The landscape was a complete mess. It was scarred with lightning strikes and hundreds of roots had fissured up through the earth. The two responsible for this sat down opposite each other, breathing heavily through their mouths as sweat trickled down their persons.

  "Just as I thought," Celestia murmured to herself, satisfied with Eclipse's progress. "Being in the sea of lightning must have deepened his understanding of his new Tenelux. It's impressive how quickly he's gotten used to it, even rivalling Chael's two years of intense training."

  "Aha... ha ha! What the hell…" Chael panted, "you're so fast!"

  "I was sure I had this...” Eclipse exhaled, “but you’re not bad yourself. You got good power in you strikes.”

  "Not bad but not enough.” Celestia suddenly appeared before them, “Eclipse, you still need a lot more mastery over your Tenelux. Granted, it is your first time using it after all, but still! and Chael, you need to be more creative with how you use your Tenelux”

  “Right.” Chael said, and Eclipse nodded.

  “There’s nothing more I can teach you guys as of now.” Celestia continued, “Over the course of the next few months, both of you will be battling me until I’m satisfied with both of your mastery over your respective Tenelux.”

  Eclipse’s expression jolted as if he just remembered something. He looked around, “Where’s Shadow?”

  “He’s somewhere right now.” Celestia smiled and took her eyes to the distant nether pinnacles, “No need to worry about him.”

  At this very moment, in the heart of the Dark Autumn Region, a region notorious for its danger and hopelessness, a lone figure stood atop a mountain of corpses that belonged to formidable Bestias. It was a wolf, with fur as black as the depths of night and eyes brighter than blood.

  This Bloodbeast itself was of Monstra Rank C-class.

  He surveyed the murky landscape with an eerie calmness. Beneath him, the earth was littered with the remains of countless blood beasts - among them were ferocious Inferno Bears and savage Emberclaws which Eclipse had faced in the past, their once-demonic forms now still and lifeless.

  The sleek-black wolf exuded a very raw and primal aura as he stood amidst the carnage and each scar on his sleek black fur was testament to countless life and death struggles. With a deep breath, he lifted his head and released a resounding howl at the crimson moon. The mournful howl echoed through the silent forest as a declaration of his presence in the heart of the Dark Autumn Region.

  He waited for a long time, yet no beast approached him.

  “Your Tenelux is cool as fuck.” Chael said and he walked along the mountains, side by side with Eclipse. He had a small stick in his mouth and he carried his Odachi over his shoulder, “How did you even manage to get it?”

  “I had to absorb this sea of lightning.” Eclipse replied lazily.

  Chael raised his brows, “A sea of lightning?”

  “Yeah.” Eclipse lingered for a bit then took his gaze to the somber clouds above, “Granny brought me to a mountain where there was a pretty huge pit of lightning.”

  “Huh? A huge pit of lightning?” Chael inquired with deep interest, “Nothing is surpring anymore, huh? So tell me, what did you name your Tenelux?”

  Eclipse gave him a wierd look, “I have to name my Tenelux?”

  Chael grinned, “Why not? Granny’s Tenelux is called Fabric of Lies, and I called mine Kingdom of Nature. Pretty cool, huh?”

  “Kingdom of Nature?” Eclipse thoughtfully looked up, “Fitting. I guess I’ll name mine…”

  Chael swallowed and looked at him expectantly.

  “Sea of Lightning.”

  They walked for a couple of hours, chatting about anything that came to mind, until dusk began to settle in. Standing atop the same hill where they had shared a conversation two years ago, they watched as the fiery sun dipped below the horizon, the evening breeze rustling past them.

  As they gazed at the fading light, Chael reached into his pocket and retrieved something and extended it towards Eclipse. "Here, this is for you."

  Eclipse raised an eyebrow as he accepted the object from Chael. It was a black earring, its pendant shaped like a hoop with a lightning pattern etched into it.

  "What's this for?" Eclipse inquired.

  Chael smirked. "Consider it a gift. Don't you like earrings? You're always wearing that black one."

  Eclipse inspected the earring blankly.

  "Look, I even got one for myself." Pointing to his left ear, Chael revealed a silver earring identical to Eclipse's, except with a sharp leaf pattern engraved into it.

  It reminded him of Duozian and the earring he had once received from him. Eclipse then proceeded to place the earring on his other ear, despite it not being pierced yet.

  "Huh?!" Chael exclaimed in surprise, "You have to get pierced first, you dumbass!"

  "Oh..." Eclipse glanced at him. With the earring already on, a tiny trickle of blood dripped from his ear. "It should be fine,"

  Chael let out a defeated sigh and drooped his shoulders. "Of course..."

  The next few months flew by in a blur of intense training. The sounds of swords clanging, earth quaking, and lightning crackling filled the air as Eclipse and Chael relentlessly trained under Celestia's guidance.

  "Don't just rely on brute force, Chael," Celestia advised, effortlessly stopping Chael's attack with her bare hand. "Think before you use your Tenelux. It's perfect for sneak attacks, thanks to your roots that can travel underground over great distances."

  Chael nodded, showing no signs of surprise at the fact that Celestia blocked a meteoric blow with her bare hands. He was accustomed to it by now.

  Suddenly, lightning flashed, and a shadow materialised behind Celestia. Without missing a beat, she ducked down.

  "And Eclipse," she continued, "don't waste your energy using lightning just for speed. Focus it on your katanas and attack with lightning strikes. Coordinate your attacks with Chael."

  Eclipse's eyes widened as his pupils sparked with violet electricity. In the blink of an eye, he launched a barrage of lightning-infused attacks at Celestia, but she effortlessly evaded each one, her eyes tracking his every move.

  As Celestia retreated from Eclipse's assault, the ground trembled, and masses of forest emerged, entangling around her. With a shout, Chael swung his sword with immense force. "You're mine now!"

  Celestia simply grabbed the roots encircling her and tore them apart before swiftly taking a few steps forward, covering the full range of the odachi in an instant, and countering Chael's attack with a powerful kick.

  "Don't announce your moves," she admonished him as Chael exploded backward from the impact.

  Dusting herself off, Celestia stood up straight. "You're strong, Chael, but never underestimate your opponent. Always keep your defences up. And Eclipse, your tenelux complements your acrobatic swordsmanship perfectly so bait me into your attacks and use more feints."

  As the pendulum swung and time marched on, the duo's battles against Celestia persisted. With each passing season, their clashes echoed through the changing landscape.

  Amidst the falling leaves of autumn, Eclipse's lightning-infused strikes flashed with deadly precision. But no matter how swift or powerful his attacks, Celestia remained elusive and was always one step ahead.

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  Similarly, Chael honed his skills, his swordsmanship growing more formidable with each passing day. Yet, despite his best efforts, Celestia's defences remained stronger than anything he could hope to break.

  Soon, the intensity of the trio's battles with Celestia reached new heights. Chael's swift and powerful swings, enveloped in a thick beige aura, kept Celestia on her toes. With each movement of his sword, entire copses and thickets bent to his will, closing in around her.

  Finally, Chael cornered Celestia against a towering redwood tree, thousands of tendrils of wood and bark ensnaring her.

  “Golden Execution.” Chael simply muttered. The Odachi swung out in a slow, wide arc with the blade sheathed in golden beige qi.

  This looked like it was easy to evade, but Celestia knew better. Even though Chael was a many steps away from her, and the blade didn’t look like it was going to reach her, it was very close to her all of a sudden.

  The odachi went through Celestia’s neck, but it pierced through the tree as if it were paper and Celestia vanished, leaving Chael bewildered.

  “Haha, splendid attack!” Celestia’s voice appeared behind him, “Using range and psychological play to let the enemy let their guard down, then accelerate the attack several fold using Qi? You’ve improved a lot!”

  Just as she was about to jab at him, the ground split open beneath Celestia, and massive tree trunks rose up, propelling her into the sky. Eclipse seized the opportunity, and zoomed towards her with both of the Mooncrest Katanas cloaked in crackling, violent lightning. Both of the katana were crossed in an ‘X’ shaped as he tore through the air like a star of calamity. He muttered, “X,”

  "You runts are becoming a pain in the ass." Celestia smiled bitterly. As Eclipse's dual blade pierced towards her, she swiftly evaded and launched herself towards him with an unparalleled ferocity. The ‘X’ arcs lost their momentum and dissipated. However, Eclipse's body kept flickering and darting around her so fast he almost left after images.

  “Wolves!”

  Taking her brief moment of confusion as his advantage, Eclipse swept his arm and summoned forth two lightning wolves.

  With fur made of shimmering lightning bolts and eyes that glowed with an intense, electric purple light, they moved with rage and violence and chased down Celestia relentlessly.

  “To think you already have such a great grasp of your Tenelux that you’re able to create wolves to fight for you! I’m not disappointed. Not at all, kahahaha!” Celestia laughed crazily as she manoeuvred through the lightning wolves, taking them down one at a time before leaping up.

  Meanwhile, Chael emerged from below, his odachi and the entangled roots from under the ground shot upward. Above, Eclipse zoomed towards her with both of his katana out and coated in Qi.

  In the face of their combined assault, Celestia remained unfazed and with a serene smile, she accepted her fate as Eclipse's and Chael's attacks devoured her with a massive explosion.

  Eclipse and Chael landed next to each other and looked at the smoke subsiding up ahead. When it had fully scattered, Celestia was no longer there.

  Clap clap clap clap

  "Well done, kahaha!" Her voice echoed from behind them. Without a hint of surprise, they turned to face her.

  Celestia arched an eyebrow at their lack of reaction. "Uhhh… it seems you two aren't shocked to have been fighting an illusion all this time."

  Chael sighed and thrust his Odachi into the earth, "Of course not."

  Eclipse reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it with a spark of electricity before taking a long drag.

  Over the last few months, he had picked up smoking as a new habit during his visits to the market with Chael.

  He exhaled a cloud of smoke and pointed his swords at Celestia, his eyes dark and expression cold. "Now that we've defeated the illusion, it's time to defeat the real you. Hurry up and let's get this over with."

  "Kahaha, don't get ahead of yourselves." Celestia laughed. "If you think that illusion was anywhere near the extent of my full power then you're sorely mistaken."

  Under the canopy of a starlit sky, Eclipse leaned against the rough bark of a towering tree, his figure cast in shadow against the gentle glow of the red moon. With his back straight and muscles rippling beneath his shirt, he sat at a height of five foot eleven. His once long hair was now trimmed neatly and framed his stoic face as he took a drag from his cigarette.

  He was sixteen, now.

  As wisps of smoke curled into the night air, Eclipse found himself lost in memories of the past few years. Celestia had taken him in when he was just a small child, alongside Chael. She had been their mentor since they were mere children, lost and alone in a world they barely understood. She had taken them in, offering them not just shelter, but also a home filled with warmth and discipline.

  Under her tutelage, they had grown not only in physical strength but also in wisdom. Celestia had imparted upon them the knowledge of the world, teaching them about its wonders and its dangers. Eclipse would never show it directly, but he felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude towards Celestia. He had always been a useless, troublemaker brat with nothing going for him. He been treated like dirt and betrayed as a child, and the only man who had ever showed genuine care for him had died a tragic death. After, Eclipse was wandering aimlessly, nothing but hatred and spite driving him to live on, and had he been left in that state he would be dead somewhere without a grave about now.

  Not only had she given them home and companionship, but had also made him strong.

  Stronger than he would ever have imagined.

  Awoooooooo!

  The haunting howl of a lone wolf suddenly pierced the peaceful night. Eclipse's eyes widened and the cigarette slipped from between his fingers. He took his gaze to a distant mountaintop where the howl came from and he slowly got up.

  "Shadow..." he whispered, his voice barely audible in the wind.

  With a burst of energy, Eclipse dashed towards the sound, his heart pounding with a mixture of excitement and disbelief. He crossed the vast distance between him and the mountaintop in mere minutes and there, atop the mountaintop, stood Shadow, his wolf pup and his loyal companion over the past few years. His fur was as dark as the night itself and shimmered under the crimson moonlight. His ruby-red eyes glowed with an intense fire and reflected the untamed spirit within.

  "Shadow... it's really-"

  Without hesitation, Shadow pounced on Eclipse and caused him to topple over, his tongue lolling out as he showered his master with affectionate licks.

  If it were the past, Shadow would pounce directly into his arms, but he had grown far too big now. He was the size of a fully grown wolf.

  "Haha, hey chill out!" Eclipse laughed as he tumbled over as a very rare expression of joy wrote across his face as he embraced his long-lost friend.

  Once a mere cub, Shadow had now grown into a magnificent creature with an imposing stature. His muscles rippled beneath his sleek black coat.

  "You've gotten stronger." Eclipse couldn't help but marvel at the transformation, feeling a surge of pride at the sight of his loyal companion. "Just what did granny get you to do?"

  Shadow simply curled around Eclipse and sat down as Eclipse ruffled his messy fur.

  "Not gonna tell me, huh?" Eclipse said as he lay down atop Shadow with a contented smile, "I guess you have your secrets, too."

  As the night enveloped them in its embrace, Eclipse and Shadow lay down together and watched the vast expanse of the starry sky together while Eclipse spoke softly to him, telling him about all the various things he went through the past few years. Eventually, they drifted away into a deep slumber.

  The night passed its darkest hour, and the dawn of a new day arrived. Eclipse's eyes fluttered open, and the moment they did, a deep frown appeared on his face. Something... felt different.

  "Eclipse, get up," Chael's voice was solemn. He stood at the hilltop with Shadow beside him, who was just starting to wake up. Eclipse scrunched his eyebrows and got up, sensing the shift in mood.

  "What's up with you? Let's get to training; the old lady must be waiting for-"

  He stopped short when he saw a small folded-up piece of paper Chael was holding, along with two bags and a pouch.

  "Granny left these," Chael said. Eclipse unfolded the piece of paper. As he scanned through its contents, his eyes widened.

  .

  .

  .

  So listen up, you snot-nosed rascals. It's been one hell of a ride with you kids. I wish we could spend more time together, but alas, all good things must come to an end. There's an urgent matter I have to tend to, so sorry I left all of a sudden, but I think you brats are more than ready to face the world out there now.

  Anyways, inside the bag, I've left you some cool-looking clothes as a gift for working so tediously over the years. I hope you brats don’t miss your super awesome, amazing, magnificently beautiful teacher too much! We will meet again. Now wipe your tears and take on the Bloodmoon Region!

  .

  .

  .

  As Eclipse scanned this piece of paper, a small yet gloomy sigh escaped his lips. “I want to…”

  Chael observed his reaction from the side and took his gaze to the distance, his black hair, the right side of his fringe hung all the way down to his chin whereas the left side was neatly tucked back, fluttering in the breeze. "It feels empty, doesn't it..."

  "-continue sleeping," Eclipse finished.

  Chael took his gaze back to Eclipse. "Huh?"

  Eclipse made his way back to Shadow and laid down in a fetal position and began snoring away. Chael marched up to him and smacked his head, his forehead popping with hot veins. "Get up, you fool!"

  Khali stood atop a cliff, the weight of his crown, made of fangs and feathers, evident in the way it sat askew on his head. His once-golden eyes lacked their former sparkle as he gazed out under the overcast sky. Despite it being the middle of summer, raindrops fell lightly, dotting his clothing until it was thoroughly dampened.

  Beside him, a sturdy figure stepped forward from the trees behind, "Chief Khali, you should head inside before you catch a cold."

  "It's fine, Dragos," Khali replied in a quiet voice, his gaze fixed on the horizon. Wet, black hair stuck to his forehead, "I've endured worse cold than this."

  Dragos sighed, realising he wouldn't persuade his leader so easily.

  "More importantly..." Khali continued, removing his crown and running a hand through his wet hair, "Why do I feel such unease?"

  Two human silhouettes, and one that belonged to a wolf, treaded on the Nether Pinnacles, their eyes fixed on the sprawling expanse of the Bloodmoon Region below. Countless villages lay like specks in the vast space of dry land.

  The wind swept past this mountain, sending Eclipse's violet robes fluttering in the wind. He wore boots as white as snow that were patterned in a way they looked like bandages, and from one of his arms, a loose black wrap oscillated in the gale.

  They came to a stop at the very peak of the Nether Pinnacles. Rain poured down heavily, followed by rumbling thunder, but these two didn't seem to be fazed in the slightest.

  "Ahaha! This is quite the view!" Chael grinned coldly as he sat down next to Eclipse with a knee up, careful not to let his khaki green garment get dirty.

  Eclipse didn't respond for a while and continued observing the vast wasteland. His eyes scanned it ferociously, as if he was trying to pinpoint something. His pupils finally stopped at the seemingly largest village in sight.

  A chilling shadow enveloped his features, and in that moment, lightning struck violently behind them, tearing through the mountain with a deafening roar. The flash of light momentarily illuminated Eclipse's face, revealing eyes brimming with a savage intensity, tinged with malice and bloodlust.

  A dangerous violet spark ignited within his dull pupils, coursing through his entire being like a surge of electric current. Lightning crackled and thunder rumbled and swirled around Eclipse as he roared, "I'm coming for you... Dracoferus!"