The second night fell like a blade.
The arena shifted again, stone walls groaning as runes flared to life. A new gate yawned open, wider than before, spilling a foul stench that burned the throat. From within came a low, guttural chorus—dozens of growls weaving into one.
Ethan's grip tightened on his dagger. Shadowfang's fur bristled, golden eyes locked on the darkness ahead.
"They're coming," Lyra whispered beside him, her serpent coiling tighter around her arm.
Then they emerged.
A pack of beasts poured out of the gate—wolf-like, but twisted, their hides cracked and oozing black smoke. Their eyes glowed sickly green, foam dripping from jagged teeth. There weren't three, or five, but dozens.
Panic rippled through the candidates.
"Too many!"
"We can't fight that!"
"Run—"
The first fool to turn his back didn't make it. A beast lunged, dragging him down in a spray of blood. His scream died as his companion blinked out of existence in a cloud of ash.
Chaos erupted. Candidates scattered, each one desperate to survive.
---
Ethan didn't move. His instincts screamed at him to run, but Shadowfang's bond surged hot in his veins, anchoring him in place. The wolf crouched low, muscles coiled, fire flickering across its claws.
"Shadowfang," Ethan muttered, voice steady despite the storm in his chest, "we're not running."
The wolf answered with a deep growl that shook the ground.
Lyra cursed beside him. "You're insane."
"Maybe," Ethan said, eyes narrowing as the beasts closed in. "But insanity's better than being prey."
---
The pack struck like a wave.
Shadowfang exploded forward, a blur of shadow and gold. Its claws slashed, tearing through corrupted flesh, each kill sending shards of Essence into Ethan's chest. His body jolted with every surge, the bond amplifying his reflexes, his vision sharp, his muscles faster.
Ethan pivoted, driving his dagger into a beast's throat as Shadowfang tore another apart. For a moment, it felt like they were one creature, moving in perfect unison—hunter and shadow, predator and blade.
> [Essence Acquired: +7]
[Bond Synchronization: 18% → 21%]
The surge nearly knocked him to his knees.
---
Screams echoed all around. Candidates fell one after another, dragged down by teeth and claws. The brute with the horned gorilla roared, swinging his weapon like a madman, smashing beasts into the stone floor. Three others clung to his side, using his brute force as a shield.
Ethan's eyes flicked toward them. Allies? No. Not yet. The brute's earlier words still rang in his ears: Use what you can. Discard what you can't.
But Lyra stayed at his flank, her serpent darting like a whip of green flame, striking throats and eyes. Their triangle of defense—man, wolf, serpent—held strong even as the pack swarmed.
---
Minutes stretched like hours. Blood slicked the floor, bodies littered the ground. Yet still the beasts came, crawling over the corpses of their kin, snarling, unyielding.
Ethan's arm burned, his lungs screamed, his vision blurred.
Too many. Too strong. We'll break at this rate.
And then the growling stopped.
The pack split, parting as something larger stepped through the gate.
A beast unlike the others—towering, its body stitched from the corpses of its fallen, black smoke spilling from its cracked hide. Its maw was wide enough to swallow a man whole, its claws like spears.
The Alpha had arrived.
Every candidate froze. The brute's grin faltered. Lyra's face went pale.
Ethan felt Shadowfang's growl rumble through his bones.
The wolf's golden eyes flared, brighter than ever, fire spilling across its body like armor. The bond between them pulsed hard, almost painful.
Ethan's dagger trembled in his grip, not from fear—but from the raw surge of power trying to break free.
This wasn't just another fight.
This was the hunt that would decide who lived… and who was buried here forever.
---
Chapter End.
---