The Astral Dogma

In the underground passage, the flickering torchlight painted eerie, dancing shadows on the rough stone walls. A cloaked figure moved swiftly through the labyrinthine corridor, gripping something with trembling hands. Each breath they took came in ragged, anxious gasps, their heart pounding as they forged ahead.

At last, the passage opened up into a vast room adorned with cryptic runic symbols etched into the stone floor. The hooded figure entered cautiously, the torchlight revealing the presence of several other figures who stood in a formation, their robes a mix of ominous black and foreboding red. The air in the room seemed charged with an unsettling energy.

As the hooded figure approached the center of the room, the others turned their concealed faces in unison to regard the newcomer. Among them, shadowy creatures lurked in the darkness, their low growls adding to the ominous atmosphere.

Sora slowly removed his hood, exposing a visage marked by fierce determination and unswerving allegiance. His eyes met those of the mysterious figure who led the assembly, a being obscured in shadows and surrounded by an unsettling air.

"I have returned, my liege," Sora declared, his voice steady and unwavering as he bowed down on one knee before the masked figure.

A low, chilling voice resonated from behind the mask. "Speak," the figure commanded.

Sora took a deep breath and reported, "The Phoenix Guild is weakened. The 'Ace' still hasn't returned to the guild, and the 'boy' remains trapped in the tower. The rest of the A and S rankers have left the country."

The masked figure remained silent for a moment, as if contemplating Sora's words. Then, with an air of dark anticipation, it inquired.

"And what of Cole?"

Sora's voice took on a grave tone as he revealed, "I have set a ruin contract, we can contain him for an hour. All that is left is to activate it on your command, my liege."

"Good," the masked figure intoned, its eerie voice echoing through the chamber. "You are dismissed."

Sora nodded in acknowledgment, then rose to his feet. With a final bow, he turned and retraced his steps through the dimly lit corridor, leaving the shadowy assembly behind.

As the figure emerged from the underground chamber and stepped into the narrow corridor, a voice echoed through the darkness, cutting through the eerie atmosphere.

"Are you going to keep this cult act up? It's creepy, Lex," the voice chided.

Startled, the figure turned to the source of the voice. There, leaning casually against the cold stone wall, stood Luna. Her presence seemed to bring a hint of normalcy to the otherwise foreboding surroundings.

The figure known as Lex, with tanned skin and long black hair, exhaled slowly. His intense demeanor softened as he removed the unsettling mask that concealed his face. Revealing himself, he looked at Luna with a smirk playing at his lips.

"Why do you say that?" Lex asked, his tone laced with amusement. He gestured casually to a nearby cage, and Luna couldn't help but shudder at the sight. Inside, a grotesque creature lurked—a disfigured hybrid of human and monster.

Luna regarded Lex with a mixture of curiosity and concern. "It's not the first time you've gone to great lengths for your ambitions, but this... this is something else," she remarked, her voice tinged with worry.

Lex leaned closer, his gaze locked onto Luna's. "Sometimes, Luna, to achieve great power, one must embrace the shadows," he whispered, his words carrying an air of dark conviction.

Luna crossed her arms, her expression conflicted. "You've always been obsessed with power," she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Power is the key to everything," Lex replied, his eyes gleaming with an unsettling fervor. "And this, is only the beginning. Soon, our plans will come to fruition, and we will reshape this world and get rid of those vicious beasts."

Luna shook her head, torn between loyalty to Lex and her growing unease. "As long as you keep your end of the deal" she said, her voice tinged with doubt.

"Besides, I'll have to make a small visit to an old friend of mine soon," Lex mused, his gaze fixed on the eerie red glow emanating from the abomination's eyes.

Luna's apprehension deepened at his cryptic words. She knew that Lex's definition of friendship often involved unsettling dealings and mysterious agendas. Her concern grew as she watched him open the cage, releasing the monstrous amalgamation of human and beast into the dimly lit corridor.

"But before that, why not try a little social experiment?" Lex proposed, a sinister grin spreading across his face.

Luna couldn't hide her unease as she observed the creature, whose eyes held an unnerving malevolence.

…

In his office, Cole reclined in his leather chair, exhaustion clung to him like a shroud, etching deep lines of weariness across his face. A thick Book lay abandoned atop his weary visage, his gaze drifting upwards as he contemplated the mundane existence that had befallen him.

Yet, amidst his weariness, an unexpected sight caught his eye—a lone piece of parchment perched upon the towering stack of neglected papers. Natalie, the diligent secretary, was responsible for placing it there. Cole snapped to attention, sitting upright and setting the book aside with sudden enthusiasm.

"This is..." Cole muttered to himself, his fingers gingerly picking up the paper. It unfolded to reveal a harrowing tale of a monster wreaking havoc on other creatures' natural habitats and terrorizing a small town. Grim images of the creature adorned the bottom of the page, capturing its grotesque form.

"Finally, something interesting!" Cole exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he removed his glasses.

Without a moment's hesitation, he rose from his chair and exited his office. As he made his way towards the guild hall, his path was suddenly obstructed by Natalie, her expression stern and unyielding.

"Cole," she began in a tone laced with seriousness, "Where do you think you're going?"

Cole halted, his footsteps grinding to a reluctant stop. He cleared his throat, avoiding eye contact as he responded, "I'm going to check on that 'hunter-killer monster' incident."

Natalie's gaze bore into him, her resolve unshaken. "You still have work to do," she insisted.

"This is part of the work, I'm just going to check it out in person," Cole explained with an earnest tone, gently patting Natalie's shoulder to reassure her.

Natalie scoffed, her frustration evident as she let him go, her arms folded tightly across her chest. She knew that when Cole set his mind to something, it was nearly impossible to dissuade him.

As Cole stepped outside, the bustling streets of Silva City seemed to awaken with a collective gasp of surprise, the city's vibrant pulse quickening in his presence. Cole was more than just a familiar face here; he was a living legend among the hunters who roamed these streets. 

People gathered in hushed clusters below, their eyes aglow with awe as he gracefully floated above them. The city's skyline stretched out before him, a breathtaking panorama of towering skyscrapers adorned with glistening glass facades that shimmered like diamonds in the midday sun. 

The soft murmur of the crowd below merged with the distant hum of traffic, creating a symphony of urban life. As Cole surveyed the sprawling metropolis below, he couldn't help but feel like a guardian of this vast, teeming world, a sentinel suspended between earth and sky.

"Now, where's that godforsaken town?" Cole mused to himself. His senses honed, he detected an unusual surge in energy on the outskirts of the city. With a mere thought, he vanished from sight, propelling himself through the sky at breakneck speeds that threatened to breach the sound barrier.

Drifting over a thick, shadowy forest, Cole's eyes widened in disbelief. Before him, an unspeakable horror took shape, its original essence contorted beyond identification. The monstrous being surpassed his stature twofold, encircled by a grotesque scene of death and decay. Other monstrous entities lay strewn around, some reduced to skeletal remnants, while others had been partially devoured. It was a truly terrifying tableau to behold.

Cole clenched his fists, his sense of adventure tempered by the grim reality that lay before him. He muttered to himself, "This is disgusting."

The monstrous creature slowly turned its grotesque head, its misshapen features forming a nightmarish grin. "Master... say... kill…everything..." it muttered in a guttural, disjointed voice, the words carrying an eerie, malevolent undertone.

Cole raised an eyebrow in astonishment. "So you can talk," he remarked, his curiosity momentarily overshadowing his perilous situation. "Wait, eat me?"

Before Cole could fully process the bizarre situation, the creature vanished from his field of vision with supernatural swiftness. A deafening rush of wind followed by a searing pain surged through his body as the creature's massive hand swiped at him from behind. Smoke billowed around his head, as if the very air itself had caught fire.

Stumbling forward, Cole desperately tried to regain his footing. 

The creature, driven by its sinister intent, lunged forward to finish him off. It aimed to take a gruesome bite out of him, its gaping maw descending closer and closer to its intended prey.

But then, something inexplicable happened. As the creature's mouth drew near to Cole, an intense heat radiated from his body. The air around him shimmered and distorted, and a searing aura enveloped him. The creature's mouth made contact, but its voracious intent was met with an unexpected consequence.

"RUUUAHGG!!" 

The monstrous creature let out a deafening, guttural roar of agony, a sound that echoed through the dark forest, sending shivers down the spines of all who heard it. Smoke and sparks erupted from its mouth, and its grotesque features contorted in indescribable pain.

Unable to withstand the scorching heat emanating from Cole, the creature's mouth burned away completely, leaving behind a charred, gaping hole where its face once was. It staggered back, thrashing and wailing in torment, its hands clawing at its blistering, ruined visage.

 The smoke cleared from around Cole's unscathed form, his grin growing wider with each passing moment. The creature, its agonizing pain now replaced with profound confusion, struggled to understand what had just transpired

.

"Y...you... hurt... no...?" the creature stammered, its mangled voice reflecting its bewilderment.

Cole's grin remained firmly in place as he reveled in the bizarre encounter. " So it seems You're about a bit stronger than an A rank and you can heal yourself" he remarked, his voice laced with a mix of amusement and excitement. "Good, this makes this so much better." 

Leaning forward, he continued, "What you got hit by is my hax, {radiance}, and this is my 'próxima.' The closer you get to me, the hotter it gets. It can get so hot that it reaches ten times the heat of the sun."

With a hint of daring in his eyes, Cole taunted, "Want to try getting closer?"

The creature, intrigued by the challenge, extended a shaky hand towards Cole. As it inched closer, its skin began to heat up rapidly. Waves of scorching energy emanated from Cole's body, causing the creature's arm to sizzle and smoke. In a desperate attempt to touch its target, the creature's entire limb was reduced to nothingness, dissipating into the sweltering air.

Amidst the chaos, Cole couldn't help but be reminded of an opportunity he couldn't pass up. He addressed the creature, "Oh, this reminds me! This is the perfect opportunity for 'that.' If you'll excuse me, I'll be back in a second."

Placing his palm on the ground, a mysterious runic symbol materialized beneath his touch. He formed a quick hand sign, and in an instant, he vanished, leaving the bewildered creature behind.

The creature muttered, "Ran...away...?"

Cole reappeared within the apartment of Belial and Xin, who were both locked in a state of utter confusion and shock.

"You two live together? Eh, that doesn't matter. You're coming too," Cole declared.

Before they could protest or even react, Cole seized both of them and teleported back to the forest. Belial and Xin stumbled as they regained their footing, dusting themselves off.

Belial couldn't contain his frustration. "Why the hell did you do that?!"

Cole raised a finger as if to hush them, his eyes brimming with excitement. "Alright, lesson two. Remember when I first taught you how ether synergy works? Now I'm going to teach you how to use ether-embedded attacks."

The creature, driven by its insatiable hunger, salivated at the sight of fresh prey.

Cole continued his instruction. "As I taught you before, 'ether synergy' is when you circulate ether throughout your body. But what I'm about to teach you right now is using ether to make your physical attacks stronger."

The creature, sensing an opportunity, charged at Cole with astonishing speed, its malicious intent clear.

"For this move," Cole explained, "you'll need to focus your ether to the core part that you want to strengthen." Clear energy began to manifest around his body, gradually concentrating into his right hand.

Amidst the intense training session, Xin shouted a warning,

 "Mr. Cole, watch out!"

The creature roared, closing in for an attack. In response, Cole unleashed a powerful punch that sent the creature hurtling through the forest. Trees shattered, and a massive crater was carved into the walls of a nearby cliff.

Belial and Xin stood there, their eyes wide with shock and disbelief, as they watched the aftermath of Cole's powerful punch that sent the creature hurtling into the abyss. The forest lay in ruins, and the creature's anguished cries echoed into the distance.

"So it's still alive.." Cole muttered to himself 

Their faces mirrored a mix of awe and trepidation, realizing the immense power that Cole possessed 

Cole turned to them, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. "See? That's the power of ether-embedded attacks. Now, let's continue your training."