In the end, he allowed one warrior to escape, so that the man might spread word of what they had faced. Though it was a risk, he knew that there was nobody who had knowledge of his Seed of Fear. Thus, his Miasmic Cloak should remain an effective disguise. In fact, as it should be impossible for anyone to hold two different Seeds, it might even cause him to be entirely exempt from suspicion. And though risk of suspicion could be avoided completely by simply killing each one of them, it could prove useful to keep him alive. After all, in a normal situation, he would be picked apart by Duende’s forces. On the other hand, powered by enough ambient fear, he would have a far greater chance.

In truth, keeping him alive was harder than he had expected; after seeing the rest of his allies killed, he was desperate to return the favor. Eventually, Dharen was forced to knock the warrior unconscious. He quickly looted the man’s companions, storing away their belongings for later examination. What he couldn’t fit inside of his Spatial Ring, he simply carried.

He traversed the dense jungle with his spoils in tow, the journey allowing him time to contemplate his recent battle. Soon, he hoped, the man would awaken and return to the City. Having lost the remainder of his party, he would be unlikely to return to the jungle - and more importantly, he would talk. With any luck, word would spread of what they had faced. And then, when the monster in the man's stories entered the City in the flesh, fear would come all the quicker, growing his strength along with it.

He grinned in satisfaction at the performance, and especially so as he pondered a new variation to his ability that had come with forming the beginnings of his Fear aura. Even with the lack of strength that his new aura currently possessed, he was still able to exert its influence to alter the effects of one of his abilities - far earlier than Tkzcht had said he would be able to.

Fear The Champion (Common) Rank 0

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- Fear’s Cry -

Twisted by an aura of Fear, your voice engenders fear of the Champion. Let loose a bloodcurdling shriek increasing stats of self by 15%, while decreasing stats of all nearby entities by 10% for a short duration.

Inflicts a minor fear effect upon all who hear your cry.

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Though the Fear-twisted variation of Warcry did not offer the ability to boost the attributes of his allies, Dharen was excited by its prospects. If he wished, he could apply the aura to Warcry, transforming it to Fear’s Cry at will for a small increase in Spirit cost. Not only did this increase the boost that he received, but it had the important effect of inducing a minor fear effect.

And, as he well knew, fear begot fear. The combination of his various abilities would serve to elicit fear, no matter how well hidden, in many a warrior - feeding him via Feast of Terror and allowing him to grow even stronger. And in turn, the visible aspect of Feast of Terror alone should provoke greater fear, not to mention the effects of his increased capabilities.

Eventually, he made the return to the Nulzan village, his spoils in tow. Having grown increasingly familiar with the creatures - and they with him - he nodded to the Nulzan guards who had been chosen to remain awake and guard the village during the day as he passed their posts.

He soon took his place within the chieftain’s Skywood. He had claimed an alcove for himself, allowing him to place his acquired belongings to the side. After grabbing a small bite of smoked Sky Serpent, he settled down once more. As he did not see the need to disturb the chieftain during the daylight hours, he instead settled down in a meditative pose once more.

Having seen the benefits of delving into his soulseed, he was eager to continue. Not only that, but there was the mystery of the soulseed’s vision - a life that he did not remember having.

Just as before, he settled down into a meditative pose. After a short while, he managed to send his awareness rushing through his body - easier, this time around, due to his greater experience.

First, he traversed to his Seed of Triumph. Having seen the effects of his nascent Fear Aura, he craved the power that might come with unlocking two auras. He railed and smashed at the golden walls of Triumph, yet just as before, it lay dormant and nonresponsive.

Dismissing the inert walls for now, he moved his attention to its responsive half - Fear. In a flash, he found himself at the obsidian gates of Fear once more. Yet, this time the sense of despair, of nightmares made manifest, was far greater. It lingered in the air, gloom and dismay made manifest.

Brushing off the uncomfortable feeling, he made his way to the waiting gate and placed his hand upon its pitch-black surface once more. It bubbled over, sucking at his hand. Before long, he found himself pulled into its waiting embrace.

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Fire roared and crackled, smoke filling his lungs.

Just as before, he ran with panic-infused muscles, tearing apart the distance between himself and his destination.

And once more, he sunk his teeth into the warrior’s neck.

Yet, to his surprise, it did not end there.

Blood filled his mouth, its metallic flavor coursing across his tongue. Then, he was flying to the floor - met with a blade that pierced through his chest.

As the humans left, a feeling of utter helplessness invaded his body, a sense of desperate and impotent frustration. Tears ran from his eyes, mixing with the blood that flowed from his wounds.

“Please…”

Fire roared and crackled, smoke filling his lungs.

Dharen found himself running once more, fear consuming his body and mind.

The vision repeated, over and over, binding him in endless waves of unavoidable fear and terror.

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Dharen gasped, released from his foray into the Fear Seed’s visions at last. He panted, sweat coating his skin, as he slowly recovered from the experience. Each time that he experienced the visions of the soulseed was no easier than the last; the emotions involved were thrust upon him, unable to be resisted.

Yet just as before, his efforts proved worthwhile, allowing him to achieve the next level in his Fear Seed and advance his attributes.

Name:

Dharen

Race:

Faceless Human

Affiliation:

The Faceless One

Spirit:

61

Strength:

98

Agility:

107

Vitality:

66

Endurance:

72 (75.6)

Wisdom:

1

Charisma:

1

Luck:

1

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Tower Tokens:

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7,500

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Despite his satisfaction at reaching the next level, it was his progress in developing his aura of Fear that he was most interested in. He could already detect a faint increase in the strength of the aura, and likely the distance that it spread as well. Even more importantly, he had gained a new aural effect upon one of his Triumph abilities - Challenge.

Fear The Champion (Common) Rank I

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- Death Threat -

Twisted by an aura of Fear, your Challenge is a Death Threat to those who stumble upon it. Resistance is meaningless; you will inevitably feast upon the death of your foes.

Send forth a Death Threat to a chosen entity. Increases Strength and reduces Endurance of Threatened entity by 25% for one hour. If the Champion deals the killing blow, gain +50% Strength for 10% of the duration the entity was affected.

Inflicts a minor fear effect.

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He couldn’t help but grin upon seeing the differences in the Fear-twisted version of the Boon. Even ignoring the difference in effects, the change in name alone was appealing - as it would allow him to use Death Threat against human opponents without worry. There would have always been the possibility of a foe escaping with knowledge of an ability that was shared by Dharen and the shadow demon otherwise. While it was unlikely that the connection would be made, it was relieving to gain the capacity to avoid the potential hazard before a disaster occurred.

Eager for additional improvement, he began his meditation once more and quickly found himself at the obsidian-black gates of Fear. Though he could sense the increasingly-heavy aura of Fear that it exuded, he was unable to enter; each of his efforts rebounded and rebuffed by the implacable wall.

Filled with frustration, he pulled his attention back to reality. Standing above him was Tkzcht, watching with no small amount of amusement, his own aura of Duty heavily pervading the air.