The Dracoferus warriors were lounging around the campfire, laughing and drinking beer, the night air filled with their rowdy voices. The flickering flames cast shadows on their fur-lined armour, making them look even more menacing in the dim light. It was just another night for them, full of crude jokes and the pungent stench of alcohol.

  Suddenly, an agitated voice cut through the noise. “THERE’S A BEAST LOOSE! A BEAST, AND ITS BREATHING FIRE!”

  The warriors turned to see one of their own, wild-eyed and frantic, stumbling into the camp.

  “Quick! The beast is coming!” The warrior cried. It was Chael, disguised in the clothes of one of the Dracoferus warriors. His performance was flawless and his expression was one of complete panic and terror. The warriors leaped to their feet as they noticed that several tents had already caught fire.

  “Where? Where is it?” one of them shouted, already running toward the growing inferno. The others quickly followed, abandoning their drinks and weapons in their rush to deal with the supposed threat. The camp exploded into chaos as the flames roared higher, casting an eerie glow on the terrified faces of the Dracoferus warriors.

  Inside the red tent, Thorn remained seated, his brow furrowed in confusion. Only two warriors stayed with him, looking uneasy as the sounds of panic and screams grew louder outside.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Thorn growled, finally standing up and storming out of the tent. His two guards followed closely behind, their hands nervously gripping their weapons.

  Just as they stepped outside, a blur of motion cut through the night. In an instant, the heads of the two guards were severed from their bodies, blood spraying as they crumpled to the ground. Thorn barely had time to register what had happened when he saw a figure flipping through the air, landing atop the red tent in a crouch. The man wore the clothing of a Dracoferus tribesman, but something about him was very different. This man’s anima exuded a dangerous bloodlust which was unlike anything he had ever faced before.

  The man slowly rose, revealing two katana, one resting casually on his shoulder while the other pointed directly at Thorn. A thick aura of purple qi surrounded him, swirling like smoke, giving off an almost tangible sense of danger. The blade of the katana aimed at Thorn seemed to hum with qi, its edge gleaming in the firelight.

  Eclipse’s cold eyes locked onto Thorn’s, a cigarette dangling from his lips, its tip glowing faintly as he took a slow drag. The purple qi around him pulsed with a lethal intent, and for a moment.

  The world held its breath.

  Thorn’s hazel coloured eyes flickered with a dangerous light as he took in the sight of Eclipse who was standing on top of the red tent with an air of unshakeable calm. The campfire crackled in the background and cast flickering shadows over them. Thorn's voice was a growl and full of suspicion and anger. “Who the fuck are you?”

  Eclipse’s almost dead gaze looked like it was piercing Thorn’s very soul. He muttered two words: “Shut the fuck up.”

  Before Thorn could fully process the threat, he let out an enraged bellow, his body convulsing as thousands of needle-like spikes erupted from his skin, shooting toward Eclipse in a deadly swarm. These needles appeared to be his skin, hardened to a level it should not possibly be, and was sharper than anything Eclipse had seen. They were a deep dark green in colour, just as he remembered from all those years ago.

  For an instant, Eclipse’s eyebrows raised in surprise. Then, in a flash of lightning, he vanished, the needles slicing through empty air where he had just been.

  A split second later, another lightning bolt crackled behind Thorn, and Eclipse reappeared, his body crackling with electricity. Thorn barely had time to turn before Eclipse’s fist slammed into his abdomen with blinding speed. The force of the blow was devastating as blood spewed from Thorn’s mouth and his body rocketed backwards, crashing into a nearby tree with enough force to nearly topple it.

  If Thorn's anima barrier wasn't as strong as it was, he would’ve been knocked out completely cold.

  Eclipse then walked towards Thorn with a cold and calm demeanor. Despite his calm demeanour, cautiousness flickered at the back of his mind.

  ‘So this is what it feels to fight a Tenelux user with life on the line…’

  True enough, although he had battled Chael and Celestia countless times, those fights were merely sparring with no real killing intent.

  This situational was far more different. Every moment was a moment he may very well die.

  “You bastard…” Thorn spat, struggling to his feet. His body was trembling with pain and rage. He glared at Eclipse, who stood with his eyes obscured by his hair, the only visible part of his face a cold, unyielding expression.

  Eclipse took a single step forward, and in an instant, he was directly in front of Thorn again. Thorn’s eyes widened in shock as he instinctively unleashed another wave of grotesque needles from his skin. But this time, Eclipse was ready as both katana flashed in the red moonlight and he deflected the barrage with swift, precise movements.

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  Thorn roared, his body surging with green coloured qi, and he thrust his curved sword toward Eclipse’s chest. Eclipse met the blade with one of his katana, the clang of metal ringing through the air. But then, Thorn’s eyes glinted with malice as needles suddenly shot out from the blade itself, aiming straight for Eclipse’s pupils. Eclipse’s eyes widened in surprise, but before the needles could strike, he disappeared in another flash of lightning, reappearing at Thorn’s side.

  For a moment, they stood still, locked in a tense standoff. The air around them crackled with Qi. Eclipse was cloaked in a purple swirling lightning, while Thorn was encompassed by a seething mass of needles.

  Then, with a simultaneous burst of movement, they charged at each other, colliding with a force that sent shockwaves through the ground. Eclipse’s Mooncrest katana crackled with electricity as they clashed against Thorn’s sheer mass of needles and his deadly curved sword. Sparks flew in every direction as Thorn fought with savage fury, his needles spraying out at Eclipse, determined to pierce his body, but Eclipse was relentless and moved with blinking speed as he faced Thorn and his peculiar Tenelux head-on.

  Meanwhile, chaos erupted across the camp.

  Shadow’s eyes glowed crimson as he moved through the ranks of the Dracoferus tribe like a living nightmare. He was a blur of dark fur and sharp teeth as he tore through warriors with terrifying ease. One warrior barely had time to scream before Shadow’s jaws clamped down on his neck, ripping his head clean off. Blood sprayed on the mud and across the faces of other Dracoferus warriors who tried their absolute hardest to subdue Shadow to no avail.

  Bows and arrows were loosened, but Shadow dodged them with supernatural agility, darting between the legs of panicked horses and leaping onto the backs of those who tried to flee. A spear thrust toward him, but Shadow ducked under it, sinking his teeth into the warrior’s leg and dragging him to the ground before finishing him off with a brutal bite to the throat.

  Amid the carnage, Chael remained hidden, his face calm and focused as he manipulated the surrounding nature to aid Shadow. With a simple wave of his hand, thick tree branches snaked out from the forest, wrapping around warriors and lifting them off the ground. Their screams were cut short as the branches squeezed tighter, crushing their bodies with a sickening crunch.

  “It’s… him! He’s the bastard controlling these fucking roots!” Several warriors roared and alerted the entire camp. They had witnessed Chael simply standing in the carnage and gesturing at the roots and managed to put two and two together.

  With a savage roar, they charged at Chael with frenzy.

  “Ahaha! You got me.” Chael sneered at their advancing figures and in another easy gesture, several sharp jagged tree roots erupted off the ground and impaled them from bottom to top with a grotesque squelch. He then beheaded another few charging tribesman with a swift and powerful swing of his Odachi.

  A group of archers on horseback tried to flank Shadow, their arrows raining down on him. But before they could take aim, the ground beneath them erupted with roots and vines, yanking them off their horses and slamming them to the ground. One warrior managed to get to his feet, only to find himself impaled by a sudden spike of wood that shot up from the earth, piercing through his armour and out his back.

  The campfire that had once been brimming with hearty laughter and wine was now a scene of utter horror, flames flickering in the wind as the bodies of the Dracoferus warriors littered the ground.

  “Nice work, shadow.” Chael grinned coldly as he watched a Dracoferus warrior’s head get crushed under Shadow’s paw.

  Despite their soon-to-be victory, Chael’s intuition sensed a strange unease.

  Eclipse had Thorn on the ropes. He has already taken one of Thorn’s eyes and now his katana was poised to deliver the final blow. But as he thrust forward to stab Thorn in the heart, his blade missed by a fraction, slicing only air.

  Eclipse's eyes widened in disbelief.

  ‘How could I miss?!’

  The momentary lapse gave Thorn the opening he needed. With a savage grin, Thorn kicked Eclipse hard in the chest, sending him skidding backward. Thorn wasted no time, unleashing a torrent of needles from his body, this time, layered with Qi intended to pierce straight through Eclipse’s Anima.

  Eclipse gritted his teeth, deflecting the needles with his katana cloaked in anima, but something was wrong. The needles he had knocked away twisted mid-air and veered back toward him. Before he could react, several needles pierced his body, tearing through his anima, and then skin. Blood spattered the ground as Eclipse staggered, the pain shooting through him like fire.

  Thorn's cold laughter echoed in the night as he charged forward, his sword gleaming with deadly intent. Eclipse tried to focus, but every move he made seemed to falter, his precision gone. He dodged and countered, but somehow, Thorn’s attacks kept finding their mark. Eclipse's mind raced, trying to make sense of the situation.

  Something weird is going on...

  His frustration boiled over and with a growl of rage, Eclipse unleashed a surge of lightning from his body. The energy crackled and sparked, forming into the shape of a snarling wolf that he sent hurtling toward Thorn. The beast of lightning caught Thorn off guard and its ferocity forced him to react hastily. Thorn countered with a wall of needles, but the wolf crashed into him and sent his needles scattering away. Thorn stumbled back, coughing and staggering from the impact which had shaken him up quite a bit.

  Eclipse seized this opportunity and closed the distance in an instant, his katana slashing across Thorn’s side. The blade drew deep and caused a gush of blood and a roar of fury from Thorn.

  Completely driven by rage, Thorn summoned a reserved bit of strength that felt almost inhuman, and with a bellow, he drove his fist, packed with green Qi, into Eclipse’s abdomen. The blow hit like a sledgehammer and launched Eclipse through the air.

  He crashed into a lake behind him. The cold water enveloped him as he struggled to regain his breath. His body ached, every wound throbbing as he floated for a moment, disoriented. On the shore, he could see Chael and Shadow, fighting valiantly against the Dracoferus warriors, but even they seemed to be losing ground.

  ‘This was supposed to have been a walk in the park. So why…?!’

  Eclipse’s eyes narrowed as he forced himself to rise from the water, his mind racing. He had never missed before and never felt so out of control.

  He got up and joined Chael and Shadow in the shore, who were facing their own battle, but Eclipse huffed as he set his glare towards Thorn’s advancing figure.