A forgotten piece of memory does not disappear, it is merely stored somewhere in ones mind.
Luminous looks at the neat little place. Stacks of books and little bottles containing colourful liquid fills the round wooden table near the door. Lolo seems to be interested in the making of healing potions. He checks the small fireplace; it is dusty and seems unused for quite some time. In the only other room, which is the bedroom, he finds a compact map carelessly abandoned in the corner. Luminous picks it up and shakes the dust off it. The map shows the region around Elinia, up until the outskirts bordering Perion and the Six Path Crossway. One point that catches his eyes is circled in red. It is up north, in of the most difficult to penetrate section of the forest because of the dense vegetation. He sees a tree drawn in that area, it is unmistakably the place Lolo went to for the strange glowing leaves. Luminous sighs lightly. He will have to find a way to traverse the area.
When he steps out of the small house, Arwen is already waiting. He asks delicately, "How is Lania?"
Arwen smiles a little before replying, "She is sleeping soundly now. Rowen did a stellar job with the healing."
"Thank you, truly."
"Where are you going now?"
"I am going to look for Lolo."
Arwen blinks. "Lolo? The helper of Grendel the Really Old?"
"Yes, the very same. When was the last time you saw Lolo?"
Arwen shakes her head slightly. "I'm afraid I haven't seen him since last year. We all thought he left Elinia to Henesys."
"So I've heard." Luminous says casually. "But Grendel does not think so." Then, he thinks of something. "Do you have fairies who watches the comings and goings of the town?"
"You mean like a guard? Luminous, you can't possibly think that any fairies will want to take that kind of job?" Arwen asks, looking dismayed.
"That's worth a try, I guess." Luminous lets go of his idea of asking a potential witness. He looks at the sky, it will be dark soon. "I will be going now."
"Be wary out there, Luminous." Arwen seems to be used to calling him his real name now. "I will keep Lania safe, and Penny too."
Luminous nods before using his Light Speed, and he is gone.
"Please do not let the Darkness consume you," Arwen whispers while looking at the empty pathway.
With efficient teleporting, Luminous reaches the first barricade of trees within a few minutes. The surrounding is filled with the rustling of leaves and occasional bird calls. For a moment, everything seems normal. Soon, however, he hears sounds of monsters behind the trees, unaware of his presence. They speak in guttural and harsh voices, a language Luminous is not familiar with. He peers through the gaps in the tree and manages to make out four black shapes in the size of a Mushmom. It is unwise to attempt a direct confrontation, I should find another way around them. He thinks, and leaves quietly. After scouring the area, he finds a small opening hidden underneath the bushes. It looks like it will be a tight squeeze. He kneels down and stares at the other end. It certainly leads somewhere in the other end of the barricade of trees. Taking a deep breath, he crouches down and moves forward.
With great care, he reaches the end of the tunnel with minimal sound. He stands up and surveys the area. The monsters are rather far behind him, therefore he need not sneak around too much. However, the next obstacle is right in front, waiting for him. It is an area of great danger, with tree branches in varying distance apart as paths going upwards to the edge of a cliff that is about a hundred feet tall. One missed step will be fatal. Luminous takes another deep breath and begin climbing the treacherous path upwards. Teleporting proves to be dangerous around here because of the mandatory slight nudge after appearing on the other side. The first time he tries, he loses balance, but quickly stabilise himself by grabbing the trunk of the ancient tree. After that, Luminous is quick to grasp the precise timing and placement of his Light Speed. The branches are sturdy, which is fortunate. He sees ropes hanging from the branches when he passes them, and suspects it is Lolo's doing.
When Luminous steps on the ground, the sky is already black. He sees a mythical blue glow not far away from where he is, and quickens his pace. After travelling a distance, he realises the trees are not in his way any more. It is as if he has pass the test, and now the path is clear. As he turns a corner into a ravine, he gapes in awe at the magnificent view before him.
The magical moonlight tree glows majestically without any restrain. Its leaves are as large as his head and the body of the tree is thick and unnaturally smooth and polished. The ravine covers most of its glow, therefore it is not possible to see it from afar. The rocks around the moonlight tree appears to be blue as well, because they are soaked in the magical glow for as long as the beginning of the world.
As Luminous walks towards the tree and picks up a fallen leaf, the Darkness in him jerks his memories back to him.
He saw a child picking up the leaves that were fallen from the tree, and was curious to know why. When he asked, the child was reluctant to share what he knew. Then, an irrational anger overcame him, and he banished the child into another dimension.
When Luminous remembers this terrible memory, he becomes very pale. How did he forget about this? It is impossible that he does not know of this piece of memory, unless...
Self-hatred bubbles inside Luminous. How can he forgive himself for this atrocious act; he does not even know where he sent the kid to. It has already been a year. A year. He killed a child. He loathes himself for being unable to control the Darkness so much that tears begin to fall from his reddened heterochromia eyes.
Suddenly, his vision blurs and dizziness overwhelmed him, then he tumbles backwards. The instance he is falling to the ground, his consciousness is brutally shoved inwards.
He is on the distorted streets of Magatia that is always fixed in darkness. The houses twist and turn in all direction, defying the law of physics. It is deserted as always.
A dark form emerges from the shadows, along with a pair of glowing crimson eyes. Luminous stands his ground, and realises that he has no weapon in his hands.
"Still trying to find that thing? It will not come with you here." The image of the Black Mage approaches him with a self-satisfied smirk. Then, he let out a ghastly laugh. "I finally caught you." He walks even closer to Luminous.
"Leave me alone." Luminous says grimly. "I am in no mood to deal with you, Eclipse."
"So you finally found out my name, what a pleasant thing." The black figure reveals its true form, and he looks identical to Luminous, but with black hair and crimson eyes. "I am tired of mirroring your perception of me."
"Begone." Luminous says coldly.
"That can't do, the host should treat his guests well. And I am your permanent guest." Eclipse approaches even closer, and a fiery dark orb follows him. "Now, my beloved host, I am tired of being the guest. Please accept your death." He dashes towards Luminous at an astonishing speed with his hands aiming at his chest. Luminous agilely side steps the attack and conjures a light orb. Eclipse's attack did not end there as he swiftly turns and begin to summon another dark figure. Luminous is only able to evade their attacks with the help of his orb of light. Both of them are unable to strike each other with spells without the Shinning Rod, therefore Eclipse holds the advantage. Luminous is never a melee fighter, so is Eclipse, and they both exchange blows frantically, but clumsily. Luminous barely evades the punch from Eclipse, but feels the burning sensation on his skin as Eclipse's attacks brushes pass. That is when Luminous feels something is wrong. Eclipse moves forward to hit Luminous while the dark figure circles around, trying to flank him. Then, another dark figure grabs Luminous's arms.
Luminous's instincts alerts him of the grave danger he is in. He immediately Flash Blinked away from the dark figure, and lands on the roof of the twisted clock tower. He tries to find a way out, however, there is only endless darkness beyond this distorted town.
A pale hand grips his neck tightly from behind, and it burns like hot iron brand on his skin. Luminous is taken by surprise, but is unable to speak as the air is squeezed out of him. "I'm surprised you still have the power to teleport. Unfortunately for you, you can never escape me." The smooth voice of Eclipse says. "The Light has split away from here. This is my domain. I had enough fun, and I caught you in the best time possible to consume you. Hahahaha!" With that, Eclipse plunges his hand into Luminous's back, and it protrudes out from his chest with his beating heart in its grip.
The unbearable pain and fiery burn tears Luminous's consciousness to shreds. A maniacal laughter resounds through the whole town, and the whole dimension. "I am Luminous! I am the Eclipse that will cleanse the world!" The dark voice announces triumphantly, and the hand is roughly pulled out from his body that is rapidly turning cold.
Then, Luminous's life ends.