All sounds of the forest vanished.
Birds silenced. Leaves stopped rustling. Even the breeze seemed to hold its breath.
Ethan couldn't hear a thing—and even if he could, it wouldn't matter. His focus wasn't on the eerie stillness or the blood dripping from his side.
All that existed now was the beast standing before him.
It was no longer just a fight. It was a final standoff.
The pain in his chest dulled, fading into a distant ache as his mind sharpened like a blade drawn across stone. Something inside him stirred. Shifted.
It wasn't adrenaline. It was clarity. His senses heightened, his thoughts focused, and for the first time, he felt something alien… and yet utterly familiar.
Complete control.
Every fiber of his being moved in sync. Every breath felt measured. Every heartbeat purposeful.
Yet Ethan didn't even notice the change.
Because every ounce of his attention was locked onto the growling creature ten paces away.
