A year could feel slow, but it could also pass in the blink of an eye.
Ethan lived a very regular life, teaching Thea magic every day, occasionally sending out clones to spar with her in combat training, and sometimes complaining about some of Oliver's decisions. Just like that, a year had passed since he arrived in this world.
Many things happened over this year—at least for Oliver.
For example, Oliver discovered that the true identity of his greatest enemy, the Black Arrow—or rather, the Dark Archer—was Malcolm Merlyn, the father of his best friend, Tommy Merlyn.
And the Dark Archer's plan was to destroy the Glades in Starling City.
In the end, Oliver barely managed to stop Malcolm Merlyn's plan. The Glades were not completely destroyed, though they still suffered some damage. Most importantly, his best friend Tommy died in the disaster.
The mastermind, Malcolm Merlyn, was also believed to have died. In reality, he used the chaos to escape Starling City.
Things finally seemed to have come to an end.
Additionally, his mother and stepfather, Walter, divorced, and Moira was facing prison time for her involvement in Merlyn's insane plan. Oliver felt that his life had completely fallen apart. Many things should not have ended this way.
"I told you, hiding secrets under the pretense of 'doing it for someone's good' only backfires."
A large part of why things turned out like this was due to Oliver's own choices.
Of course, his mother also kept many secrets. Both mother and son believed they were protecting each other, but they had only gotten in each other's way.
If Oliver had been straightforward, explained the situation, laid out his plan, and demonstrated that he had the power to stand against Merlyn, his mother might not have sided with him immediately, but she definitely would have been conflicted. That alone would have bought him enough time.
As the standoff with Merlyn dragged on, and once it became clear that Malcolm was not invincible, Moira would definitely have chosen to support her son.
At that point, if the mother and son had joined forces against Merlyn, perhaps he would never have had the chance to launch the destruction of the Glades. Many things could have changed.
For example, Tommy might not have died, and Oliver wouldn't be sitting here now, mourning.
"Do you still have that thing I gave you?"
Oliver didn't know why Ethan was suddenly bringing that up, but he still reached into his pocket and took out a pendant.
"You mean this?"
Ethan had given it to him a few months ago without saying much, only that it could help him in a critical moment and that he should always carry it with him.
Given Ethan's identity, Oliver had kept the pendant on him this whole time, even though he never figured out its purpose.
Ethan glanced at the pendant, then took it and gently crushed it. The pendant turned to dust and scattered with the wind.
Oliver looked at him curiously, not understanding the meaning behind the action. But the next second, something that shocked him happened.
The scattered specks of light from the pendant slowly gathered into the translucent figure of a person. As the light converged, the figure became clearer and clearer, until Oliver recognized who it was.
"Tommy?"
He reached out instinctively to hug his best friend, but his hand passed right through the figure.
"This is..."
"Tommy's soul. The pendant I gave you was meant to protect the soul of you or someone important to you."
Ethan looked at Tommy beside him. At that moment, Tommy appeared dazed. The souls of ordinary people were fragile. Without a special environment or method to stabilize them, they would quickly dissipate, or be pulled away to wherever they were meant to go.
Oliver remembered Ethan's identity again. No matter what, this man was a deity. In legends, gods were often capable of resurrecting the dead.
"Could it be..."
Ethan didn't answer. He simply raised a hand gently, and a magnificent white door radiating holy light appeared in the empty space beside them.
"Marvin."
Ethan called the name softly. The white door slowly opened, and a Black man in a simple robe with pure white wings stepped out and knelt on one knee before Ethan.
"Awaiting your command."
Ethan nodded and gestured toward Tommy's soul.
Marvin glanced at it briefly and immediately understood what was being asked.
He had no objections to escorting a new soul into Heaven. As for whether the soul was qualified or not, that didn't matter to him. The entire Heaven realm belonged to Ethan. If Ethan said someone could enter, they could enter.
He wasn't surprised that the god he served had summoned him personally to escort the soul. Ethan could have sent Tommy directly, but the fact that Marvin was called meant there was a specific reason.
It was just a pickup. Considering how many benefits he'd received, it was the least he could do.
After all, he retained his memories after death, gained a longer life, acquired magical power, and had even become a legendary angel. With so many blessings, Marvin knew exactly what to do.
He stood up and led Tommy's soul into the door. Then the holy white door closed and gradually faded, as if it had never existed.
Oliver watched the entire process. Only after everything returned to normal did he let out a long breath.
"I thought... you were a Greek god?"
Ethan shook his head.
"The power I hold is too varied. It doesn't belong to any specific mythology on Earth."
"That was..."
"A small Heaven. Tommy can live there much longer..." Ethan glanced at Oliver and added, "If he's willing, he can become like Marvin."
Oliver didn't know who Marvin was, but based on appearance alone, Marvin looked exactly like an angel from legend. Did that mean Tommy could also become an angel? It sounded like an excellent outcome.
Compared to not knowing where he would go, or even ceasing to exist entirely, this was a far better ending.
The only downside was that it would be difficult to see him again.
"If he works hard and makes his new form more stable, then coming out and walking around occasionally won't be hard."
Oliver nodded. This was already much better than he had imagined. He thanked Ethan again, then finally asked whether Ethan had something he wanted to accomplish.
He wasn't stupid. Although Ethan had appeared relaxed and casual over the past year, like he was just visiting and enjoying himself, Oliver sensed that Ethan had a purpose. He hadn't taken any action. It felt more like he was waiting.
Perhaps he was waiting for the right moment. Or perhaps, what he was waiting for simply hadn't arrived yet.
"You don't need to worry about that. I do have a goal, but for now, all I can do is wait."
Ethan had not given up on the idea of contacting the Speed Force early, but unfortunately, his efforts yielded no results.
He had even gone to Central City in secret and observed Reverse-Flash, who was impersonating Harrison Wells, hoping to find a trace of the Speed Force through him.
However, the Speed Force within Reverse-Flash was so thin it was nearly non-existent. Over time, it seemed Reverse-Flash's condition was getting worse. At this point, he was probably more anxious than Ethan, desperate to make the particle accelerator explode and create the Flash.
After all, Reverse-Flash's power came from the Flash. This was different from the Flash, who was directly linked to the Speed Force.
Without the Flash, it was like a device had been lost that connected to the Speed Force, leaving Ethan unable to locate it through Reverse-Flash.
So he gave up on trying to contact the Speed Force early. He returned to Star City and waited quietly for the Flash's arrival. At most, he had Ada act as his agent to purchase some shares in S.T.A.R. Labs, making him one of the investors and shareholders.
After chatting a bit more with Oliver, Ethan suddenly paused, then stood up and waved to him.
"Thea's training is about to end. Let's go check on her."
While he and Oliver had been chatting in the garden, Thea had been undergoing intense training in the basement.
A year was enough to bring about a dramatic change in the once-delicate girl. Especially under Ethan's targeted training, Thea's current appearance gave people the impression of a hardened warrior.
When Ethan and Oliver arrived at the training ground, Diggle, Felicity, and even Tony were already there, watching the battle between Thea and Ethan's energy clone.
The fight had reached a crucial moment. The blue-white energy weapons in their hands clashed repeatedly.
As the battle reached its climax, Thea, who had been holding her sword with both hands, suddenly let go with one hand. Then, while using the sword in one hand to deflect the clone's weapon, she punched with her free hand from a certain distance.
A blue-white meteor flashed in an instant. The dazzling light it emitted caught everyone's attention. With that flash, Ethan's clone was blasted away, its energy body scattering apart.
The sudden burst of power inflicted a 'fatal' blow on Ethan's clone, signifying that after a year of training, Thea had finally achieved victory in practical combat.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
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