Ethereal
Ethereals are enemies in the Hollows who have been corrupted by Ether.
They are weak against Slash attacks.
An Ethereal in the Hollows
Even without a Bangboo warning, you should be able to tell these things are dangerous. Hollow Raiders will often attack specific Ethereals to complete commissions, but it is often best to avoid them.
Strength classifications
Ethereals are categorized into 10 different strengths, using heavy metals, from weakest to strongest:
- Antimony (Sb)
- Zinc (Zn)
- Tin (Sn)
- Manganese (Mn)
- Cadmium (Cd)
- Nickel (Ni)
- Copper (Cu)
- Bismuth (Bi)
- Lead (Pb)
- Mercury (Hg)
Inside companion Hollows, there are usually only Sb, Zn, and a few Sn Ethereals.
Ethereals of strength Mn and above are much more difficult to defeat and require a fully-trained tactical support team.
Many a rookie Inter-knot user will, after several commissions, start to think: I'm stronger now, and I can beat a powerful Ethereal. You may be coming to have similar thoughts yourself as you gradually increase your [Inter-Knot Level](/inter-knot level). But is that really true?
Of course not. It's just because you haven't come across a powerful Ethereal year. Please, do not lower your guard.
The HIA classifies Ethereals into ten different strengths (from weak to strong: Antimony [Sb], Zinc [Zn], Tin [Sn], Manganese [Mn], Cadmium [Cd], Nickel [Ni], Copper [Cu], Bismuth [Bi], Lead [Pb], and Mercury [Hg]. Due to the weaker Ether levels seen in the companion Hollows where basic commissions occur, there are usually only [Sb], [Zn], and a few [Sn] Ethereals - which indeed present rather easy combat targets.
However, once you go up to the [Mn] level, things ramp straight up significantly. Killing a [Mn] Ethereal usually takes a fully-trained tactical support team.
I recommend buying or printing out pictures of all the Ethereals before going into the Hollows. As a rookie Proxy, there's 99.99999% chance you'll never encounter them - but ont he off chance you do, even if they only look slightly similar, you'd be better off running away.)
Abilities
Some Ethereals are able to mimic human speech and behavior.
...it was an Ethereal who can mimic human speech and behavior after they left the Hollow.
Outside the Hollows
Outside of the Hollows, Ethereals are unable to survive for long, as they no longer have access to Ether.
An Ethereal out of the Hollow is like a fish out of water, and it'll die really soon!