The figure's boots crunched on the fallen leaves, the dense forest around him cascaded in purple light. His form cloaked in shades of dark purple merging with his surroundings.
As he delved deeper into the forest, The figure's senses heightened. The air hummed with untold stories, and whispers of unseen creatures echoed in the rustling leaves. His sword, adorned with the intricate design of a dragon, rested comfortably in its sheath.
The figure was no stranger to the dance between life and death that painted this world in its colors, the aether around him pulsating with excitement from his expectations.
His thoughts wandered between all the battles he has experienced during his lifetime and his excitement building up with the thought of battling an unknown opponent.
Also the most probable source of the commotion that ruined his rest and destroyed the serenity he felt while admiring his handiwork and epitome of his skills, his thoughts coming to his current situation, a sudden disturbance, a huge ruckus, and an unaccountable variable that must have been forgotten or it was not discovered by the scout team, his confusion and excitement kept piling up, with the aether unconsciously mirroring his thoughts and expectations of a magnificent battle with the unknown variable.
.
But his thoughts suddenly came to a halt as he now realizes " this is a relatively peaceful [zone], so they shouldn't be other explorers as this zone doesn't have any opportunities but is fraught with danger so this commotion should have been caused by an inhabitant of this [zone] "
"[aether beasts]" he whispered in the air, with a sense of anticipation in his voice.
But it was still too unusual for such a ruckus to happen in this [zone]since most of the [aether beasts] in this zone claimed territories to delve deep into the intricacies of [domain] as based on the report given to me by the A.E.G(Aetherian Exploratory Guild).so it means none of the strong ones would cause a ruckus similar to that one under normal circumstances.
[aether beasts], the protectors of the [zone], ferocious creatures whose existence is solely tied to the [zone] in a symbiotic relationship, there were four known stages for [aether beasts].
stage 1[Mystic Spawns]:These are the basic forms of aether beasts, often appearing in the lower-ranked zones. They possess minimal aether manipulation abilities.
Stage 2[ Ethereal Guardians]:As aether beasts grow, they become Ethereal Guardians, gaining more control over the aether. They can defend their territory and possess heightened senses...
stage 3 [aether beasts ]are known as[Abyssal Dominators]:Aether beasts that reach this stage become powerful predators. They have significant control over aether, using it both defensively and offensively. The connection to the Abyss is more profound. In other words, stage 3 [aether beasts] are powerhouses.
But when it comes to those [named aether beasts], there'll always be a huge difference because [named aether beasts], gain individual identities, often due to their unique abilities, extraordinary size, or unusual behavior. These named aether beasts are powerful and might even be revered or feared by inhabitants of the [zone].
"My blood can't help but rush at the thought of facing a [named aether beast]"thought the figure, as the aether around him started exhibiting qualities akin to his will and thirst for a gratifying battle.
His [aetheric Arts]shaping the aether to his will, the aether glistening like the celestial stars and exhibiting more properties of his art, the differing quality that makes third stage aether users and above, no matter their path in their journey as aether users, that quality that earned them the title "calamities" by the common folk.
The ability to dominate the aether in his surrounding in a certain range, and also the aether around the attacks of opponents weaker than them also known as [assimilation].
The figure's thought kept on wandering to the unusual situation of the zone his eyes glistening in expectation, "But the aether quantity and quality in this [zone]is exceptional and the danger ranking of the [zone] will have to be recalculated"his thoughts racing as he was thinking about the cause of the unexpected situation occurring before he started having a mild headache due to his thoughts.
"well thinking and reasoning were never my strong point, but if the guild found out about me being in a zone that I wasn't authorized to visit, am sure this will earn me an earful" his eyes losing the gleam they had before quickly igniting back with more intensity as his fingers started massaging the hilt of his sword.
Taking light steps forward while contemplating his situation, his eyes burning with intensity radiated his blazing desire which released some of his aura into the surroundings.
The weight of his aura started affecting his surroundings, the amethyst mystifirs were being pressed to the ground just by the immense pressure about by his intense desire and need for a worthy foe.
He quickly reigned in his feral aura, while trying his best to maintain his composure, which gradually started reducing his influence on the surrounding aether and forestry returning the forest to its usual state, but although his aura was restrained again his presence had already influenced his surroundings his will kept on weaving with the aether seamlessly like they were always meant to be together.
The figure moving in the forest was Mark Llambrad, an experienced explorer, and a son of the llambrad family, a family of [outliers]a unique path of aether users who use their will to control and merge with aether, his family is the rulers of a United front known as the llambrad Dominion which has equal strength to the [awakened] empires is a true behemoth in [laxarria], a world where power is highly respected and revered.
Mark Llambrad, the second son of Paragon llambrad a mighty powerhouse in the llambrad family and head of the household, Mark stands at a height of 6"2(six feet, two inches)with a carefree air around him, his exceptional physique trained through countless battles were easy to notice, he wore a leather armor exquisitely crafted by a famous blacksmith with his blade still kept in its sheath, the blade although not yet drawn seemed to have an inexplicable presence, which resonated with it's name [lumina caeli(A/N: meaning "light of the heavens" in the ancient language of laxarria) ] which made it seem as if no other light was allowed to exist around it.
It's presence bending the aether around it and the insignia on the hilt of the blade served as a testament to his origins.
With a head full of blue hair, an angular jaw, and striking blue eyes, his eyes which seemed to mirror a depth akin to the ocean would draw many in who attempted to gaze at the many secrets held within, his gaze calm and fierce stared at his surroundings with fervor while searching for his prey.
An exceptional prodigy, at the age of 26 he was already at the third stage of the [outlier] evolution, a stage also called the master stage by ignorant mortals but known as the essence weaver by those that know the true capability of such a realm of power, with not many being in the realm, and not too few, but a prodigy like a mark is still a rare sight in the world of laxarria.
For beings who could close their eyes a thousand years will pass by Mark was a kid if they used their standards but Mark possessed something that made him a threat to some and to others an opportunity.
Although a twenty-six years old essence weaver was a rare sight, to beings who have lived long enough and witnessed the fall and rise of countless prodigies that can't be what causes most of those beings to pay attention to an insignificant brat like Mark, there must be something else that makes him special, a very terrifying ability that makes him stand out than most, and because of that trait the llambrad family expected they would soon have a fourth stage expert also known as a paragon but on the [outlier] ranks it is called valuable addition to the family, so they treated mark with care and also watched over his safety to ensure he wouldn't be killed by their enemies or rivals, but mark wasn't having that.
All the protection given to him wasn't the kind of life he wanted to live he loved living on the edge, and he loved to feel his blade go through an enemy of immense abilities so he made the decision to leave home and pursue the trade of an explorer, a job that allows him to experience the thrill of fighting strong enemies and tempering his blade, and because of their different views mark ran away from home to become an explorer, but he was also cast away by the family to never return.
{MARK'S LLAMBRAD POV}
I looked at the violet sky covered in dark clouds and observed the phenomenon caused by the immense amount of aether with interest and curiosity and remembered that the environment of a [zone] depends on the aether type and its concentration, and due to the [dark aether] that's so concentrated in the atmosphere and this [zone], the influence of the Aether on the zone is more obvious.
"Am baffled as to why this [zone] is so low ranked, just based on the concentration of Aether alone I believe an EX-rank would have been more fitting than a B-rank. But the [Aether beasts] here are relatively weak compared to a true EX-rank [zone] ...." I diverted my focus from my thoughts to my senses, in the range of my senses I felt the presence of a hound which was staring right at me.
The distance separating us could be crossed in the blink of an eye of both of us choose to do so but as if in agreement we just kept observing each other, standing on its four legs,my opponent kept approaching me with brisk steps, its four eyes were locked on me, with each of its eyes completely dyed black with no pupils to be seen inside, it gazed at me with ferocity and mockery intwined, it spread its claws that were made to rip prey from limb to limb deeply embedding it into the ground while it's whole body was tense in anticipation.
It had beautifully dark shiny fur that seemed to sway like flames, saliva dripping from its mouth as it seemed to anticipate sinking its fangs into my flesh, it looked at me with a gaze that gave me the impression that it regarded me as prey and behind it, from the forest emerged the members of it's pack with the same predatorial gaze locked on me, my eyebrows furrowed as I was bathed in anticipation.
A maniacal smile that sent chills down the spines of the creatures started could be seen tugging at the edges of my face as the aether started pulsating in response to my will, these creatures known as hades hound's was a well known inhibitant of the [zone] called death range, and were well known for their ruthlessness when dealing with a prey, my excitement was raging as I looked at their third-rank pack leader.
I restrained my budding aura that seemed about to explode while still having a battle-thirsty smile on my face, but while I was in the process of trying to keep my aura in check, I noticed a certain aura at the edge of my senses's, a presence that seemed distorted but the pressure it emitted was fear-inducing, my title which was given to me the started pulsating along with my thoughts, my title the "Enigma Edge" was influencing the aether around me and also my emotions as I was getting excited.
"a fitting title," I thought
"Hahahaha....haha.."I started laughing maniacally to myself while my whole body seemed like a hungry whale as I started absorbing the aether which was transformed by my will to my liking from the surroundings.
"What wonderful prey". I thought as the aether around me was being absorbed faster and assimilated into my very being merging with my very essence.
The aether moved intricately around me while reacting to my deepest thoughts, the aether around me started being converted at a rapid pace, the aether which was then converted started exhibiting properties similar to the stars as it sparkled.
I gazed at the wolves with sympathy as I couldn't spare them any more time, as a worthy foe was out there.
"I'll make it quick," I thought.
As I decided to give them the respect accorded to an opponent by a warrior which was to kill them with all I had, as my mind settled on those thoughts the aether around me seemed to ignite as my body relaxed.
My heart was beating in excitement as I was contemplating the existence, its terrifying pressure was unlike any other, I could infer that it was either stronger than me or at the least on par with me, my thoughts were all jumbled up, with only carnage and battle being the only words I could make out, I placed my hand on my chest with my palm right where my heart was.
And I could hear it, a sound like that of a war drum
"ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum" which represented my thoughts at that period, the sound echoed throughout my entire being.
My heart was palpitating, not in fear but from excitement, I couldn't care about the small fries any longer my existence yearned to meet that entity that could cause such an intense reaction from my emotions, the aether around me started moving in an intricate pattern.
My irises turned into a sparkling white and started emitting a twinkle like those of the stars.
Getting into a combat stance I placed my right hand on the hilt of my blade, while my left hand was placed on its sheath, and I stretched my left foot forward, firmly planting it on the ground, the crisp sounds of rustling leaves caused by my movements was a soothing tune to my ear.
My blade still sheathed buzzed with killing intent, and my whole surroundings and those of the wolves were shrouded in my killing intent, with the aether in the air trying to mirror the murderous intent brimming off me, the pressure caused by such intense killing intent was making the whole surroundings suffocating for the wolves.
Duing such an intense moment I was lost in thought as my head was filled with carnage before all my thoughts converged into one word "Move".
I then quickly directed my aether to my legs before taking a step forward which made it seem like I vanished as I only left behind a timeless afterimage as I blurred out of existence, my will mixing with the aether in the surroundings around me as I turned into a blur.
"let's send those little pups home first' I thought as the aether in the surroundings pulsed in response.
While moving intermittently between the beasts I unsheathed my sword in a dazzling display that couldn't be noticed due to the speed I was moving at.
I felt my blade stabbing through one of the wolves while still using the momentum from the thrust to split the beast in half, with no pause in my movements as I continued my dash, while weaving through the monsters around me seamlessly.
I increased my aether output which in turn resulted in me leaving behind afterimages that turned the surrounding into a picturesque scenery of stars saturated with killing intent.
The aether pulsating with my heart fueled my drive as I kept on moving forward.
As an [outlier] our wills were the only and sole conduit that bridged the gap between us and the aether. It allowed the aether around our surroundings to feel and react to our emotions and thoughts.
Which granted us supernatural abilities but it also slowed our development in the initial stages because we had to train our bodies and our wills to withstand the impact from the aether, instead of just being able to use aether easily like the [awakened].
The aether around we [outliers] always followed our thoughts making us aether's favorite.
As the aether responded to my thrill and excitement, my will coated my body with aether in an unknown pattern, before I faded away like the stars do when the sun rises and eclipses their light.
As my body and the aether easily blended together my unsheathed blade was used to cleave through flesh and bone with ease.
The aether around it was painted in my maniacal desires as I hacked and cleaved through the large amount of wolves leaving behind starry afterimages which later formed a constellation image, akin to the constellation Gemini
" [CELESTIAL WALTZ: Constellation link "Gemini"]".
"Boooooooooom"
In a flash of light, he was gone, leaving behind only a sonic boom and a pile of mutilated heads and limbs which were severed cleanly as testimony to his presence here.
The "Enigma edge" Mark llambrad was off to face an existence deep within the [zone ] with a level of power equal to or beyond his, but as he left all that could be seen on his face was a grin plastered on his face as he pondered upon the for that awaited him in the deep recesses of the [zone].
{CHILD'S POV}
While in a location right in the middle of the [zone] the elusive child was sitting in a cave, munching on his kill with savagery and a twinkle in his eyes.
As he was eating his meal he saw a round core, located in the place where the heart of it's prey resided, the orb was spherical with a dark liquid swirling inside of it.
If Mark was here he would have recognized the object as an[aether core], an [aether core] is an amalgamation of the aether of an aether beast also known as their life core and the liquid swirling in it was [dark aether].
But in liquid form which is caused, by the refinement of the gaseous aether in the surroundings.
The child wasn't surprised or shocked by what he saw, it's not that he knew what it was but he has seen a lot of them, he picked up the core and gobbled it up, like the rest of his meal without giving it much heed.
If Mark had been here, he would have started digging a grave for the child.
Aether that hasn't been refined through the process of a meditation method was deadly to the physique of a normal person, especially those ones stored in an [Aether core].
Because even if you can purify it with [alchemy] an Art that's only known by few, the amount of aether contained is still too much to handle for a first-rank aether user, talk less more of a little child, they would explode in a dazzling display of guts and blood just, because their bodies can't handle the amount of aether, and the quality of the aether stored in it surpasses what their bodies could handle by far.
But after the boy swallowed it nothing eventful happened except for a look of satisfaction apparent on his face.
A gleeful smile plastered on his face, as he continued dining on his meal, with no implications at all or knowledge of how he would've died, he even broke the skull of the gorilla-like creature, and started relishing in its brain matter and eyeballs.
From the smile on his face, this should have been the best part of the meal for him.