Sonic and Shadow moved about the dark streets of Kingdom Valley. Their search had lost what little momentum it had before. Going deeper into town only introduced them to people who were even less friendly. They didn't seem happy about having a DWMA meister with a demon weapon poking around.
"Do you want to find a place to sleep or should we stay up late and head back?" Shadow asked.
Sonic gasped in response, startling his weapon partner.
"Shadow, do you feel that?"
"I don't know what you're talking about,"
"I think I can…." Sonic closed his eyes and used his soul perception. The darkness of his closed off vision soon revealed little lights off in the distance. "Over there, at the cathedral. I can feel the soul of a weapon and a meister,"
"Wow Sonic, you can sense that far? All that help from Starline seems to be paying off,"
"Yeah, but this is still pretty new to me. The meister is blurry but I do recognize those goons from earlier. Looks like they're still out picking fights. They brought friends this time. We should check it out,"
The two ran deeper into town and reached the cathedral. After climbing the stairs they stopped in the courtyard to catch their breath. Sonic looked up past the massive building and into the sky. Why did he feel like there was a weak soul above him? He focused his soul perception once more, noticing something. Then, a series of deep, bellowing tolls came from the bell tower, drowning out anything else that might have come from within the cathedral.
"No way!" Sonic ran over to the doors at the front of the building with Shadow close behind.
"What is it?" Shadow looked to his meister with concern.
Sonic lingered by the door for a few seconds while searching with his mind. "All the people in there are gone except for the weapon and the meister,"
The two hedgehogs exchanged grim glances.
"How is that possible?" Shadow asked.
"It's our job to know, and there's only one way to find out," Sonic placed his hand on the door.
Shadow could see that his meister still looked quite troubled. "Are you sure about this?"
"Yeah,"
"Then let's go,"
The doors of the cathedral groaned as they let Sonic in. He held his scythe at the ready while advancing cautiously past rows of pews. There was a boy standing out in the open at the other end of the room. He seemed lost in thought.
"Are you sure your sense was right? It's just one guy,"
Sonic was surprised that he didn't have to close his eyes to see the soul wavelengths he'd sensed earlier. He was close enough that the blurriness was gone too.
"Shadow, the weapon and meister are in the same body,"
The strange meister's soul seemed to be encased by another hollow, black soul that was much larger. The smaller soul trapped within had a strange red glow. Sonic thought it might be a kishin egg, but that more he looked the less fitting that explanation became. There was also some kind of spark that was forming a coil around the conjoined souls.
"What's up with this guy?" Sonic wondered. Not only was this person's soul strange, his appearance was unsettling as well. "Hey, you!"
"Eh?" Eclipse turned around, wearing an innocent expression.
"There were thirty or so people in here with you a bit ago. Did you take their souls?" After seeing Eclipse nod, he continued with a stern tone. "Egg-," Sonic coughed. "Lord Death has forbidden the consumption of innocent souls,"
"Most people aren't supposed to. She said it was okay, so it's okay," Eclipse looked at Sonic as if he were a lost child.
"Reveal you partner, they're an accomplice," Shadow demanded. He couldn't see souls like Sonic, and wanted to know if Sonic's soul perception was correct.
"I don't have a partner. But I do have black blood,"
Eclipse hunched forward and groaned. He clutched his head and made additional pained noises. Black fluids breached the skin of his back then spilled out into the air like smoke. The liquid crept upward and bubbled into a floating torso. Claws appeared on the hands and horns emerged at the head, creating an ominous demon that hovered over him. Its figure was dark; there wasn't much discernable detail. Some of the blood formed what looked like tattered robes around the monster. It sat there in silence, and Sonic looked on with unnerved awe.
"Did you know? Did you know? Veins are like hallways for blood," The darkling walked around looking ill while still attached to the strange figure in the air. "My blood is alive. It runs through the hallways to find me but I'm right here. Am I lost? Where is me? My body is full of little tunnels for evil blood,"
Eclipse recovered from the discomfort, then peered at the DWMA students.
"Oh, a brother," He leaned forward with interest. "I've never met one before," Eclipse chewed on his hand and his full mouth muffled his voice. "What are brothers for? What am I supposed to do with one?"
"What are you talking about?" Sonic asked. He received no response.
Tikal's voice drifted back into the mind of her creation. "Kill him,"
A red spark flashed around Eclipse and he smiled. "Okay then,"
The dark figure hovering above Eclipse began melting back into a murky cloud. Eclipse reached into the black, bloody mist and pulled out a handle. As the handle was brought out, the rest of the blood condensed to form a blade. Maroon wrappings covered the now completed sword. The weapon looked worn and scratched despite being newly formed. Eclipse held it out in front of him, parallel to his body.
Sonic tensed up in anticipation of his opponent's approach. Eclipse crept along the aisle with delicate steps and trained his sword on Sonic. Once he was close enough, he began thrusting the blade through the air rapidly. Sonic swiped his scythe sideways to knock his opponent's sword away. Eclipse brought the sword behind him and spun the blade as he repositioned. Wide slashes came next. Splinters flew from a nearby pew after Sonic jumped back to dodge and the blade collided with wood. Eclipse continued to swing wildly with a growing hunger appearing in his expression.
Sonic was beginning to detect something strange about Eclipse's movements. As the odd meister began approaching Sonic once again, his body lurched like it was being pulled along by something. Eclipse used his left arm to brace against and control the swings of his right. Even though a meister and a weapon fighting in one body was unthinkable a few minutes earlier, Sonic already found a pattern. One heavy swing from Eclipse was met with a partial parry from Sonic. He knocked Eclipse in mostly the same direction as his swing. With his opponent stumbling past him, Sonic held out his scythe to catch Eclipse.
"It's over," Shadow declared.
Sonic thrusted with great strength and Shadow's blade crashed into Eclipse's chest. Metal scraping against metal could be heard. The blue hedgehog looked back in disbelief.
"You won't kill it with an attack like that," Eclipse stared at Sonic blankly.
A counterattack came in the form of an overhead swing. Sonic jumped a fair distance to get out of the way.
"What just happened?" Shadow asked.
Sonic looked back at his opponent He noticed that Eclipse only bled a small amount after the attack. Black droplets landed on the carpet, but none had manifested on Shadow's blade.
"I felt the hit break through his skin, but I think he stopped the blade by hardening his blood while it's still in his body,"
"If he can do that, how are we supposed to beat him?"
Sonic didn't have an answer for his partner. Eclipse was back to attacking with more refined jabs. Shadow's scythe form spun through the air as Sonic batted away each of the strikes. There was a strange weight to each of the impacts that grew as the weapons continued clashing. Eclipse's blood blade was beginning to shimmer strangely, and the strikes were becoming intense. Sonic held his scythe sideways in front so he could block another overhead strike. The black sword clanked against Shadow's handle while continuing to shimmer. Vibrations rang from the blade and rattled the opposing meister and weapon, disrupting their resonance. Sparks flew from the point of impact. Shadow cried out in pain.
"No!" Sonic kicked Eclipse away, knocking him to the ground. Dark blood ran along Shadow's silver handle, staining it with red. "You're hurt!"
"I'm fine, focus on him," Shadow's metallic voice was now strained.
Eclipse was up off the ground and ready to continue his efforts. He began jabbing at the air again. Sonic leaned left and right causing the blade to narrowly miss each time. He went down the aisle, backpedaling frantically. Eclipse wasn't giving his enemies any breathing room.
"You need to block so we can gain some ground!" Shadow commanded.
"If I do, you'll die!"
"I'm your weapon, Sonic! It's my job to protect you with my life!"
A frustrated grunt came from the blue hedgehog. Enough was enough. There wasn't much he could do against an opponent like this. Any attack with the blade would be stopped by his opponent's black blood. Whatever Eclipse had done to disrupt their wavelengths was stopping them from using Witch Hunter, too. Sonic began moving toward the entrance without turning away from his opponent. Eclipse took a deep breath, then let out a harrowing shriek.
The darkling's voice erupted out into the room before cutting into Sonic's mind. He stopped moving instantly and felt nauseous. The blue hedgehog clutched his weapon partner and grit his teeth, body trembling. Shadow spoke once the noise died down.
"Sonic, what's wrong?"
"Can't…move," Sonic could barely speak.
Eclipse had stopped wailing, but the effects remained. He walked calmly toward his prey. Both parties were now positioned near the entrance. Shadow could feel his partner's paralyzed wavelength. The two were barely resonating at this point. Shadow had been disturbed by the sound as well, but something was off.
"If the screaming stops you, that means you are food," Eclipse explained calmly.
He raised his blood sword overhead, lining it up carefully. Sonic tried to force his body to move, but he was helpless. Weak shudders were the only movements that came. Eclipse brought the blade down in a diagonal slash that ripped into a hedgehog. It hadn't been the one he was expecting. The blue one yelled out with horror.
"Shadow!"
