Under the night sky, the neon-lit city buzzed.
"Hey, have you heard about that talking Ethereal recently?"
"They're saying it's connected to the disappearance of the Cretan Hollow. Some big shots even claim the Defense Force is involved!"
On the balcony of a high-rise, a man in his twenties was chatting with a friend, a bottle of sake in hand.
"Of course I've heard! Let me tell you, I found this insanely good forum. Loads of experts in there—and tons of info on that special Ethereal."
"One of the insiders said the Defense Force uses the codename 'Fire Picker' for him. That's what we call him on the forum too."
His friend grinned proudly as he shared the scoop.
"What? There's a forum like that? I never even knew—send me the link!"
"Relax! It's gotten pretty popular lately, tons of active users. But that's not the best part."
"The best part is that the legendary forum admin just announced a new update to the 'Hollows Incident Log'—it drops in a few hours."
"Let's game a bit first, then watch it together when it goes live."
The friend chuckled, about to head back inside when something crumbly landed on his shoulder.
He frowned, tugged at his shirt, but didn't see any debris—though he could've sworn something had dropped on him.
"Hey, dude—you're glowing."
His friend laughed. The guy looked down and saw faint green light drifting off his clothes, only to vanish within seconds.
"Ugh... That's weird... You don't think this place is haunted, do you?"
He shivered. Even with the lights on, stuff like that was still creepy.
Prompted by the eerie feeling, the two of them quickly left the balcony.
...
Far above, shards flaked off from an outstretched Ether crystal protruding from a tall building.
"Whew... Almost missed my step and fell off..."
"Yeah, right! (Boss, I nearly died of fright!)"
Zane stood on the jagged edge of the Ether crystal, patting Panta's head as the Bangboo clung to his shoulder. He chuckled.
"You're a Bangboo. You're not gonna die from falling. What are you scared of?"
"Mm-hmm! (I'll get squashed flat!)"
"Haha, with a Bangboo's flexibility, getting squashed is technically possible."
Zane laughed, when suddenly a voice called out nearby.
"Whoa! There's someone up here!"
He raised an eyebrow—someone else on the rooftop?
He quickly pulled the mask from his waist and slipped it over his face. Looking over, he saw a group of teenagers.
The identity of the Masked Fool wasn't just for fun. Some things were better handled without showing your real face.
"Hey there."
Zane turned to greet them calmly.
"Whoa, what's that glowing thing under your feet? And your mask—where'd you get that...?"
The group was clearly intrigued, but Zane had no plans to stick around. He gave them a polite nod and leaned back—
—and vanished off the edge.
"He fell!! He seriously fell!!"
One of them cried out in panic as the others rushed over. The Ether crystal had already dissolved into green particles and scattered.
They had just come up for fresh air, maybe a round or two of cards—and now they'd stumbled onto something straight out of a comic.
Peering cautiously over the ledge... there was nothing.
Down below, some pedestrians blinked in confusion, touching their heads. Cold drops?
They looked up, puzzled.
It hadn't rained today... had it?
...
Meanwhile, on another rooftop nearly a hundred meters away, a shadow flickered by.
"This actually isn't a bad way to train control over attribute energy."
Zane landed on a rooftop ledge, overlooking a narrow alley. Panta clung tightly to his shoulders, eyes shut, clearly not enjoying the flight.
The next rooftop seemed too far—Zane started to fall short.
Just then, a sheet of ice spread outward, forming a bridge between the buildings.
He stepped onto it and slid smoothly across.
"Fun. Effective. Not bad at all."
As soon as he landed, the ice lost its energy—most of it evaporated, and the rest turned into droplets.
...
"Dead End Hollow..."
From his high perch, Zane looked out. Bathed in moonlight, the massive black dome inverted on the ground was impossible to miss.
"Compared to this beautiful city, it really does look like a festering tumor."
"A toxic one... filled with treasure."
"People fear it—yet still rush toward it."
From here, he could already see seven or eight raiders slipping through a dark alley below, heading straight for Dead End Hollow.
"Alright, time for us to move too."
He gestured to Panta on his shoulder. Zane had no intention of entering in human form.
His gaze shifted—those raiders had already been caught.
With rumors spreading about the "Fire Picker" appearing in Dead End Hollow, authorities had tightened their control drastically.
Considering how many Public Security Bureau members had been there, it was impossible to keep things under wraps.
They'd moved fast, he had to admit.
What the interior looked like now—who could say?
Could be empty. Could be a Defense Force trap.
Didn't matter either way.
What mattered was earning money... for the cats.
Right now, going in on foot was a hassle. Too risky.
But from above...
There weren't any visible patrols in the sky—probably to avoid causing panic among the residents.
Or maybe he just hadn't noticed them.
"Let's see what these people are really up to."
...
Zane's eyes gleamed like stars as threads of Ether energy surfaced around him.
In the blink of an eye, he was wrapped in silky black luminescence. Pale-blue arcs crackled outward, while ghostly green flames surged up, twisting and clawing in the air around him—like a phantom demon baring its fangs.
He stood right inside its gaping jaws.
The spectral mouth slowly began to close—
Then vanished.
Everything fell silent again.
"Now then... how should I get over there?"
Looking at the distance to Dead End Hollow, Zane spoke in a low voice.
If only he could fly.
He could grow wings, but only temporarily.
His space-type energy was still in the separation stage—not yet usable in combat.
Still a long way to go.
"But with how strong my body is now... I might be able to try something else."