After Rambo had finished his devouring of blood. Without another word, Ethan stepped forward.
The portal shimmered with violet and silver light, humming with latent power. As his body crossed the threshold, the aura around him flared with brilliance, bathing the whole battlefield in crimson-gold light.
...
The thirty-first step he took wasn't a physical one, but one into a realm that pulsed with finality.
When the light cleared, Ethan found himself back in the arena. The very first arena. But this time… it was different.
The sky overhead was a shimmering obsidian dome. The crowd of illusionary watchers had vanished. The stands that once trembled with phantom roars were silent. Time itself felt suspended.
In front of him stood a creature that made him shiver—not from fear, but from a deep, primal instinct buried in the oldest parts of his being.
