Herald of death

Cold. Ethan collides with raging waters that rush them down a turbulent descent. He holds onto Russ as the icy waters engulf them, the force of the current threatening to pull them apart. Ethan fights to keep them afloat, kicking against the relentless current. They are pulled under, the sound of rushing water filling Ethan's ears. Russ yelps, releasing air bubbles in panic.

The current shifts, and they are propelled upward, breaking through the surface and gasping for air. The waters turn still, and Ethan sees the green glow of fires in the distance. Figures and human hearts appear next to the lights. He places Russ on his back and swims towards them.

"Adding the Swimming skill. Based on your previous experience, a level of 40 has been applied."

Ethan reaches the edge of a natural rock platform and lifts both of them onto it. His clothes and Russ' fur dry the moment they leave the water. He checks Russ for cuts or gashes, fearing that rocks may have harmed him, but finds none.

Twenty men and women turn their gazes towards them, seated along cavernous walls. They seem to come from all around the world, but they all share a sunken look of dehydration.

'I guess drinking that water is out of the question,' Ethan thinks. A large vertical slit in the furthest wall lets vast quantities of Ether seep through. They stare them down as Ethan and Russ walk towards the end of the platform.

One of them shivers and sweats profusely. He is better hydrated than the others, but his eyes bear dark circles. His heart beats fast, and he's losing blood from a bullet wound in the forearm.

'Who in his right mind would come here wounded?' Ethan asks himself. A doubt crosses his mind. 'Did he come here to escape whoever was hunting him? They eye him as much as they eye us, but with fear instead of curiosity.'

Ethan closes his eyes and senses Aetherian sigils filled with Ether carved on the man’s back. They slowly release threads into his body, like the tendrils of jellyfish. This isn’t anything he imagined finding. How did that man find himself carved with that godly language? His heart holds little Ether, as does that of each of the people present here; he couldn’t be strong.

'I cannot read that aloud; a single word emptied my Ether last time,' Ethan thinks. 'By the blood that was spilled and the life that was taken, the hideousness of your soul shall be brought forth. Flesh will twist, bones will break, and your true form shall–'

The sigils propel threads into his body, wrapping them around his spine and organs. He bends forward and claws at the stone ground as his face contorts in pain. His bones elongate and snap into new positions, each with a sickening and resounding crack. His skin stretches and tears, giving way to fur that sprouts on his back, chest, and arms. His fingers elongate into sharp, wicked talons that scrape gouges into the floor. His teeth sharpen, his jaw extends, and his ears shift, elongating into pointed tips.

Russ grows and growls, placing himself between Ethan and the man, now half-man, half-werewolf. The spectators stare in horror, shrinking back against the walls or frozen in place. The once-man's bloodshot eyes shift between Ethan, Russ, and the helpless spectators.

He lunges, not at Russ, who stands the closest, but towards a woman frozen by fear. Ethan lifts his hand and shoots dark tendrils at him, bringing him to the ground as a debilitating hex paralyzes him. The woman screams as his body grinds to a halt.

'Is it my fault? Did he transform because I read the mark?' Ethan ponders. 'Insight.'

Alejandro Torres

Lv.1/1 (Villager) Lichor (Human)

Lv.3/20 (Wolf)

Strength: 10 Charisma: 11

Dexterity: 8 Perception: 11

Constitution: 10 Willpower: 13

Intelligence: 8

Titles

Kin slayer

Abilities

Fury (F)

Alteration

Curse of monstrosity (Major)

'He isn't human anymore,' Ethan notices. He approaches the paralyzed half-beast, scanning him from afar. His eyes and face scream hunger, his gaze focused on the woman before him. 'Should I kill him so he can't attack anyone else? Or is there a chance for him to regain control?'

A gunshot cuts off Ethan's thoughts; he reflexively raises his hand to protect his face, even though he would have been too late. A man shot the beast in the head; he holds his smoking handgun with shaking hands. His head twitches as he looks up, as if surprised by the system.

"What did it say?" Ethan asks. He approaches the man and pries the pistol from his weak grip before placing it on the ground. The man is wearing plain clothes, but Ethan spots a badge clipped to his belt, hidden under his vest.

"I don't speak English," the man says in German as Ethan stares him down. Ethan reiterates his question in the man's tongue. He answers, "It told me that I needed to kill four more wolves to be rewarded."

'When this becomes known and when images of them start to circulate, it will turn into a witch hunt,' Ethan foretells. He moves away from the German policeman and toward the center of the room.

"I'm looking for a blond, muscular man that looks like this," Ethan says loudly, showing a headshot of the portrait on his phone. "Has anyone seen him?"

"I did," a particularly dehydrated woman says. "He was here fifteen hours ago; he was the first to pass the Cerberus."

The mention of the mythological beast surprises Ethan, but he quickly reminds himself that he just crossed a river that could be the Styx. He moves toward her, changing his demeanor to feigned empathic friendliness.

"Did he say anything?" Ethan asks. He looks behind the slit, seeing nothing but a cavern. "And did anyone else pass the… Cerberus?"

"He didn't even look at us," she answers. Her stomach growls. "He passed without speaking a word; he didn't glance at any of us and walked straight through the crack. I've seen twenty-eight people try, but only ten of them succeeded."

"Thank you." Ethan places his right hand to summon an MRE and a water bottle before her but refrains from it. They would steal them from her, like hungry animals. He could summon a pair for each of them, but if he doesn’t watch them, they would fight all the same; he is sure of it. At most, they have been here for less than a day; they can hold until properly prepared soldiers appear. They will share their rations with them and keep the situation under control.

He stands up and moves toward the large slit in the wall. The Ether it lets through is dense, enough to wound someone who doesn’t control his own at all. Russ walks through, unharmed as the Ether he holds repels the threads surrounding him. Ethan follows, tutting at Russ as he shouldn't cross doorways first.

The cavern before them resembles the one they passed, carved by nature in rocks. A large black door sits open at the end of the room, leading to descending stairs.

Something growls in a shadowed corner of the cavern; the sound comes in three canonic iterations. A three-headed mastiff, devoid of presence in predator's sight, emerges from it and jumps in front of the door. Chains link spiked collars to the spot where it was; they rattle on the ground as it barks at Ethan and Russ. Spikes made of bone jut out of its legs. Its tail snaps at them as Ethan realizes that it turns into the body and head of a snake.

Errant souls appear next to it from piles of bones scattered on the ground. It barks and snaps its maws, dark green flames appearing in one of them, drooling onto the ground.

Ethan senses the Ether and sees that, contrary to the crow, it is a real creature. Yet, it holds little Ether, less than half of what Russ controls. "Cancel Predator's sight, Prescience, Insight," he mutters.

Cerberus

Lv.20/20 (Death hound) Death hound

Lv.1/20 (Cerberus)

Strength: 20 Charisma: 1

Dexterity: 17 Perception: 25

Constitution: 16 Willpower: 13

Intelligence: 5

Abilities

Aura of dread (D)

Death breath (F)

Territory (D)

Shadows' embrace (D)

Alteration

Servant of the Labyrinth of Death

'He's... weak. Aura of dread will be a problem, and I have no idea what Territory and Shadows' Embrace do. But with sixteen in constitution and no protection-focused abilities, he shouldn't be too hard to wound with a gun. And what abilities make him immune to predator's sight if he doesn't have nullified presence?' Ethan thinks.

Russ grows larger than the Cerberus; he barks with a force that resonates in the cavern. The beast takes a step back, its three heads barking at Russ. Russ lowers himself and moves towards the Cerberus. Ethan doesn't say or voice anything in his mind as the scene is reminiscent of Russ meeting other large dogs.

Russ stops a meter away from the Cerberus, staring him in the eyes. They fall silent, both bending lower, readying themselves to lunge forward. Russ bends his front legs, hitting the ground with his chest; the Cerberus imitates the playful bow.

Russ bolts off, and the creature runs after him, its tongues dangling from its mouths. Ethan chuckles loudly, the sound attracting spectators at the edge of the slit. They stare at the two beasts in complete disbelief as they roll on the ground to make each other fall.

After a few minutes, the Cerberus stops chasing Russ, panting loudly. He lies down on his side, his maws drooling profusely. "More French bulldog than Cerberus," Ethan quips as he walks to the door.

Russ bends his front paws and lets out sharp, playful barks towards his new friend, calling him to continue their game. 'Russ, heel,' Ethan mentally orders; Russ rushes to his side, returning to his normal size. They descend the stairs, leaving the mastiff panting on the ground.

'I entered the city of Uruk, and yet, even though the Styx has roots in Mesopotamian mythology, the Cerberus doesn't belong to it. I wonder if those who can't pass the Ether are a reference to the souls who could only eat dry dust,' Ethan thinks.

"You completed your first trial of the Labyrinth of Death, the Gate of Cerberus," the system says.

'My first trial. Gate…,' Ethan repeats in his mind, thinking of his past teachings. 'Several mythologies had multiple entrances to the underworld, some that were the entry points for the dead, and some used by living beings. I could find more people than she saw down there.'