Volume 2 - Heart of Stone
Kharon swiftly ran through the rain, the constant barrage of silver bullets pummeling him with great force. But he paid them no mind, his gaze was fixed on the road up ahead. As he went through Starfall District and into Glimmershade Market, he slightly slowed down as he scanned the marketplace. Despite the torrential rain, people were still out and about, buying different products and going about their day with bright smiles and laughter.
With faint longing in his eyes, Kharon refocused his attention on the road up ahead and sprinted off. He quickly went through a certain alleyway as he reached a large, dark building. After knocking three times, he was let in by a burly man with several scars on his bare scalp. The man looked at him for a second, as he stole a glance of Gale before saying, "He is waiting for you."
Kharon nodded as he pulled down his cloak. As he walked down the corridor, he held Gale even tighter as some of the men looked at it with interest. But as soon as their eyes met with Kharon's they quickly shrunk back. The air in the corridor seemed to freeze over as Kharon walked down, every step he took resounding throughout.
'I hope I am not scaring Gale with my aether. The best way to keep them at bay is by showing them who is in charge. The strong don't have to fear the weak; I don't have to be afraid of them.'
Standing in front of a large, wide door Kharon knocked several times before he heard a voice.
"Come in."
Kharon slowly pushed the wide doors open with his left arm as he stepped inside. The smell of rot and death filled his nostrils as he protected Gale from the foul odour. He looked around as he saw the carcasses of many arcane creatures and a few essence beasts. The heads of several humans which were impaled on sharp spikes made him slightly nauseous.
Sitting on a throne made out of countless bones, was a gaunt man wearing a blood red suit of armour. His eyes seemed to pierce through Kharon's soul as he walked ever closer to the ghastly man before him.
"I am glad you were able to make it. How did Aidan take the news?"
"Don't act like you care. It doesn't matter either way."
The Hollow King sighed as he looked at Kharon's chest and asked, "And who is this little fellow? I didn't think you were one for pets."
"I am only keeping him temporarily until I can find him a new pack."
The Hollow King looked at Gale who was sleeping peacefully in Kharon's arm before looking back at Kharon. As their eyes met, Kharon felt a shiver down his spine as he felt his body instinctively move back.
"Can I have my soulbind token now?"
As he asked this, a small, silver coin was launched at him with great speed. He quickly caught it as he looked at Hollow King with a blank expression. He looked at the coin for a while as his body began to change. His bones slowly grew and extended, his dark, onyx hair turned light brown as it grew in length. His facial features began shifting as well as his eyes became fiercer, his nose slowly shrunk and his lips became thinner.
Hollow King looked at this sight with intrigue as he saw Kharon turning into a slightly younger version of himself. His eyes filled with obvious malice as he watched Kharon.
After he was done changing, Kharon's aether signature began to shift as it became less ethereal and mysterious, becoming darker and harder to follow. His presence became even more prominent and yet less physical.
As Kharon did this, he heard clapping as he looked at Hollow King.
"Your aether signature now resembles that of someone from the path of darkness. I doubt anyone except actual wielders of darkness will be able to tell the difference. You also look like a younger version of myself. Those who have seen me before may think you are my son."
"There isn't much difference between being your nephew and your son. Merely being associated with you is already bad enough."
"You have quite a sharp tongue. Do you want me to cut it off?"
Kharon remained silent as he channeled his new aether signature into the soulbind token. Once he was done, he put it into his bag as Hollow King stood up and walked towards him. The closer he got, the stronger the smell of blood became.
'How can someone stink that much? That armour has to be a type of mystic construct. But what path is it from? Depravity, Chaos, Death? It makes me feel so weak. There is no doubt, it is a tier 3 mystic construct.'
As Kharon's mind raced Hollow King stepped in front of him and smiled.
"Truly impressive. You have barely moved from where you are despite my armour's ability. Tier 3 wielders feel intimidated by this armour and yet you barely react to it. You really are a special existence."
"You are overestimating me. Now that I have a soulbind token and a false identity, I should be able to buy things through arcane credits. Will you help me open an account or will I have to do it alone?"
"I have already opened an account with 5000 Aethermarks for you. Now I just need to connect that account to your soulbind token. Don't think I do this for just anyone. This is me investing in you. Don't let me down."
Kharon nodded as Hollow King took his soulbind token and made his way back to his throne. As he sat down, his left hand faintly glowed. As soon as this happened, the door swung open and standing next to Kharon was a tall, figure. He had short, straw blonde hair and light hazel eyes. His skin was beige and soft, not a single blemish could be found.
As soon as he appeared, Hollow King tossed Kharon's soulbind token and said, "Axel, I need you to link this token to the account I had you open. Once you are done return it to Kharon."
"As you wish sir."
As quickly as he had appeared, Axel vanished. The only trace of his existence were the closing doors. Kharon looked at Hollow King with an inquisitive look before asking, "Who is that? I have never seen him around."
"That is my right hand man, Axel Russell. A tier 3 wielder of darkness. He doesn't like being in public, though I sent him out all the time." Hollow King chuckled as he continued, "You will be seeing him quite frequently, he will take you on your first mission tomorrow. I can't have you dying on me."
"You say I am impressive and yet you have such little faith in me?"
"Those two things are very different. Well you must be hungry after everything that has happened. You should go eat something at the bar. The food is better than you would expect."
Kharon shook his head as he said, "I am not hungry. Am I staying here or do I need to go rent a room somewhere? We didn't go through the specifics."
"You will be living in the Hollow Syndicate. I have prepared a room for you. But before I show you where it is, I need you to learn the basics on how this place runs."
Hollow King stood up once again and walked towards the door as Kharon followed close behind. As they stepped out, the few people who were in the corridor all fell on one knee at the sight of the Hollow King. Blood began dripping from their noses as some fell unconscious. Hollow King slowly walked through as more and more people began to pass out.
Once they reached the main hall, Kharon noticed a few wielders sitting together who were barely fazed by the arrival of the Hollow King.
'They aren't tier 3 wielders but they can endure his presence. They are a few meters away but it is pretty impressive. If it wasn't for my special soul and the Hunter Attire I would have probably passed out from the Hollow King's presence.'
As he thought this, the Hollow King made his way to the figures who had barely reacted to his presence as he took a sit next to them. A bit of blood flowed down their nose as they wiped it away without much of a reaction. Kharon took a seat next to Hollow King as the three wielders looked at him with interest.
"Talia, Wyatt, Emelia. I want you to meet my nephew, Raven. As you should already know, he has ascended to tier 4 and will be staying with us in the Hollow Syndicate. I hope you help him adapt to our rules. I will be leaving him to you." Hollow King stood up as he looked at Kharon. "Your room is on the top floor. It is the first door on the left."
After saying this, Hollow King walked away and returned to his throne room. As soon as he was gone, the three wielders all turned their attention to Kharon. He could feel from the pure intensity of their gazes that they were all tier 4.