The scent of fear was everywhere.
Not his own. Never his own.
Hari moved through the forest like wind through leaves — unseen, but felt.
He wasn't running anymore.
He was tracking.
---
> [Target Lock Acquired]
Group: Black Dagger Squad – Licensed S-Rank Bounty Team
Objective: Capture Subject "Unregistered Eclipse Variant"
Estimated Arrival: 2 hours
Distance: 7.2 kilometers
Suggested Action: Retreat or Hide
Hari tapped the message away.
> "I'm done hiding."
---
He moved toward them — not fast, not slow — but precise.
Each step calculated.
Each breath silent.
Every tree became an ally. Every shadow, a weapon.
---
Meanwhile, the Black Dagger squad gathered around a holographic map, unaware.
Their captain — a veteran named Joros Valg — stared into the display with narrowed eyes.
> "We kill him fast. No stalling. No showboating."
"Report back immediately. Remember, this guy isn't normal."
> "Tch. He's just some evolution glitch. A no-rank."
The youngest smirked. "Let me test him first."
Joros said nothing.
> "Just follow protocol."
But Hari was already watching them — from above, perched in the canopy, his body melted into shadows.
> [Shadowmeld – Active]
[Passive: Heart Echo]
→ Number of Heartbeats Detected: 6
→ Aggression Levels: High
Marking Targets…
Hari marked them one by one.
Then, without warning—
He dropped.
---
The first kill was silent.
A thin blade to the back of the throat.
The second one screamed — bad move.
Hari's claw sliced the scream in half.
The third reached for his comm orb—
But Hari's Shadow Doppel stabbed him from behind while Hari tore out his heart from the front.
---
> [3/6 Eliminated]
[Evolution Progress: 89% → 91%]
[Shadow Affinity Increased]
---
Joros Valg finally reacted.
He activated a light dome — banishing shadows in a wide radius.
> "COME OUT, MONSTER!"
Hari stepped forward.
> "You first."
A duel of extremes began.
Light versus Shadow.
Speed versus Precision.
---
Joros fought like a seasoned beast — wielding radiant twin sabers infused with purification runes.
But Hari was changing mid-fight.
His body moved faster than before.
He wasn't blinking — he was sliding between light fractures.
---
> [Eclipse Wraith – Submutation Triggered]
New Skill: Refraction Dash
→ Blink Short Distance Within Line of Sight
Cooldown: 4 Seconds
Joros struck again — missed.
Hari reappeared behind him, whispering:
> "Too slow."
The final blow shattered his radiant core.
The dome fell.
Darkness returned.
---
> [Black Dagger Squad – Eliminated]
[Title Acquired: Ghost of the Wilds]
[Trait Fusion Unlocked: Shadow Predator]
Hari stood over the corpses.
And smiled.
---
But his system pulsed again.
A message — new, and written in crimson script.
One he hadn't seen before.
> [WARNING: SYSTEM INTERFERENCE DETECTED]
[NEW ENTITY OBSERVING: DESIGNATION – ???]
"He walks without threads."
"He eats the weave."
"Bring him to us."
Hari's blood chilled for a moment.
Then he grinned.
> "Good. Let them come."
---
Far away, in the Forgotten Citadel beneath the sea, a massive eye opened.
A voice, older than time, whispered through the veil:
> "The Blood Eclipse awakens."
"Unshackled. Unclaimed. Undying."
> "He must be erased."
---
To be continued in Chapter 18: The Forgotten Citadel
---