Kharon remained frozen as the realisation set in. In just over a month he had reached the pinnacle of tier 4 and was ready to rise higher. His heart beat quickened as the Hollow King cautiously placed his right arm on Kharon's shoulder.
"Your essence core was already assimilated when you fell into a coma. Fully assimilating with an essence core in two days is way more impressive don't you think?"
The Hollow King smiled as he continued, "I tried to understand this phenomenon by peering into your memories but I was violently rejected. The sheer backlash damaged my left arm and has made it unusable for now. My best guess is that you connected to your former, angelic self and because you have ascended through this tier, your body, soul and essence reacted accordingly."
Scratching his head, the Hollow King quickly added, "That is just my theory, so don't take it too seriously."
Jumping in, Axel said, "For all we know, you are a true genius of the mysteries. I would suggest trying to do some research; but after what happened to the Hollow King it isn't the best idea."
Kharon continued to stare dumbfounded at his hands as he slowly clenched them tightly.
'This is rather unexpected. However I will take whatever I am handed. Despite all my promises I am still so weak... Even if I have to lose myself, I will become stronger. No matter what it takes.'
A bright purple glow was emitted from Kharon's eyes as he clenched his fists even tighter. His pale skin began to turn red as his nails slowly pierced through his palm. As thick, red blood flowed down his hand and unto the ground, Kharon stood up and began walking to his room.
Axel quickly reached for his hand but Kharon pulled away. Without looking at the two perplexed men, he left the room. Walking down the narrow corridor, Kharon saw several men passing by. When they noticed him, they quickly gave him short bows before rushing away. With a stone cold expression, Kharon ignored them and walked up the flight of stairs.
Opening the door to his room, Kharon looked around, expecting the place to be filled with dust. But to his surprise it looked spotless. He quickly closed the door and began searching for his armour. Finding his bag, Kharon rummaged through the different compartments until he found it.
'It looks clean. Someone must have washed it while I was out. My mystic constructs are also here. I thought they would be taken.'
As he pulled out his armour, a dark metallic bracelet fell out along with his soulbind token. He suddenly realised what it was as he picked it up. The cold, eerie aether surrounding the bracelet seemed to creep towards Kharon as he tossed it aside.
'Axel turned my tier 4 essence core of darkness into a mystic construct... That means that he must have sold my tier 5 essence core. Why would he need my soulbind token if he can directly send the Aethermarks into my account?'
Kharon quickly dismissed these thoughts as he put on the Hunter's Attire, the Hand of Order and Solar Ring. He suddenly felt light-headed as he took a seat on his bed.
'I never noticed how much of a strain is put on my body. The aether from the Solar Ring is like an antithesis to my aether. I should replace it with something else; though I don't think I can find a mystic construct as powerful as this. I never even got to unsealing its other abilities...'
Feeling tired, Kharon removed the Solar Ring and placed it into his bag as he took out the Tombkeeper's Ring. The cold, deadly aether emitting from it brought Kharon a strange feeling of comfort as he put on the ring.
'It's just as I thought. Mystic constructs from similar paths have a similar aether signature. Therefore, it doesn't affect me negatively like the Solar Ring. But how didn't the Solar Ring cause me to pass out from before; could it be that the effects become more severe as my body and soul assimilate with my essence core?!'
Kharon spent several hours creating hypotheses before he was overcome by the growling of his stomach. As he went down the steps, he suddenly slipped and began to fall. He closed his eyes, expecting the feeling of the hard, solid steps; but the pain never came. He slowly opened his eyes to see that he was suspended mid-air.
Looking back, Kharon noticed Talia looking at him from the top of the stairs with an outstretched hand. A single green vine protruding from her palm. It was tied around Kharon's waist as he was slowly carried down the stairs.
He awkwardly coughed as he muttered, "Thank you" and continued on his way. As he stepped into the bar, the whole atmosphere changed as everyone seemed to tense up immediately. They tried avoiding eye contact but under the seemingly intimidating presence of the Hollow Scion, they all got up and bowed.
"We are glad that you have successfully recovered Hollow Scion."
Kharon gave them a curt nod and he walked past them and took a sit close to the bartender. He looked at him with a cold, piercing stare as he said, "Could I have some Aethergrain Porridge please?"
The bartender quickly nodded as he immediately took out the ingredients from a cupboard and began preparing the meal. After a few minutes, he placed a bowl of warm, golden mush in front of Kharon.
Without hesitation, Kharon began devouring his meal and in less than a minute he was already done. As he stared at the empty bowl, the bartender asked, "Would you like some more my scion?"
"Yes please."
Another few minutes passed as the bartender prepared another bowl of Aethergrain Porridge. He gently placed it in front of Kharon who looked at it and smiled a bit.
'It's barely contained in this bowl.'
Kharon once again devoured his meal in seconds as he asked for even more. The bartender smiled as he said "Of course." and refilled the bowl again. This continued for a while until Kharon looked at his slightly bulging stomach and stood up. As he was about to walk away, he thanked the bartender before returning to his room.
On his way up the stairs, he saw several people walking and excitedly chatting about something. He followed them as they all gathered at the arena.
'I wonder who is fighting this time. Could it be Wyatt? Or maybe Emelia. I guess I will just have to wait and see.'
As he walked into the colosseum, Kharon used Veiling as his whole body turned invisible. He looked around before taking a sit at the very back. He quickly heard some excited chants as it was revealed that Emelia was fighting a newly ascended tier 4 wielder. Kharon looked at the two fighters with an unreadable expression as a countdown began.
"3... 2... 1... Fight!"
The two fighters flew at each other with great speed as a massive shockwave was produced. Suddenly, Emelia turned into a starry cloud and vanished. She quickly reappeared behind the brown-haired man she was fighting and kicked him. As he rolled on the ground, she followed up her attack with a downwards smash which was dodged by the man.
Listening as the audience cheered, Kharon learned that the man's name was Zack. He began analysing the two of them as they fighting intensified. Emelia sent out an attack which seemed to distort space as Zack was pulled towards her with great force. But as he was, he pulled back his fist and hit Emelia with a perfectly timed uppercut.
'So she is a wielder of cosmos and he is a wielder of enhancement. I wonder what else they can do.'
Emelia was sent flying upwards as she almost hit the ceiling. She suddenly vanished once again as Zack looked around, trying to anticipate her next move. As Emelia reappeared a few meters away, Zack dropped his guard. Before he realised it, his hand had been twisted out of shape. He looked visibly distressed but remained calm as he put back his arm into shape.
"Do you think that is enough to defeat me? Well think again."
Zack's body began to seemingly melt and move around as his skin turned into molten metal. His limbs began to move in strange ways as they elongated and sharpened. In just a second, Zack's arms had turned into two massive blades.
'Body manipulation and fortification. That is quite useful. But his speed may end up falling; but knowing how this path works I know that isn't the case.'
Emelia lunged as she vanished. She began teleporting all around the arena at great speeds as Zack stood still; waiting for something. When Emelia lunged, he quickly side stepped and slashed her. Blood suddenly erupted from her wound like a geyser as she passed out.
Zack stood victoriously as he raised his steel arms. His body quickly reverted to normal as he picked Emelia up and brought her to Talia who began healing her wounds. When a cold, loud voice suddenly said, "That was interesting..."