Chapter 14: Creation
Days became weeks as Dane plunged forward, examining the samples of Darkness collected over the previous years more closely. The laboratory in the temple previously open to all the acolytes of the Order became a place of residence for Dane. At times he would venture from his hovel to join the now recovered Mars and Vieren on trips to vanquish Omens that would appear around the world. But when he returned he would retreat to the laboratory to test and study further.
Unfortunately his studies could only take his so far. He needed somewhere for the Darkness to go for it to be vanquished. Absorbing it into himself seemed the most viable option, but even the tiniest drops would send him spiraling into fits of rage, sorrow, shame or even suicide. There had to be a way to rid the word of the Darkness. The famine was only growing worse by the day; Omens were becoming more and more prevalent, even creatures were being overcome by it.
"Wait! What if…?" turning pages in his notebooks as if possessed, he hoped to find some clue that he perhaps overlooked in his research's earliest days. Back then, he studied the Darkness with less frustration and more curiosity. Was the fact that his emotions were more intense in general that led to his being controlled by the Darkness? What if he were to combine strong emotions and his Darkness Conversion Theory into one?
He reached for a vial of Darkness that he had classified as a less intense shade while heading behind the temple. With great mental effort, Dane stilled his thoughts, calmed his breathing and focused all his attention into feeling nothing. Not anger, not grief, not excitement or joy. Nothing. Once sure that he was blank, Dane pulled the cork from the bottle unleashing an Omen that howled in grief, speaking to a multitude of tragedies long since passed.
Dane remained still and unmoved as the Omen wailed around him, seemingly ignored by it. Holding out his hand, his staff snapped to his palm as light flared from the end. Still the creature didn't react, aimlessly looking for something amidst the trees and shrubs that surrounded them. With a sweep of his staff, a sheet of pure white light sprang from it, cutting through the Omen and the trees behind it, but the Omen remained unfazed.
Reaching for his notebook, he jotted down the result of his test then held the staff up again, this time allowing himself to feel frustration of his stalemate. Immediately the Omen snapped its gaze to him, lunging at him with open arms and agape mouth. Sweeping his staff again, the same sheet of light cut through the Omen's body, this time making it appear wounded as it slumped to the ground. Quickly reaching for his notebook, he jotted down a note then held his staff at the ready for one last attack.
This time he held forward his hand, initiating an absorption spell. The Omen turned its gaze to him, lunging at him once more. Dane did the best he could to sidestep the creature as its claws tore through his flowing sleeve. As the creature passed, a stream of black smoke was pulled from the creature and borrowed into Dane's hand. Sorrow and fear over took him making it difficult to even stand. He legs shook and buckled willing them to stay under him, but the more of this Omen's Darkness that he absorbed, the harder it was becoming.
The creature again lunged, but with little to no strength in his legs, Dane could only collapse to the ground, barely missing the razor-sharp claws of the Omen. But the gesture left him open to a second swing tossing him across the ground. As Dane pulled himself from the dirt, tears flowed from his eyes and his heart felt as if it were imploding. With every bit of will he had to spare, Dane gathered the Darkness he had absorbed, firing it back at the creature in a blaze of silvery light.
The resulting blast blew off one of the Omen's arms make it back away with wide eyes, clutching at its shoulder. Dane's tears ceased allowing him to stand once again unimpeded. Looking to his hand, the words of the Darkness he had faced when creating Lotus and Orchid's bodies came to mind.
"Darkness may be the concentration of so much pain, but when focused through a single emotion, it can grant one unimaginable power. It could even create a god." Dane clenched his fist hard enough to make his skin creak and turned darkened eyes back to the Omen.
"Through a SINGLE emotion. Perhaps I can use Darkness to create a more powerful Light, a true Ultimate Light." Breathing slow and long, he gradually silenced all emotion save for one. A wave of power washed over everything. The Omen lunged, roaring deafeningly as it aimed its powerful jaws for his waist. But the creature felt as if its body were being torn in half as it passed over him. Turning back to Dane, the creature saw a cloud of its essence swirling in his palm before being absorbed into it.
The Omen tried to run when Dane opened his glowing white eyes. He thought of Ariel. He thought of the time they had spent together even when she was using a pseudo body. He thought of the love that had built between the two of them and how it was that love that had brought him out of his darkest of times, channeling all the Darkness he had absorbed through that love.
With a single swing, light spread from the staff cutting right through its body with ease, turning it to ash in a mere instant. No sooner had the Omen faded from view than the surrounding area felt as if dawn had come to it. The whole world seemed brighter, even the air felt lighter. But the revelation wasn't to last; as if it were water drawing back on itself after tossing a rock into it, the whole world weighed down on Dane, nearly bringing him to his knees. After what seemed like eternity, Dane was able to open his notebook once more and jot down his thoughts.
"The Darkness felt as if it has been pushed aside, giving me a glimpse of the world as though morning had come to a dark room. But it soon pulled back in and felt as if I would be broken under its weight. Conclusion; Darkness can be avoided by feeling nothing, though it cannot be combated when no such feeling is used. When a Strong or Negative emotion is felt, it will attract Darkness. I surmise that Negative emotions exclusively will draw it faster, but this requires further study. To create a stronger Ultimate Light, Darkness must first be absorbed and channeled through an emotion which will then enhance Light many degrees.
With a satisfied breath, he dotted the page with a period and closed the book around the pen. After having written down his thoughts, a new theory came to mind: putting extracted Darkness into a creature that had been saturated in the Ultimate Light. Or at least, channeling it through the creature could provide a means to ridding the world of Darkness.
"Ultimate Light, now there's a term I haven't heard in a long while." Dane muttered to himself, turning back to the temple and his lab. Inside, Mars was searching through a bookshelf for a spectral transmutation manual.
"Oh master. I hope I'm not disturbing you. Are you alright?" He asked when he saw Dane's dirty and torn robes.
"No, you are not Mars, and I am fine. How are the Acolytes?" Dane asked, though his mind was more focused on his theory.
"There are many that are eager to learn from you directly." Dane listened absently to Mars, writing thoughts into a notebook.
"I think it would be in the best interest of the Order if you were to come a train a few of them tomorrow in the use of their Shining Rods. Vieren and I can only teach them so much after all." Mars continued, noting that Dane seemed to be distant, slightly annoying him.
"I'm sure that you are still able to teach them Mars. I have discovered something that could lead us into finding a way of ridding the world of Darkness once and for all, and I must pursue it." Dane answered, squinting his eyes in thought as he wrote out an extraction method. Mars pursed his lips, heat running through his arms and face.
"Master, I must insist that you come and at least address the acolytes. You were the one that began this order, and yet you have yet to so much as present a welcome speech." Dane stopped writing and turned to face Mars fully.
"Our work here is more than training acolytes and slaying Omens. Must I remind you that our purpose is to find the root cause of the Darkness spreading through the world and stop it, completely. Training others will simply delay it, not save the world." Dane's grip tightened on his pen, the muscles flexing in his jaw as he spoke.
"The world is continually edging towards a state, that if left unchecked, will become irreparable and all will suffer because of it." Dane growled as he spoke, gently pounding his fist on the table with each word for emphasis.
"Then what are we training acolytes for if the majority of our mission is to stop this Darkness? What happens once we complete our objective?" Mars demanded, slamming the end of his Shining Rod on the fine marble floor.
"Those we train are there to protect what we can until I am able to find a way to combat the Darkness. Once it has been eliminated the order's purpose will shift to ensure Darkness within the world will never reach that level again." Getting up from his chair he set a heavy hand on Mars's shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze, his tone softening.
"I need you and Vieren to continue your work. I have found a possible solution, but I need time. And that is quickly running out without a way to delay the Darkness spreading." Mars growled in his throat, clenching his fist making his arm burn all the hotter.
"What of the Ultimate Light you told all of us about? Why haven't you used that to destroy the Darkness you extract? There are literally dozens of vials here you can test it on." Mars shouted, throwing his arm out motioning towards a wall of shelves where indeed dozens of dark vials sat.
"And that is exactly what I intend to do." Dane answered, pausing for a moment, tilting his head and furrowing his brow slightly, a pang of dread settling into his mind.
"Are you losing your faith in our cause Mars?"
"By no means Master!" Mars answered quickly, jerking his head back with a shake, blinking a few times as the question hit him.
"Good. Because I will need every single one of you to help me as I complete this journey." Dane gently shook Mar's shoulder to add emphasis to his statement before turning back to his theory.
"You said that you had come up with a new theory master? Would you care to expound?"
"I am going to use Darkness to vanquish Darkness."
"I thought that you promised me your Dark Alchemy would allow me to achieve eternal life?" Hilda spat, her voice rough as she looked over the blackened vial.
"I said that I would help you achieve it. Combining arts such as these has never been attempted before, so have some patience." Arkarium growled, looking over his notes and theories once more. Reaching to her skirt and a pocket within, Hilda pulled a small vial and undid the cork. Light blue vapors sprung from it which she inhaled deeply. Some small age lines that had begun to appear on her body disappeared giving her the look of a women no older than 20.
"Perhaps if you spent less time writing and more time actually performing experiments, we would be all the closer." Hilda huffed as she walked over to a crowded cell filled with a dozen or so prisoners sentenced to death by the King of Kritias. She threw the cell open, scanning the cell for a moment before settling on a terrified teen.
"Him." Hilda barked. Robed men assigned to help Arkarium filed into the cell, grabbing the teen by the arms and hauling him to his feet, putting a dirty rag over his mouth to stifle his screams. The teen fought with everything he had, terror overtaking him as he was dragged from the cell. The chains of his shackle were strung on a hook and pulled up so that only his toes touched the ground. He had seen what happened to those before him, and he didn't want to become another victim.
"How many do we have left?" Arkarium asked disinterestedly, looking over his notes and making an adjustment to something before going to the next page.
"It looks as if we have ten or so remaining. If you don't find anything soon, we'll have to start collecting others who aren't convicts. If that happens, it will be sure to draw attention to our work." Hilda huffed with a modicum of pity, holding her palm out to the teen.
"It's a shame really. You might have made a cute concubine." She laughed, closing her fist one finger at a time. With each finger that touched her palm, more and more of a blue cloud pulled from the teen into a small bottle. When the last of the cloud had dissipated, she corked it and the teen fell limp in his shackles.
"Toss that with the others." Hilda commanded, putting the vial into a small holder in the middle of an alchemic circle.
"This time, don't waste it." Hilda sneered, standing off to the side as the men in robes took down the teen and dragged him off to a door emptying into a cavern. At the bottom were scores of corpses feeding dozens of wild dogs.
Ariel patiently watched as Dane studied his new theory. It was a fresh take on trying to rid the world of Darkness, but at the same time she felt that it was pulling him further away from her. She could manifest in a small way for a short time without distorting the world around her, but it wasn't enough. She wanted to actually hold Dane once again. During the times that she did manifest, she would speak with him of his workings.
More than simply wanting Dane to be near her in body, she was worried that his research was beginning to effect in him in negative ways. All of his tests would be performed using small creatures found in the forest, bombarding them with Ultimate Light to absorb, and then thrusting a crystal of pure Darkness within them. While the method was cruel to be sure, the creatures afterward seemed no worse for ware and the Darkness had been eliminated as well as a large area cleansed for a short time. A positive effect, but all the while Dane began to show signs that his research was affecting him as well. And after seven months, she could no longer stand by idly.
"Dane, my love. You must cease, just for a little while. Let your mind have time to process and recoup all that you have learned so far." Ariel gently urged, manifesting herself just enough to put her arms around his shoulders and hold him tightly, breathing in his comforting scent.
"I cannot. The research I am doing is providing me with a way to easily rid the world of…"
"Dane. Please. Come away to my temple, just for a short while." The pleading of her voice made Dane stop, realizing that Ariel had put her arms around him laying her head on his back and pressing herself to his back. A heavy weight pressed in his chest plaguing his mind with guilt. Had he really been so obsessed with his work that he had forgotten the very woman who brought him out of his own storm of Darkness?
Putting the pen down he sighed, reaching up to Ariel's hand around his shoulders and kissed this inside of her wrist.
"I apologize my goddess. I have been lax. But it will take me a few days to reach you as I have to travel to Haim's tree once more to get to your temple." Dane groaned, leaning back against Ariel.
"That isn't the only door I can make. All you need do is say 'in the name of my contract I call to Ariel', and it will open a door to my temple wherever you are." She answered softly, smiling and kissing the side of his neck. Dane felt a hole grow in his chest, realizing just how long he had been away from her and how comforting it was to actually has someone he loved nearby.
"Very well, I will be there shortly. But I cannot stay long, as you know time is a funny thing within your temple." Ariel smiled and stood back up, holding his hand as she faded from manifesting.
"I await you, my love." She said, her voice echoing long into the breeze as Dane felt her touch disappear. He gathered his staff, now fitted with small chips of the Aurora and one large one in the center at the top of the main shaft and turned to leave. But his research strewn about the table made him hesitate at the door. There was so much that still needed to be done, so much that needed to be looked into. He only needed just a few more minutes to finish up the new method he created for extracting and solidifying Darkness.
Slowly he walked back to his table, his mind warring within him to turn around and walk out the door. But still he walked, placing his hand on the notebook, grabbing the pen and setting his wrist on the edge of the paper, ready to write. A heavy sigh escaped his nose as he put the pen between the pages and closed the notebook, straightened up the papers then turned and left.
With a word to Vieren and Mars, he left the Aurora temple and made sure he was far enough away that no one would see his summoning of Ariel's door before speaking the words. As before, he was awed by the design of the temple. His mind was still not used to the fact that he was not only able to come to the home of a goddess on a whim, but that he was also essentially married to one. It was only moments before Ariel herself came to greet him, putting her arms around him tightly and pressing her lips to his for a long, long while.
"You know that I can only stay for a short while my goddess." Dane interjected, at which Ariel's smiling face fell slightly and her eyes saddened.
"Please, don't speak of something like leaving only when you've just arrived. But I promise that I won't keep you long." She pined, taking him by the hand and leading him through the temple for a while though they walked in silence. Despite the time they had known each other, there still felt as if there were an immense rift between the two of them.
"Dane, my love. Do you truly love me?" Ariel finally asked as they walked through an empty hall. Dane stopped cold, his whole being feeling as if it were frozen in place.
"What?" Dane asked with a shocked tone.
"Do you love me or am I merely a devise for furthering your research?" The question made Dane unsure of himself as his fingers fidgeted. Had he just been using her for the creation of Light? Had he really been neglecting her to the point that his goal overrode his love for her? Did he really see her as only a tool? Ariel waited with baited breath, her chest tight and eyes brimming.
"I…" Dane's mind raced, thinking back to the time that he had spent with her in Usoria and Enariel. Would he have even been in the same place that he was now if it wasn't for her? He tried to speak, but words wouldn't come. Ariel bowed her head and released her grip on his hand, a tear clinging to the edge of her eye. With a wave of her hand, the contract she had forged with him appeared and spoke with a breaking voice.
"If your goal is truly to rid the world of Darkness, then I will not stand in your way. But please, tell me that I am wrong. Tell me that I have meaning in your life. If not, I will release you of this contract and I will never interfere again. I will find another way of averting the disaster." The warmth left Dane's chest as he watched Ariel summon a flame to her hand, holding the contract in the other.
"No! I can't! I won't lose her as I lost Menodora!" Dane screamed in his mind. He thought of the loneliness that waited for him away from her forever, and it terrified him. With a swift reach, Dane grabbed the Contract away from her with one hand and grabbed her wrist with the other that held the flame. Taken by surprise, Ariel tried to back away but was backed against a column as Dane's lips met hers with an almost desperate passion. At first, she did nothing, but she relented and returned his kiss putting her arms around him and holding him close, careful not to crush him. When Dane finally released her, he leaned his forehead against hers, his eyes closed and his breath slow.
"I love you more than words can describe my goddess. I feel often that I am unworthy of such love. But I cannot, I will not let you go. Please, forgive my absent mindedness for…"
"Dane, I am not simply a goddess. I am more; I am your wife. Stop seeing me as something unattainable. I've chosen you, of all mortals through time and the world. Let me love you as an equal." Dane sighed and nodded, opening his eyes to meet hers. Time stopped in that moment as Dane took her hand, leading her back to her bed chamber. After closing the doors, he slipped her dress from her shoulders as they lay down together, running his fingers through the silky soft feathers of her wings.
"Ariel, I vow that I will come to see you every month in mortal time. I wish to make up for the time that I have lost." He whispered to her. Ariel smiled as she reached above her and took her silvery crown from her head, setting it aside and spreading open Dane's shirt allowing skin to meet skin.
"I accept." Ariel whispered as she pulled Dane to a sitting position and began to lose herself to the feel of Dane's lips on her neck.