The Echovore was a very interesting creature for multiple reasons.
The first were its soul skills and secondly it had no health, mana or stamina bar.
Until now every creature had followed the same system. This was the first one that didn't fit into that category.
The three bars were completely gone and in its place was an absolutely massive bar called Essence.
Vitality was missing as well while everything else remained normal.
It was simply one less stat and a gigantic Essence bar instead of health, mana, and stamina.
In general, Thalion saw this as an improvement.
The recovery of that bar was so absurdly high that running out of it would be incredibly difficult.
On the other hand, every skill he used made him a little squishier.
There were definitely advantages and disadvantages to it.
Another upside were the absolutely ridiculous skills.
It took all of Thalion's self-control not to bounce up and down in excitement.
Soul Sense would allow him to locate powerful souls and help assess the strength of his opponents.
Devour Essence would allow him to rip the souls directly from living enemies.
The best skill of them all, however, was Throne of Agony which increased his power with every captured soul.
There was also Soulshape, a skill that made him immune to the physical world for a short period of time.
Thalion wasn't entirely sure what that meant but so far it sounded extremely useful.
And hadn't Nyssa mentioned that an Echovore god was willing to answer some of his questions?
The biggest problem was that he really wanted to keep this form.
It was enormous and by its very nature seemed to reject the normal laws of reality.
The others looked on with wide eyes as the over ten-meter-wide Echovore slowly rose above the base.
The creature was shrouded in darkness, its elongated body surrounded by countless tendrils that drifted away from the main mass.
It had no wings and yet it could move however it pleased.
Fast and far more agile than any of his other forms, the Echovore probably didn't even possess a spine.
The movements it performed were truly unnatural.
He couldn't even feel gravity pulling him downward or the wind brushing against his body.
The rarity of the form and its skills was also as high as it could possibly get with Empyrean.
Thalion performed a few more spins through the air before gliding downward toward his mansion and directly through the roof.
Passing through the roof slowed him down slightly but not by much.
This form truly was incredible.
The problem was that he needed its skills if he wanted to attempt the fusion between his amulet and the darkness elemental.
Thalion shifted back into his human form and immediately began planning.
What options did he have to combine the best parts of both forms?
The skills were the highest priority but he also didn't want to lose the abilities of this new body.
The way it moved was simply extraordinary.
So how could he extend that to the Eclipsari?
If it came from a passive skill he could simply transfer it and the problem would be solved.
Unfortunately, things were likely going to be much more complicated.
He could transfer body parts as well but only partially shifting into the creature wouldn't be enough.
It wouldn't help much if only half of his body gained that unnatural agility while the rest remained normal.
That would probably be the worst outcome possible given the importance of his other abilities.
He needed help from the gods.
"Nyssa, could you please ask that Echovore god what allows it to move the way it does? Is there some kind of organ responsible for it?"
Thalion asked while standing inside the communication circle.
For a moment he felt stupid speaking to an empty room but the runes had lit up, meaning his message should have been transmitted.
He waited for a while before an illusion of Nyssa finally appeared before him.
"That will take some time. I assume it worked and you managed to take the form?"
Nyssa looked genuinely curious as though she hadn't fully believed he would be able to absorb it.
"Perfectly."
Thalion answered.
A moment later the projection disappeared again.
Since he would have to wait for more information anyway, he headed over to the elven smiths where the two massive crystals he had recovered from the ocean were stored.
Shrinking the crystals and working on them in the meantime sounded like a productive use of his time.
Unfortunately, the elves had a very different opinion.
"Are you insane? Everything is going to explode if you try to shrink those crystals! They should be used to power our defenses. How does someone even come up with the idea of putting things like that into an armor or helmet?"
The elven head smith shouted at him.
His ears had even turned slightly red from the outburst.
"I've already done something similar before. The crystal wasn't as powerful but everything worked out fine. So stop complaining and stop blocking the formation."
Thalion countered.
He really just wanted to get started.
Who exactly did this elf think he was?
If he believed the crystal was going to explode then he could simply stand farther away from the formation.
It wasn't as though the formation itself was irreplaceable.
Besides, this one was vastly superior to the crude version he and Lucan had used back in the tutorial.
"No, that isn't going to happen. We need those crystals to power our defenses. At the moment we are lacking crystals and using them for a single armor would be an utter waste."
The elf continued to block him.
At this point Thalion was beginning to lose his patience.
What was so difficult about placing the stupid crystal on the formation, activating it, and then moving away?
And what was this nonsense about needing defenses?
They hadn't even been attacked yet and should a Chosen actually find them, they likely wouldn't stand much of a chance no matter how powerful the defenses were.
So far the fortifications were far behind what Eric had managed to construct and two large crystals would hardly make much of a difference.
"Why don't you and the other elven smiths take a short vacation while I shrink the crystals? Go get some food and come back in two hours or so."
Thalion attempted to find some middle ground but with these elves that clearly wasn't going to happen.
"And destroy the formation and half the surrounding buildings in the process? No chance. I am not going to allow that to happen. You humans simply lack the skill required for the delicate process of crafting valuable items. Why don't you get a smaller crystal for your armor instead?"
That arrogant reply finally broke the camel's back.
Thalion shot forward and grabbed the elf by the neck, effortlessly lifting him off his feet.
"Good. Then we'll try a different strategy. Since all of you are such masters of crafting, I expect those two crystals to be shrunk and delivered to my mansion within two hours. If they aren't, I'll come for your head instead. Do you think we're here on some kind of pleasure cruise?"
Judging by the confused look that briefly flashed across the elf's face, he had absolutely no idea what a pleasure cruise was.
Thalion didn't care.
"There had better not be any pieces missing either. If you ever try talking back to me like that again, your life is forfeit. Now get to work. The clock is ticking."
He threw the elf to the ground and followed it up with a kick that launched him into the nearest wall with a loud cracking sound.
Thalion was truly done with these annoying elves.
Almost every interaction felt like an uphill battle.
The fool could have simply taken a break and allowed him to use the formation that wasn't even occupied at the moment.
Instead he got another elven smith acting as though he owned the place.
The elf was lucky Thalion hadn't approached him as Eclipsari.
Otherwise his life might have met a tragic end right there.
Annoyed, Thalion returned to his mansion and continued pondering his future plans.
It wouldn't take much longer for the elves to secure the teleportation circles leading to Integrated Space.
That was likely the point where he needed to start paying attention to the larger trials.
On the other hand, he wasn't opposed to completing as many trials as possible.
Most of them required lifespan as an entry fee which, in his case, effectively meant they were free.
At some point he should probably spend more time recovering additional crystals from the ocean to strengthen their defenses.
Right now it wouldn't make much of a difference but in one or two months they might become desperately important.
Progressing his blood and fire control was also long overdue.
He wasn't bad at either but for the Third System Event he needed far greater mastery.
Besides, it was something he genuinely wanted to improve.
Blood manipulation had endless applications.
It could strengthen his own body while simultaneously hindering his enemies.
It allowed him to move far faster and with the passive effects of the Primordial Bloodseed he could even influence the blood flowing through living creatures.
Normally he needed to pierce the skin first to establish a connection.
Now that restriction no longer existed.
Against stronger opponents he would likely only be able to slow them down slightly but even that could be the difference between life and death.
Of course all of that would have to wait until the armor and the Eclipsari were finished.
Thankfully it didn't take much longer before Nyssa contacted him again.
Unfortunately there wasn't a single organ responsible for the Echovore's impossible movements.
That was honestly a major disappointment.
Still, there was no time to dwell on it.
Alongside that information she had also sent him several detailed protocols regarding the fusion of the amulet and the elemental as well as extensive notes on soul manipulation.
The latter was especially lengthy and it took Thalion quite some time to work through everything.
He became so absorbed in his research that he completely failed to notice the elves delivering the shrunken crystals to his doorstep.
After knocking for nearly ten minutes without receiving a response, they grew increasingly pale and quickly took the opportunity to leave, afraid that they had already missed the deadline.
In a normal settlement, crystals of that value left unattended outside a door would have been stolen almost immediately.
After Thalion had brutally murdered an elf in public, nobody even dared approach them.
Thalion remained completely unaware of all this.
He sat cross-legged on the floor in his Eclipsari form, his full attention focused inward.
He had already transferred all four of the Echovore's skills to the Eclipsari, which was honestly a real shame.
Investing in that form would have been incredibly cool but he had to make a decision.
A power-up was desperately needed and he couldn't afford to let such an opportunity pass by.
While Thalion worked on the upcoming fusion, more and more scrolls filled with knowledge about souls began piling up outside his door.
The elves simply didn't dare wait after knocking twice and quickly took the chance to flee.
Thankfully, soul control wasn't actually required for the fusion with the amulet.
The darkness elemental had a surprisingly good understanding of what Thalion had planned for its future and was a massive fan of the idea.
The most difficult part was opening the amulet without losing any souls.
They also didn't want to lose the immense benefits the amulet provided.
The issue was that the darkness would eventually destroy the amulet entirely.
To preserve its benefits, they planned to recreate it from darkness itself.
The elemental could solidify darkness with relative ease and now they intended to use that ability to rebuild the amulet inside its core.
Completely recreating the original artifact was impossible given the complexity of its runes but even a slightly weaker version would be enormously beneficial.
The most important aspect was the amulet's natural attraction to souls.
That way it would serve as an additional failsafe should something happen to his skill because otherwise he might lose every single stored soul at once.
So far only the little elven girl had managed to shut down his abilities but who knew how rare such bloodlines really were?
Furthermore, Thalion was no longer fighting ordinary people.
At this point he was competing against the elite of the elite.
Unique bloodlines and absurd abilities might be far more common there than he wanted to believe.
Having a backup plan was never a bad idea.
After days of preparation, Thalion finally decided to move forward.
There was no reason to hesitate any longer.
The only thing the waiting accomplished was slowly eroding his resolve through uncertainty.
So far the direct approach had worked surprisingly well for him, even if it usually came with tremendous pain.
Speaking of pain, this would certainly become one of the more memorable experiences.
To get the amulet to the elemental, he first needed to cut open his own chest.
His claws weren't exactly small which didn't make the task any more pleasant.
Then there was his skin.
Thanks to all his defensive skills it was absurdly resistant to damage which meant he had to forcibly tear it apart with his own claws.
That alone was an experience he wouldn't recommend.
Thankfully the darkness elemental assisted greatly from there.
Dark tendrils wrapped around the amulet and slowly dragged it deeper into his body while simultaneously opening the elemental's core.
That part was by far the worst.
Thalion found it incredibly unfair that he had to feel that as well.
On the other hand, the elemental likely felt every injury he suffered too.
Still, opening that core felt as though it consisted entirely of exposed nerve endings.
Thalion let out a piercing scream that startled several elves outside.
The work was far from done.
Together they began copying the amulet's runes and recreating them from solidified darkness while constructing a small pyramid that hovered in the center of the elemental's core.
Even creating that structure consumed enormous amounts of power.
The price was steep.
Thalion and the elemental were forced to sacrifice vast portions of their stored darkness and even that wasn't enough.
Entire pathways created by the elemental were consumed.
Parts of his body tempering began to unravel.
By this point Thalion felt as though he had just run two marathons through a desert without a single drop of water.
Everything felt weak.
For the first time he seriously started wondering whether this had been a terrible decision.
And the hardest part was still ahead.
So far they had only prepared the elemental core.
The next step was dissolving the amulet itself.
That would release every stored soul at once.
The result would either be enormously beneficial or kill him outright.
There was no time left to waste.
The entire operation was consuming ridiculous amounts of energy.
Together they closed the core and allowed the darkness inside to touch the amulet.
The moment the amulet dissolved it felt like an explosion had gone off inside his body.
Power and emotions flooded through him with overwhelming force.
For a brief moment he lost control entirely.
Then he realized something far worse.
His body was breaking apart.
The souls couldn't escape but the power they released was unlike anything Thalion had ever experienced.
The biggest problem quickly became obvious.
Neither he nor the elemental possessed any real affinity for souls.
The skills he had acquired and the preparations inside the elemental core helped but they were nowhere near enough.
For the first time he could clearly identify the massive amalgamation of souls the amulet had absorbed back in the tutorial after he destroyed one of Ankhet's pillars.
Until now it had simply continued growing inside the amulet.
It was far more dangerous than a normal collection of souls.
In fact, Thalion was certain the power output wasn't even remotely comparable.
He watched in horror as the claws on his right hand slowly turned into dust while black lightning danced across his body.
He needed to do something immediately.
Otherwise the Eclipsari would be lost.