Solaris felt a burning sensation on his right as his eyes stayed unmoving from the being before him.
Had it been a demon, he would've attacked without hesitation.
Had it been a tasty bug, he would've shot upwards and left it to Ember.
Yet this creature was something that put him in a state of pure terror.
Unable to move, unable to think, all he could do was stand still in fear.
It was not as if the creature was outwardly scary; it was as if it had a grip on his very soul, and with that grip, it slid a syringe of pure terror into it.
He attempted to move or even to envision moving, and yet he couldn't; his body was still as a statue, his eyes glossed over, looking into its eyes
Those eyes were so emotionless and yet filled with emotion, the body was so small yet so strong, the face was so innocent yet so petrifying, everything about it was so...
Splat!
Solaris took a deep breath as he realized he was unable to breathe during that moment. The creature had put him in a trance, and it wasn't until Ember had hit it with his mace that he could see what had happened.
He dropped to his knees, his eyes wide, breathing deeply as he revitalized his lungs.
"...What...The.... Fuck...."
In between deep breaths, Solaris spat out that curse. Regaining his sense of self, he looked up at Ember, who had dealt the blow to the creature, and looked questioningly at him.
Without saying a word, Ember snapped his fingers, and a small spark flew out and towards the corpse, quickly engulfing it in a blazing inferno, incinerating the body.
Watching the fire, Solaris observed as Ember stomped onto 4 crystals made of a blueish- green material, quickly shattering them.
Ember stared at the burning pile before extinguishing it with a flick of his wrist.
"It was a demon."
"A stronger one than we have encountered in the past."
Crouching down, he picked up a piece of the blue-green crystal and began to observe it curiously.
He stood there observing the remains and then opened his mouth to speak.
"This was a new rank of demon."
He paused before continuing as if imagining something.
"It was a lust demon." He nodded as if confirming himself.
"And as for the crystal, it's different from normal. Typically, these crystals are red like blood
and shiny in turn, yet this one is not; it's much different. as if I fed on something else, or was
simply an evolution of the red crystal, had I not burned it so thoroughly, I'd have a better idea as to which."
As he finished talking, a small look of confusion sat on his face.
Solaris stared at Ember in awe at his demon detective skill, before speaking, still breathing deeply.
"... it felt like... it was attacking my very being or perhaps my soul... Is that a possibility, or does that help?"
Ember's eyebrows raised, and he nodded in confirmation.
"That does help. If we are to assume that a soul is a true portion of a being's existence, then we have the theory that a demon could feast on one just as they can with blood."
Ember raised his eyebrow and looked over towards Solaris.
"What do you think? This is some of the things you'll need to do when you're a demon hunter."
Solaris looked surprised and began to think for a moment as he made his way to his feet.
"Umm... I'd agree about the soul thing, but it raises another question: what are all the things demons can feed on?"
Ember looked mildly impressed by his student's question and then replied.
"Perhaps Nova?"
Solaris's eyes lit up, and he quickly spoke.
"I've been meaning to ask, Cedric had said something about it in the past, but I didn't understand. What is Nova?"
"Sami didn't teach you?"
Solaris shook his head.
Ember opened his mouth with a bored expression as if he was about to recite something.
"Sigh, okay, Nova is the essence of all life, think of it like electricity, while Exramicy is more like the output of a circuit. "
Solaris nodded as Ember shot him a confirming glance.
"The nova is very thin in those without Extramicy, while it's very dense in those with. Nova can also be used as an extra power boost. By learning to control it, you can do all sorts of things. I personally have only met one man who could."
"I see then that would definitely be something that a demon could feast on, I mean, if they can eat my soul, then who's to say that they can't eat my essence."
After the conversation ended, the two resumed exploring the lower part of the city. After an hour or so, they met up and decided to call it a night.
Finding a house with two beds, the two ate some of the food, drank a bit of water, and then went to sleep.
As Solaris stared at the ceiling of the room, he felt a feeling wash over him, and his body involuntarily curled up into a ball, his eyelids sank, and his arms rubbed one another.
Why?