2025-01-17 22:00:09
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
Rise of the Tamer ( Bound by the Beast) Episode 12: The Shadow's Counterstrike
The winds howled through the rocky terrain as the group left the Radiant Vault, the Guardian’s Blade securely strapped to Ethan’s back. Its faint glow was a reassuring presence, a beacon of hope against the encroaching darkness. Despite their victory in the trials, the weight of their mission hung heavily over them.“Malrik won’t take this lightly,” Seraphina warned, her tone grim. “The Shadow Collective will move quickly to recover from their loss. We need to stay ahead of them.”Ethan tightened his grip on the artifact. “Then let’s not waste any time.”As the group ventured deeper into the wilderness, the atmosphere grew oppressive. The sky darkened unnaturally, and the air buzzed with a sinister energy. Silver growled, his fur bristling, while Bramble whined nervously at Mia’s side.“We’re being watched,” Seraphina said, her hand resting on the hilt of her blade. “Stay alert.”The uneasy silence was shattered by a low rumble, and the ground beneath their feet began to tremble. Blac
Rise of the Tamer ( Bound by the Beast) Episode 13: The Shadows' Resonance
The battle in the chamber was immediate and chaotic, the air thick with the clash of light and darkness. Lyara stood at the center, orchestrating the shadowy constructs with fluid, deliberate movements. Her golden eyes glowed, locking onto Ethan and the artifact he wielded.“You think your fragile light can pierce the abyss?” She mocked, her voice echoing through the cavern. “Let me show you true power.”With a sharp gesture, the machinery surrounding her pulsed, sending waves of energy through the constructs. The shadowy figures grew larger and more menacing, their forms solidifying into hulking beasts that charged at the group.Ethan unleashed a burst of light from the artifact, striking one of the constructs head-on and causing it to shatter into wisps of darkness. Silver leapt into the fray, darting between enemies with precision, while Bramble’s sturdy frame shielded Mia as she fired a barrage of projectiles.The journey away from the ruins was quiet, the group’s exhaustion hang
Rise of the Tamer ( Bound by the Beast) Episode 14: The Shattered Alliance
The group pressed onward, the glow of the newly acquired fragment fading into the artifact as they left the Temple of Lumis behind. The Keeper’s warning about unity echoed in Ethan’s mind. Though their bonds had carried them through so far, the weight of the challenges ahead began to show in the tense silence between them.As they traversed a narrow mountain pass, the air grew thin and cold. Ethan noticed Kael lagging behind, his staff dragging slightly.“Hey, Kael,” Ethan called, falling back to walk beside him. “You okay?”Kael hesitated before answering. “It’s nothing. Just tired.”Mia, overhearing, glanced over her shoulder. “We’re all tired, but we don’t have time to slow down. The Collective isn’t going to wait for us to catch our breath.”Kael’s brow furrowed, his frustration clear. “I didn’t say I was slowing us down, did I?”Mia bristled. “I didn’t mean it like that.”Seraphina, walking ahead, raised her hand to stop the group. “Enough. The tension among us is precisely what
Rise of the Tamer ( Bound by the Beast) Episode 15: The Rift's Silent Cry
The group continued their journey the next morning, leaving the cold mountain pass behind and descending into a dense, fog-laden valley. The trees here were twisted and gnarled, their branches forming jagged silhouettes against the gray sky. A chill crept into their bones, though the air was strangely still.“This place feels wrong,” Mia muttered, her slingshot gripped tightly in her hand.Seraphina nodded, her silver blade unsheathed. “The valley is tainted. It was once a place of life and balance, but the Shadow Collective’s influence has poisoned it. Stay alert.”Ethan glanced down at the artifact, which pulsed faintly in response to the valley’s dark energy. “Do you think there’s another fragment here?”Kael adjusted his cloak. “If there is, it’s buried deep. And we won’t be alone.”As they ventured deeper, the fog thickened, and the ground beneath their feet turned soft and damp. They came to a sudden halt when the land ahead dropped sharply, revealing a massive chasm that seemed
Rise of the Tamer ( Bound by the Beast) Episode 16: The Crumbling Veil
The air felt charged with a heavy electricity as Ethan and his companions made their way from the Abyssal Rift. The road ahead seemed endless, the fog never truly lifting as they pushed forward through the forest. The artifact, now infused with its latest fragment, hummed with an unsettling frequency, its pulse like a heartbeat, resonating deep within Ethan’s chest.“Something’s off,” Mia muttered, her hand resting on her slingshot, her sharp eyes scanning the path ahead.“Stay alert,” Seraphina responded, her silver blade glinting in the low light. “The Shadow Collective is bound to notice our success. If the rift wasn’t enough to hold them off, we need to prepare for worse.”Ethan could feel the weight of her words sinking into his bones. Every step forward felt like he was walking deeper into a storm, the artifact now more of a curse than a blessing. The fragments it absorbed were amplifying its power, but they were also amplifying the dangers surrounding him and his friends. With
Rise of the Tamer ( Bound by the Beast) Episode 17: Shadows of the Past
The group had been traveling for hours, the silence between them almost suffocating. Ethan could still feel the aftereffects of the battle with the mechanical beast in the crumbling village, the artifact now more a weight than a tool. The power it wielded surged through him, but it was a dangerous thing to possess. Every time he used it, he felt himself losing a bit more of his grip on the man he was each victory, each conquest, felt hollow. And yet, he had no choice but to keep pushing forward.His eyes drifted to the others: Seraphina, her silver blade at her side, her gaze watchful but distant; Kael, his staff in hand, lost in thought as his magic hummed faintly; Mia, ever the wildcard, her slingshot now resting across her back, but her alertness never wavering. And then, of course, there was Bramble, the loyal wolf who had taken more than his fair share of blows on their journey but continued to fight by their side.But the one person who remained at the forefront of his mind was
Rise of the Tamer ( Bound by the Beast) Episode 18: The Shattered Veil
The echoes of Varek’s words haunted Ethan as the group continued their journey through the dense, fog-choked forest. The air was unnaturally still, and the shadows seemed to shift in response to every step they took. The light from the artifact now pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat, its power still surging through him like a current he could barely control.As they trekked through the wilderness, Ethan couldn’t shake the feeling that something far worse awaited them. Varek’s cryptic warning about the Shadow Collective resonated deep in his bones. Every step he took, every fragment he gathered, he could feel the darkness tightening around him, creeping closer. The burden of the artifact was becoming unbearable, but he had no choice but to keep going. His companions were depending on him, and he would not fail them again.“Ethan?” Seraphina’s voice broke through his thoughts, pulling him back to the present. She was walking beside him, her gaze sharp as always, but there was an undeni
Rise of the Tamer ( Bound by the Beast) Episode 19: The Shattered Dawn
The battle raged on, fierce and unrelenting. Ethan’s heart pounded in his chest as he unleashed another burst of light from the artifact, sending ripples of energy through the air. His focus was sharp, but the dark figures of the Shadow Collective kept closing in, their cloaks swirling in the fog like shadows that refused to be shaken.He could feel the artifact’s power pushing against him again, growing stronger, urging him to release more of its energy. Each burst of light that he sent out left him feeling more drained, more tethered to the artifact’s will. But the need to protect his friends, his companions, and his loved ones outweighed the growing fear inside him.“Mia, Kael, move!” he shouted, his voice carrying through the chaos as a wave of shadowy tendrils shot toward them.Mia and Kael quickly dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. Kael raised his staff, summoning a shield of magical energy to block the incoming onslaught. Meanwhile, Seraphina charged into the fray,
Latest Chapter
Episode 178: The Maw of Perdition
The world was broken.Asha could still taste ash in the air, thick and acrid, clinging to the insides of her lungs like something alive. The battlefield if it could still be called that was no more than broken earth and bleeding sky, a wound rent in the very fabric of reality.The cuneiform figure had done something to Ethan, something that couldn't be explained. He was standing, yes, breathing, yes, but incorrectly.The void had taken him.And now it was looking at him through them.Cain remained rigid with the sword trembling in his hands.His face was ashen, and he was panting in short, coarse breaths.Even Raven, the ghost of them all, was the only one to be unnaturally still, her fingers flitting along the hem of her cloak as though she’d just be giving up on this place and leaving.But Asha could not move.She could only stare at Ethan at what had once been Ethan.His formerly recognizable features had contorted, the planes and angles of his face darkened by a thing moving under
Episode 177: The Hollow Crown the Ashen Reckoning
The sky bled ruin.Colors with no place in this world twisted through the heavens, putrescent violets and rotting blacks that twisted like wounds in the seat of reality.But the battlefield, already a Sargasso Sea of lost flesh and cracked subsoil and the hush of final embers, trembled under something formless, merciless, only hungry.Asha stumbled, dragging a streak of blood from her brow, the air heavy with the decay that made her lungs hurt. Cain was still rising to his feet, his sword a useless tremor in his shaking hands. Raven, always the specter, had already melted into the dark, cold and observing. Calculating.And then there was Ethan.Or what was left of him.He stood at the center of the slaughter, his body cloaked in writhing coils of silver and black, his eyes those twin eclipses alight with something beyond human understanding. He avoided looking at his friends. He did not acknowledge their pleading, horrified stares.He was staring into the face of the Warden of Ash.A
Episode 176: The Hollow Crown
The Eclipse DevoursAn ancient, hollow, endless howl cracked the sky.The ground shuddered under the weight of the battlefield.It was no mere sound it was a force, a vibration that slithered under the skin, coiled around the bones, and whispered in the ears of those who caught its unseen gaze.Asha’s breath hitched.Shit, she thought, as she gripped the useless hilts of her snapped daggers tighter, her mind spinning.That sound… It wasn’t Ethan.Cain was spitting blood onto the parched earth as he pulled himself upright.His muscles shrieked, but his instincts shrieked louder move, fight, survive.But how the fuck were they supposed to fight that?Ethan or what remained of him stood frozen there, head thrown back, silver-black chains slithering around his arms like live creatures.There was not even a hint of recognition in his face, no flash of familiarity.Just a slow, spooky smile as his monstrous eyes glimmered like twin eclipses.And then… he spoke."He comes."The ground split
Episode 175: The Awakening of the Heir
The Space Between Life and DeathEthan floated.Weightless. Silent.Suspended in the infinite black between existence and oblivion.His body was gone, shed like an old husk.What was left was something different.Something unfinished.A resounding voice echoed through the void. Smooth.Cold. Familiar."Still fighting, even now?"Ethan’s mind stirred.His soul was heartlessly chained, rattling now, deep and powerful and dark-run purgatorial energy coursing through it, each pulse sending blinding pain clean through him.Then he saw him.Silver eyes fall like dying stars of the Eclipsed King at the center of all the void.Ethan’s teeth clenched, battling against the pain, summoning himself his shape flickered, uncertain, a golden glow fighting against the black webbing that invaded his arms.“You’re in my head,” Ethan rumbled, his voice hoarse. "Get the hell out."The king just tilted his head and smirked."Oh, Ethan. This is not your head anymore.”The abyss shook.And with that, Ethan
Episode 174: Chains of the Fallen
The AftermathOn the battlefield, it was like the calm before the storm.From broken soil, smoke curled.The sounds of battle faded, leaving behind a heavy silence as the air hung with the burden of recent events.Ethan lurched forward, gasping for air like a wounded animal.His limbs throbbed with pain, every vein still coursing with the lingering power of the fusion.Every fiber of his being told him he ought to be dead.And yet he stood.He had survived.Yet something within him felt … off.He shook not just because of the immense effort but also for something deeper, something that could not be seen.Cain sat hunched over near him, a hand pressed against his chest where the abyssal tendrils had grasped him just moments before.His skin was still dark in places, veins blackened from lingering corruption.Asha pressed against a broken edge, panting.Blood still ran from her shoulder, but her violet eyes were glued to the spot where the Eclipsed King had disappeared.Raven, always th
Episode 173: The King Who Was Eclipsed
The Rift OpensThe air split like cracking bone.Reality tore itself apart behind Ethan, birthing a swirling vortex of writhing black and crimson light.The battlefield jerked, as if the very laws of gravity had paused, either in worship or in terror.A new presence had arrived.And it was watching.Before he saw it, Ethan felt the shift. An energy pulse that made the abyss tend away.As he gripped his sword tighter, a slow pressure, viscous and monstrous, seeped from the rift, curling the spine like a whisper of death.Even the figure in the hood, the architect of so much pain, paused.Then from the void a hand appeared.Not like the viney brutes of the abyss, nor the squiggly tentacles of the Whohnthe.This was something different.A hand impossibly perfect, impossibly human, dressed in silver rings and covered in eiderdown, shadow-like tattoos that warbled like constellations.And then he stepped through.The Arrival of the King (that he eclipsed)As he stepped out fully into the f
Episode 172: Dominion
Darkness seemed to engulf Ethan whole, a void deeper than darkness.His screams muffled in the void, his body gleefully weightless yet crushed beneath a weight he would never know.His mind warped, thoughts twisting into whispers some his own, some foreign, invasive, and hungry.A voice slithered through the darkness."Let it go, Ethan. Let the pain evaporate… Surrender, and you shall live again.”No.He fought against the pull, the unseen shackles pulling him deeper, and clenched his fists.The power, the abyss it wanted him to give in. To become something else.His breath hovered in his rib cage, his body quaking on the brink of erasure. Images flashed through his mind Ignis, his fierce dragon companion; Osha, the knight who fought beside him; the Lion, his stalwart beast, who still battled the foe.His friends, the ones who had died.Asha. Cain. Raven.He couldn’t lose himself.Ethan thundered through the abyss with a defiant roar, his soul ablaze with golden light.The darkness sc
Episode 170: Reaver’s Destruction
A still, black static climbed over the battlefield, thicker than tar, devouring the whispers of the dead.The stench of blood and burnt flesh filled the air.Ethan froze in place, breathing shallow, limbs still sore from his tussle with the Abyss Reaver.But his fatigue didn’t matter now.A much greater enemy had been born from the void.The person before him was still shrouded in shadows, golden eyes flickering like embers in darkness.The air bristled with malevolence, a suffocating weight crushing down on Ethan’s ribs.The voice from the void, smooth with malice, echoed in his head:“Join me, Ethan. You’ve started to embrace the darkness that lurks in your soul.”The knuckles of his fingers turned white as he gripped his sword.The fatigue, the lacerations, the burden of every painful conflict fought they didn’t matter.He had come so far, escaped death countless times.And he wasn’t about to stumble now.But before he could answer, the ground shook violently beneath him.A monstro
Episode 170: The Chains of Fate
A suffocating darkness spread across the battlefield, thick as tar, swallowing the echoes of the fallen. The scent of blood and burned flesh hung heavy in the air. Ethan stood motionless, his breath shallow, his muscles aching from the battle against the Abyss Reaver. But his exhaustion meant nothing now. A far greater enemy had emerged from the void.The figure before him remained cloaked in the shadows, its golden eyes glowing like embers in the night. The air crackled with malevolence, a suffocating pressure pressing against Ethan’s chest. The voice from the abyss, calm yet venomous, replayed in his mind:“Join me, Ethan. You’ve already begun to embrace the darkness within you.”His fingers clenched around his sword, knuckles turning white. The exhaustion, the wounds, the weight of every battle fought they didn’t matter. He had made it this far, defied death countless times. And he wasn’t about to fall now.But before he could respond, the ground trembled violently beneath him.Fro
