The True Dark has been called many things and appeared many times, the most famous being the biblical story of Moses and the Plagues of Egypt. Darkness fell for three days. It was not a natural disaster, nor an act of God.

The Bringer of the True Dark unleashed it upon the citizens, both innocent and those who had wronged them. Unleashed through a sacrifice of blood and pain.

The Dark must receive before it can give.

The next "plague" brought death upon them.

The Dark became a weapon. It brought fear. It brought power.

And it will come again.

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"What the fuck is going on?" I bite out, snarling up at the two men. "Halloween already?"

These weird men in their weirder robes are starting to get on my nerves. They've been poking and prodding me for at least an hour, stripping me of my clothes so that the cool metal below me, making my skin erupt in goosebumps. I'm not even embarrassed by the nudity-I just want to know what the fuck is going on.

"These are ceremonial," the older man says. The man in charge. "They're traditional and you talk too damn much."

"Where's Edward?" I ask for like, the 900th time, ignoring him.

"Nearby," he says with a smirk. "He's given us so much trouble over the years that we figured what better way to repay him than to give him a front row seat."

"To what?"

Laughter bubbles from his throat and I can hear other voices in the room joining in.

"You really haven't put it together, have you?" he muses. "Didn't your mother teach you anything?"

I fight the urge to spit at him, but I want him to keep talking. I'm stalling, but for what, I have no idea.

"Oh, you know. I know that you know. There is Darkness that lives in you, Isabella Swan, and we simply want to unleash it."

"How?" I hate that my voice cracks, fear closing on my heart with its icy grip.

"I'm sure you've read the story," he says. He reaches into his pocket and produces a glinting, metal blade. Dark jewels encrust the pommel, sparkling eerily in the bright, fluorescent lights.

"You already know how this ends."

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It's been said that the Dark has been guarded by beings, not quite Real Ones, but not quite human. Something similar to each but still other. These guardians are the only ones to bring forth the True Dark-the Dark that has the power to extinguish lives just as completely as it does light.

Guardians are never predictable, they come from all walks of life from all over the world, once every 300 years.

There is only one, and they fight to hide, to stay safe from those who might use them for their own gain.

There used to be orders of Real Ones that sought to protect them, but as the Real Ones died out, the Bringers were left to fend for themselves.

Most notable of those searching are known as the Faction Collective, established sometime between the 18th and 19th centuries. They've known many names: masons, cult members, illuminati, but there are no real, verified sources about them anywhere (except for perhaps their own archives).

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Edward watches them drag the blade against Bella's skin, trapped in an iron box, bleeding and desperate.

They're playing with her, drawing blood from her slowly. He knows the stories-he knows that there is no sure way to bring the Dark. They're going off stories, of myths and legends written thousands of years ago. They need her alive now-they need that bit of her blood to create their sigils and offerings, to unlock what rests inside of her.

Edward knows the end-he knows they are going to kill Bella and unleash the end of the world as we know it.

He thinks that maybe if she's gone, the end would be welcome.

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Thank you all for sticking with me through this. It will be completed, but with everything (ya know, in general, all over) happening, my mental health is struggling and therefore these updates will be sporadic.