energy exploded through his body.
"Fuck—what the hell—"
Blue lines burst across his vision like cracks in glass as glowing circuits spread from his eye down his neck and arms.
Henry gripped the sink as the surge intensified.
Even his hair flickered for a moment, the dark strands briefly shifting into a faint shade of blue.
Henry stared at the mirror.
"Is this… me?" he muttered.
The pain that had shot through his body a moment ago was already fading. What remained instead was a strange sensation—his body felt lighter, stronger, like every muscle had been tuned tighter than before.
Before he could think about it further, the system window flickered again.
Several new notifications appeared one after another.
[Revenant Blood — Supernatural concentration increasing.]
[Effect: Interaction between Ether Mark and Revenant Blood detected.]
[Revenant Impact activation probability increased.]
[New Probability: 10%]
Henry blinked at the message.
"So the powers are stacking now…" he murmured.
He lifted his hand slightly and watched the faint blue energy flicker across his knuckles before fading again. The strength in his body felt different now—denser, like there was something coiled beneath the surface waiting to be used.
For a moment he considered testing it.
Then he looked around.
Bathroom mirror.
Ceramic sink.
Thin apartment walls.
Henry lowered his hand again.
"Yeah… definitely not the place to test that."
Then there was a knock on the bathroom door.
"Henry? Can I come in?" Madison's voice came from the other side.
Henry's eyes widened.
"Umm… one second!" he said quickly.
He shut his eyes and took a breath, trying to calm the strange energy still buzzing through his body. The faint blue glow in his reflection was definitely not something Madison should see first thing in the morning.
If she walked in and saw him like this, she'd probably think he had turned into some kind of alien.
"Okay… turn off," he muttered under his breath.
Nothing happened.
"Deactivate… Ether mode off… power down… whatever the command is…"
Still nothing.
He tried shaking his hands like that would somehow shut it off.
Then he straightened up and stared at the mirror, trying to mentally push the energy down the way someone might try to calm their breathing.
"Okay, listen… whatever cosmic battery thing this is," he muttered quietly. "Power saving mode. Sleep mode. Off mode. Something."
Outside the door Madison knocked again.
"Henry?"
"Yeah! Still here!" he answered quickly.
Henry rubbed his face, took a slow breath, and focused on relaxing his body completely.
Then the faint glow faded slightly.
Henry opened one eye and checked the mirror again.
"…Okay," he whispered. "That's progress."
*****
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