Lucia watched from far away as the winged Tyrfing rummaged around, looking for something, while a small Hati trailed closely behind.
Minus a beautiful pair of wings and some changes to its overall build, it was the very same Tyrfing that she had watched on a recording all those weeks earlier, and she couldn't be more excited when she came across it in Lemnian Hollow.
She had originally wanted to search for it in Hollow Zero, where it was presumably spotted, but many roadblocks stopped her. From getting to Hollow Zero in the first place to just finding the Tyrfing in such a big place, she eventually relented and abandoned her search before it even began.
But that all changed when she came across it in Lemnian Hollow. She originally intended to come here to see and sketch some Ethereals in her sketchbook when she spotted it coming out of a nearby fissure.
Ever since then, she had followed it in the Hollow for almost five hours, seeing its curious behaviour, the way it interacted with anything, and noting it all down in her sketchbook.
Right now, the winged Tyrfing had stopped in the middle of a small clearing of an abandoned military outpost. She watched as it rummaged around the place searching for something. She reached for her phone, ready to record what could potentially come next.
It eventually found what it was searching for. A weapon, specifically a shotgun, a heavily Corrupted one.
The next thing it does is one that she will never forget. The Tyrfing inspected the gun for a moment before holding its left hand up.
A stream of Miasma began pouring from the gun and into the Tyrfing, the red Crystalline growth from it receding as a result. When it was done, the gun looked as if it wasn't Corrupted at all and even looked brand new.
In all of this, a single thought repeated in her head. An Ethereal had just purged Ether Corruption. It sounded so outlandish that, if she hadn't seen the Tyrfing do just that, she would have thought it was just some rumor that occasionally circulated on Inter-Knot.
The Tyrfing inspected its newly Corruption-free gun, loading a shell it had found and aiming at a wooden crate.
Boom
The sound of a shotgun blast reverberated throughout the area, causing the Hati beside it to whimper slightly.
Seemingly satisfied with its newly acquired firepower, the Tyrfing put the remaining shells it had found into its bag before making its way out of the place, with her following closely behind.
.....
'Who's there?' For what seemed to be the tenth time today, Michael turned around when he felt like he was being watched before shaking his head. 'Maybe I'm just being paranoid.'
Shaking off the feeling of being watched, his thoughts drifted to this place, which he knows as Lemnian Hollow, one of the Six Great Hollows.
It's been a few days since he saved the mother and child and then managed to stumble here. Within that time, he had done much, changing his appearance somewhat, making it much more slender and balanced, refining the appearance of his wings too, making them much more symmetrical, less blocky, and, in his honest opinion, much more beautiful.
Of course, he also learned much about this particular Hollow.
Firstly, the Ether or Miasma, as it was known here, was... Unique to say the least and, to him, even slightly spicy? Does Ether even have taste? Not only that, but some abandoned journals also said that Miasma can corrupt your minds, causing madness that blurs the line between illusion and reality.
Thankfully, it doesn't have any effect on him when he absorbs it, acting just like any other Ether in Hollow Zero.
Secondly, from the people in miners' apparel going to and fro the Hollows and some scattered notes he had found, this Hollow is rich in Lumite Ore, a raw resource that is mined and then refined into Porcelume, an Ether-resistant material which would be used for many things, including Ether-resistant clothing and weaponry.
He himself had held a piece of Porcelume that was left behind by one of the miners. Aside from its ability to resist Corruption and even absorb Ether like him, he concluded that it had no use to him whatsoever. He still kept it, though, since it is still pretty valuable monetarily.
He does have an idea for a use for it. While it was just a theory of his, he had read that while Porcelume can absorb Ether, it can't, however, release it effectively, and, if it passes a certain storage threshold, will cause an Etheric meltdown of some kind.
What Michael wanted to do was see if he could overload it with so much Ether that, instead of a meltdown, it would explode, making it a very devastating hand grenade. He shelved this idea for later. This Hollow just has too much activity going on, and he doesn't want attention on him anymore.
Thirdly, the Ethereals, aside from most of them having red coloration from the Miasma, were also pretty normal-looking. Although looking at them with his Ether Vision, he could see that some of them, particularly the big ones such as the round beetle-looking guy, have Miasma coating their exterior like a shield of some kind.
When he saw them, he added another checklist to see if he could replicate their shielding ability. It would definitely be beneficial for him if he could add another layer of defense against any enemies he might encounter.
And lastly was the tiny Hati following him. For whatever reason, ever since he set foot in Lemnian Hollow, the little guy has been following him. It was not hostile to him as it had not attacked but was merely observing him. For now, he let it follow him while ignoring a nagging feeling at the back of his mind that this Hati is not all that it seems.
'Now though...' Michael eyed a group of isolated low-level Ethereals. Loading and pumping his newly acquired pump-action shotgun, he approached them. 'Time for some practice.'
Ever since his encounter with the Ethereal, which he later learned was named Farbauti, almost three weeks ago, Michael had strived to become stronger and would regularly train his combat prowess, the weaker Ethereals in the Hollows proving to be the perfect target as they're not too strong but could still put up a fight when in large numbers.
Getting close enough, Michael aimed at the one closest to him and pulled the trigger.
Boom
Its Core shattered like glass, scattering everywhere as its lifeless body fell to the ground before disappearing.
The others immediately went on the offensive, most of them rushing him head-on while a few long-range Ethereal peppered him with Ether projectiles.
He managed to take out three more before one reached, forcing him to ditch his weapon in favor of his hands.
Grabbing its arms, Michael lifted its body off the ground and then tossed it to the group in the back, knocking them over.
It was then that Michael noticed a Blastcrawler had somehow managed to get close enough underneath him and was almost close to detonation.
Michael didn't panic from the imminent explosion; instead, he wound up his feet and kicked the Blastcrawler towards where the fallen Ethereals were, like it was a ball.
BOOM!
The Blastcrawler's explosion managed to take some of the Ethereals out while leaving others critically injured. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, he grabbed his shotgun and went over to them before finishing them off one by one.
Thud! Thud!
It seemed that the combat had attracted some unwanted attention as an Armoured Hati and a Farbauti came into Michael's view.
If he had come across them a few weeks ago, Michael would've been scared shitless at the thought of fighting just one of them. Unfortunately for these two, he wasn't the same as he was back then.
"Bring it on!" Michael punched his fist together, drawing upon the Miasma around him to strengthen his body with it. He paused for a moment when he realised he had accidentally screamed out loud. Ever since his encounter with the unusual squad of soldiers, he had not spoken, keeping his thoughts strictly in his head in fear of them becoming even more interested in him.
A few seconds later, he shrugged his shoulders. 'Not like there's anyone here, deep in the Hollow.' He then focused back on the matter at hand, not before noticing something missing.
'Huh? Where did the little Hati go?'
.....
Twice now, Lucia almost dropped her sketchbook. First, when the Tyrfing started attacking other Ethereals out of nowhere, not out of territorial dispute or anything like that, and now, when she heard the Ethereal speak.
Not roar, not trying to mimic speech like some animal would, but human speech in a known language, clearly and with genuine emotions behind them. Something which she had thought of as mere scary stories told to children so they won't wander into a Hollow.
Getting up from where she was hiding and recording with her phone, she observed as the Tyrfing fought an Armored Hati and a Farbauti. Despite the numerical and size disadvantage, the Tyrfing used its small size to its advantage, darting around the two lumbering beasts and then shooting its shotgun.
Its movement reminded her of those in the EDF, like her... 'Ah-Deh?' Lucia banished the thought immediately. 'No. Their voice is different.' She reasoned.
Focusing back to the fight to quickly forget the thought about her father, the Tyrfing focused on the Armored Hati, probably prioritising it due to its speed and aggressiveness compared to the Farbauti, dodging its mauling attack while simultaneously shooting at it and weakening its armor.
When the Farbauti began slowly stomping towards the Tyrfing, it used it to its advantage, moving itself in a way so that the Armored Hati would be in front of it while the Farbauti was at its back.
Lucia was at first confused as to why the Tyrfing would leave its back exposed until the Armored Hati lunged at it once again. Just before the Hati's vicious maw could reach the Tyrfing, Lucia saw the Tyrfing's legs glowing for a second. In a split second, the Tyrfing dodged the Hati's attack, causing the Hati to collide with the incoming Farbauti.
When both of them collided, much of the armor on the Hati was smashed to pieces by one of the Farbauti arms that wasn't able to stop in time.
The Tyrfing must've sensed an opportunity from the two Ethereals stopping their movement, blitzing past the Hati and targeting the Farbauti's core.
Before the Farbauti or the Hati could react, the Tyrfing aimed its shotgun at the Farbauti's core point-blank shortly before unleashing its firepower.
Boom Boom Boom Boom click.
Only when the sound of clicking signaling that the gun was empty was heard did the Tyrfing stop pressing the trigger, but by that point, the Farbauti had fallen limp, its core missing, leaving only the Hati.
Unfortunately or fortunately, the Farbauti's lifeless body had fallen on top of the Hati, pinning it to the ground.
Just as the Farbauti's body was dissipating, the Tyrfing, now having somehow transformed its right arm into a blade, forcefully pried its maw open with one of its hands and feet, exposing its core. With a single powerful strike with its blade, the Hati's body went limp, its body also beginning to dissipate.
With all the enemies defeated, Lucia observed as the Tyrfing seemingly admired its handiwork whilst reloading its gun.
It was then, when the fighting had calmed down, that Lucia noticed something missing, however. The small Hati. It seemed to have vanished when the fighting started.
Just as she was about to ask where the Hati was, the question answered itself when she heard a growl right next to her ears.
.....
"MMMPH!"
Never has Michael's head turned faster in his life when he heard a muffled scream coming from behind him.
'Dammit! Is someone following me?' Michael panicked for a moment before calming himself down. For all he knows, it could just be a lost person in the Hollow. 'It came from... that way!'
Pinpointing the sound to where a pile of debris was, he slowly approached the location, making sure not to make any sudden movement so as not to spook the person.
"Shh... Calm down, or he's gonna find us."
Michael heard a whisper of a woman coming from behind a concrete barrier. When he reached the barrier, he then began peeking over it to see who it was as the color blue and a pair of horns entered his vision.
When Michael saw the full form of the person, he was left speechless by the scene in front of him. A girl, a Goat Thiren, if he had to guess from her ears and eyes' pupils as well, was wrestling the small Hati's jaw, forcing it shut probably to keep it quiet.
Only when the little Hati calmed down and looked at him did the girl finally notice him staring at her.
Both of them stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity, the little Hati managing to escape with the girl's attention occupied.
The stare-off didn't last for much longer, however, when Michael could see the girl's goat eyes lighting up not in fear but curiosity and wonder instead, which definitely threw him off as a sense of dread washed over him.
He stepped back as the girl rose from the ground, still with those eyes that screamed she wanted to do something to him.
The girl, for her part, slowly inches toward him, before suddenly, she lunges toward him.
Not wanting to know what she wanted with him, Michael fled in response, running as fast as he could to get away from the crazy goat girl.
"Hey! Wait up! Don't go! I'll promise I won't do anything to you! I just want to take a closer look!" The girl yelled out to him.
Michael didn't believe her, however, as he kept on running and running deep into the Hollow, not looking back, in case he looked back, he wouldn't be able to escape this Ethereal-obsessed girl.