Russ rises from the ground, wavering to the sides and shaking his head. His dark fur grows along his back, neck, and face as his muscles swell and define. His skin cracks between the ribs, revealing luminescent dark-green flesh. Claws jut from his paws like obsidian talons, dripping with poison. His eyes, once brown, turn dull green, shining into the dark space.

Ethan stumbles forward, the pain stabbing into his heart like serrated knives. He who usually walks off pain, accustomed to its permanent presence, cannot silence this paralyzing agony.

Spikes, like blades, jut out from Russ' spine, lining one after another in decreasing size until they reach his tail. He howls, shaking the air and the Ether.

'Insight,' Ethan thinks.

Russ

Lv.20/20 (Ambush predator) Death hound

Lv.0/20 (Death hound)

Strength: 28 (13) Charisma: 3

Dexterity: 14 (24) Perception: 28

Constitution: 15 Willpower: 14

Intelligence: 6

Abilities

Camouflage (F)

Growth (E)

Hunter's mark (F)

Poisoned natural weapons (F)

Shadow blend (F)

Shadows' embrace (F)

Silent steps (F)

Territory (F)

Alteration

Strength boost +15

Dexterity penalty -10

Anders hefts his glaive at Russ as the now-monster prowls towards him. Russ growls, his claws digging into the ground by his weight alone. He lunges forward, breaking into a run with his maw closed, ready to bite.

Ethan's pain recedes to the manageable burning pressure of a gunshot. He bursts forward, using Strengthening to close the distance with Russ. He unsummons his blade and spins into the air, his foot aimed at the side of Russ' colossal neck.

Russ melts into the ground; he vanishes into the shadowed island, only illuminated from below. Ethan's kick hits nothing but air, and he lands on the ground, unable to find Russ even through predator's sight.

"Get to the tower!" Ethan commands Anders. The man puts back on his helmet and runs off towards the golden pillar. The ground darkens, soon turning into a pool of shadows in a large radius around Ethan.

'Prescience,' Ethan thinks, expecting Russ to jump out from the ground. He glances around, his feet vanishing under a layer of dark smoke rising from the now black ground. He readies a hex, denying himself a Dermal shield to cast his dark spell faster.

A specter of light lunges from behind. Ethan dashes to his left, avoiding the dark mass of fur and claws hurling past him. Raising a hand, Ethan releases the debilitating hex, its threads missing Russ as he dives back into the shadows.

Anders exits the darkened ground and turns to look at Ethan while jogging backward. Ethan swings his arm, motioning for Anders to keep running, fearing that Russ could switch targets.

A shock hurls Ethan into the air. He spins and lands on his feet, holding his side where he was hit. His hand feels wet; he looks down and sees blood, seeping through four cuts. He scans around, finding nothing but shadowed ground.

"Predator's sight," Ethan thinks, switching his eyes. He sees Russ lunging from the darkness and steps aside. Though he dodges, Russ' claws still catch his leg, scratching it through his pants.

Hoping for the spell to reach Russ instantly, Ethan summons a Lightning Bolt and strikes Russ in the side. For an instant, the ground's layer of darkness splits under the electric arc's light. The dog tumbles to the ground, and Ethan visualizes the sigils of a debilitating hex.

Pain constricts Ethan's heart as fire rushes through his veins, hotter around his wounds. "Poison," Ethan realizes. Russ vanishes back, dodging the hex the pain delayed.

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"I need to take his shadows away," Ethan thinks. He winces as the pain and numbness of Russ' poison spread. Drawing in Ether, he raises a hand and shoots a fireball in the air. The shadows crawl back, creating a circle of ochre ground around him as the spell detonates. Ethan aims down and unleashes an artillery barrage on the ground, creating pyres that scare off the night.

Russ appears from the ground, spit by it as his dark shelter vanishes. The dancing lights create a background to his ochre camouflage, making it useless. "Prescience," Ethan thinks as he now sees Russ.

Russ slaloms between the fires, rushing towards Ethan with his mouth closed. His claws dig into the ground with each leap. His form is brutal, like an enraged grizzly.

Ethan waits for him and casts a debilitating hex, its dark tendril catching Russ in his final, attacking lunge. Shifting to the side, Ethan catches Russ' neck under his right arm. The inertia pushes Ethan back, his feet grinding against the island's ground.

Russ swaps his left paw, striking Ethan in the chest. Lacking in strength, the attack only scratches Ethan, but he can feel poison spreading from the wound.

'Strengthening,' Ethan thinks as he contracts his right arm, aiming to cut Russ' oxygen flow. He holds tight as Russ shakes him off the ground with his neck and back.

Russ snarls, writhing beneath Ethan's tightening grip, his monstrous body surging with wrath. Ethan feels Russ' body thrashing, each movement heavier, more desperate, as his grip tightens around the monster's neck. The poison spreads in his veins, making his limbs feel like lead, and his heartbeat thunder in his ears; but he holds.

Ethan's mind races with memories of the island they met and the hope he gave him during their stranded time. "I won't lose you," Ethan breathes, his voice hoarse. He pulls Russ tighter, his muscles straining against the animal's frantic struggle. "Not like this."

Russ' claws continue to flail, scraping at Ethan's sides, each impact sending waves of pain through his body. He tries to deflect them, but his left arm rests unresponsive at his side, paralyzed. Poison seeps through every new scratch, stinging and burning like acid.

Ethan's vision blurs, consciousness slipping further away with each breath. He tries to envision his Ether, to bolster his hex, but his mind is sluggish, put asleep by the toxin.

"I need you," Ethan whispers as he sees the flames dying down. His mind, teetering on the brink of unconsciousness, drifts back to the time before Russ entered his life. "I was nothing but a husk," he admits, his voice barely more than a breath. "Then you came along, and for the first time, I had something that mattered. Caring for you, having to feed, shelter, and teach you brought me back. I know it was selfish, pulling you into my world, risking your safety every day. But you make me feel alive... you make me… human. And I can’t let that go anymore."

For a moment, Ethan's grip falters. The shadowy ground under him seems to shift, threatening to swallow them both. But he tightens again, his despair drawing on his life force and giving him back his strength.

"When we finally end the man who haunts my sleep, I promise you that we'll leave that life behind," Ethan says. "No more jobs. We will be free to go anywhere we want, to explore that new world together."

Russ' body convulses, a shudder that nearly throws Ethan off balance. The massive claws slow their thrashing, his muscles twitching as they relax. The shadows around them recede, and Russ' eyes close shut.

"Thank you," Ethan whispers, summoning the potion of soul purity. Ethan lets go of Russ, who falls to the ground. Fighting to stay awake, Ethan crouches and forces open Russ' upper jaw. He moves the vial to the edge of his throat and uncorks it, his feeble arm resting on Russ' tongue. The dark liquid burps out of the vial and drops into Russ' throat.

As Ethan removes his hand, Russ springs to his feet. He tumbles backward and shrinks down to his normal wolf size. His dark green eyes shimmer with a lighter shade, and he falls to the ground.

Ethan's heart skips a beat as Russ now looks dead. "Please," he mutters.

Russ' claw scrapes the ground as he flexes his paw. He closes and reopens his eyes, his gaze falling on Ethan. Russ stands and bows his head, successively approaching and backing away like a scared animal.

Still crouched, Ethan extends a hand towards Russ, a tear forming at the edge of his right eye. Ethan kills the emotion, forcing himself to appear and to smell confident. He doesn't say a word, fearing that he may have forgotten him.

Russ approaches and sniffs Ethan's bloodied hand. He straightens, his green eyes staring into Ethan's. His tail shifts left and right, hastening until he wags frenetically. He bows playfully and yelps before jumping on Ethan's chest, his claws scrapping Ethan's skin.

Animal bond

Russ's affection is high enough to form a bond. You're currently bonded to 0 animals out of a maximum of 1.

Once you bond with an animal, you'll be able to dictate their growth.

Would you like to form a bond with Russ? If either party starts to hate the other or dies, it will break the bond. Undoing a bond will cause temporary penalties.

YES NO

Ethan taps 'YES' without hesitation. Russ releases a sharp, happy bark as Ethan grabs his head and pets him with every inch of strength he has left.