"How did you enter my shadow without me noticing? I am sure I would have sensed you. I have been using True Sight all this time..."
Axel scratched his head as he explained, "I already told you, didn't I? True Sight is mainly effective against those from your tier and below. Being at higher tiers can more easily hide their presence; especially someone like me who has the power of darkness and shadows. If it was a tier 3 wielder, then maybe you would be able to sense their presence. Don't become overreliant on your senses."
"How am I meant to know what is real and what is fake then? How do you deal with enemies who are stronger than you?"
Axel paused for a moment as his head slightly dropped.
"I don't. I just try and escape before I am noticed. Or I avoid such situations entirely. There are battles that can't ever be won, so you shouldn't attempt to overcome them."
'That sounds like a very pessimistic outlook on things. But I do understand what he means. However it doesn't mean giving up is the right choice either. If I had accepted my fate against the Iron-tusked Boar I wouldn't be alive. Is nihilism the core message for wielders of darkness...?'
Suddenly, Kharon's thoughts were interrupted as Axel called out to him.
"There are still more beasts to hunt. Store the carcass of the Eclipse Specter and follow me. The Hollow King is expecting a lot from you. So don't disappoint him."
"Did he tell you that? Also how many essence beasts does he want me to bring? It would be useful to have an actual number to work with."
"Five essence beasts would be more than enough. He didn't directly express wanting many essence beasts, but he keeps you in high regard. I don't want you to let him down."
As Kharon finished storing the essence core and carcass in his bag, he turned towards Axel who had already created a pair of pitch black wings. With a single flap Axel flew hundreds of meters away. However, Kharon was able to catch up and follow close behind him.
'I thought he was going to leave me again. Now I don't know if he brought the Eclipse Specter to me or if that was all a coincidence. I wonder if I should sell the essence core or keep it and create a mystic construct. It would be useful to create a mystic construct; I would better blend in as a wielder of darkness. But the amount of Aethermarks I could make from selling it would be massive...'
Sighing, Kharon refocused on his True Sight, noticing every living organism around him. As he looked for his next prey, he suddenly noticed a several tier 5 essence beasts in the area and immediately attacked.
In just a few seconds, he had managed to behead all of them before they could even notice.
'Two Void-Touched Hounds, a Shardbeast and a Warpclaw Jackal... I guess that makes five essence beasts. However the Hollow King is probably expecting tier 4 beasts.'
As Kharon gathered the dead beasts, he saw light getting emitted from one of the beasts as he looked in shock.
'Another essence core... How lucky am I today?! I could sell it or create a mystic construct which will allow me to teleport. Either way I gain something good from this. The chances of getting two essence cores in one day should be lower than 0.0025 percent if my maths is correct.'
"You seem to have amazing luck. Maybe I will take you when I want to hunt tier 3 beasts. With your luck I am sure we will get an essence core or two."
"It's just a bit of luck. I doubt that I will be this lucky tomorrow. For all I know I wouldn't get an essence core for the next year after this."
Axel looked at him with his usual indifferent gaze before turning his back.
"I can sense several tier 3 beasts a few kilometers away. We should avoid running into them. Don't try using your True Sight to locate them, if you can't conceal your aether then they will sense you."
'Why are they so many drawbacks to True Sight... I thought it was meant to be a technique that would boost me to the next level as a wielder. Maybe if I use Veiling then my aether would be hard to locate. But it's better if I refrain from trying.'
A strange sensation suddenly passed over Kharon as he felt warm, viscous blood flowing from his nose. With unsteady hands, he reached for his nose as wiped the blood on his sleeves.
'I haven't had a vision. Why am I having a nosebleed...? Something must be lurking.'
Kharon's panicked eyes met Axel's surprised gaze as Axel quickly reached for Kharon and went into the Shadow Realm. As they travelled through it, something strange suddenly happened as Kharon felt something looking at him despite the lack of his senses. As soon as they reached their destination, the same feeling of unease remained as Kharon looked around.
'Should I use True Sight? Where can I run to? Those Axel sense the danger or am I the only one...? Am I going crazy?'
Suddenly, a soft, yet firm hand was placed on his shoulder as Axel looked at him with an unreadable expression. He pulled out something from his pocket before handing it to Kharon.
"Put on this brooch and hide. We are being followed by a tier 3 beast; I suspect that it is a Graveborn Monarch. I don't know how it could gaze at us while we were in the Shadow Realm, so I can only assume that it is corrupted. Make sure you keep the brooch on."
As he said this, Axel placed his hand on Kharon's head as his surroundings began to change. The world grew darker, the rays of light shrunk back, the shadows began dancing.
'This must be Axel's nascent domain. The characteristics of his aether and presence are being projected onto reality... He must really be worried, or at least angry if his domain is manifesting. Will I even survive being within this space?'
Kharon's thought were suddenly interrupted by a voice in his head as he listened, "You will be fine as long as you don't get in the way. I can speak to you by controlling the rules within my nascent domain. With the help of a mystic construct I have I will temporarily create a complete domain, so don't be panicked. If you can then I would appreciate your help in strengthening it."
"Do you want me to use Arcana and enhance the power of your domain? Or do you want me to strengthen it's foundation?"
"Making it stronger and harder to destroy would be useful."
Without hesitation, Kharon began his runeweave as he used the ancient runes he had been studying. As Axel and the Graveborn Monarch began facing off. Their aether collided as surroundings began to change even more noticeably. Leaves began falling, the darkness deepen, all light vanished...
Dark shadow tendrils began forming all around the three figures as they were surrounded. The tendrils grew ever higher until they seemed to pierce the sky. Kharon remained focused on his weave as he quickened his pace. With a final rune, he completed the complex weave and integrated it into the almost complete domain.
As the complex and intricate runes merged with the domain, everything turned dark. All of a sudden, buildings and houses began to be formed. Dark stars were formed in the sky as a black moon rose ever higher.
'A whole solar system was created... No, it's more than just a solar system. I am not sure why I can sense so far, but if I am not mistaken... it's a whole galaxy!'
As the construction of the domain continued, Kharon saw as a massive building was built from the ground up; a church. With it's arrival, the sound of a bell chiming resounded all over the world. Kharon covered his eyes which began bleeding as he looked at Axel.
Looking at the figure in front of him, Kharon felt bewildered. Despite seeing his figure, Kharon couldn't sense anyone or anything before him.
'It's like I am staring at nothing... I can't even feel the usual cold from him. It's as if he doesn't exist!'
Axel who was watching the Graveborn Monarch looked back and Kharon before lunging at the beast who also lunged forward with blinding speeds. Before Kharon could realise what had happened, he had been flung over ten thousand of kilometers in the air. He quickly remained his composure as he caught himself with Hidden Hand.
'This is truly terrifying. Such power would normally be expected of a tier 3 wielder, but I know that Axel protected me from being crushed. Where exactly did he go?'
Kharon looked around as he tried locating the ground to land back safely, but as he looked around he could only see dark fragments floating around him when he finally realised.
'The whole planet Axel created was destroyed...'