"That kid Ian was more mature than I expected..."
"Of course. No reward without earning it. For a kid who grew up scraping by in the East Borough, a little extra caution was only natural."
After a few more glasses of strong liquor, Lorne slipped out of the Bravehearts Bar under cover of darkness, before the evening rush filled it with noise.
He was in no hurry to return to his villa on Williams Street. Instead, he planned to wander around the East Borough first.
Looking back on Ian's behavior in the billiard room, one word summed it up: restraint.
Faced with Lorne's offer, a temptation powerful enough to change his fate, Ian had remained extremely reserved. He had not immediately shown the greed and fervor with which those at the bottom yearned for power. At least, that was how it appeared on the surface.
Lorne could understand his wariness.
After all, although they had done business several times, Lorne mainly dealt with Sharron and Maric whenever he visited the bar.
From Ian's perspective, a business associate he rarely interacted with had suddenly approached him and said, "I'll give you Beyonder powers." His first reaction would definitely be suspicion, wondering whether the man wanted to use him as a guinea pig or send him to his death.
Then came a polite refusal.
But as a Sequence 4 demigod, Lorne had clearly sensed the emotional fluctuations deep within Ian's spirit body.
There had been unmistakable excitement, desire, and longing.
Ian spent every day around people with Beyonder powers, such as Maric, and had witnessed the magnificent wonders of another world. Claiming he had no desire whatsoever for Beyonder powers would have been an outright lie.
So, during their subsequent conversation, Lorne changed his approach, describing the offer as an "investment" in