"By reaching a level of obedience of 50 with a monster, he unlocked the Ascendant talent. By reaching a level of obedience of 80 with Russ, you gained the ability to communicate by thought," the system announces. "You obtained the First Monster Tamer title. The Bond Unseen Lineage talent has been granted."

"Am I the first to bond a monster? Amongst all the Tamers that must exist, it's… unbelievable,' Ethan ponders. He shakes Russ' now-fluffy ears, inciting the dog to twist his head in playful discomfort. "Yes, you're a good boy. A good boy that now glows in the dark; I'm sure that will be useful for infiltration."

Ethan's hands tremble, his mind and sight still clouded by Russ' poison. The wounds tinge and burn, their pain returning. Russ nudges against Ethan's chest, whining.

"I'm fine," Ethan says. He presses against the cuts, stopping the blood loss, and summons gauze. Ethan unbuttons his damaged vest and shirt with his left hand and drops them to the ground. He wraps his abdomen with tight layers of gauze.

Russ curls on the ground and tries to scratch his ears. He's surprised when the spikes on his back stop his paw, forcing him to adjust his posture and angle of attack.

Ethan secures the large bandage with knots and grabs his clothes. They are rags, slashed by claws, and torn from his overuse of Strengthening. He moves over to retrieve his coat, finding it cut at the elbows, yet it still is in better condition than his vest. He dons his white shirt and the dusty cloak, storing the ruined vest of his costume.

'I must look like a beggar with all this dust and tears,' Ethan thinks. He glances back to look towards Russ but finds himself looking at the approaching ground. The next moment, he's pressed against the ochre dust, his mind struggling with a shock spreading from his jaw.

Russ shoves his head under Ethan and rolls him to the side. He moves to Ethan's head, whining as he presses his nose on Ethan's skin.

Thunderous steps run towards them, echoing through the ground. The adrenaline recedes further, letting blood loss and poison take over. His mind clouded, Ethan commands, 'Guard.'

Russ barks, and the steps halt. Anders says something, but Ethan's mind is unable to decipher the noises.

Ethan closes his eyes, visualizing his last health potion. The image appears like a red, blurry stain that doesn't summon anything when he triggers Inventory. The noises of Anders' voice and Russ' barks die down. Ethan splits the image, starting with the empty vial to then fill it with the red liquid. He imagines the smell and the taste of it before thinking, 'Inventory.'

Ethan feels the potion's weight in his hand and commands his arm to bend and bring it to his mouth. The limb refuses to comply, grinding against the dust and stopping far away from its goal. The sensation of his legs and arms vanishes. Yet he doesn't feel any fear or stress as a coldness crawls under his skin and around his mind. The beating of his heart disappears, and his head, the only part he still feels, dives into the fluffiest of pillows.

Pain stabs Ethan's chest, and he lifts his chest off the ground. Russ barks, feinting lunges to force Anders to back away. The man holds an empty vial in his hand; this isn't Ethan's health potion.

Anders raises his hands in the air, reassuring Russ. "See, I'm moving away. Don't bite me, … please."

'Leave it,' Ethan commands. Russ jumps on Ethan's legs to lick his face; Ethan pushes his dog away, still trying to catch his breath. He turns to Anders and asks, "Did you give me something?"

"When your… dog finally let me," he begins, exaggerating annoyance. "I gave you your health potion. Good thing you had one, because I'm all out. And after that, I gave you an anti-poison; you looked all pale with dark veins, almost blue lips, and quite a lot of foam."

"Thanks," Ethan says. The ease with which he accepted death troubles him. The coldness that took his mind recedes, making Ethan ponder if Rest's power may have been at play. He rises to his feet, pushing Rush off his legs.

"When I saw you walking around, I thought you weren't that wounded. But clearly you should have been a little more worried seeing all that blood," Anders says. He motions towards the ground, where pools of red mix with the ochre dust. Anywhere else, it would have looked like a murder scene.

"That's a lot of blood," Ethan comments.

"Yeah," Anders snaps, his voice filled with anger. "He hit you in the liver with the first blow. I'm surprised you held out that long."

"Why are you angry?" Ethan asks.

"Instead of saying he was sick, you could have told me he was going to turn into a monster. I saw the mark on his back; that's the same one as the Wolves; you knew it would happen. I could have helped you hold him down for you to give him that potion," Anders blames, gesticulating. "But noooo, you had to do it all by yourself. Even if it meant getting killed by your own dog."

"We don't know each other," Ethan snaps. "It was convenient for us to fight that monster together, but do not dare think that even for a moment I trust you. And neither should you."

Anders opens his mouth to say something but stops himself. He turns around to walk back to the tower. "You're right. It's not really you I'm angry with; I'm sorry."

'Who is he angry with then? And once he saw the marks when Russ transformed, he could have refused my command to run away. This is hindsight hypocrisy,' Ethan thinks. As Anders walks away, Ethan opens his status to examine Russ'.

Russ

Lv.20/20 (Ambush predator) Death hound

Lv.0/20 (Death hound)

Bonded: Ethan Reed (Obedience 95)

Strength: 13 Charisma: 6

Dexterity: 24 Perception: 28

Constitution: 15 Willpower: 14

Intelligence: 6

Abilities

Camouflage (F)

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Growth (E)

Hunter's mark (F)

Poisoned natural weapons (F)

Shadow blend (F)

Shadows' embrace (F)

Silent steps (F)

Territory (F)

"Your charisma went back up," Ethan notes. Russ also gained strength and constitution as part of his transformation. "I guess that, intelligence, and willpower are part of your soul. Too bad the system didn't give you four characteristic points. That would have been a useful loophole."

Russ dives into Ethan's shadow and vanishes into it. Ethan flinches at the sight before leaning over his shadow and looking into it. It attracts thin threads of Ether that vanish from existence as they reach the ground. Green eyes open on the shadow to glance back at Ethan.

"Russ, heel," Ethan orders. Russ leaps out of the shadow and moves to press against Ethan's leg, staring upward. "It must be your new Shadows' embrace ability."

Ethan summons a bag of shredded beef from an MRE and heats it up with an ember of a Flamme spell. "Ok." He gives Russ a first bite and taps on his shadow with his foot. Russ disappears into it, and Ethan programs, 'Shadow.'

They repeat the process of heeling and vanishing a dozen times. Russ' ability to learn and his eagerness for beef make it easy for Ethan. He is soon convinced that Russ understands the command.

"That's a good boy," Ethan says as he shows the empty bag to Russ. "I was wondering how I would climb with you, but you made it easy for me. Shadow."

Russ vanishes from sight, and Ethan walks towards the tower where Anders is waiting. 'Perhaps once he was outside of Russ' reach, safe, he thought he would have acted differently had I warned him. He did approach him to heal me.'

His back leaning against the tower, Anders points his thumb at it. "There are no entrances, just plaques with text in several languages."

Ethan glances down at the closest plaque and reads it. "You who fell to purgatory shall let go of the weights of your soul to rise back to life. Enlightenment will be your resurrection."

"Yup," Anders comments, staring at Ethan's shadow as Russ' eyes glance at him. "So, what are we supposed to do?"

"Climb," Ethan answers. He leaps onto the tower, grasping a golden face before moving upward. Improved by the system and Strengthening, his body feels feather light to pull up.

Ander stashes his glaive into his belt pouch and follows suit. He catches up with Ethan, placing himself forty degrees to the left. He absorbs Ether in the same way as Sylas, drawing in threads with each breath.

Russ' eyes open on the tower's surface, glancing back and forth between Ethan and Anders.

"So, he's in your shadow," Anders notices. "You dispelled his fire by freezing the Ether around us. Not mentioning your red and golden eyes, you are way stronger than you said."

"What's your point?" Ethan asks. The questioning annoys him, but blocking the conversation will create more suspicion. If his party members are on the same level as he is, they may be a major player in future events. They would have credibility towards the authorities and public should they denounce him.

"You are not level seventeen; I'd even guess you already ascended. So, what is it? Did you multi-class in both Warrior and Mage? And what's up with the eyes?" Anders asks.

'I hope Tombstone and Cypher erased every trace of my fight in Dubai. Otherwise, he could recognize me,' Ethan realizes. "I acted surprised when you spoke of unique achievements. The eyes are abilities much like your Permafrost. And yes, you are right, my total level is over thirty."

"You don't trust people, do you?" Anders asks. Ethan's expression makes it clear he won't get an answer to the rhetorical question. "How is it? The realm of Ascension, I mean."

"That place tests you in many ways, using every weakness it can find. But it is nothing for someone strong of both body and mind," Ethan answers. He hopes that Maelor is right.

"So, it’s a custom challenge," Anders comments, self-convincing himself of Ethan's words. "Don't you worry that you won't be able to get an ascended class now that you multi-classed in two basic ones?"

"Not really," Ethan lies. "There are items in the other world that can give you a new class. I'm sure I could find one in some high-ranking dungeon. Plus, not being able to level up doesn't stop your growth. I raised my willpower on my own; I'm sure I could gain strength the way we used to. Without mentioning hunter titles and dungeon rewards."

"That's good to know, thanks." Anders says. He glances back and forth at Ethan, or rather around Ethan. "How are you doing that? Drawing in Ether continuously, I mean."

"You're not the first to ask me that," Ethan comments. One could think that it's only a matter of training, but to Ethan, it's natural. Even though it improved with Maelor's knowledge and Ethan's experience, his pull on Ether has always been easy. At his first meeting with it, in the kobolds' lair, it was even drawn to him. "How did you absorb Ether for the first time?"

"Me? First time was an ice Ether crystal. But Ether-Ether? Our Mage had to… meditate for a good ten minutes. And when he taught us, I spent half an hour trying." Anders answers.

'Weird,' Ethan thinks. The hypothesis of a genetic component crosses Ethan's mind. But how could that be in a population alien to Ether? It would be like a desert species evolving gills. 'Meditation seems to be the default in the otherworld. Kate has the same ease as me – so did Blackwood and Dawnstar. I should ask Tombstone; with the entirety of N.E.S.T. as a sample, we could find a common element. It would help explain why there are so few strong people on the other side. It's a massive disadvantage compared to me.'

Ethan stops, realizing he lost himself in his thoughts, his guard completely down. His usual restraints are gone, not in the way of the lord's castle, but because he's calm and, for once, not alert.

"Everything alright?" Anders asks, stopping a meter above.

'Rest,' Ethan mutters in his mind. He resumes his ascension, focused on staying alert. "It's nothing."

Images seep into Ethan's mind – flashes of blood, his father's face, his lifeless eyes, and his murderer. The images twist his thoughts, paralyzing his ascent. His muscles grow weak, unable to grab higher, unable to let go of their current hold.

Anders stops at the same level, a haunted look etching his face. But then, the earlier coldness creeps under Ethan's skin and wraps around his thoughts. The memory distorts, its edges blurring until they turn into a quiet void. Ethan takes a deep breath and glances back at Anders.

"If that's what the plaque meant, I will be here for some time," Anders mutters. He reaches higher, his arm looking feeble as he struggles to lift himself. "Go ahead, don't let me slow you down."

Ethan moves his gaze upward and resumes his ascension. More memories surge forward, each one cutting deeper than the last. He sees himself, barely an adult, standing amid the carnage of a South American slum. His hands, slick with blood, grip a blade chipped on its victims' bones. Gang members litter the ground, their faces frozen, their bodies in desperate poses. The coldness takes it away.

Higher, another vision overtakes him. A young child, One, stares up at him with an emotionless stare. Ethan remembers the lessons, the drills, and the nights where it taught One to survive, to kill, to become a weapon. The coldness takes it away.

Ethan pulls himself faster, fearing that Rest's ability may falter. He realizes that he never thinks of those memories unless someone mentions them. They are stashed away to the back of his mind, forgotten.

Screams rattle in his mind – civilians gunned down by soldiers. Their panicked faces, the helpless cries of mothers clutching their children. Ethan remembers watching the execution from the side, ensuring his cover remained intact. He sees the bodies crumple to the ground, pushed into a trench on the side of the road. The coldness takes it away.

A dozen meters under the clouds, an image burns through his mind. In a darkened alley, a drunk giant lunges at him with a knife. Ethan, a child, still suffering the burns of his mansion's fire, reacts to instinct. The man falls, blood spilling across the pavement from the wound his own knife pierced in his heart. But it's the girl's face that he remembers the most. The wide, uncomprehending stare of a daughter seeing her father's last moment.

The memory presses against his mind like iron spikes. Yet, as before, Rest's influence creeps into his consciousness. The cold presence draws out his emotions and snuffs out the memory. His hands find strength again, and he pulls himself up the tower.

He glances back at Anders, who continues to struggle with his own burdens, far below. Ethan pushes on, climbing through the layer of cloud where light takes him away.

"You completed your fourth trial of the Labyrinth of Death, Purgatory."