As Kharon was contemplating what to do, the Eclipse Specter once again lunged at him. It's slim, hooded figure flew threw the air with terrifying speed as it crafted an identical copy of itself. Kharon quickly dodged both shadowy figures as he quickly drew some enhancement runes before using the Hand of Order.
"Shadow Manipulation is prohibited within a 10m radius of me."
As he said this, he focused the enhancement runes of his mystic construct. Suddenly the Eclipse Specter's clone vanished as it was left with its thin, exposed skin. It's hideous maw made Kharon shudder as he began drawing more runes.
'This rule wouldn't last long... A tier 5 mystic construct can't fully suppress a tier 4 wielder or beast... I got lucky against Wyatt, if he hadn't tried to bid his time and had forcefully broken free of the rule I set.'
Kharon suddenly realised his mistake as he refocused on his current enemy.
'I can't be thinking about that now. If I mess up, I will definitely die. The beast will probably break the rule in a few seconds. If I prolong this fight, it will trap my soul in the the Shadow Realm and steal my body. But what conditions must it meet before that happens?'
There was a dark surge of power which quickly enveloped Kharon as he tried to escape. However he became more and more entangled, his runes slowly unraveling one by one. Feeling cornered, Kharon decided to try something risky as he used Silent Craft to create a pair of hands. Concentrating his aether on these constructs, he began drawing runes with them.
The shadows didn't relent as more and more tendrils wrapped around Kharon's body. His eyes and ears were suddenly bound. He quickly dismissed his senses as he used True Sight to continue his runes. With one last desperate push, he managed to complete his runeweave.
There was a sudden burst of light as the shadow tendrils around Kharon retreated with great haste. The warm sensation of the illumination and heating runes enveloped Kharon in a cocoon of warmth and comfort.
Using this opportunity, Kharon began using True Sight as he spotted the Eclipse Specter hiding a hundred meters away. It sent another wave of shadows towards Kharon, but this time the shadows were filled with sharp spikes.
Seeing the incoming attack, Kharon could only use Silent Craft to create a protective dome around himself. As the wave surrounded him from all sides, he could feel his dome beginning to give way as cracks slowly formed.
'This really isn't good. I can't afford to waste anymore time.'
Kharon slowly gathered his aether as he expanded his dome and slowly widened it. After doing this for an unknown amount of time, he dispelled it as he created a massive sword. Carrying it with Hidden Hand, he launched it towards the darkness as a path was cleared for him. Using the opportunity, Kharon concentrated as he created a little platform out of aether and jumped out of the wave of shadows.
Feeling the fresh breeze pass over his face, Kharon relaxed as he located the Eclipse Specter and lunged towards it's figure. As he crafted a smaller, sharper sword and attempted to pierce his opponent. But he flew straight through.
His eyes met the purple eyes of the Specter as he noticed something was wrong.
'Its eyes look brighter than they should. Could it be that this Specter is close to ascending and becoming a tier 3 beast? No wonder it seems stronger than it should be, its ascension is imminent. If it manages to defeat me and devours my soul then it will ascend.'
Kharon's lips curled into a sinister smile as he looked at the essence beast with a crazed look. Suddenly, Kharon's figure vanished as he used his most versatile and arguably most ability while he began his runeweave.
'Veiling; Before I could only create realistic illusions which had sounds and smells. But now, I can temporarily replicate touch. If it thinks that I have stabbed it, then it will lose it's composure and begin attacking more rashly or it will run away. I have underestimated the intelligence of this essence beast far too much...'
Appearing behind the Eclipse Specter, Kharon used Veiling to create a dagger as he plunged it into the beast's back. There was suddenly a shrill sound which made Kharon's head spin as the Eclipse Specter ran from him. Using this opportunity, Kharon completed his weave and activated it. As he watched the Specter flying, it was suddenly pulled back by a powerful force.
As it's body flew towards Kharon with immense speed, Kharon calmly created a sword as the Eclipse Specter was stabbed straight through the heart; its body hanging limply on the sword, it's dark blood oozing like a river.
'This feels very familiar.'
Kharon looked at the runes which he had inscripted onto the Specter as he smiled.
'Using Veiling to create the sensation of being stabbed when I merely inscribed a rune with minimal pain. Then I connected the rune I inscribed to my runeweave. This has to be one of my best plans yet, but it took me far too long to come up with it.'
Reviewing what he had done, Kharon failed to notice the change in the Eclipse Specter's body as a glowing purple core was suddenly formed. Looking down at the corpse, noticed this anomaly and smiled.
'I got an essence core on my first hunt; how lucky. I wonder if I can use past recollection to delve into some of the Eclipse Specter's memories. I should be able to look at several major memories and gain some knowledge about other beasts and their fighting capabilities.'
Taking hold of the core, Kharon concentrated as his surroundings slowly faded away and he was pulled into a memory.
'This is different from me having visions of my past. Instead I am a bystander who is looking at the memory from a different perspective. I guess the change to tier 4 improved the capabilities of Past Recollection.'
Kharon could see trees and other wild vegetation in his surroundings as he looked at the Eclipse Specter which was floating through the forest. As he followed after it, he noticed something and immediately stopped. Standing fifty meters away from the Specter was a skeletal being which resembled an octopus. Moving slightly closer, Kharon realised what it was. It's mere presence made Kharon shudder despite being in a memory.
'A Deathmarked Sentinel! Why was such a powerful being lurking in the open... A tier 3 essence beast in a blue zone is quite rare. I remember Aidan saying he encountered two tier 3 beasts fighting in the forest. The amount of tier 3 beasts is increasing, it's only a matter of time until they take over blue zones.'
Wondering what happened next, Kharon watched as the Eclipse Specter slowly retreated as its body turned incorporeal. As it silently slipped away, its presence was noticed by the Deathmarked Sentinel who grabbed it with a bony tentacle. As the Eclipse Specter was about to be crushed, something sliced through the tentacle.
A feeling of unease came over Kharon as he looked at the being which had attacked the Sentinel. It was another Eclipse Specter; however it looked different from the other. Its dark cloak was red and instead of purple eyes, it had a mix of colours which Kharon couldn't even process. Kharon had difficulty breathing in it's presence as he clutched his chest.
'That is... no way... It's a corrupted essence beast... But how did the Eclipse Specter escape...? And why is it so terrifying... This is just a memory... How terrifying would it be if I was to actually meet it...?'
Kharon immediately felt like dispelling the memory, but he endured the chilling presence as he watched the Deathmarked Sentinel and Corrupted Eclipse Specter fighting on seemingly equal footing. The Sentinel tried once again to grab the helpless Eclipse Specter but was stopped by the Corrupted Specter. It gave it's kin a look as it lunged towards the Deathmarked Sentinel.
Realising what was happening, the Eclipse Specter started to fly as it shockwaves from the fight made it's whole body tremble. It flew and flew for what felt like eternity until it couldn't sense the shockwaves from the fight. It began to dig a deep hole in the ground and covered it using it's shadow tendrils. As soon as it did this, the beast collapsed.
The world around Kharon began to dissipate. He blinked several times before returning back to the real world.
'That was quite an experience.'
Placing a hand on his chest, Kharon felt his heart beating violently as he thought about his next move.
'Axel should be somewhere close. Considering that the Hollow King doesn't want me dying he probably hid and watched my fight with the Eclipse Specter.'
Suddenly, Kharon felt someone behind him. He quickly turned around to see that Axel was looking at him with a blank stare. Their gazes met as Kharon suddenly asked, "Why did you leave me on my own? I could have died without your help!"
"You handled the situation quite well without my help and I would have stepped in if I needed to. Also, I never left you on your own, I was in your shadow all this time..."