I See Hope

'''Ethan White, enough with your noisy and depressing thoughts. We have arrived.''' A voice echoed in Ethan White's mind, impregnated with a tone of annoyance.

Ethan White's thoughts stopped after hearing the voice coming from his head, his eyes focusing on his surroundings. Taking his school backpack, he placed the handles on his shoulders and got up from his seat.

After pressing the button to stop the bus, he only had to wait for a few minutes to get down from the vehicle. A busy street greeted his sight. Ethan White felt slightly surprised initially, but he knew that it was reasonable for the commercial and business district to have such crowded streets.

However, the number of people going around the streets did not increase Ethan White's mood. He could see the shadow of sadness on their faces and the worry in their eyes. They were business people and customers.

Even when the world was on the verge of a breakdown, the economy did not stop. People were buying as usual, and the companies were fighting with each other as usual.

Ethan White also felt worried about humanity becoming extinct. He did not want to die. He did not want anyone to die. But he repressed these feelings, keeping them hidden in his depths. His major priority was to become an Ascended, and he did not want any other thoughts to distract him.

He was trying to be positive, thinking that maybe after getting Ascended, his master could help Earth in the war. Maybe he could even join the army and fight against the invaders. His hands started to shake at these thoughts, getting reminded of the gruesome destiny of the human Ascenders fighting in the war.

Halting the train of his thoughts, Ethan White sighed internally and resumed his walking. He was looking around at the shops, the agencies, and the companies buildings in the avenue, in search of something. His gaze stopped at a tall skyscraper, a line of words decorating the front: "THE WHITE HOLE S.A.".

Ethan White stopped in front of the main doors, where a crowd of people was walking in and out of the building. Keeping his chill and clearing his mind, he followed the group of women going toward the open crystal doors. They were wearing a jacket suitcase, and each one had a briefcase in one of their hands, a phone in the other.

He was not sure who these women were, but he had not stepped into his family's company since he was a child. He felt safer following some people in, pretending to be just an ordinary person and not the son of the chairpersons.

'I do not have many memories about the main hall, but it looks different from what I remember.'

Light blue and white tiles with a chess pattern decorated the floor, giving a clean and majestic aura, as if Ethan White just entered the most important company in the world. The main hall was divided into three areas: the reception, the rest area, and the elevators area.

The reception was at the front, a semicircle wooden desk with several top-notch devices to give the best help. A pair of seductive women, presumably Ascenders, were talking with a group of men wearing a black jacket suit and a suitcase in their hands.

In the rest area, expensive sofas made of delicate beige leather surrounded exquisite wooden tables, molded with golden shapes resembling flowers and lions. The sofas had beautiful hand-carved wood armrests with a gold lead finish on them, giving an elegant and sober feel to the area.

At last, the elevator area was at the bottom, next to the reception. A pair of white marble stairs were at the sides, facing each other, with a row of metallic doors next to them. The metallic doors were opening and getting close the entire time, the interior of a wide elevator welcoming the visitors.

Ethan White saw the group of women going to one of the many elevators after having a brief talk with one of the seductive receptionists, unfazed by the elegance of the site, not even getting jealous because of their beauty.

However, Ethan White was disturbed by the brightness of the furniture and the crowds of people going around. His first thought was to go to the elevator, but he was aware that he could not go to his mother's office using the elevators everyone was using. After meditating about what to do, he headed to the reception desk.

The pair of female Ascenders were busy dealing with some men, not even noticing his arrival. Ethan White could hear the way one man was trying to flirt with the blond woman, trying to get her phone number.

'Who would be so lame to annoy an unknown girl, even more at her work time? How can he not see how uncomfortable she is feeling?' Ethan White scorned him internally. At times like this, he wished for these people to be sent to the frontline. Maybe they would do something worthwhile with their life.

Ethan White stopped these violent thoughts instantly. It was improper for him to think like this. The only time he got violent thoughts before was when he got to know that the murderer of his best friend, Oscar, was Oscar's father. Perhaps he was wrong, and the war between humanity and Golden Civilization was taking a toll on him as well, contrary to what he initially thought.

After waiting for half an hour, the guy using glasses finally stopped to flirt with the blond woman. It seems like he got her number, but Ethan White was sure it was a fake one just looking at the smug smirk she showed on her face when the man left.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" The blond woman asked after Ethan White positioned himself in front of her desk.

"Hello, I am Ethan White. My father is Mike White, and my mother is Loren White. I came here after my mother asked me to go see her at her office. I can show my ID card to guarantee my identity." Ethan White said bluntly, handing off his ID card for her to see.

He waited for three months for this day to come, and he already spent the entire morning going to this place. He did not have the patience to fool around, feeling disgusted by solely being inside the company. Ethan White did not care if this place belonged to his family and therefore to him. He could not help but remember the pressure given by his parents' expectations, wanting him to inherit their shares of the company.

He was not interested in inheriting the company. His only interest was to become stronger, to find out what was happening to him, to his mind. And to defend himself, physically and mentally, from other Ascenders.