Chapter 2: Searching
"Mother? What's wrong?" Rhinne groaned as she woke from her slumber. Her eyes focused on the black-cloaked figure, gripping Ariel's wrist hard enough to make her hand turn white. The hiss of spent mana drew Rhinne's attention. She saw her friend and guard in a heap of metal on the ground, realizing who was holding her mother's hand after seeing smoldering claw marks in the torn steel.
"No… LET HER GO!" Rhinne screamed, throwing the covers off as golden light sizzled to life in her palm, fear thick in her eyes. The sight of Will impaled by so many chains flashed through her mind, petrified of the same fate befalling her mother.
"RHINNE, STOP!" Ariel commanded. Instantly, Rhinne froze as a dozen spear-tipped chains snapped into place under her chin, the power fizzling around the metal, searing her skin. The man leisurely turned back to glare at her over his shoulder, making Rhinne's face drain of color, leaving her unable to run or breathe.
"Were you honestly going to break your promise to me?" Sloe placidly asked as he turned back to Ariel.
"You would use her for such a deed?" Ariel asked in return, making him smirk as he eased his grip on Ariel's wrist.
"You and I both know what our contract says. Didn't you say this would be the best course of action?" Sloe asked, brushing her long, battle-tangled red hair from her face with the backs of his fingers. Ariel tried to pull away, but he mirrored her perfectly, his pressing, soul-chilling presence making it hard to move.
"Mother? What does he mean? What deal did you make?" Rhinne asked, her eyes wide and voice trembling when the sounds of battle raging within the temple drew her attention. A loud explosion shook the floor, making Rhinne run to the balcony. The sight of Knights of black battling with the Knights of the Temple horrified her. Metal and blood stained the marble floor, the empty shells of the Knights and corpses of the Monks scattered everywhere, staining the marble red.
Five years after Dane's refusal
The howl of generators nearly drowned out the scientists talking to one another as they tried to stabilize the torso and head of Dr. Long's android body. Threads of electricity leapt from the thick lead wires leading into the Great Circle and back to the control boards, leaving soot marks where they touched.
"Increase power output!" Dr. Long shouted over the roar, the body straining against its shackles as though trying to break free.
"There isn't any more power to give!" called a scientist, waving his hand to blow away the metallic tasting smoke.
"The synapses will shred themselves if we don't give it more power!" Dr. Long shouted, tapping madly on a typewriter-like keyboard. Bright blue lights scrawling across the screen revealed the process happening as the computational machines worked.
"Generator one is overheating!" another scientist called.
"We'll draw from the city's power grid! Rerouting the power now!" Dr. Long called, typing in the commands. Just as he was about to enact them, Maxus smashed the emergency shutdown button. Sparke showered the floor from the head of the body as the intricate wiring of the synthetic brain melted.
"Why did you do that?!" Dr. Long shouted, grabbing Maxus by the collar, slamming him against the Great Circle access doorframe.
"Sir, the power circuitry in the lab wouldn't have been able to withstand that kind of amperage. Generators one through seven were overheating, the control circuits for the reaction were beginning to fail, and to top it all off, despite being performed with our strongest alchemic circle, the barrier was beginning to bend." Maxus shouted back, motioning towards the various components mentioned.
"Can you imagine the destruction if the circle collapsed and released all that energy?" Maxus further pressed, drawing Long's attention to parts of the Great Circle's barrier that were deformed and discolored. Dr. Long caught sight of the discolored boils as the energy within dissipated. Shoving Maxus aside, he leaned heavily on the table, resting his head against the safety glass in defeat.
"It took me months to create the synapses for its brain." He said softly, collapsing to his hand while forcing his finger through his greasy hair.
"I know, and I'm sorry it had to come to this. But ending thousands of lives isn't worth it." Answered Maxus. Behind them, Dane sat writing notes, studying the reactions of all the individuals involved with Dr. Long's project. He couldn't help but notice that when Dr. Long leaned against the glass, the entire room felt as if it were a hotbed for depression, a Darkness as Dane called it, flowing in waves past him and out into the world. He'd felt it as a child, and now that he was older, he could feel it steadily growing more influential globally. Dane could only estimate that events such as this were the cause of this ever-increasing Darkness.
"What could this mean?" Dane thought to himself, walking out of the Great Circle's control arena and back to his own house. For the past five years, he refined his understanding of this Darkness and finally began to solidify a consistent way of detecting it. Opening his room's door greeted him with the rustle of papers and the smell of drying ink.
Pulling out his journal and setting it on his desk, he sat and poured over the notes he had gathered over the previous half-decade. The Darkness, he found, had always been there, even before he'd been born or felt it as a child. He reached into a cabinet, pulled his first notebook from it, and read through his notes.
As he compared them, he began to see a pattern building. The Darkness seemed to rise in strength in Margata periodically, adding to the world's darkness soon after. Coincidentally, these rises paralleled failed tests of a component in the lab.
June 5th, power core tested today, connection failed. A wave of Darkness came from Dr. Long.
June 10th, actuators for limbs tested, test failed. A swell of Darkness came from Dr. Long. Other scientists also produce a similar but less powerful wave of Darkness.
June 14th, 2nd actuator test, test failed. The intensity of the wave of Darkness coming from Dr. Long has increased.
His careful notes pointed to the swells of Darkness appearing after a component test failed, making Dr. Long's team feel defeated. As more tests failed, Dane noticed other previously unaffected scientists exude swells of darkness, leading to the team steadily losing morale. This loss created more significant swells that spread through the city, washing over everyone before diffusing into the world.
Despite the many waves boiling up from Margata, Dane couldn't help but see that the world's darkness was growing much faster than what Margata added alone. Perhaps the answer lay beyond the walls of his city? His thoughts broke when a soft knock came on the door.
"Yes? Come in," he called, closing his notes and turning to the door as it opened.
"Hi Dane, I thought I'd find you here." The golden-haired girl said, stepping through the door and closing it behind her.
"Menodora, always a pleasure to see you," Dane answered, standing to greet her.
"You cut your hair," he grinned, noticing that her blond hair was shorter than in previous days and stopped just above her shoulders.
"I just came from the barber's; do you like it?" Menodora asked, modeling the style for him. Dane nodded his approval, running his hand through her shorter locks. He had grown to like her lengthy hair, but the barber styled it well enough that he didn't mind.
"Have you made any progress? I saw you while I was at the market and thought I'd check in," she asked, her light blue eyes shining with questions. Dane dropped his gaze and turned back to his notes without saying anything. He and Menodora had met during a meeting of all the highest leaders of Margata to discuss the progression projects and present new ideas or theories.
At first, Dane dismissed her as just another woman drawn to him because of his long white hair and striking blue eyes. His features always seemed to attract women to him, leading to predictable questions about how they could make their hair like his. He hadn't the slightest idea how or why his hair was white and passed it off as saying he was born with it.
But Menodora persisted after formerly introducing herself and took a genuine interest in his work, questioning everything he'd researched up to that point. She had also noticed something wrong with the world and heard of Dane's research. She sought him out in hopes of gleaning some insight from him. While their conversation was surface-level, her talk with Dane brought a better understanding of what she felt.
"Well?" she asked, walking up behind him, placing her petite hands on his arms while looking down at his notes, and resting her chin on his shoulder.
"So far, I have only found that the Darkness is becoming stronger in the world faster than I think is possible from Margata alone," Dane answered, turning the page and looking over even more notes.
"Do you think it's only coming from Dr. Long and Margata? I mean, I would be disappointed if I were working on something like this and it failed so many times. It does mean a lot to him," she theorized. Dane shook his head and closed his book.
"No. I've felt smaller rises in Darkness of those around Dr. Long as well." He answered, becoming lost in his thoughts while rubbing his chin.
"Would a small break get you the answer? I've brought your favorite: Horned Mushroom Pie," Menodora smiled, curling her hand and making a pie tin appear in her palm. Dane smiled, turning away from his desk as Menodora waved her free hand, creating a small picnic table scene in his room.
"You've been practicing, I see," Dane said with an impressed tone, sitting down and setting out plates and utensils. Menodora had been taking some magical and alchemical lessons from Dane when he saw her learning from a few out-dated books by herself.
"This is the most elaborate that I've been able to do so far," Menodora replied shyly, sitting down when she lost her concentration on the pie, and it fell from her grip. She tried to reach for it, but it slipped through her reach and into Dane's hand. She looked away as her cheeks flared bright red and put her hands in her lap.
"Nothing happened, Menodora, it's still safe." He chuckled, reaching for her hand.
"That was the first spell that I ever learned. I was hoping to have a grip on that one by now. I really wanted to impress you," Menodora said, looking away with a frustrated huff.
"You already have. Come, let's eat," Dane reassured, putting down the pie and beginning to cut it. Menodora smiled as her cheeks began to cool and dug into the meal with gusto. When the two of them had finished eating, a spark of inspiration drove Dane to gather his notes and look them over again. There had been times when the waves of Darkness had been stronger. He also recorded that this darkness felt different somehow.
"What if there isn't just one Darkness? What if there are multiple kinds as the result of differing negative events?" The thought intrigued him, sharing his hypothesis with Menodora immediately.
"That would make sense. Maybe the scientists were disappointed for a different reason?" she asked, her mouth still full of her final bite of pie. Dane nodded in agreement, pulling out a fresh notebook and scrawling the hypothesis on the first page, giving another to Menodora.
"We should expand our parameters to the city. We could be one step closer to discovering what this Darkness is." Menodora took the notebook in surprise; was he inviting her into his research?
"You want me to help?" she asked, almost respectfully leafing pages in the notebook.
"With two of us gathering information and delving into the notes of the ancient mage, we should be able to find out more in a shorter amount of time," Dane explained. Menodora chuckled to herself; not many things made Dane excited, but when something did, it was always strangely soul-warming.
After Dane taught Menodora how to sense the Darkness around them accurately, the weeks passed in a blur as they observed the city around them. They discovered a multitude of 'shades' of Darkness, each ranging from a disappointment to the death of a loved one.
Those that suffered from the more intense events exuded much darker and more intense swells, which would continue to drape over them for weeks at a time. Dane and Menodora noted that this Darkness would be reduced when another would come to comfort those people. After four weeks, they convened at Dane's home to compare notes.
"Do you think comforting people is the 'ultimate light' the mage spoke of in his writings?" Menodora asked when she and Dane compared notes one night.
"No, these actions alone are not it. They do, however, stem from the same place." Dane answered, setting two books on his desk from his library: a textbook labeled 'The Power in Emotion' and a novel, 'Power from the Heart.' Menodora looked over the story, reading the back cover aloud.
"'Follow the travels of Harold Jones, a carpenter by trade, as he is unknowingly pulled into a war over the all-powerful Drumstone when someone pays for his service with it. A device capable of great good or great evil, both sides of this war vie for his favor. One side sends a gorgeous temptress to seduce him into handing it over, while the other sends a timid delicacy. He must be careful as looks can be deceiving. Will he give the device to either side? Or keep it for himself?' Well, Dane, I didn't know you were such a romantic." Menodora said as she opened it to the first chapter.
"It was a book Adelia read to me when I was younger. I found it intriguing that a device like that could harness the power of human emotion as a weapon." Menodora dropped her shoulders and stared at the ceiling; he'd spoiled half the book despite its amateur writing.
"So, what exactly do these books do with what we're after?" Menodora asked, setting aside the novel and picking up the textbook while Dane read both notebooks for clues.
"If negative feelings and emotions are the sources of Darkness, and if consolation is the key to find this 'Ultimate Light' which lessens or reverses some of this Darkness…"
"…then there must be a way to amplify that effect and rebalance the world!" Menodora finished, walking behind Dane and looking over the notes, draping her arms over his shoulders.
"Exactly. The problem becomes how to do so. All the spells I've come across in my studies only amplify things that can be quantified: knowledge, strength, mana, magic, things of that nature." Dane answered.
"What if this 'ultimate light' the ancient mage speaks of is a device just like in the novel?" Menodora asked, sitting next to Dane and picking up the story to quickly read it before Dane spoiled it for her again. Dane sat back, squinting his eyes in thought.
"That could be a solution, except that would mean Darkness also has a device. And with that being the case, there should be a direction in which Darkness is strongest." Menodora nodded absently, becoming lost in the novel as Dane studied, falling asleep a short time later.
Three Hours Later
"That's it!" Dane exclaimed, waking Menodora as she jerked her head up from the desk in surprise.
"What, I'm up, I'm up." Menodora slurred as Dane smiled and put a hand on her head.
"I've found our solution to dampening this Darkness," Dane answered, this time with a quieter tone. Menodora nodded and yawned, trying to speak as she did.
"Guh un, I'ng lithening."
"Darkness itself is intangible yet is created when negative events occur. If a positive event were to happen, the Darkness would be reduced," Dane explained as Menodora blinked her eyes to become used to the lamplight.
"That's a good start, but we're talking about something global."
"Darkness did not manifest from nowhere. We'll start with Margata, and just as our observations with the Darkness, we'll observe when something positive happens. If possible, we will use that as a base to begin our repair of the world." Dane said as Menodora smiled and her eyes became heavy, yawning so wide that she pulled a muscle in her neck.
"That sounds good, but can we start in the morning?" she asked, barely able to sit upright in her sleepy stupor. Dane looked out his window to see the gas lamps fighting their war against the darkness of night.
"Yes, perhaps that would be best." He smiled, making a few motions as a small mattress, blankets, and pillows floated into his room to make a bed for Menodora. Within a few moments, she was sleeping soundly. However, Dane wanted more information about his theory and went downstairs, seeing his father sitting at the table with a cup of hot tea.
"Maxus, I didn't know you were here," Dane said in surprise. He calmly sat down and set his books on the table before holding his hand out to summon the teapot on the stove, a cup, and a plate to the table beside him.
"Menodora let me in a couple of hours ago. I wanted to ask how things were going?" Maxus asked, absently turning the cup as it sat on the table.
"Menodora and I have made a few hypotheses and discoveries. There hasn't been much else." Dane replied, pouring a cup of tea for himself.
"Have you made any progress on this 'Darkness'?"
"Not a substantial amount. The Darkness itself seems to stem from emotion, becoming stronger when a negative event occurs, and in differing strengths or types depending on the event. People around the person suffering the event also seem to exude Darkness as if it were an empathetic response." Dane answered, sipping on his tea after dropping a sugar cube into it.
"What about a way to counter it? I assume this Darkness is the reason for the world's imbalance you mentioned five years ago?"
"Yes, in fact, to both of your questions. The counter to Darkness seems to lie somewhere in positive events and consolation to those who have suffered an adverse event. These positive events, or as Menodora and I call them, 'light,' do not entirely erase the Darkness, but they do lessen its effects for a time, but then it seems to come back stronger."
"Are the people providing the comfort also suffering?" Maxus asked, taking another sip of his tea.
"What do you mean, Maxus?" Dane asked with a slight edge. His research had always been of the highest quality; how could someone question his oversight of something?
"I remember your saying something when you started this journey: 'it has no form yet it fills the world; it has no substance yet it taints even the purest of hearts; it has no will, yet all who see it succumb to it.' That has always stuck with me. As you said, the Darkness recedes when in the presence of comfort, but then returns with greater strength: What if the people offering said comfort are still carrying the pain of a similar event? Doing so could result in a feedback amplification of the Darkness because it is an empathetic response." Dane lowered his brow as he brought out his notebook; this was something that he hadn't considered.
"Are you suggesting that the Darkness from one person could be amplifying the Darkness within others? Or worse still, infecting others with Darkness?" Dane asked, looking through his notes for something on the matter, but finding nothing.
"It could be a possibility. What if the initial diminishment of Darkness is because comfort is offered?" Dane put his hand over his mouth as thoughts swirled through his mind.
"I have another theory for you," Maxus said, leaning forward and setting his cup down.
"As you have said, this comfort, or 'light' as you call it, diminishes Darkness but doesn't get rid of it. What if there must be a focused intent in the comfort offered, not a social action?" Dane tilted his head in interest, closing his journal as he looked to Maxus.
"How do you mean?"
"Think of how people act around someone who's suffered a loss. How many people do you see coming to them and offering a hug, word of encouragement, or time in silence? Sure, their presence is appreciated and might ease the emotional pain for a time. Still, those people aren't necessarily close enough or may not even care enough to offer focused, long-term attention to the suffering person. The 'light' offered diminishes the Darkness, but because it isn't focused or robust, it is easily overpowered, and The Darkness synergises with those around them, creating the amplified effect." Dane's eyes flitted back and forth, going up to his room and bringing down the ancient mage's journal. He searched its pages to see if this mage had realized this simple suggestion.
"Could the opposite be true? Could one person's light, if it is focused, amplify and strengthen another's Light, pushing the Darkness back or even getting rid of it?" Maxus continued.
"This could be a possibility. It is so simple yet so profound. Thank you, Maxus." Dane said, his face almost glowing in delight that Maxus had laid out a new path of possibility.
"You're welcome, son. But might I suggest you get some rest? It appears you will be busy very soon." Maxus smiled; Dane may be grown and living in his own house, but he would always be his son. Dane kept reading for a bit when the words on his page blurred, his head and eyelids felt heavy, and his whole body began to ache.
"I suppose even the greatest minds sometimes need rest," Dane grunted before leaning forward and falling asleep, using the journal as a pillow. Maxus chuckled, reaching for a blanket Adelia had sent with him and draped it over Dane's back and shoulders. As Maxus left, he couldn't help but wonder where these dark places were that Dane said he would travel to. So far, the most dismal thing was the fact that human emotions played a significant role.
"Just be safe, Dane," Maxus whispered as he returned home. Without a doubt, this was only the beginning of something far more crucial than he could ever imagine.