Ethan stood alone.
The road stretched behind him—empty.
Milo, Riley, and Lena had escaped.
And now—
It was just him.
Him and the Shape Shifter.
The massive, grotesque creature towered over him, its twisted limbs twitching, its unnatural grin stretched wide.
Ethan's breath was ragged.
His hands trembled slightly, his muscles aching, his lungs burning.
But he kept his stance firm.
Because he only had two options.
Kill it.
Or run.
And the worst part?
Both options seemed impossible.
Ethan gritted his teeth, his mind racing.
Killing it was out of the question.
He wasn't armed with firepower, explosives, or anything remotely capable of bringing down a seven-meter monster.
His baton?
Fucking useless.
But running?
Running was just as impossible.
Because now—he was alone.
There was no one left to create distractions.
No one left to bait the creature away.
No one left to help him.
It was just him.
The Shape Shifter's unnatural grin widened.
And then—
The Shape Shifter charged.
The distance between them closed in seconds.
Ethan's mind screamed at him to move, to react—
Now.
His hand shot toward his bag, fingers grasping the cold handle of his knife.
If he was going down, he'd make this thing bleed first.
But before he could even raise it—
WHAM!!
A massive, twisted limb whipped through the air, striking him with terrifying force.
The impact tore the breath from his lungs.
His body was sent flying.
Like a ragdoll, like something weightless—he was flung across the air, crashing into a nearby tree.
The bark splintered on impact, dust and leaves scattering around him.
Pain shot through his back, his ribs aching from the force.
But—nothing broke.
No sharp, stabbing pain.
No unbearable injuries.
Somehow—he was still okay.
His heart pounded.
His vision blurred for half a second.
And then—he forced himself up.
His fingers still clutched the knife.
His left hand moved instinctively, reaching into his jacket—gripping his baton.
Baton in one hand.
Knife in the other.
His breath was ragged, his body tense, ready.
He needed a plan.
He needed to survive.
He had seconds before it attacked again.
And now—he had to find a way to injure it.
Or at least—
Buy himself enough time to escape.
The Shape Shifter didn't hesitate.
The moment Ethan regained his stance, it raised one of its massive limbs, preparing to slam it down with crushing force.
Ethan's body tensed.
Move.
Move now.
The limb swung downward—
Ethan sidestepped left, barely evading the devastating impact as the creature's hand-like limb crashed into the ground, splintering the pavement beneath it.
He didn't stop.
In a single motion, he stabbed his knife downward—
Right into the creature's palm.
The blade sank deep, piercing through flesh.
A sickening squelch filled the air.
The Shape Shifter let out a groan.
But not just any groan.
It was Kia's voice.
A pained, human-like cry—twisted and wrong.
Ethan's stomach twisted at the sound, but he was already moving.
He ripped the knife out, blood—black, thick, unnatural—dripping from the blade.
He didn't waste time watching.
Didn't check if the injury was deep.
Because he knew—
It wouldn't stop the monster.
So he ran.
Legs burning, breath heavy, body screaming in exhaustion—
But he ran.
His eyes locked onto the road ahead.
Onto the exit.
Onto his only way out.
But then—
Another limb swung toward him.
Ethan ducked, just barely dodging the incoming attack.
Too close.
Way too close.
He pushed forward, his body desperate for freedom—
But before he could take another step—
Something wrapped around him.
A limb.
It gripped his torso—tight, unyielding.
And before he could react—
It lifted him off the ground.
Ethan choked on his breath.
He was caught.
Trapped in the monster's grip.
The Shape Shifter's fingers constricted tighter, the inhuman strength crushing around Ethan's torso like a vice.
His ribs strained under the pressure, his breath caught in his throat.
He couldn't breathe.
Couldn't move.
No. NO.
I won't die like this.
I WON'T.
His right arm—**the only one still free—**instinctively jerked upward.
The knife.
He still had it.
And before he could even think—he started stabbing.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
A desperate, animalistic scream tore from his throat as he plunged the blade over and over again into the monstrous limb gripping him.
Squelch.
Squelch.
Squelch
The knife sank deep, flesh and muscle ripping apart.
Black, thick, putrid liquid gushed out, splattering onto Ethan's hands, his arms, his face—but he didn't stop.
The Shape Shifter wailed.
Kia's voice.
That wrong, distorted, human-like cry.
A scream of agony.
But Ethan didn't let it get to him.
Squelch.
Squelch.
SQUELCH.
And then—
Crack.
A sharp, sickening sound.
Something broke.
Ethan felt it.
But not on the monster.
Not on the limb he was stabbing.
It came from him.
For a split second—confusion.
What the hell just broke?
He didn't feel pain.
Not yet.
But he felt the sensation of something shifting inside him.
Something wrong.
But there was no time to think.
The Shape Shifter's grip weakened.
But its body was still moving.
Still pulling him toward its mouth.
That horrific, spiraling, razor-filled mouth.
Like a shredder waiting to tear him apart.
Just like Karlos.
Karlos died like this.
Karlos was pulled in just like this.
Ethan's mind flashed back.
The Vorator's gaping maw.
The way it devoured his best friend in a single, merciless snap.
NO.
NOT AGAIN.
Ethan thrashed.
Pushed against the weakening grip.
He felt his arm loosen.
Felt the creature's grip falter, its screams growing more pained.
And with one final, rage-fueled twist of his body—
He broke free.
His entire body lunged forward, twisting out of the monster's failing grip.
He hit the ground hard, rolling, gasping for air.
His chest ached.
His arms shook.
His mind screamed at him to MOVE.
He wasn't dead yet.
But the monster—
The monster was still right behind him.
Ethan coughed violently, his body trembling from the sheer exhaustion, pain, and adrenaline crashing through him.
His hands pressed against the cracked pavement as thick, warm blood dripped from his lips.
His ribs ached like fire.
That old injury.
The one from Unguibus.
It felt like it had reopened.
His vision swayed for a moment, his breaths coming in ragged gasps.
But then—
A sound.
A whimper.
Not from him.
Not from an animal.
From the monster.
Ethan forced himself to look up, his pulse spiking.
The Shape Shifter wasn't attacking.
It wasn't charging at him.
Instead—
It was staring at its own hand.
Its twisted, grotesque fingers trembling.
And then—
It cried.
Kia's voice.
A broken, pitiful sob, like a girl who had been left behind in the dark, lost and alone.
Ethan's body locked up.
And then—it spoke.
"Why would you hurt me, Ethan?"
The voice was Kia's.
Not an imitation.
Not a robotic copy.
It sounded real.
It sounded like her.
"I trusted you."
The Shape Shifter slowly turned its head toward him.
Ethan froze.
Its face—
Kia's face—
But wrong.
The eyes were too wide.
The mouth stretched too far.
The skin too tight, the features grotesquely twisted like a melting wax figure, as if it was desperately trying to wear her face but failing.
But the voice—
The voice was perfect.
"You let me die."
Ethan's chest tightened.
His fingers curled into the dirt, his breath shallow.
"You guided me to death."
The voice grew more desperate.
More broken.
"And now… you're trying to run away?"
Ethan's lungs stopped working.
His body felt paralyzed.
"Why, Ethan?"
The creature took a step forward.
"Why did you kill me?"
"Why did you leave me to die?"
"I trusted you!"
"I TRUSTED YOU, ETHAN!"
"WHY?!"
The words hit him like daggers, piercing straight into his mind.
Ethan stared, unblinking, his expression twisted in raw guilt and horror.
Because for a second—
Just for a second—
He almost believed it was really her.
The Shape Shifter's voice grew louder.
More desperate.
More twisted.
Ethan's vision blurred.
His chest tightened.
His eyes burned.
And before he could stop himself—
Tears welled up.
Because he was scared.
Because he was breaking down.
Because deep down—
A part of him believed every word it was saying.
The monster took another step forward.
Its distorted, grotesque Kia-face twisted even further, its mouth stretching inhumanly wide.
And then—
The voice changed.
The soft, familiar tone of Kia disappeared.
It morphed.
It became something demonic—deep, guttural, unholy.
Something not meant for human ears.
The sound was so wrong, so unnatural, so satanic—
That Ethan's stomach churned.
A sharp, horrifying screech tore through the air, a sound that didn't belong to this world.
And then—
"WHY DID YOU KILL ME, ETHAN?!"
It screamed.
A soul-piercing, reality-breaking, skin-crawling wail.
The sound of Kia's pain.
The sound of damnation itself.
Ethan's entire body locked up.
His mind screamed, his breath caught in his throat.
He wanted to vomit.
He wanted to collapse.
He wanted to curl into himself and disappear.
Because this wasn't just a monster.
This was something worse.
Something that knew exactly how to break him.
His knees nearly buckled.
His chest felt like it was caving in.
Tears rolled down his face.
And for the first time since entering this realm—
Ethan felt truly, completely hopeless.
But then—
The monster moved.
And his body reacted.
Before it could grab him again—
He ran.
Ethan ran.
His legs were weak, his body screaming for relief, his lungs desperate for air—
But he ran.
The ground trembled beneath him as the Shape Shifter charged.
And then—
It screamed again.
A voice that didn't belong in this world.
A voice that made his soul shudder.
"COME BACK!!!"
The words ripped through the air, jagged, distorted, crawling under his skin like insects burrowing into his brain.
Then it lunged.
A full tackle.
Not to grab him.
Not to chase him.
To break him.
To crush him into the pavement.
To turn his body into nothing but shattered bones and torn flesh.
Ethan saw it—just barely.
His reflexes saved him.
Just barely.
His body twisted, his foot pushed off the ground at the last possible second—
And he evaded.
But only barely.
The wind slammed against him from the sheer force of the miss.
The road cracked apart where he had been standing.
If he had been just a second slower…
He would've died.
Ethan's feet staggered as he tried to keep running.
But it was pointless.
The monster wasn't going to let him go.
It wasn't like the other creatures.
It wasn't just hunting him.
It was punishing him.
For what he did.
For what he let happen to Kia.
This was karma.
He had guided someone to death.
And now—
It was his turn.
Ethan's mind raced.
Every movement, every dodge, every quick reaction—it didn't matter.
The Shape Shifter wasn't trying to kill him quickly.
It could have.
Easily.
It had the speed, the strength, the power.
But it wasn't rushing.
It wanted him to suffer.
It wanted him to deteriorate.
Slow.
Painfully.
Every lunge was closer.
Every swing pushed him further back.
Ethan could barely keep up.
He was running out of space, out of energy, out of options.
His body was failing.
His breath came out ragged, shaky, unstable.
His legs burned.
Every dodge was getting slower.
Every breath was harder to take.
Every heartbeat pounded against his skull.
He was going to lose.
And the worst part?
The monster knew it.
It was watching him break.
It wanted him to break.
This wasn't just about killing him.
It was about making sure he felt every second of his own downfall.
Ethan knew it too.
And yet—
He still kept moving.
Even though he knew it was pointless.
Because no matter how much he ran, dodged, fought—
He couldn't escape his fate.