Chapter 176 (1/2)

Randidly gritted his teeth and forced his gaze to follow along with the words on the page of the diary.

All resist the Phantom, for they know, he steps in the wake of death, like a shadow.

And as Randidly read the words, it was there. Or rather, he. After hearing the story about Shal and his history, especially of his father, Randidly could see the man. His small smile, his broad shoulders, his short dark hair. Unlike Shal, his skin was not dyed blue, but was a dull red color.

From his shoulders hung a long leather cloak that was shredded at the edges. But his eyes…

But his eyes burned, and as Randidly read that first line, he appeared and and began to float towards Randidly.

They flinch away from his touch, as fear erodes control of their very body. Perhaps if they were able to remain equipped with their faculties, their struggles would have meaning. But before the Phantom…

Randidly’s body began to tremble. The approach of Phantom carried with it an aura of death that was palpable, almost as if Randidly had inhaled the scent of a rotting body. The air became increasingly warm and fetid, and Randidly clenched his fists. He refused to give in, even as the image drifted closer.

...before the Phantom, all other things break and scatter. The path he walks is long and wide. It is multifarious and insidious, a small step to the side. But once those people step upon it, for whatever reason, they have doomed themselves. At that point, although they may struggle…

Roaring, Randidly created a spear of Battle Intent and threw it at the Phantom. Although it may have just been his imagination, he thought the Spear Phantom smiled at him, and then disappeared.

The next thing he felt was a thin, cold hand on his shoulder, tapping lightly, as if to take his attention. Refusing to back down, Randidly backed around and faced the Phantom, finding it standing there, its arms spread wide. Its leather cloak was open, flapping lightly by an ethereal wind, revealing not the human torso Randidly had been expecting, or even a skeleton’s body, but a face, a sleeping one.

At first Randidly thought that the face was Shal’s,, but the longer he looked, the more the subtle differences between them began to come to the surface. This was… was softer and warmer than Shal’s. Although the nose was the same, the cheekbones were less prominent and wider.

Randidly was frozen, suddenly very confused what he was looking at. A face, rather than a torso underneath the cloak. Somehow, it was incredibly disturbing. This… was still the image conjured by the Battle Intent, right…?

The eyelids of the sleeping face trembled, then blinked open, its long, beautiful eyelashes fluttering. As the eyes opened, Randidly continued to stare, wondering whether the androgynous face was male or female.

“I’m…”

Now Randidly blinked, because the face spoke, its lips moving thickly, clumsy and rusty from disuse.

“I’m…”

The eyes opened further, and they were pure black, and wet like spilled ink. The Phantom continued to stand, holding that cloak open, his smile slowly fading away to a frown. His eyes furrowed into an angry bunch.

...although they struggle, it is too late. For the very path they walk is their end. As soon as the spectre of death tempted them into its realm, they lives begin flickering like candles, their blood seeming to drip out of their mouths and pool on the path behind them. The path….

“I’m so hungry…” The weary chest face said, and then it began to open its mouth and suck, its inky eyes locking onto Randidly. The Aether inside of him trembled, as if some outside force acted on it, causing Randidly to take a step backward instinctually.

Immediately the Phantom itself let its arms drop, its smile returned, Its fingers grew and grow, growing and surrounding Randidly, forming a cage that began to press inwardly, crush and bursting his organs, leaving him-

Gasping, Randidly dropped the diary again. For several seconds, the very real “Phantom” pain remained, his body feeling as though it had been annihilated. But then it slowly passed, likely blown out of him by his heavy breathing. Shal sat there, regardingly him coolly.

“That is quite enough for today, I think.” He said simply, reaching down and taking the diary. Then he left Randidly there, laying on the ground.

After his breathing had calmed, Randidly closed his eyes and tried to focus on remembered what happened. That face that looked similar to Shal’s on the chest of the Phantom, its inky black eyes, the strange change in the Phantom the longer that Randidly looked at that face. That face was even able to cause some effect on the Aether within him, that Randidly struggled with at the best of times.