Ethan finds himself in an endless loop, trapped in a distorted memory of a vision. He stands in his father's study, his heart pounding, as he watches the scene unfold again and again. The assassin draws his gun and shoots Ethan's father. The shot rings out impossibly loud, and Ethan watches in horror as the bullet tears through his father's skull. Blood splatters in slow motion, painting the desk with streaks of red. His father's body crumples, hitting the ground with a dull thud in a frozen expression of incomprehension.
And then, everything rewinds with a sickening jerk, dragging Ethan back to the beginning. He knows it's a nightmare, but the realization does nothing to break him free. He tries to shut his eyes, but his eyes refuse to block this vision.
"Russ leveled up."
The message buzzes through his mind. Ethan's eyes snap open, and the dream collapses like shattered glass. Panicked, he looks next to him and doesn't find Russ. He leaps up and edges the alcove to look below. Through predator's sight, he sees Russ in a clearing a hundred meters away.
'Strengthening,' Ethan thinks. He hurls himself high above, crossing the distance in mere seconds. He lands in the clearing, finding a pile of Draugrs' armor and weapons. The enlarged figure of Russ crushes the skull of a last Draugr behind the pile.
Shrinking down as he exhausts the last of his Ether, Russ howls. His body grew taller and longer while his maw widened. He is different; his entire fur turned coal-black, but Ethan recognizes him immediately.
"Russ," Ethan calls. His head twitches towards his master. Russ breaks into a run. As the fur at the base of his neck rises, he closes his maw and lowers his body. Russ leaps and bites where Ethan was. "No!"
In the middle of his sidestep, Ethan grabs Russ by the neck and forces him to the ground. He pulls inward and makes Russ fall to his side, locking him there. Russ snaps at the air, kicking and clawing the ground; he barks and growls, trying to twist his neck to get Ethan's hand.
Ethan's heart races, his breath coming in short gasps as he grapples with Russ. His fingers dig into the thickened fur, tugging at his neck to hold him down. "Stay with me," he pleads, his voice cracking with fear. Russ' wrathful, bloodshot eyes flicker back to their normal, curious, and attentive look.
Ethan calms himself, trying to appear as confident and stoic as possible. Russ' assault waivers, and he soon licks his lips in surrender, trying to appease Ethan. Ethan lets go of Russ, who rolls into a down.
"You scared me there," Ethan says. He stands up, keeping his attention on Russ to react to any surprise attack. He summons his status and looks at Russ'.
Russ
Lv.17/20 (Ambush predator) Lichor (Dog)
Bonded: Ethan Reed (Obedience 63)
…
Abilities
Bond telepathy
…
Alteration
Curse of monstrosity (Severe)
'At least I can still talk to you through my thoughts. Decay said to wait the end of its natural progression,' Ethan reminds himself. He moves the armor with his foot, seeking anything of value to distract himself. Russ comes to his side, rubbing his head against Ethan's leg. This first transformation is less extreme than that of the men he slew, yet it doesn't reassure Ethan in the slightest. He pets his now wolf-like dog, hiding his fear of soon losing his companion.
"Let's get moving," Ethan mutters, pulling out his phone to check the time. He realizes he only slept a few hours. Yet, despite the urgency of the situation receding, he feels surprisingly well-rested. Is it because he’s a high-human, or could he push himself to stay awake for weeks if he continues to improve his Constitution?
They walk towards the castle, Ethan keeping a constant eye on Russ. The slightest, most innocent noises alarm Russ, something he has been long desensitized from. Reminiscent of his young self, but in a powerful body, he acts as if his training regressed by years.
At the castle's feet, the molten wax of countless candles lines towering stairs. While they are all consumed to varying degrees, none of them are expired. 'Is there someone changing the candles?' Ethan asks himself, the tough making him smirk lightly.
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Six humans wait at the end of the stairs, sitting on the oversized steps. They stare at Russ. Who wouldn't when his predatory gaze switches between all of them? An opened arch lies behind them, the entrance to a small circular room.
'They are thirsty,' Ethan notes as he sees the sunken look of one of the men. If he rushed here, he might be on his second day without water. 'How hard can it be to carry water on you before teleporting?'
Three of the five men wear gear taken from Draugrs, while the others are clad in chainmail and leather armor. The only woman, who sits on one of the last steps, hides her gear below a modern, woodland pattern cape.
'Leave it,' Ethan orders as he sees Russ' attention locking onto a man. He growls but refrains from acting; instead, he looks back at Ethan in a spurt of obedience.
The woman stands up, waving with a friendly smile. As she moves, she reveals an enchanted, neck-high gambeson shirt. She hides satchels at the back of her belt, through which Ethan cannot see. Just like her, the two leather-armored men carry haversacks in their gear.
"Hiiii." She's tuning her voice to be unsettlingly friendly, succeeding in nothing more than alerting Ethan. She steps forward to block their path. Russ growls, approaching her while lowering himself. Ethan grabs him by the scruff and pulls him back to heel. She doesn't seem worried about it. "I've never seen a Tamer before. You shouldn’t growl at people like that; that's impolite."
"Sorry, he's not exactly himself today," Ethan says. The two properly geared men tense, staring at Russ as if they were ready to protect her from him. The first places his hand on the handle of a sword hanging from his belt, while the other slides his under his coat to a concealed dagger.
'Those two are with her, but not the others. What are they waiting for?' Ethan ponders. He peers into the Ether. She's the only one trying to conceal her aura. If she weren't, it would be a mild discomfort for everyone here. Her party is leagues above the three others, but all their auras are weak by Ethan's standards.
She readjusts her mid-length, light-brown hair with her right hand. A hand chain is attached to it over a thin, leaver glove. The piece of jewelry disturbs the Ether slightly, and so does the pair of sapphire earrings she wears. "Don't worry, dogs love me. I've got a Beauceron."
'Not as a bond,' Ethan remarks internally. Holding Russ by the collar, he steps to the side and passes her. A statue of a kneeling, withered man stands beyond the arch and before a large metal door, its hands opened and extended. Eight small, cold braziers surround the statue.
Two green flames appear on as many braziers. The people behind them stand and approach. Ethan spins to face them, hiding his left hand behind his back, where he prepares a Lightning Bolt spell.
"Don't worry," she says. Motioning for the others to wait, she climbs to Ethan's level. A third brazier ignites. She pulls out a soul coin from one of her satchels. "We need eight people to pass the gate, and just as many of these coins. I wasn't sure a wolf would count, but it seems like it."
'Were they waiting outside to see if I have coins?' Ethan asks himself. He cancels his nascent spell and summons the coins in his hidden hand before showing it. He scans the reactions, ready for all of them to try and take what is his. "How do you know that? Are you just guessing?"
"Mostly." She throws her coin at the sword-carrying man behind her, and the flame turns red. He throws it back to her; the fire shifts to green. "Thank you, Derek. I tried to hold more than one, but it doesn't work."
Ethan clenches his jaws, refraining from sending them away as he may not have another choice. Allying himself with strangers is dangerous. None can be considered harmless, or they wouldn't have a soul coin. He thinks, 'If it's just to pass the gate, it's not a problem, but I doubt it will end there. They won't be a danger to me, especially those three. But with Russ threatening to attack them or me at any moment, they cou–'
Without letting Ethan finish his train of thoughts, they all enter the circular room, the flames appearing one after the other. She approaches Ethan, and a window flashes before him. "You seem competent, more than the other three at least. What do you say you join our party?"
Party invitation
Ivy Langley extends you an invitation to join her party. If you accept, you will join the following people:
Ivy Langley (Mage)
Derek Turner (Warrior)
Grant Dawson (Thief)
Accept Deny
"I don't need to join your party to open the door," Ethan says. Her overly friendly tone cannot stop setting off alarms in his mind. Even if she doesn't have any ill intentions, how could she trust him on a whim? He taps 'Deny' and moves away from her, still holding Russ' collar.
The last person crosses the threshold of the arch, and a wall of green fire closes it. The three outsiders to Ivy's party recoil at the sound and sight, worry etching their faces.
"Just give it what it wants," Ivy says. She places her coin in the opened hands of the statue, and a first flame turns blue. One after the other, they all imitate her as Ethan watches their every movement. As he places down the last two coins, the pile turns into dust that seeps through the statue's hands.
The door groans, scraping against the stone floor as it opens outward. A long hall awaits them, its chandeliers lighting up in quick succession. Figures fall from the sky-high ceiling, diving through the many arches that bear it. In loud thuds, three winged women clad in black plate armor land before them. Their unfurled demonic wings curl behind their backs as they rise.
'Prescience,' Ethan thinks. Frost coalesces in Ivy's right hand while the others heft their weapons. Not seeing any aggression from them, Ethan remains calm. He glances at the rest of the hallway, particularly the ceiling they fell from, but finds no other entities.
"Welcome to the castle of the lord of death," the three women say in unison. Light of their slightly elevated heels, they open to the side, motioning towards the end of the hallway. "They have been awaiting your arrival."
"You completed your second trial of the Labyrinth of Death, the wandering."