"His breathing... it's labored. He can feel the pain," Ethan thought quickly. He knew that even though the wolf was large and fast, the pain still affected the creature.
"I have to take advantage of that," he thought. But before he could plan his next move, the wolf lunged at him again, faster and more vicious this time.
Ethan could only defend himself, dodging each attack while trying to find an opening to strike back. His legs trembled, exhaustion starting to overtake his body, but his mind kept working, searching for a way out of this dangerous situation.
"If I can hit its front legs... maybe I can slow it down," Ethan thought.
However, something unexpected happened. The wolf suddenly stopped and stared at him with sharp eyes, as if something else was happening.
Moments later, a loud howl erupted from the wolf's mouth, not out of anger but seemingly out of discomfort. The wolf squirmed, its body shaking, and then collapsed to the ground, its breathing growing heavier.
Ethan was shocked, staring at the massive creature now lying in front of him. "What just happened?" he muttered. But he wasted no time.
Quickly, Ethan approached and, using the branch he held, stabbed it into the wolf's neck, ensuring the creature was truly dead. As blood flowed from the wolf's body, Ethan panted, a sense of relief and victory washing over him.
Though he had survived the brutal fight, Ethan realized that the world of Arkhana was full of mysteries and dangers he did not yet fully understand.
"Is this just the beginning?" he muttered, gazing at the large wolf's body sprawled before him. "If creatures this size can be so strong and smart, what else is waiting for me here?"
Yet beneath his fear, something else began to grow inside him an odd feeling that he could do more than just survive in this world.
A world that, despite its dangers, seemed to be granting him a new strength that surged through his veins.
Ethan stood over the body of the giant wolf he had just defeated. Fresh blood soaked the ground around him, but instead of feeling fear or anxiety, a wild grin spread across his face. The hunger for power and an insatiable appetite filled his mind.
As he stared at the carcass before him, his thoughts were consumed by one question.
"What pleasure will I experience next from this creature?"
However, his instincts flickered again. Ethan remembered sensing there was more than one creature stalking him earlier.
"Where are the others?" he muttered, scanning his surroundings warily. "Why didn't they attack me all at once?" The forest felt eerily silent, as though other creatures were watching from afar, waiting for something.
But Ethan quickly dismissed the worry. His gaze returned to the massive wolf's body lying before him. The madness quickly reclaimed him.
He grabbed one of the wolf's front legs, tearing it apart with his bare hands. Its flesh was thick and rough, but Ethan, with a laugh that grew louder, devoured it piece by piece.
Flesh, muscle, even bone nothing was left behind. It was as if the hunger within him could not be satisfied, and he consumed every part of the great wolf, even its coarse fur.
The large wolf's body shrank under Ethan's ravenous hands until nothing remained. But once the last piece of the wolf entered his mouth, something strange began to happen.
At first, Ethan only felt warmth spreading through his body, like the effect of eating a warm meal after days of starvation. But that warmth quickly turned into a far more unpleasant sensation.
Pain suddenly radiated from his stomach, spreading through his entire body. "What's happening to my body?" Ethan screamed, his body convulsing as if struck by lightning.
His skin began to feel like it was on fire, and his muscles twitched beneath his skin, as though they were tearing him apart from the inside.
Ethan collapsed to the ground, writhing in excruciating pain.
"Damn it! What's happening to me?" he hissed, his body drenched in sweat. He felt something moving inside him, like an alien force trying to break free from within.
The pain he was experiencing felt like a violent electric shock. Every nerve in his body felt as if it were being hammered.
His bones rumbled as though something was adjusting or transforming. He suddenly remembered something this world was not like Earth.
Every creature here seemed to possess powers that couldn't be measured by normal standards.
"Is this the effect of eating that wolf?" Ethan thought amid the intense pain.
His body writhed more violently, his skin twitching and his muscles tightening. His screams echoed through the forest, sending birds flying in fear. There was nothing he could do but endure the worsening agony.
As the pain reached its peak, something even more terrifying happened. Ethan's body began to emit a faint light, a pale blue glow in the dark of night.
The source of this light seemed to come from within his own body, as though a new energy was awakening inside him. The glow grew brighter, following the flow of blood through his veins, which now felt as though they were burning.
"What's happening to me?" Ethan shouted again, but this time his voice sounded deeper, more resonant than usual.
His chest pounded hard, and in an instant, he felt a powerful surge of energy explode from his body, shaking the ground around him.
He tried to stand, but his body seemed to have turned into a battlefield between the foreign force and his own being. The heat grew stronger, spreading to his fingertips.
"There's something in that creature... something I ate... that's now inside me!" he thought, desperately trying to make sense of what was happening.
But before he could process it all, the transformation in his body intensified. His muscles, once aching, now began to swell and strengthen. His skin, once pale, slowly darkened, and small scales began to appear on various parts of his body.
A sense of dread washed over Ethan as he realized that it wasn't just the wolf's strength he had gained, but something darker and far more unexpected.
His body was changing, and with it, his consciousness began to fade. Yet amidst the pain and horrifying transformation, one thing became clear, he was becoming something stronger than before, though he had no idea what the consequences would be.
Suddenly, the pain began to subside, though Ethan's body continued to tremble. His breath came in ragged gasps as he fell to his knees, gathering the last of his strength to stay conscious.
He looked at his hands, now larger and stronger than before. Something different, something wilder, now pulsed within him.
"What have I done?" Ethan whispered, his voice heavy with exhaustion. Yet beneath his fear and confusion, he could feel the new power coursing through his body.
"I... am stronger. Much stronger."
Though he didn't fully understand what had just happened, Ethan now knew one thing: consuming the creatures of this world was no ordinary act.
Every bite brought change, and with it, a power he had never imagined before. The pain he had just experienced was not the last. Something greater was waiting inside him, ready to rise at any moment.
Just as Ethan was absorbed in enjoying the new strength flowing through his body, he was jolted by a strange sound. The power that had made him feel invincible moments ago now felt shaken under the shadow of a deep voice, radiating a dark and terrifying aura.