One of the girls who had curly blonde hair and bright green eyes was the first to speak as she asked in an excited voice, "How can you endure being so close to the Hollow King?"
Kharon looked at her without saying anything as she said, "I should introduce myself first. My name is Emelia. The guy sitting next to me is Wyatt, my brother. And next to him is his girlfriend Talia. We already know who you are, but introducing yourself to us would be nice."
Slowly, Kharon's eyes swept over the three as he sighed before annswering, "My name is Raven. Raven Duskveil."
"Well, Raven. Could you explain to us how you can endure your uncle's deadly presence?"
"Don't call him that. And no, I wouldn't."
A loud arrogant voice suddenly rang out as Wyatt stood up while glaring at Kharon.
"Do you think you are above us just because of your uncle?! Because if that is what you think, then you are wrong. You should show more respect to those who are responsible for your wellbeing. Or else you wouldn't survive in this place."
As he spoke against Kharon, he was suddenly pulled back by Talia as she looked at Kharon and smiled.
"Don't pay Wyatt any mind. He is just a bit agitated from the Hollow King's presence. I understand that you want to keep your cards close to your chest, but you should atleast try and be friendly. You wouldn't get far here with such a cold attitude."
"This whole place is filled with cunning, scheming people. How am I acting any differently from them? Atleast I am not trying to put on an act. If my attitude bothers you so much, then just ignore me."
"We wouldn't mind doing that, but the Hollow King has asked that we help you adapt by teaching you the ropes. Do you plan on surviving here by trial and error?"
"There isn't much that can be done to me by any of you. Unless you want to end up dead."
At the mention of death the expression on the three's faces darkened. Kharon noticing this stood up and began walking away from them when he felt a someone grabbing his arm. As he looked back, he saw Emelia staring at him with visible anger. He tried pulling his arm away as her grip tightened.
"Let me go before-"
"Before what? Killing me? I'd like to see you try. In fact, why don't we have a duel right now? That way I can beat the rules of the Hollow Syndicate into you. And don't worry, Talia is a wielder of nature. There wouldn't be a single scratch on you after I'm done."
"I have no intention of fighting you." Kharon sighed as he yanked his arm away. "I am sorry if what I said hit a nerve. I didn't know it would be so easy to rile you guys up."
Suddenly Kharon sensed an incoming attack as he blocked a punch from Wyatt. The shockwave produced flung all the tables and chairs around them across the room.
'He is using his aether to weaken the shockwaves produced. I guess it's similar to what Aidan said about using his aether to stop sonic booms from happening. What an interesting application of aether. I need to test out different ways to utilise it.'
As Wyatt was about to throw another punch, he was suddenly bound by several green vines. A sweet aroma quickly swept through the bar as Kharon felt himself relaxing.
'The path of nature. So this is what it is capable of. I don't feel nearly as annoyed as I was. The smell of these vines... Wait, the vines and the smell are different. But they have been combined together, quite intriguing. I wonder what else can be done with this path.'
"You know we can't fight in the bar Wyatt. You can't be breaking the rules you were asked to maintain."
"I was just testing him out. He was doing a lot of barking without any bite."
Talia face palmed as she said, "That doesn't matter. You need to clean up after youself, I will help you."
As soon as she said that, more vines appeared as they picked up the disguarded chairs and tables and put them where they once were. After this was done, Talia looked towards Kharon as she said, "Are you looking to fight? Because you are then you can request a duel. Fighting isn't allowed in public spaces such as the bar, but there is a fighting arena. It's usually used when people have disagreements and it's a better alternative to fighting in spaces where things can easily be damaged."
"If that's how it works then I want to request a duel against Wyatt. He is the one who started it in the first place."
"Well I accept. Let's go to the arena."
A chant could suddenly be heard as the on-lookers began shouting, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"
"That isn't fair! I asked for a duel first."
Wyatt looked at Emelia as he said, "Your request was rejected so you can't complain. But don't worry. I will crush him for the both of us. The Hollow King wouldn't mind a few bruises on his nephew."
Wyatt began walking towards an open door as Emelia and Talia followed him. Kharon walked behind as a little crowd followed suit. They climbed up several flights of stairs before going through a door and into a wide corridor. Wyatt then opened a door and went inside before Kharon and the rest joined him.
The room was several times bigger than it should have been. It looked like a colosseum of sorts as there were stairs which led downwards despite the room's position. As Kharon went down, he analysed the arena.
'The smell of blood is quite strong. And there are a lot of seats. The fighting platform looked reinforced. Is that a barrier? It is quite big, but it makes sense considering how dangerous it would be for the audience if an attack flew straight at them. This should be quick.'
As the rows of seats filled, Wyatt stepped onto the platform, Kharon following close behind. As they stepped on, Kharon asked, "Are there any rules I need to know?"
"No killing is allowed. Apart from that you can do almost anything you want."
"So, mystic constructs are allowed too?"
"If you have one then you can use it. I am sure someone as sheltered as you must have a few. How else would you be able to endure the Hollow King's presence."
"You constantly speak of his presence as if his armour is a part of him. The aura emitted by his armour is much different from his actual presence. But a buffoon such as yourself wouldn't be able to tell the difference."
Kharon got in a fighting stance as he said this, trying to anticipate Wyatt's attack. But surprisingly Wyatt began laughing as he said, "You think I would fall for such an obvious trick? The fight hasn't begun. But I guess you are too impatient, so I guess we can start... Now!"
Lunging forward with great speed, Wyatt reached Kharon in no time as he swung with great force. This time his aether was directly focused on his hands as Kharon narrowly dodged. The shockwave produced hit the invisible barrier with great force as Kharon heard a loud bang.
'Not too bad, he isn't holding back. I guess I wouldn't either.'
As Kharon prepared to attack, he suddenly felt a presence behind him as Wyatt kicked him in the back. He was violently pushed back as he fell on the floor. In the next second, Wyatt was already in front of him, ready to punch him in the face. Before Wyatt could land the hit, Kharon activated the Hand of Order, shouting, "I will dodge this punch!"
He felt his body get pulled by an unseen force as he managed to avoid the punch. He quickly stood up and composed himself as Wyatt once again appeared before him. This time he was prepared as he created a dome around himself. As Wyatt made contact with it, his hand stopped. A bewildered expression appeared on his face as Kharon punched him square in the jaw.
Wyatt was sent flying back over ten meters as he landed on his feet and wiped off the blood from his lips. He began smiling and his lips curled into a wide grin. Before Kharon could react he was flying backwards as he felt throbbing pain in his stomach.
'Good thing I am wearing the Hunter's Attire. If I had been hit without it then I would be in a bit of trouble. I wonder what arcane abilities he is using. Is it teleportation from the path of cosmos? No it can't be. He is fast but his movements aren't instantaneous. He is abnormally fast despite his path. So it has to be time manipulation from the path of chronos. He must be speeding himself up then. If that is the case then I have the perfec counter.'
Kharon backflipped as he landed on the floor. As Wyatt once again appeared in front of him, he took the hit to the jaw. While he flew back, he suddenly shouted, "Time manipulation is prohibited within this arena!"