It was something so obvious and yet, Evian had not realized it; Innate abilities did not cost him Eldritch energy.
Eldritch energy was for spells or martial abilities but Innate abilities were something more. They were abilities fundamental to Evian being a Wraith.
Eldritch Authority! was a force of will. Evian just had to 'will' every bit of Eldritch energy within the body of his victim to obey his command and it had been so instinctive that he had not stopped to really think about it.
'Visions of the Eldritch' was a force of the mind. A mental attack of insane proportions that could attack even beings that were not made up of Eldritch energy. A grace that was not afforded to Eldritch Authority which was likely why its blowback and cost were so great.
The Knights who had stormed over to support Lieutenant Keron were still well within Evian's sphere of influence and their eyes were all widened while their heads were knocked back by the sheer force of the mental attack.
There was a pause and then the Knights all raised their heads towards the sky and let loose a bloodcurdling scream that seemed to originate from the torturous hell of the Abyss their minds had been unanimously pulled into.
"ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!"
The intensity and sheer horror of that scream was of such a degree that Keron winced even though he was in the Sixth Order and had a mental fortitude that surpassed all of those Knights combined.
Keron's eyes went from the tortured Knights to the one who had apparently caused their mental distress as evidenced by his outstretched hand.
Astrid watched as well in curiosity. She realized she had not felt the fluctuation of energy (Eldritch or Spiritual) that could be said to be the cause of such an intense attack.
'A mental strike,' she realized, 'And one moving on a wavelength I can't follow. Interesting.'
Meanwhile, Evian staggered where he stood.
His mind, an intangible thing, felt like it had been shattered like glass into hundreds of pieces.
[You are at a Risk of Wraithic Insanity! Beware!!!]
The 'Beware' flashed over and over in an urgent Red but even without being warned, Evian knew what was happening to him. It was information that was instinctively made known to him the moment he used the 'Visions of the Eldritch'.
Also, although Wraithic Insanity sounded like a horrible outcome, it was actually a sometimes optional evolutionary state of a Wraith that came with its boons.
For one, A Wraith who has fallen into Insanity finds it easier to advance in Decadence. This for Evian would mean that his requirements to level up would reduce by at least 40%.
Second, A Wraith who has fallen into Insanity can use 'Visions of the Eldritch' more naturally and can even inflict the malicious mental attacks on beings stronger than it even if by an entire level and sometimes even two depending on individual talent.
The rewards were great but it was not termed 'Insanity' for nothing. If Evian fell victim, he would lose his sense of reasoning and become decadently ravenous. Unable to distinguish friend from foe or ally from a meal. Everyone would become fair game.
He would let loose his Eldritch horror on any being that happened to cross his path and feed until he reached the apex of the Wraithic Decadence or until he was killed. Whichever came first.
Evian preferred to keep his mind as is so he hurried to rectify this situation.
It was true and they both knew it.
Had she not taken her time, Evian would not have had the chance to swoop in for the steal.
Why had she taken her time? Evian wondered.
'She had to have done it on purpose.'
It made no sense to Evian that Astrid would want to savor the kill of a Sixth Order Knight. Especially a kill that had come so easy and lacked any payoff.
He looked at her and she looked back at him, smiling like he amused her— Like the fact that he had not realized what her goal was, was hilarious to her and she was the only one in on the joke.
"So another Soul down your ravenous gullet," Astrid said, a sparkle in her blue eyes.
"All thanks to you," Evian said with a slight jovial bow as the notification sounded in his head,
[You have acquired 100,000 Soul Points.]
Evian was keeping the reaction locked in deep but he was actually very excited to get to taste the soul of a Sixth Order Knight and even better was what his Soul Point balance looked like when he called it up.
With five being at the Fifth Order and the other Ten at the Fourth Order, all those whom Evian had inflicted with the 'Visions of the Eldritch' had rewarded him with 60,000 Soul Points and, added to the most recent 100,000 gained, his balance looked like this,
[Decadence: Cursed Wraith Lord {370,000/50,000 Soul Points}]
Astrid watched his joy and chuckled to herself,
'Eat your fill, rejoice in your wins and steals, and then, when this war is over, I will personally estimate your progress. Let's see how hard you can smile then.'
Evian could of course not read his Partner-in-hunting's mind but he was gripped by a strange chill that gave him a bad feeling.
Anyway, the horrid screams by those Evian had tortured had called even more attention to their infiltration.
Evian considered staying and facing them with Astrid by his side but then he resolved that leaving this region to attack the enemy from somewhere else would catch them off guard and keep these stealthy attacks going even though their presence was now known.
He grabbed Astrid's hand without even asking and before she could reprimand him for his audacity, he had phased them through the ground and away from the coming forces.
With a balance of 370,000 Soul Points, Evian's plan had been productive. However, faced with the daunting amount of points he would require to even advance within the Wraith Lord level not to mention all that he needed to purchase from the Decadent Store, Evian still wanted more.
No.
He needed more.