Shit.
Ethan's breath was ragged, his heart hammering against his ribs.
The Shape Shifter was already preparing to strike again.
There was no time.
No time to hesitate.
No time to think.
He forced his aching body to move.
With a sharp inhale, he pushed off the ground, regaining his balance just as the creature's twisted limbs began to recoil—
Reloading for another attack.
He ran.
His legs burned, his muscles screaming in protest, but Ethan didn't stop.
He charged forward, his only focus on escaping.
As he ran, his eyes locked onto Lena—still frozen, still processing what had just happened.
She wasn't moving.
She was still in shock.
She didn't even notice the Shape Shifter rising behind them, ready to lunge.
Ethan didn't hesitate.
He grabbed her wrist.
Lena let out a sharp gasp, her body instinctively stumbling forward as she was suddenly yanked out of place.
"E-Ethan—?!"
But he didn't slow down.
Didn't stop to explain.
Because there was no time.
He just kept running.
"MOVE!" he yelled, his voice sharp, filled with urgency.
His grip on Lena's wrist tightened as he pulled her along, forcing her legs to keep up with him.
They ran together, faster, faster—
Towards Milo and Riley.
Ethan's eyes darted ahead, seeing the two of them still standing there—
And he screamed.
"RUN!"
The words boomed through the air.
Lena, still gasping, her body still struggling to catch up—
Realized.
And then, Milo and Riley did too.
The panic kicked in.
And in that moment—
They all ran.
The wind howled past them as they ran, their breaths ragged, desperate, filled with fear.
But then—
A sound froze Ethan's blood.
A voice.
"ETHAN!!"
Not a growl.
Not a screech.
A voice.
Kia's voice.
It echoed through the night, sharp and haunting—but it wasn't real.
Because Kia was dead.
And the thing chasing them wasn't her.
The Shape Shifter moved.
Its massive, twisted body lurched forward—and then, suddenly, it was running.
Not crawling.
Running.
And it was fast.
Faster than Unguibus.
Not as fast as Vorator.
But fast enough to be a problem.
A huge problem.
Because Lena was still slow.
And Ethan had to save her.
His mind raced, calculating—it was catching up too quickly.
They wouldn't make it.
Not like this.
Ahead of them, Milo and Riley were still running, but they kept looking back, their faces etched with pure terror.
They saw Ethan and Lena falling behind.
They saw the Shape Shifter charging after them, gaining fast.
And their fear turned to desperation.
"RUN!! RUN FASTER!!" Milo screamed, waving frantically, his voice raw from the cold and exhaustion.
"COME ON, YOU'RE ALMOST HERE!!" Riley shouted, his breath shaky, eyes wide with panic.
They gestured wildly, urging them to move, to keep going, to not stop.
Ethan gritted his teeth.
They needed to think.
They needed a way out—NOW.
And then, it hit him.
His voice boomed through the night.
"SPLIT IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS!"
Milo and Riley's faces dropped in shock.
Lena stumbled, confused.
"WHAT?!" Milo yelled back.
But Ethan didn't slow down.
Didn't explain.
Because right now, It was their only chance.
They ran.
Riley and Milo veered left, disappearing into the treeline at the side of the road.
The moment their figures vanished behind the dark silhouettes of the trees—Ethan stopped.
His legs burned. His lungs screamed for air.
But he didn't move.
He didn't run.
Instead, he turned around.
Lena skidded to a halt beside him, gasping. "Ethan—?"
He grabbed her wrist.
"Go to the right." His voice was firm. "Hide behind the trees. NOW."
Lena's eyes flickered with uncertainty. "W-What about—"
"Just GO!"
She didn't think twice.
She trusted Ethan.
Even if she wasn't sure if his plan would save them… or get them killed.
She spun on her heels, sprinting toward the trees on the right side of the road, using them as cover, weaving between them, moving forward but staying hidden.
Her breath came out in sharp, shallow gasps, her heart pounding against her ribs.
But she didn't stop.
Didn't look back.
Because Ethan had a plan.
And all she could do now was trust him.
Ethan stood alone.
His feet planted on the road, body rigid, his muscles coiled like a spring.
And before him—
The Shape Shifter came charging.
It wasn't slowing down.
Massive, grotesque limbs pounded against the pavement, its elongated body twisting and contorting as it ran.
It was too big, too fast, too powerful.
And Ethan—
He wasn't going to run.
But he also wasn't going to fight it head-on.
Because he wasn't an idiot.
He had already done this before.
And it worked before.
So it would work again.
The Shape Shifter lunged.
Its grotesque limbs spread wide, its elongated fingers reaching out to grab, to crush, to kill.
But at the very last second—
Ethan moved.
A sharp, calculated sidestep to the left.
He ducked low, twisting his body, and in a single fluid motion—he slid past the monster's side.
Its momentum carried it forward.
Just as he had predicted.
These creatures were big.
And big meant heavy.
And heavy meant slow to stop.
The Shape Shifter's own speed betrayed it.
It overshot its attack, its massive limbs skidding forward as Ethan slipped behind it.
And just like that—
He had bought time.
Ethan exhaled sharply, already breaking into a sprint.
His body was screaming, his muscles felt like they were tearing apart—
But he had done it.
Riley, Milo, and Lena had time to escape.
And now—
He just had to survive long enough to make sure they did.
The three of them ran.
The sounds of cracking pavement, monstrous screeches, and Ethan's distant footsteps were fading behind them.
They had escaped.
But not all of them.
They emerged back onto the road, their breathing ragged, their bodies shaking.
And then—
Milo stopped running.
His mind snapped.
"FUCK THIS!" he screamed, turning back. "WE NEED TO SAVE ETHAN!"
Riley grabbed his arm immediately.
"Milo—NO!" he snapped. "We can't go back!"
"LIKE HELL WE CAN'T!" Milo shoved him off. "HE'S GONNA FUCKING DIE ALONE, RILEY!"
"AND WHAT DO YOU THINK WE CAN DO?!" Riley's voice cracked, frustration bleeding into his words. "YOU WANNA RUN STRAIGHT INTO THAT THING'S MOUTH?! LOOK AT US—WE CAN'T FIGHT THAT!"
Lena turned, face twisted in anger.
"Ethan doesn't want to die either!" she shot back. "And guess what?! I was gonna die! I was DEAD! But I was saved because ETHAN CAME BACK!"
She took a step toward Riley, eyes burning with raw emotion.
"NONE OF YOU CAME BACK FOR ME!"
Milo's stomach dropped.
Riley flinched, looking away.
Lena's hands shook."You both ran. I was gonna die alone too. So don't talk to me about 'going back' when neither of you even fucking looked back for me!"
Silence.
Painful. Suffocating. Silence.
Milo's lips trembled.
He wanted to argue.
Wanted to scream that she was wrong.
But she wasn't.
She was right.
And that was the worst part.
Milo clenched his fists, his breath shaking.
"I know," he muttered. "I know, okay?! But what the hell do we do now?!"
He looked between Lena and Riley, torn between two voices screaming in his head.
One side told him:
Go back. Save Ethan.
The other told him:
Ethan's not stupid. He wouldn't do this if he didn't believe he could survive.
And the worst part?
He knew that.
Deep down, he fucking knew that.
He took a breath, his voice coming out weak, conflicted.
"I hate this. I hate it so much."
He turned to Lena.
"But… maybe he's right."
Lena's breath hitched. "What—?"
Milo looked down. "Maybe Riley's right. And maybe… maybe Ethan's right too."
He swallowed, forcing the words out. "Ethan wouldn't do this if he didn't believe he could survive."
"Are you saying we should just leave him?!" Lena's voice cracked.
Milo looked at her, heart breaking.
"No. I'm saying we have to trust him."
Lena shook her head, refusing to accept it.
But a part of her knew.
A part of her understood.
Because Milo was right.
And Ethan—
Ethan wasn't the type to throw his life away.
He wasn't stupid.
He was surviving.
Fighting.
And if they went back—
They'd be throwing themselves into the fire for nothing.
Milo turned to Riley, eyes heavy with pain.
"We keep running."
Riley nodded. "We keep running."
Lena, fists clenched, trembling, finally whispered:
"We keep running."
And so they did.
Even if it hurt.
Their legs felt like lead.
Every step was painful, their bodies aching, lungs still burning from the chase.
But none of that compared to the weight in their chests.
A sick, heavy feeling—like they had left something behind.
No.
Not something.
Someone.
Ethan.
They had left Ethan behind.
The one who turned back for them.
The one who chose to face death alone so they could escape.
And now—
They had reached the door.
The exit.
It stood before them, silent, unmoving, waiting to take them away from this nightmare.
And yet—
None of them moved.
Milo stared at the door.
His hands clenched into fists.
His breath was shaky, uneven.
His heart felt like it was caving in.
"If we leave now," he muttered, his voice hoarse, "how the hell do we face him if he survives?"
No one responded.
Because they were all thinking the same thing.
Lena swallowed hard, her throat dry.
Her voice cracked when she spoke.
"If we leave him here… what kind of people does that make us?"
Milo shut his eyes tight, his body trembling.
"Cowards."
Silence.
The word stung.
Because it was true.
Riley took a breath, but even he wasn't sure of what to say anymore.
He had been the one to push for running.
He had been the one to say Ethan would want them to go.
But now, standing here at the door—
He felt sick.
"What if…" he whispered, "What if he doesn't make it?"
Lena flinched.
Milo's stomach twisted painfully.
"Then we don't deserve to make it either," Milo murmured.
The words hurt.
But he meant them.
They stood there, their bodies tense, exhausted, broken.
And yet, they stayed.
Because leaving now would be the real betrayal.
"We wait," Lena whispered.
She turned away from the door, eyes burning with emotion.
"We wait for him."
Milo nodded.
"We wait."
Even Riley—who had been pushing to leave—lowered his head and exhaled deeply.
"We wait."
And so—
They waited.
Even as fear crawled up their spines.
Even as every second felt like an eternity.
Even as they asked themselves—
Would he even come back?
The silence was heavy.
Too heavy.
Every second felt like an eternity.
Milo, Lena, and Riley stood near the door, their bodies aching, lungs still trying to recover.
But no one spoke.
Because if they did—they'd have to talk about Ethan.
And none of them were ready for that.
So instead, Riley distracted himself.
His eyes scanned the edges of the door, tracing every detail, looking for anything—anything—
That would give his mind something else to focus on.
And that's when he saw it.
A small, metal band.
No—four of them.
His breath caught in his throat.
"Hey…" Riley's voice came out quiet, barely above a whisper.
The others turned.
Milo furrowed his brows. "What?"
Riley hesitated, then pointed. "I found something."
They all moved in closer, their exhaustion momentarily forgotten as they looked at the four identical bands.
Lena reached out, hesitating, then picked one up. It was simple—metallic, slightly cold to the touch.
But there was something about it that felt… important.
Milo frowned. "What the hell is this?"
Riley inhaled slowly. "The Band of Conjunction."
Lena's head snapped up. "Wait, you mean—"
Riley nodded. "The one the tower promised us. So we don't get separated when we teleport."
The realization hit all of them at once.
They wouldn't have to be split apart.
They could stay together.
For the first time since they entered this hell, something felt secure.
But—
There were four.
And Ethan wasn't here.
No one spoke.
Lena swallowed hard, staring at the bands in her hands.
Milo's gaze darkened."Four."
Riley clenched his fists.
Lena took a shaky breath. "We save one for him."
Her voice was small, but firm.
She placed one of the bands aside, carefully, as if touching it too hard would make the reality set in deeper.
Milo exhaled. "Yeah… yeah, of course."
Riley bit the inside of his cheek, then gave a small nod.
None of them wanted to say it.
But they all thought the same thing.
What if we're saving it for someone who won't come back?
What if we're just waiting for a ghost?
What if we have to leave without him?
The thought was unbearable.
Lena took a knife from her pocket, her hands shaking slightly as she pressed the tip against her palm.
A small drop of blood beaded at the surface.
She wiped it onto the band.
Milo followed.
Then Riley.
The moment their blood touched the metal, the bands glowed faintly—
Before dimming down, locking the bond in place.
It was done.
They were bound.
And one band remained untouched.
Waiting for Ethan.
Waiting for someone who might never return.