Chapter 52: Dark Abyss

Do you ever wonder about the darkness? Why the fear of it is so common?

If so, you might ask yourself: who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark, or the man afraid of the light?

But the answer to this riddle is simple. How?

Well...

Sometimes you stare into the void...

And the void stares back.

I got up and took a deep breath, then looked at the kid.

"Well, I guess I should head down to Subcon Forest," I muttered.

Hmm... she was probably gonna ask to come with me, wasn't she? She was always full of curiosity and would probably wanna see firsthand what the badge can do.

"I wanna come too!" She exclaimed, "I wanna see you use that badge! It cost so much, I can't wait to see what it does!"

I chuckled.

"What?" She asked.

"I knew you were gonna say that," I answered.

She smirked and shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, let's get going. We don't wanna keep him waiting, now do we?" I suggested.

She nodded. We then entered her bedroom and teleported down to Subcon Forest.

I looked around.

"Exactly as I predicted."

I turned around, and the Badge Seller was standing right there.

"What did you predict?" I asked.

"You both got here exactly when I thought you would, and I expected you both to come," He explained, then smirked. "You both always stick together. You're inseparable," He said.

I shrugged. "I guess so."

He then cleared his throat. "Well, that's enough chatting. We have matters to attend to," He ordered, "Equip the badge."

I quickly unequipped my Hover Badge, as I knew I wasn't going to need it here of all places, and then reached for the Shadow Badge.

Before I put it on though, I examined it closely.

It really was something else. It made me feel... kinda like how I felt near the Twilight Bell. Except it felt more... taboo. Forbidden.

Like it was something not of this world, not intended for mere mortals.

But unlike the Twilight Bell, it seemed like it was... ah... how do I put this...?

It seemed like it... well, belonged to me. Like it was made specifically for me. Also, it almost seemed like it was beckoning me; a silent voice told me to put it on.

So, strangely, it felt like it was fit specifically for me, yet also felt like I was nowhere near fit for it.

"Quite something, isn't it?" The Badge Seller asked, "You feel like you shouldn't have it, like it's intended for something greater than you, don't you?"

I turned to him in surprise.

Well... I shouldn't've been surprised. He'd been holding onto that badge for who knows how long, he'd probably know everything about it.

"Well... yeah, but it also feels like... it belongs to me," I muttered uncomfortably.

He grinned from ear to ear.

"That is an excellent sign," He stated very contently, "Now equip it."

I sighed and put it on, bracing myself for anything...

...

Nothing happened.

"Oh," I said flatly.

"Boring!" The kid shouted after blowing a raspberry.

The Badge Seller chuckled and shook his head.

"Ah, my friends, this is only the beginning. Merely putting on a badge has no effect, it is waiting for it to be used," He explained, "And we just so happen to be in the perfect place at the perfect time to use it."

"So that's why we're here," I realized.

"But of course," The Badge Seller responded, "Finding shadows shouldn't be much of a problem in the Forest of Shadows, hmm? Follow me."

We followed him down the trail, then into the woods. He led us through the dark trees for what seemed like forever until we reached an old ruin. For some odd reason, the sun refused to shine here, and there were no mushrooms around to create any sort of interference with the light.

It was all shade.

"Well, I'd say you picked a great spot for this," I said, "But why exactly isn't the sun shining here? It's unnatural"

He shook his head.

"A very important event happened here. A battle between two dark entities, a shadow and a puppeteer, ending with the puppeteer's defeat. For some unknown reason, after the battle, it left this part of the forest permanently dark," He explained.

"But... a shadow? That sounds like Sna-" The kid muttered, then shouted.

Suddenly, I was grabbed by the leg and held a few feet in the air upside down. I could see the kid being held upside down as well, held in the air across from me.

"Did somebody call?!"

I let out an irritated groan.

"For God's sake, Snatcher!" I yelled, "A simple 'hello' would've worked!"

He laughed and dropped us to the ground, annoying me even more.

"Oh please, do you really expect ME to show myself in such a simple, boring way?" He mocked.

"Well, yeah," I responded as I got up.

He chuckled.

"Then clearly you haven't learned a single thing about me while you were here," He stated.

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"Anyway, what are you doing out here? Neither of you have ventured this deep into the forest. Do you know what horrific monsters live out here?" He said, leaning over the kid in an intimidating way as he said the last part.

She looked around suddenly and rapidly shook her head no.

I smirked and raised an eyebrow. I knew what would irritate him.

"Is that concern I hear?" I taunted.

He snorted and turned to me.

"HA! You wish! I just don't like seeing you two brats snooping around where you DON'T BELONG!" He grumbled.

I nodded slowly.

"Oh, I'm sure you were," I shot back as sarcastically as possible.

He shook his head.

"Anyway, you didn't answer my question! Why are you here?" He asked, then looked down at Badge Seller suspiciously, "And what do you have to do with it?"

Badge Seller was unfazed.

"I am simply helping my best customer learn how to use a very special badge I sold him a while ago," He explained.

"And what does that have to do with my forest?" He asked.

"Well, uh, it needs darkness to work properly," I muttered, "So what better place to do it than here?"

That seemed to interest him.

"Hmm... A badge that uses darkness? I've got to see this. I'm going to be watching you, and you'd better not mess up, or you bet I'll never let you live it down!" He stated, then disappeared and reappeared a reasonable distance away.

"Gee, thanks," I grumbled.

I then took off the Shadow Badge and looked at it. Its black outline was somehow impossibly darker, it looked like a ring of void around the center of the badge. Even more, it was emanating a small, dark aura.

I put my finger on the dark outline, and... it sent chills all throughout my arm and into my back. It was foreboding, sure, but it was awesome! It was seriously unlike anything else I'd ever seen. I quickly popped it back on.

"Well, uh, now that all that's over with, how do I use this thing?" I asked.

"Lie down on the ground," Badge Seller ordered. I did so.

"Remember that this will only work in darkness. If you try it and even the tiniest fraction of your body is in light, it will not work. If anything, it might cause some... unpleasant side effects," He warned.

"Noted. So what do I do now?" I asked.

"Close your eyes," He ordered.

Once again, I did so... yet nothing happened.

"What now?" I questioned

"Hmm..." He said, "This next part might be... difficult for me to explain and for you to understand."

"Okay then," I muttered.

"Now, you may think that darkness is nonexistant. Just the lack of light," Badge Seller explained, "That may be true in some worlds, but not here. Darkness is its own energy. Its own existence. Can you sense it? Can you feel the darkness around you?"

...

I didn't notice anything before, but now that he mentioned it...

I could feel it. Like I had a sixth sense. I could feel something in the ground.

I didn't know how better to describe it. It felt like... a polar opposite of light.

And now that I felt it, I knew I'd be able to sense it without the badge. It was that noticeable. But the badge amplified it.

"Yeah... I can," I said, "It's crystal clear."

"Good," He said, "That means the badge is working with you. Now the next step will also be tricky. You must try to... invite the darkness. Take that feeling and let it consume your feelings and your focus."

"Okay?" I said.

"I... may need to find another way to explain this," He muttered uncomfortably.

"No, no, I think I understand," I said.

I took a deep breath.

"Here goes."

I did as he told. I shut out all other feelings, all other thoughts, all that was left was the cold, dark abyss.

I heard the kid gasp, but it was quickly muffled out.

... Did it work?

I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't.

In fact, I couldn't move at all.

It must've worked.

Strangely enough, even though my eyes were closed, I could... see anyway? No, no, it wasn't real sight, yet I was able to... detect everything in the immediate area anyway. I'd try to explain it further, but it was just too much for my poor brain to comprehend.

There were no sounds, no feelings except for the shadow itself, nothing. Just me, the darkness, and my own mind. It actually felt... nice. It felt like a place I could come to and just... be alone.

But then, I heard something.

It was a very quiet sound, it would've gone unnoticed if there wasn't no other sounds at all.

It almost sounded like a whisper.

Intrigued, I listened as closely as I could.

After about ten seconds, I heard something again. This time, it was a bit louder and more clear.

No, that was definitely a voice.

I waited again.

Something spoke again.

This time, I could hear it.

"Empty."

Uh... 'empty'? What's empty?

"You."

Me? Uh... but empty how? And how could it read my thoughts?

"We are one. We are empty. We are hollow. Yet we are also full."

Great, but what did that all mean?

"We are shadow. And now, you are us, and we are you."

Okay, that was really creepy.

That was enough darkness for me.

I willed myself to leave this place, and I felt myself be pushed out.

I shot up, opened my eyes, and gasped.

Badge Seller chuckled.

"Just as planned," He said.

"Now I truly have seen everything," I grumbled.

The kid ran up to me excitedly, clapping rapidly.

"That was awesome!" She shouted, "You just... turned dark and disappeared! It looked so cool!"

"Yeah... yeah..." I muttered.

Snatcher approached.

"I'll be honest... I'm a shadow, and you've impressed me with what you did, kid," He said.

"Thanks..." I said.

I took off the Shadow Badge.

That feeling of 'you shouldn't be holding this, this is far greater than you' was gone.

I merely felt that feeling that beckoned me, told me it was meant for me and me alone.

And I could see a small, half-blue half-red lightning bolt now on the back of the badge. A symbol that I knew was meant for me.

Furthermore, a strange feeling emanated through my right hand, which I was holding the badge in. It felt especially strange on the back of my hand.

I turned my hand over and looked, and there was a mark of a small, black cloak, right in the center of the back of my hand.

I looked down at the lightning bolt on the back of the badge.

I then looked at the new mark on my hand. It made sense now.

"So that's what you meant when you said 'you are us, and we are you'," I muttered to the badge.

Badge Seller clapped.

"The badge has accepted you as its one, true owner," He said, "Congratulations."

I grinned and put the Shadow Badge back on.

... And we just sat there.

"So, what now?" The kid asked.

"Well," Badge Seller muttered, then turned to me, "You heard a voice in the shadow realm, yes?"

"I did," I said.

"Don't be surprised if it talks to you outside of the shade as long as you have it equipped," He warned, "And if anything strange at all occurs with that badge, you must let me know immediately. It has a mind of its own, which means it can do things on its own."

"But hopefully it won't," I stated, "It seems to really like me."

"Exactly," He agreed, "Also, now that the badge has accepted you, I reckon you'll slowly unlock new abilities when the time comes. Any other questions?"

"Not at all," I muttered.

"Very well. Class is dismissed."

A/N: Eeee, spooky! The Shadow Badge is no joke! And as you can tell, it's gonna play a far larger role than just a simple item. DEFINITELY.

... For better or for worse.

Now, review time:

Fighter33000: Thank you very much! I hope I didn't disappoint on the Shadow Badge, haha. And I'll be sure to enjoy the cruise when it happens.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.