Chapter 1007 - 1005 Familial Bond
Chapter 1007: Chapter 1005 Familial Bond
Kisha and Ethan continued deeper into the mountain with Bell and Zeus leading the way, their path growing increasingly treacherous the farther they went. The terrain quickly shifted from manageable trails to jagged slopes, loose rocks, and uneven ground that would make an ordinary person hesitate with every step.
But for Kisha, it barely slowed her down.
Her body had long since been enhanced through constant leveling, the system’s stat boosts from missions and achievements refining her strength, agility, and endurance far beyond normal limits. No matter how steep the incline or how unstable the ground was, she moved with effortless ease, her steps light and precise as if the rugged mountain path posed no real challenge at all.
At times, she would leap across rocky gaps or descend sharp slopes with nimble, almost animal-like agility, landing steadily as though gravity itself had little hold on her.
Ethan, however, was a different story.
Although he had awakened his ability and possessed the physique of a well-trained soldier, he still couldn’t match Kisha’s pace. Where she moved swiftly and decisively, he had to slow down and watch his footing carefully, especially when navigating the more dangerous rocky descents.
When they reached a particularly steep and uneven stretch, Kisha simply hopped down from one protruding rock to another with ease, her movements smooth and controlled, like a rabbit darting across rough terrain.
Ethan, on the other hand, had to descend cautiously, step by step, bracing himself to avoid slipping. One wrong move and he could easily lose his balance, roll down the jagged slope, and seriously injure himself.
By the time he reached lower ground, sweat had already soaked through his clothes.
Yet, despite the difficulty, he never complained.
Not once.
Years of military discipline showed in the way he carried himself, silent, enduring, and stubbornly determined to keep up without uttering a single word of protest. He simply followed behind her, breathing heavier but steady, his expression firm even as exhaustion began to show through the tension in his movements.
Watching him like that stirred something faint in Kisha’s chest.
He was clearly struggling, clearly pushing himself, yet he refused to slow her down or ask for a break.
So, without making it obvious, Kisha subtly reduced her pace.
When she reached the bottom of another elevated rocky stretch, she stopped and leaned slightly against a nearby boulder, pretending to rest while waiting for Ethan to catch up, as if her pause had nothing to do with him at all.
Seeing Kisha stop at the foot of the slope, lightly fanning her face despite not having a single bead of sweat on her skin, Ethan immediately understood.
She was waiting for him.
That realization alone sent a sudden burst of energy through his exhausted body. His fatigue seemed to fade for a moment as he straightened and quickened his pace, determination replacing the heaviness in his limbs as he tried to climb down faster so he wouldn’t keep her waiting any longer.
But in his eagerness, he miscalculated.
His foot pressed too hard against a loose rock.
The next second, it shifted.
Then gave out completely.
Ethan’s balance collapsed in an instant.
In that split second of weightlessness, he already knew what would happen; the steep, uneven terrain below was littered with jagged stones and sharp edges. If he rolled down from this height, there was no way he would come out of it unscathed. Broken bones would be the least of his worries; one wrong angle and his head could smash against a rock hard enough to be fatal.
His instincts kicked in immediately.
He tucked his chin, curled his body into a tight fetal position, and raised his arms to shield his head and vital areas, preparing to take the impact as best as he could.
Not far away, Kisha had been silently watching him the entire time.
The moment she saw the rock give way beneath his feet, her heart lurched violently, shooting straight up to her throat as if something had lodged there, choking off her breath. The scene unfolded too fast for rational thought.
Her body moved before her mind could catch up.
Without hesitation, she activated her telekinesis.
An invisible force wrapped around Ethan’s falling body just as gravity began to drag him down. In the blink of an eye, his descent halted abruptly, his body suspended midair, frozen inches above the jagged slope as if an unseen hand had caught him.
Ethan’s eyes closed tightly in shock as he felt the terrifying fall suddenly stop, his body no longer dropping, no longer rolling, but floating weightlessly in midair under Kisha’s precise control.
Ethan had already braced himself for the impact; every muscle in his body tensed as he prepared for the inevitable pain that should have followed his fall.
But it never came.
There was no crushing force, no sharp jolt, no searing agony tearing through his limbs.
Instead, there was only... stillness.
A strange, weightless suspension.
Confused, he slowly opened his eyes, his breath uneven as he cautiously glanced around, only to freeze when he saw it.
He wasn’t on the ground.
He was floating.
Midair.
His body hung just above the jagged slope, completely suspended as if an invisible hand had caught him at the very last second. The realization struck him almost immediately, and his gaze instinctively shifted toward Kisha.
His little sister.
She had stopped his fall.
She had protected him.
For a brief moment, his throat tightened.
A hardened soldier like him had long been accustomed to brutality, bloodshed, and life-or-death situations. He had seen things most people would never be able to stomach, and he was fully aware that he was far from being a righteous or gentle person.
He had survived by being ruthless, by enduring pain, by accepting that no one would come to save him when things went wrong.
Yet now...
The one who caught him before he could even hit the ground was the very sister who often spoke coldly, who claimed she didn’t care, who kept her distance as if she wanted nothing to do with him.
And still, when it truly mattered, she moved first.
She protected him without hesitation.
That silent act of care pierced far deeper than any wound ever could.
His chest ached, his vision stinging slightly as an unfamiliar wave of emotion surged upward, threatening to break through the stoic composure he had maintained for years. A man like him didn’t cry easily; he rarely allowed himself to feel that vulnerable.
But at this moment, suspended in midair and staring at the sister who had just saved him, he felt an overwhelming urge to do exactly that.
"Little sister..." Ethan’s voice came out hoarse and thick with emotion, the words almost trembling as he looked at her like he was on the verge of breaking down.
The moment Kisha met that gaze, her scalp tingled and her skin crawled.
Without even letting him finish, she immediately lowered him back onto the ground with her telekinesis a little more abruptly than necessary. The second his feet touched the earth, she turned around and started walking again without asking if he was hurt, fine, or even stable.
As if nothing had happened.
As if she hadn’t just panicked a second ago.
In truth, her chest felt strangely unsettled.
Seeing him like that, so emotional, vulnerable, and looking at her with such obvious gratitude, made her inexplicably uncomfortable. Worse, the fact that she had reacted purely on instinct, moving to save him without a single moment of hesitation, only deepened that unease.
She clicked her tongue inwardly.
Maybe it was because they were blood-related.
No matter how much she insisted she didn’t care about familial bonds, her body had still moved first when he was in danger. Like some ingrained instinct she couldn’t suppress, the kind that whispered that blood was thicker than water, whether she acknowledged it or not.
And that realization flustered her more than she liked.
Without noticing, a faint flush crept up her cheeks, the heat lingering there as she kept her back to him, pretending to focus on the path ahead. Her steps grew a little faster, almost brisk, as if she was trying to escape the awkward atmosphere she herself had created.
From behind, Ethan watched her retreating figure that looked stiff, hurried, and oddly similar to that of a startled rabbit fleeing after being spooked.
The sight made the corners of his lips lift.
Despite the lingering emotion in his chest, he couldn’t help but let out a quiet, amused chuckle before following after her once more.
"Awooo!!!"
"Grrrraaah!!!"
Before they could get much farther, two distinct, clashing roars suddenly echoed through the mountains, sharp and feral, as if two different species of beasts were locked in a fight somewhere not far from their position.
The sound tore through the quiet like a warning.
To an ordinary person, it might have been faint or distant.