Thalion remained motionless on the ground. His regenerative abilities usually healed any injury instantly, but this ti, the process took noticeably longer. Not that he minded—he used the ti to examine the other skills of the crippled Eclipsari. The description of Abyssal Bite remained unchanged, but its rarity had now ascended to Ancient, likely making it stronger. It might have evolved earlier, but Thalion rarely checked his status screen, as it provided little new information unless a skill underwent significant changes.
The sa applied to Abyssal Devourer—its rarity had increased, yet its description remained the sa. However, Shadow Claw was an exception. While the skill still bore the sa na, it had now reached Mythic rarity, and its description had undergone a complete transformation.
Shadow Claw (Mythic)
A devastating manifestation of pure darkness, Shadow Claw is not rely an extension of the user’s body but a conduit for dominion over shadows. Unlike conventional attacks, it does not simply wound—it erases. Upon impact, darkness seeps into the target, corroding both matter and energy alike. The shadows surrounding the strike distort, making the attack unpredictable, while the lingering darkness continues to consu whatever it touches.
The new description was shorter but far more potent. So aspects of the skill resembled those of Abyssal Devourer—Thalion had already witnessed how his darkness devoured anything it touched, much like a corrosive acid. The next skill he examined appeared to be the evolution of his forr passive ability, Umbral Resilience.
Eclipse Veil (Mythic)
A defense forged from pure, living darkness. Physical attacks slip past the user as though striking an illusion, while elental magic is devoured by the darkness that clings to their form. Wounds seal as swiftly as they appear, and their very essence repairs itself like shadows reforming in dim light. The stronger their connection to darkness, the more effective this passive ability becos.
Yet another overwhelmingly powerful ability. Thalion wondered just how durable he had beco. Previously, the skill had rely enhanced his healing in darkness, but now it outright stated that wounds would close instantly. Combined with his other regenerative abilities... yeah, Umbral Predator was definitely his best form at the mont.
Of course, this depended on how he looked once fully healed—right now, he still couldn’t see anything. He also couldn't move his right hand at all. If he had to guess, his entire arm from the elbow down was missing. Then again, it might simply be nerve damage—perhaps the connections had yet to reform. His body remained in shambles, and the elental inside him continued to work, weaving more and more of its dark tendrils throughout his form.
These tendrils were incredibly effective conductors of both darkness and energy. As they expanded, the elental was building an intricate network, allowing it to infuse Thalion’s body with additional power. Thalion had no doubt that this thod was far more efficient than the crystal currently embedded in Eagly’s body. No wonder his race’s rarity was so high.
He could feel his healing nearing completion. His internal wounds had closed, and rather than extending new tendrils, the elental was now reinforcing the ones it had already placed, strengthening their structure. Thalion would have given it a thumbs-up if he could—it hadn’t attempted to invade his mind, and now it was even refining its technique for better quality. So far, they seed to be forming an effective partnership.
The elental itself had also grown significantly stronger thanks to the imnsely powerful darkness crystal that had fused with it. What’s more, residing within Thalion’s body provided it with an added layer of protection—normally, an elental would perish if its core were destroyed, but now, it was fused with the crystal. Thalion doubted it could be easily destroyed. There had to be so kind of drawback, though—otherwise, this would be absurdly overpowered, effectively rendering the elental immortal against F- and E-grade warriors. Then again, warriors with abilities like Abyssal Devourer’s tendrils—capable of dissolving any material—might still pose a threat.
Regardless, Thalion was confident that even if the elental were destroyed, he could likely reform it. He had more than enough vitality to spare. In fact, his Outsider Connection might even passively heal the elental, considering it was now a part of his body. All in all, there were no apparent downsides to this fusion.
Darkness elentals typically struggled in environnts that weren’t saturated with darkness, as they required a steady supply of dark energy to grow. This made them imnsely powerful but slow to develop if the right conditions weren’t t. However, now that the elental was hidden within Thalion’s body, all of those limitations had been negated. In addition to the darkness crystal enhancing it, Thalion could constantly feed it energy, as his tendrils could convert anything into darkness.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
So far, nothing had been able to resist the devouring power of Abyssal Devourer’s tendrils.
By now, the pain had fully subsided. Only his right eye and right arm felt strange, and he was utterly drained from the entire ordeal. As he focused inward, he noticed his vision gradually returning. The sensation of an eyeball regenerating was far from comfortable, but it was certainly preferable to being blind.
At first, everything was a blur.
Thalion forced himself to stand and placed a mirror before him, eager to see his current form. Surprisingly, standing was no trouble—his body felt strong and healthy. He still couldn't move the fingers of his right hand, but the sensation would likely return soon.
As he stood there, staring at his reflection, he felt the elental doing sothing to his left eye—or was it the socket? His heart sank. His eye hadn’t regrown, had it?
The shock only deepened as his vision fully cleared, and he finally saw what had beco of him.
Disappointnt.
The word barely sufficed. The "crippled" part of his new race title made sense now.
Before, Umbral Predator had been a towering, wolf-like figure cloaked in venomous darkness—an embodint of primal power. Now? Now, he looked completely different. If he had to guess, his new form was closer to an alien insect than anything else.
He had shrunk significantly, likely standing at two ters, nearly a full ter shorter than before. His muscular fra had withered, leaving him noticeably leaner. His skin had undergone the sa transformation as Eagly’s feathers, taking on the appearance of the grey crystal. His once-wolfish head was now hairless and alien.
But the worst change?
His face.
The left side looked as if he had barely survived a fire, covered in deep, disfiguring burns. His left eye was gone—in its place, an ominous cloud of living darkness pulsed within the empty socket. His right eye, now glowing faintly with the sa violet radiance as before, was the only one he could still use.
He opened his mouth, revealing a second row of razor-sharp fangs. That... wasn’t too bad. He could deal with looking a bit monstrous—he was a creature of darkness, after all. Most people wouldn’t even see his face in full. Perhaps the elental could even use the missing eye to perceive the world in so way.
Yet, just as he began to rationalize his new appearance, his gaze fell on sothing that deeply irritated him.
Three small, jagged spikes protruded from each of his shoulders.
That part was fine—he actually liked those. They made him look more threatening.
But then ca the real issue.
His left chest was missing.
Not in a fatal way, but it looked as though sothing had taken a bite out of him. The right side was perfectly intact, while the left was completely flat, marred with fractures and scars—similar to his face.
And worst of all? His left arm was gone from the elbow down.
He stared at his reflection in silence.
A missing eye, a missing arm.
He felt more powerful now, but was he truly stronger than before?
Status:
Na: Thalion Walker
Age: 31
Height: 2,01m
Level: 74
Race: Ascendant Crippled Eclipsari (F)
Health: 3,420/3,420
Mana: 1,720/1,720
Stamina: 1,040/1,040
Experience: 200,280/235,857
Stats:
Strength : 775
Agility : 436
Endurance : 104
Intelligence : 172
Wisdom : 106
Dexterity : 194
Perception : 72
Toughness : 311
Vitality : 342
Fate : 81
Skills:
Umbral Spire (Ethereal), Shadow Claw (Mythic), Eclipse Veil (Mythic), Acquire Form (Exalted), Shapeshift (Exalted), Identify (Common), Echoes of Worlds (Common), Umbral Feast (Epic), Abyssal Bite (Ancient), Abyssal Devourer (Ethereal), Umbral Miasma (Mythic), Sovereign of Shadows (Ascendant), Eclipsar’s Intuition (Acendant)
Titles:
Guardian's Remnant
Form:
Human(Mythic) Level 74
Tidecaller Serpent(Legendary) Level 74
Wind Eagle(Ethereal) Level 74
Bloodline:
none
Seeing his stats instantly lifted his mood. So of them were higher than they should have been—especially his Intelligence stat. It was likely due to his fusion with the elental, which possessed exceptionally high Intelligence and Wisdom.
Then, sothing else caught his attention. Had the instincts of the Umbral Predator changed as well? He hadn’t noticed at first, but now, it was worth a closer look. As he reviewed his status, he realized just how significant his upgrades were. With these newfound strengths, he felt not like he had just murdered a good form.
User Comments
0 comments from readers