Nox physically recoiled as he listened to Lorenne's words, he wished he could just wipe that info completely from his mind.

"That's why I said it's only used as a last resort," She explained looking at his reaction, "besides, they're completely purified else any human will die from the first bit alone."

"Yes, but," Nox lifted the Eclipsed with his dagger without getting close to it, "people eat these?"

Sure, the food in the slums wasn't gourmet, hell, they even sometimes tasted like someone had chewed it up and and sold it anyway, but even then, they never resorted to eating an Eclipsed.

He had seen those things up close and they did not look appetizing in the least bit.

Elias just chuckled before saying, "my father has actually eaten one before, while stuck in a rift."

Nox slowly turned his head toward him with the most bewildered expression his face could afford to make.

"D-don't make that expression," Elias said as he looked at Nox's face, "he actually survived thanks to that."

"Although just barely," he admitted. "He said it tasted like burnt rubber dipped in despair, though he was delirious when he said it, so maybe that affected the review."

Levi walked in silence behind the trio, taking down the occasional Eclipsed that came their way, alongside Nox.

They had left the cave after a good night's rest only to realize, this place only had night.

The quartet were sure they had slept for over eight hours, with each taking turns to lookout and yet, the darkness never seem to fade.

Well, that much was to be expected, after all, this place was the Eclipsed realm, it'd be weird for the sun to suddenly rise.

Elias hadn't brought a terrain scanner, so the team had to leave the cave to find out exactly how massive this place was and where the 'boss' Eclipsed was located.

Tier 1 rifts were usually a small isolated portion of the Eclipsed realm which meant this forest was its entire biome and the boss Eclipsed should be in the deeper parts.

After a while of walking, Nox suddenly stopped, causing the other three to turn to him.

"Is it just me," he muttered with a frown on his face, "or does it feel like something wants us to keep walking forward?"

"What do you mean?" Lorenne asked but instead of Nox, Elias was the one who answered.

"He's right," he said, "by now, the Eclipsed we're encountering should be a lot stronger but we're only encountering Nightlings, which is strange."

Even Levi nodded in agreement as he had also noticed the strangeness.

Tier 1 and 2 Eclipsed were usually instincts guided rather than intelligence, which meant whatever was laying a trap for them was above those tiers.

"Should we turn back?" Lorenne asked, looking at Elias, since he was the group leader.

Elias thought on it for a while before reasoning, "Turning back now changes nothing. If whatever Eclipsed is doing this is intelligent enough to herd us, then it already knows where we are. Whether we walk forward or backward, we're still inside its territory."

Lorenne swallowed. "So… what do we do?"

"We stay alert," Elias said firmly. "And we don't split up. Whatever's watching us clearly wants something. Until we figure out what, we stick to the plan, move toward the deeper region and locate the boss."

The team nodded and as suggested, they continued forward.

They walked on for a while, when suddenly, the ground started rumbling. It felt like some kind of stampede but instead of just rumbling, this one actually shook the earth.

"Get ready," Elias ordered and Nox immediately switched Morphos from daggers to a sword, since that felt more comfortable in his hands.

The sound got close and the trees suddenly started groaning as they made way for whatever was coming.

"W-what the hell is that?" Lorenne let out as the Eclipsed revealed itself, momentarily forgetting that she was supposed to be their encyclopedia.

But one couldn't blame her, after all, the Eclipsed was one they had never seen before.

The creature easily stood at five meters, it's body seemingly blending with the darkness around.

It seemed to have a single horn on its head, and just below it was a single massive red eye.

In the creature's hand was a massive club and without waiting for the team of four to fully take in its appearance, it slammed he club towards them.

Luckily, Nox and Levi quickly activated their teleportation solar tech and retreated with the other two to safety.

BOOM!

The sound was deafening as the club made contact with the forest floor, leaving a massive crater in its shape.

What was it they were saying about encountering stronger Eclipsed? Well, they just did and their watches immediately confirmed.

The Eclipsed was a tier 3, luckily, it was just a normal tier 3 without the ability to use Umbra energy.

Well, that didn't mean that this was going to be any easier.

"I don't think my barriers can block its attacks," Elias said before turning to Lorenne.

"T-that's a Dark Cyclops," Lorenne finally forced out, her voice trembling as she flipped through pages so fast they nearly tore. "A Tier 3 humanoid type. They're… they're known for overwhelming strength and high resilience. Their single eye lets them track Solar signatures directly."

"Meaning?" Nox asked, eyes locked on the towering Eclipsed as it slowly straightened its posture, club dragging trenches in the soil.

"Meaning it can see your Solar energy through the darkness even when you're not actively using it," she whispered.

"Perfect," Nox muttered dryly.

They would've had Levi try and sneak up on it, but if the creature was capable of seeing your SE, then that meant that plan wouldn't work.

The Eclipsed scanned the forest floor for the pests before he spotted three glowing flames, two of which were small and the other was in the shape of a human.

The Cyclops then moved with speeds that didn't match its size as it raised its club above the team again and let it descend.

"Fuck."

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