Chapter 446 Beast Space

Ethan’s second meditation attempt lasted much longer than the first. This time, he wasn’t straining himself or being affected by what was going on around him. He sat perfectly still in the corner, his back straight and his breathing slow.

Mark watched him over the rim of his mug.

“Is he actually meditating?”

Kaela leaned sideways on the sofa, peering at Ethan with a mischievous smile.

“Maybe we should mess with him.”

Elara, who had been tidying up after breakfast, glanced over her shoulder like a tired mother.

“Both of you, leave him alone. He’s concentrating.”

“On what?” Kaela whispered.

“…I don’t know.”

“Aren’t you his girlfriend?”

“And that means I can read his mind?”

Mark laughed.

“You probably could if you tried hard enough.”

The three continued their hushed conversation, occasionally glancing toward Ethan.

Then, without warning, his head dipped forward. His shoulders slumped, his hands slid off his knees, and his entire body went limp.

“Whoa!”

Mark nearly dropped his mug.

Kaela sat upright. “Did he just pass out?”

Elara hurried over, but stopped before touching him.

Ethan’s breathing remained steady. His expression was peaceful, and there was no sign of distress. He looked as though he’d simply fallen asleep sitting up.

Anyone else might have assumed precisely that.

But this was Ethan Crowe.

The man who had somehow acquired a collection of increasingly terrifying beasts, survived battles that should have killed him, and treated supernatural disasters like inconvenient errands.

Mark stared at Ethan’s motionless body.

“He’s fighting something in his head again, isn’t he?”

Kaela laughed.

“That lucky fucker.”

Elara sighed, rubbing her forehead.

“But this feels different.”

She had naturally seen Ethan entering the Tower Of Beasts the most since she slept beside him most nights and lived with him. And she was right about this not being the same. He wasn’t hunting this time, nor was he in the Tower.

He was somewhere else entirely…

–

The first thing Ethan noticed was the silence.

Not the ordinary silence of a quiet room, but something deeper.

A stillness that seemed to exist beyond sound itself.

He stood in an endless darkness, his body feeling strangely weightless. There was no floor beneath his feet, yet he remained upright. No wind brushed against his skin, yet he could feel the faintest movement around him.

Ethan looked down at his hands.

They were solid, familiar, and clearly his own.

“Huh.”

He turned slowly, taking in the endless blackness.

“So, this is what happens when I finally manage to access my own mind… It’s a little dark in here.”

He waited.

Nothing happened.

‘No mysterious voice? No System notification? Not even a welcome message?’

Ethan clicked his tongue.

“Terrible service.”

Despite his complaints, he knew how incredible this was.

He could also still feel it – that strange presence he’d sensed just before losing consciousness. Something connected to his five beasts, something that seemed to extend far beyond the limits of his physical body.

His Beast Space.

The name he’d given it had always been convenient, but he’d never seriously considered what it was. When they weren’t summoned, he was sure that they weren’t dormant. Their minds remained active, they could see what was happening, and their injuries healed even when they weren’t summoned.

Which was baffling.

Mark’s monster space had first planted the seed of the idea. The monsters Mark consumed weren’t simply erased from existence. They were stored somewhere within him, in a space that existed beyond the ordinary world.

And Ethan’s connection to his beasts was even more intimate.

They were bound to his soul.

So where did they go?

The answer had finally clicked into place.

They had their own space.

A spiritual realm connected to his very being, where his beasts could exist independently of the physical world.

His Beast Space.

And somehow, acquiring his fifth beast had allowed him to perceive it, or at least motivated him to do so.

Ethan looked around at the endless darkness.

“All right. If this is my Beast Space, where the hell is everyone?”

As if responding to his question, something stirred in the distance.

A familiar presence tugged at him.

Ethan followed it.

As he did, the darkness around him dissolved into an entirely different realm.

Heat struck him first.

Then came the smell of ash and sulfur.

Ethan found himself standing on a vast plain of blackened earth beneath a blood-red sky. Jagged mountains rose in the distance, their peaks wreathed in smoke. Rivers of molten rock carved glowing paths through the landscape, illuminating the ruins of what looked like an ancient battlefield.

The entire place resembled something ripped straight out of hell.

Ethan slowly turned in place.

“Well, I always knew I was going to go to hell.”

A deep growl rumbled behind him.

He smiled.

“Hey, Wolfy.”

The enormous black Fenrir approached, its paws crushing the scorched ground beneath them. Red eyes gleamed beneath its dark fur, and its massive jaws could have swallowed Ethan whole.

Wolfy lowered its enormous head.

Ethan reached up and rubbed the side of its muzzle.

“Who’s a good giant nightmare wolf?”

Wolfy’s ears twitched.

“That’s right. You are, buddy.”

He scratched beneath its jaw, completely unbothered by the fact that the creature could tear through steel and slaughter monsters that would make most Titled flee in terror.

There was something deeply satisfying about treating a beast capable of inspiring absolute dread as though it were an oversized household pet.

Wolfy leaned into his hand.

Ethan grinned.

“Look at you. All that power, and you’re still happy when I scratch your head.”

A low rumble vibrated through Wolfy’s chest.

“Don’t get offended. It’s a compliment.”

He spent a little longer with the Fenrir, enjoying the rare opportunity to relax without worrying about an enemy launching itself at his throat.

“So this is your home, huh? What did you do wrong?”

The giant Fenrir invited him to climb onto its back and began showing its master around.

Eventually, Ethan jumped off.

“I’ll come and spend time with you here later. Don’t miss me too much.”

Wolfy pouted slightly before licking Ethan’s face with its giant tongue that was surprisingly soft.

‘I guess you’re not all dangerous.’

Ethan chuckled before following the next familiar presence, heading over to the next of his beasts.

The transition was instantaneous.

One moment, he stood in a hellscape, and the next, he was surrounded by mountains.

‘I’m getting the hang of this.’

Traversing domains within his mind wasn’t something Ethan ever imagined doing.

And this one left him breathless…

Literally.

Towering peaks stretched toward a brilliant blue sky, their jagged summits wrapped in flowing clouds. Vast forests blanketed the valleys, while waterfalls spilt from cliffs high enough to disappear into the mist.

The air was cold and thin.

Wind swept through the mountains in great spiralling currents, carrying the distant calls of birds across the landscape.

Ethan stood at the edge of a cliff, staring at the scenery.

“…Holy shit.”

He’d seen beautiful places before, but this was something else. The entire domain seemed alive with movement, every gust of wind flowing in perfect harmony with the land.

Then he spotted the figure standing atop the highest peak.