Afterlife – Path Of Shadows

I was almost ready to delay this upcoming post. Work at my job has been almost overwhelming in the last few months, but I somehow found time to write again. At the end of this article, you will have a special message from me, until then, enjoy this next story which is fiction.

Continuation from Afterlife – Soulbound

You ponder on your next response, you are confused and memories of your past life start appearing in your mind. You remember the injustice that happened in your world while you lived, the events of the past and the present you had there, and the uncertainty of the future for your kind. All the lives that were lost due to mistakes and errors from other humans with poor judgment who could not handle responsibility and think outside the box. A new beginning can be made and it seems so clear now for you what you must do. There will be no turning back now.

“It is time young soul, what is your final answer?” asks Aberon

“I am going after him.”

“Very well, then we will proceed with a plan,” says Aberon

“I believe that first, we must return to our past reality,”

“Indeed, but that return is the easiest part, did you think how you will manage to make your binding know of our existence?” asks Sarco

“I will just show myself to him, maybe ‘haunt’ him a bit?” you ask back

“Be wary of this. The human eye is not made for us to be seen or perceived. Even if you can breach with your own light into being observed in one form or another, the human might not understand,” says Sarco.

“Or even worse, it can cause an intense panic, the human mind even if there is a chance it can see us, is not made yet to understand our existence. We must proceed carefully,” says Aberon.

“Why do you treat this with so much caution?” you ask both of them.

“Because what we are doing now is against the rules. If someone will take notice of this, all of us will walk the Path of Shadows,” says Sarco

“What is the Path of Shadows?”

“It is the path that is walked by those who defy our little ideology created by the Dark Star. It leads right into the Abyss, into where Darkness is exiled. A place where the Light does not exist for long,” says Aberon

“Then there is nothing to joke about it. This is what resides in the southern part of the Tower then. If I cannot make him see me, how can I make him understand?”

“We have our own abilities to use if we want to succeed. If not for the rules, we can easily manipulate the mind of a human. With the help of the Light from which we are created, expanding it into the mind of the human can create dreams, thoughts, or even states of mind and feelings. If you cannot make him understand in his reality, then you should bring him into ours,” says Aberon

“That seems a crazy idea, I don’t want him to die,”

“He will not, at least not permanently,” says Sarco.

“Go back into your past reality and I will continue to guide you together with Sarco. For now, the connection with the other Elements will be blocked so they don’t trace you,” says Aberon

“So how do we pass into our past reality?”

“The only way is if I will open a rift. You can tear into that reality using Suron’s power with the amplification of my own power within you. The Dark Star probably did not tell you this because he knows your wish to let your kind know about our existence. If you pass the barrier to find a tear in the outskirts you will be detected,” says Aberon while conjuring a rift.

“I understand, then it is time to depart”

“One last thing before you go, if the connection is blocked with the Elements you must not use any of your powers. This will make them detect you back and the others will know where you are. You must use only the shockwave and that comes with a cost. You will not be here anymore where the Light is infinite and it gives you strength. Use the shockwave with a limit as it will diminish your own Light.” says Aberon

“Why are you telling me this?” you ask back.

“Remember that your past reality is not fully controlled by the Light. You will share it with the Lost Ones, and on sight, they will attack. You must limit the shockwaves for when it is right. The Lost Ones can also absorb Light. If you make a wrong move you might become one of them.”

“This could not get worse…”

“You will have Sarco, which will aid you, may your destiny usher knowledge for your past kind,” says Aberon.

You step through the rift and arrive in a forest back into your past reality. You start walking and you sense your binding as you do it.

“Pull the shard out, let’s see what it can tell us,” says Sarco.

You do as Sarco says and the shard begins to glow with both the Black Light and White Light.

“What does this glowing mean?”

“It means that we are both close to the binding, but our counterpart is in this reality also probably in our proximity. We should act fast enough so we avoid any problems,” says Sarco.

“What is exactly the relationship that our Light shares with the White Light?”

“After the exile of Darkness, a pact was made to ensure no future damage to the realities that both share. We dominate one another at times but we respect the pact, more or less because of the consequences it can bring,” says Sarco.

“Like being exiled where Darkness exists,”

“Exactly, it is a fate I do not wish for anybody. We continue to exist with the Light that gives us this form of consciousness and rationality, her absence is nearly the true death,” says Sarco

“What is going to happen if we meet an entity of the White Light?”

“In most cases, nothing should happen, they should be under the same rules as we are. It means they can remain without the Light also if using it too much, and they should never make themselves observed here in this reality. Yet, there are some exceptions regarding conflict…” says Sarco

“And what are those?”

“Interference. As you know we dominate one another, this means that our past kind, for example, humans, are subjected to some changes. Entities amplify the effect of their own Light on the being that has the opposite Light. It is easier with halflings who have an equal measure of Light within them than with someone who has the opposite type of Light in a bigger measure” says Sarco.

You walk into your own past reality and you try to observe any changes while you were absent. You look at the humans who are passing by and cannot see you. Only you are able to observe something different while focusing. On your way, both you and Sarco stumble into two humans who are talking.

“I see something different, is that the Light?”

“Indeed, if you focus you can see the Light inside the humans. Just as the skeleton resides in the flesh so the Light resides in the deepest roots of a creature,” says Sarco

“I can see the fluctuations in some cases, the act of domination.”

“Indeed, let me show you what I mean when talking about the changes and interferences,”

Sarco approaches one of the humans that is talking with the other as you remain behind to observe. He is undetectable and slowly he gets close with the palm of his hand at the human’s head, the back of the head more precisely. Light starts radiating from the palm of his hand and you can see both the human and the Light within him changing. The human becomes more aggressive and dominative in the act of conversation with the other human abruptly. The Black Light within the human starts dominating its counterpart and gaining ground. As Sarco stops and removes the palm of his hand from the back of his head, the human changes back to what it was both in conversation and the Light within himself.

“I see how it works, but how did you make him change the way you wanted?”

“Just by having the intent and the thought itself. With the Light, I am influencing his own brain through the synapses, the junction between two neurons that carry information. The signals from my Light entered. This is how you can manipulate and modify the human to your own wish. This is how you will do with your binding,” says Sarco.

You get near the place where the human lives. He is your binding and you can sense as you approach. At the same time, you start feeling something is amiss.

“Sarco, I can sense our counterpart getting near, and not only that…”

“Yes, the Dark Mist seems to loom nearby also. We must proceed faster. We are close to your binding’s house.”

As you approach the house you see his own parents opening the door to the courtyard so they can exit. That is the moment where you and Sarco rush inside as the door is getting closed behind you. You look at the binding’s shard appearing in your hand as you are ready to contact Aberon.

“We have arrived in his courtyard, he just woke up from sleep. What do we do now?”

“Wait for him to exit the house but do not proceed yet with the influence. We need to be subtle, and let him take some actions. If you start the moment he will exit it will be too suspicious and the plan might be ruined,” says Aberon.

The human exits the house and you see him for the first time. He is young and both his Lights are the same as him. You see through him that the Light fluctuates, being in a constant game of domination without him being even aware. He sips from the coffee and from his pocket he brings out his cigarettes.

“This couldn’t have been better, we can proceed,” says Aberon.

“He is still young and even with his past his eyes look innocent, I wonder if we are not adding too much weight on his shoulders,” you start doubting.

“There is no time for this now, this is our only chance,” says Sarco.

“Start influencing and make him feel nauseous. We need to bring him into our reality,” says Aberon.

You get behind the human with the palm of your hand pointing towards the back of his head. Light starts radiating and the process is underway. The human begins to feel nauseous after lighting his cigarette. You feel disruptions as the White Light within him is fighting back.

“He feels nauseous, but there is not enough intent from you, let me help you in not hesitating anymore,” says Sarco.

Sarco puts his hand on your shoulder and the Light pointing at the human is amplified. He can barely stand on his feet as he tries to understand where this sensation is coming from. He decides to go back into the house after blaming his cigarette and the heat outside.

“Follow him inside and stop the Light there. He will eventually go into his room and lie down. Show yourself to him then. I will remain in the courtyard should anything happen,” says Sarco.

You follow the man inside and as he climbs the stairs you stop the influence. He is fighting back the state with everything he has.

“Be prepared, you will sense also when he reaches the state through the shard within you,” says Aberon within your mind.

The human finally lies down, he is breathing heavily and just with a blink from his eyes, he reaches the state and shares the same reality as you do.

“Climb the stairs now, this will be the defining moment for him,” says Aberon.

You climb the stairs and see the human lying down, as death looms over his eyes. He is seeing your movement and your form. You stare down at one another, not saying anything. The fragile thread between the living and the new beginning they will all share is being created. As you continue to stare, Sarco reaches to you:

“His parents are returning, you must leave the house now, sever the influence, and let him get out of this state.”

You run down the stairs in a rush, severing the influence, and by one blink again the human is back in his reality, not seeing you anymore. His parents open the door and undetected you manage to exit the house where Sarco is waiting.

“How did it go? Did he see you?” asks Sarco

“Yes, he did, I want to see his reaction.”

You pull out the shard and start observing what the human is doing, and to your surprise, he is sleeping.

“He went to sleep? I just showed him the fate every being shares at one point…and he sleeps?!”

“You will need to give him some time, the state he was in is almost like what humans call death. His life essence needs to regain its strength,” says Sarco.

“I will check on him later then, what do we do now?”

“I can sense a presence approaching, we should rush back to the forest and let Aberon open the rift for us from his side,” says Sarco

You run back to the forest, at a distance from the presence you felt, but also close to another who seemed to follow your trail. You stop with Sarco ready to contact Aberon and return safely to your reality. It seems it is too late for that. The Dark Mist that both of you felt at some point in this reality is surrounding you as you stand back-to-back with Sarco.

“Seems like we have a fight on our hands. We are already surrounded. Do not forget that each shockwave diminishes your own Light now that we are not in Andes. Whatever happens, do not use any power,” says Sarco while charging the palm of the hands with his own Light.

“Never fought a Lost One, let’s see what they can do,” you tell Sarco while charging yourself also.

From the Dark Mist, large numbers of Lost Ones begin to emerge as they materialize. They are different than you, some representing grotesque forms while some representing a humanoid form. The first difference you observe is that they have features, unlike you. Malformed faces, and irregular bodies, the only common thing they have together is the staint of evil and madness.

“So this is the product of Darkness…”

“In this reality, you can call them demons or whatever may please you. In our reality, they are souls devoided of Light. The Lost Ones are twisted aberrations with the only purpose of consuming both our Light and the White Light. They are as dangerous to us as they are to each being that carries our Light because, at one single grasp, they start consuming our essence. We can fight back as we have an upper hand against them in most cases,” says Sarco.

“And what is that?”

“They are mad, and we can take advantage of this because they become confused and mindless. The Light in each being can fight them. In Darkness there is no pleasure, they are corrupted souls that suffer, each one carrying a story just as you,” says Sarco.

“They don’t seem to back down, so we won’t either. Back as a human, I would be terrified at their sight, so we have one more upper hand regarding the fear factor.”

“And what is that? asks Sarco.

“I cannot feel it.”

A Lost One starts charging at you, his movements being aberrant. You charge at him, the palm of your hands pulsating with Black Light. With a single swipe, he tries to get a grasp on you. Fending, you avoid and instead, apply a shockwave of light directly at him. The Lost One falls down, disappearing and leaving a dark mist behind that fades. Sarco charges also jumping right in the middle of a group of Lost Ones and unleashing a sphere that surrounds him and sends a shockwave making even more Lost Ones fall and disappear.

“That is a nice move, I never learned that.”

“Generate, compress and unleash. You did not have so many occasions to train to be honest, but this will be solved later,” says Sarco.

You fight together with Sarco, unleashing shockwave after shockwave, but the only result is more of them appearing where one falls.

“There seems to be no end to them, and I feel weaker with every shockwave I unleash.”

“Yes, something is wrong, unless…” says Sarco while coming to your side

“Unless what?”

“Unless this is a planned attack. We should have already settled this a while ago and I am starting to feel weakened myself. This is not good,” says Sarco

“Aberon, make a rift, we will rush in it. There is no end to the Lost Ones!”

There is no response from Aberon coming back. And the Lost Ones seem to regroup in an act that is not mindless at all. They charge and Sarco pushes you back as the Lost Ones grab him and start consuming him.

“Run!” yells Sarco being devoided of Light.

A portal opens at that moment:

“He fulfilled his duty, leave him and come back to Andes,” says Aberon

“No, I won’t do that, he is my guide,”

Without hesitating you unleash your wings and charge to Sarco, and with Aberon’s power your arms take the form of long blades. You slash through the Lost Ones in a whirlwind. You take Sarco near the rift and using Suron and Aberon’s power combined you teleport right where all the Lost Ones are.

“Generate, compress, and unleash…”

You create a sphere of shockwave using the last drops of the power you have, enough to wipe the Dark Mist in a wide area together with the Lost Ones. Back in Andes, the Elements and the Dark Star have sensed the use of the Light…

“I can sense the young soul in his past reality, using our abilities…” says Tor-Nihil.

“Indeed, I have sensed also Aberon’s amplification,” says Suron.

“He did not pass the barrier,” says the Dark Star.

“Then someone did the rift undetected…” says Rakar.

“Elements, prepare to move with your Avatars to Aberon’s cave, there was no directive for the young soul to go there. Eos will come with you,” says the Dark Star.

Back at the cave, Aberon whispers to himself:

“He used the powers…so foolish. I must lift up the barrier,” says Aberon

At the entrance of the cave, a barrier takes form, enough to keep unwanted guests from coming. Without knowing, your binding has a visitor, a White Light entity that you managed to sense approaching before you left the human.

“It seems they have broken the rules, and not only that, they pulled the human into our reality while he was still alive,” says the unknown entity.

“It won’t take long until they are discovered, we must complete our mission, it is time to venture into Andes. You know where the shard is, you can sense our Light within it. We need to reach it before it is too late,” says another voice within the unknown entity.

You finally manage to pass the portal together with Sarco, being very weakened. Once you pass back to the realm of Andes, in Aberon’s cave, the Light within you and Sarco starts to replenish.

“That was close, we nearly became one with the Darkness,”

“You are a fool. You used your powers and the Dark Star together with the other Elements detected you. We will have visitors soon, their Avatars are coming,”

“Sarco was my guide from the beginning since I came here, I could not leave him to become a Lost One,” you tell Aberon

“At least we completed our mission, what is the binding doing?” asks Sarco

You pull out the shard and you start looking at it, the binding is awake now after what happened.

“Mom, I’ve seen a shadow climbing up the stairs, it was completely black,” says the binding.

“That sounds very scary, at least it is gone now,” says his mother.

You absorb the shard back, as you are disappointed, to say the least.

“A shadow? I am made out of Light, I am not a Lost One…”

“Maybe he will understand in time, but for now leave it as it is, we have done enough,” says Sarco

The Avatars of the Elements arrived at the entrance of the cave together with Eos, but the barrier was on their way.

“Seems like Aberon won’t let us pass through,” says Rakar

“Then we will break the barrier, we have orders to bring them to the Dark Star,” says Kar-Gorgon

“Indeed, I can sense the young soul together with his accomplices,” says Suron

The Avatars are aligned together standing side by side. Their form is different but imposing, each of them bearing the powers of Andes given by the Dark Star. The first to charge forward into the barrier is Rakar, taking the shape of a bison. It rushes forward and on the initial impact, it fails to break what Aberon created. Tor-Nihil unleashes his wings and with sharp shards, it makes a few dents within the barrier that regenerates.

“We cannot break the barrier with our powers divided, I say we unite and channel them into one blow,” says Rakar

The Avatars begin to channel their power together, each of them condensing their Light into a sphere. An immense power is unleashed, sending a shockwave of Light that breaks the barrier into pieces.

“The barrier is broken, the Elements are coming,” says Aberon.

The Avatars enter the cave and it does not take long to reach you, Sarco, and Aberon.

“So here is our young soul, together with Sarco and Aberon,” says Kar-Gorgon

“We have orders from the Dark Star to bring you to him. We know you used our powers in your past reality, you had no orders to go there,” says Suron

“We know you won’t tell us anything, but our Dark Star has his own methods, it is time we go. Aberon, you will be sealed here until further notice, Sarco and the young soul are coming with us,” says Suron.

“As always, my own kin is against me,” says Aberon.

“We should put an end to you where you stand for conspiring against our ideals. It will be your turn very soon to answer,” says Tor-Nihil

“Rakar and Tor-Nihil will stay here and guard Aberon, myself and Kar-Gorgon will take Sarco and the young soul to the Dark Star,” says Suron

Together with the two Elements and Eos, you and Sarco start moving towards the Dark Star as they seal the cave behind with their own barrier, not allowing Aberon to escape. On your way there, a surprising warning comes within the mind of all entities together with you.

“Attentions souls of Andes, we have an intruder who broke the barrier and it’s on the move at a high speed, be on guard. The breach was detected near the Forests of the Shapeless, Rakar’s domain,” says the Dark Star.

“An intruder? It has been eons since someone uninvited tried to breach the barrier in Andes, and it is near us,” says Kar-Gorgon.

“Eos, remain with Sarco and the young soul, we will both go and investigate, be on your guard,” says Suron.

Kar-Gorgon and Suron rush together towards the breach in the barrier, while Eos remains with you and Sarco to continue moving towards the Dark Star.

“Why did you go into your past reality, young soul?” asks Eos.

“I wanted to usher a new destiny for my past kin, to free them from the illusions created by themselves…”

“If you used your powers, it means you ended up in trouble, and it may be possible that you brought the trouble here back with you,” says Eos.

Suron and Kar-Gorgon arrive at the barrier, and they see that there is a hole within it, surrounded by a white light.

“The White Light? An entity of the White Light breached our domain, but our pact…”

“The trail goes…right towards we were at, we need to inform the young soul and the others, this is urgent,”

In a few moments after the discovery, Suron’s voice comes within your mind and the others with you.

“The breach was made by an entity of the White Light, it is headed towards you, we will arrive….”

They will arrive at your point shortly, but it is too late, you sense a presence approaching as the shard of your binding starts humming inside you.

“What is happening? It is moving at such high speed…” you tell Eos and Sarco.

A wall of White Light starts surrounding you, it is the entity that forms it because it moves so fast. You are back-to-back with Eos and Sarco, prepared for what is coming. At high speed, the entity appears in front of Eos, and with its own shockwave, it hits him from a close distance, sending him flying toward the environment as he is left almost unconscious. The next one is Sarco, which in the same manner, the entity sends him with another shockwave in another direction, he is unable to move anymore being weakened from the battle with the Lost Ones. You are left alone in the face of the unknown enemy, which stops at a distance from you.

“Now that the distractions are gone, we can both have some fun,” says the unknown white entity with a woman’s voice.

“Who are you? Why did you come here?” you ask the unknown entity.

“These details do not matter, you will find out soon enough, I have my own directive,” says the unknown entity.

Being face to face with the enemy, you use Aberon’s power to shape your hands as a sharp blade, you unleash your wings also.

The unknown white entity forms two glimmers of White Light from her own hands, transforming them into a sword and a shield. You charge into one another, shockwaves of Light being unleashed by each hit and parry. A strong hit sends both of you backward, you use your wings to fly up and with the power of the Elements, you send sharp shards from them which the white entity evades using her speed. Like climbing a ladder, because of her speed, she reaches you on top, cutting one of your wings while slamming you back to the ground with her shield.

“Now you are stuck on the ground with me, that wing won’t regenerate anytime soon,” says the white entity.

And she is right, being cut by the White Light has another effect on yourself, you can feel the pain as your wings disappear. You get back on your feet, but because she can manipulate her Light, the sword pointing at you extends, and without any hesitation, she punctures you where your ribs should have been. You fall on your knees, and the white entity approaches.

“You did not offer a real challenge, I expected more action from someone who has all the Elements,” says the unknown entity.

“Why did you come after me?”

“Don’t be so cocky, I did not come after you, I came after the Light you foolishly made your own. What you did in your past reality is a crime itself in its nature. It is time I take back what is rightfully mine,” says the unknown entity.

She puts her hand on your chest, and the shard comes out, leaving you on the ground agonizing in pain. With the shard of your binding in her hands, she starts absorbing the White Light from it, making it fuse with her own form.

“It is time I take my leave, you will suffer the consequences for what you did in your past reality,” says the unknown entity while disappearing at high speed.

Eos and Sarco, together with Suron and Kar-Gorgon, arrive at the scene where the fight took place, only to see you in pain on the ground.

“What happened here?” asks Suron

“We fought a highly trained White Light entity, me and Sarco did not have time even to react,” says Eos visibly weakened by the shockwave.

Kar-Gorgon grabs your hand, and by the power of this Element, your pain subsides, enough so you can speak.

“She did not come after me, she came after the White Light within my shard, as a halfling he has both Lights within him,” you say to them.

You pull out your shard, now coursing only with Black Light, and you see your binding feeling chaotic, in pain also, his ribs are hurting just as a sword went through him.

“She said the White Light is rightfully hers. She is gone now, what will happen to my binding?”

“A halfling without one of the Lights tends to become aggressive and chaotic, first we need to heal your wound. Only the Dark Star can absorb the stain of the White Light that is there,” says Eos.

The Elements together with Sarco and Eos bring you to the Dark Star, which awaits your arrival in the form of his Avatar.

“Dark Star, our young soul is wounded, and the White Light from his shard was absorbed by the intruder, we need to urgently…” says Eos before being stopped by the Dark Star.

“Silence! First I want to know why you were in your past reality and what you did there, young soul,” says the Dark Star.

“Dark Star, it is not his fault, we…” says Sarco

“I did not ask you, Sarco, let him speak,” says the Dark Star.

You cannot find your words, as you are being hurt and confused, so the Dark Star takes a more aggressive approach, ripping the shard from within you.

“If you won’t explain, then maybe the memories of your binding will,” says the Dark Star

The Dark Star begins to watch the memories of your binding, and he stops right where you appear in front of your binding while manipulating his state.

“This…is horrible,” says the Dark Star while the whole place starts to tremble.

“You have committed a crime, you betrayed our ideals, and you did not listen to what I told you, that you should never let your past kind know of our existence…” says the Dark Star

“Me and Aberon helped him, it is not only his fault,” says Sarco while trying to defend you.

“Indeed, you did help him, and for what reason I don’t know, but in the end, it was his action that he chose and made with his own hands,” says the Dark Star

“It is the right of my past kind to know about this, I wanted them just to have the freedom of mind and change them…”

The Dark Star pulls the Light of the Elements within you except the one from Aberon. You can feel excruciating pain as you are bereft of your powers. He then puts the shard back into you.

“There is no wound to heal, and no forgiveness to give. From now until the end of eternity, I deem you as an exile. You will walk the Path of Shadows, and your existence will be lost into the Abyss for the crime you committed,” says the Dark Star

“Dark Star, I believe the human will never understand what he has seen anyway, maybe we can reconsider?” asks Eos.

“There is nothing to reconsider, the rules are very clear. Sarco, just as you guided him here, you will guide him on the Path of Shadows, wounded as it is and stained by the White Light that will answer for this intrusion. We will meet at the end,” says the Dark Star.

Together with Sarco, you are on the way down south, where the Path of Shadows begins. It is not a long road but wounded and shamed makes it difficult for you to pass it. It is surrounded by what seems to be a wasteland, there are no entities, no forms of the nature that Andes has. The only thing you notice is a dark mist slowly seeping from within this path. Sarco helps you walk, but his voice is silent and his head is bowed down.

“I guess I am slowly walking towards my inexistence, I did not believe it would end this way,” you tell Sarco.

“If only you would have listened to me and left me back in your past reality, the plan would have worked,” says Sarco.

“I could not do this, you are the one who guided me and opened my mind. You and the other entities I have met along the way,”

“Do you have any regret now, when we are nearly at the end?” asks Sarco.

“I do not regret what I have done, but I know I will miss the fun I had here. I hoped that I would be a guide for the loved ones I had in my past reality. It seems it is not my duty to bare anymore,”

You arrive almost at the end of the path, and the entities you met and celebrated with have heard what happened, and they are here to see you for the last time.

“Aruna, Raion, Gor, Yuusei, and Yushin, I am sorry you see me in this state, here on the Path of Shadows,”

“You are a dummy for what you did,” says Yushin.

“And a bigger dummy because you did not think about us while doing it…” says Yuusei

“I know, but as I told Sarco, I don’t regret it, it was my own choice,”

“I suppose you did not think about the fact that you put too much hope in a mere human and its mind,” says Aruna.

“My binding will be free of me and return to the Quantum of Chaos. I will remain in his memory, and maybe in the future, he will do something with what he has seen,”

“You will remain in our memory also, even if you will disappear from existence, you will never disappear from our mind, and maybe this is another bond that we will share until eternity’s end”, says Gor

“I never thought of it this way. I hope then that I will remain in the memory of everyone until the very end whenever it will be,”

“If you will become a Lost One, I won’t hold back…” says Raion, with his head bowed down, clenching his fists as if regretting.

“Make quick work of me then,” you say as you pat him on his shoulder.

You continue the Path of Shadows and at the end of it, you see all the Avatars of the Elements aligned together with Eos and the Dark Star. Aberon is chained but still present there. In front, you see what seems to be a vortex of Dark Mist, and you already know what will happen soon.

“They have arrived,” says Eos.

“Then it is time to begin,” says the Dark Star while coming in front of you.

“Elements, we have gathered here now to judge the one which I proclaimed an exile. His actions led to an imbalance in our system that we swore to protect. The ideals he stood for were against our own. The rules were broken, and through his actions, he betrayed our Light. Guided by Aberon and Sarco into his past realm and blinded by his own ideals, he manipulated the state and mind of his own binding. He committed a sacrilege and pulled the binding into our reality that no mortal can see and showed himself to him. To make things worse, this put us in danger with the White Light that came after the Light of his binding, nearly making way for a conflict. Elements, say now what should be the fate of this soul!” says the Dark Star.

I condemn him to the Abyss,” says Rakar.

“I condemn him to be bereft of our Light,” says Tor-Nihil.

“I condemn him to his exile,” says Suron

“I condemn him to be engulfed by the Darkness,” says Kar-Gorgon.

“Aberon, what is your answer?” asks the Dark Star.

“I…I condemn him also. And together with him I will condemn you all forevermore to share his fate…” says Aberon

Right at the end of the sentence, the Dark Star sends a shockwave to Aberon, throwing him away.

“Then it is done, we all proclaim you to exile in the realm of Darkness”, says the Dark Star.

“Wait, before this, please take my shard and return him to the Quantum,” you tell the Dark Star while pulling the shard from within you.

The Dark Star approaches and takes the shard looking at it, and after this, it throws it back within you, as you absorb it again.

“The shard will be condemned to the Abyss and madness together with you,” says the Dark Star.

“What? Why?! He does not deserve this, he did nothing!” you yell at the Dark Star.

“This is because of your actions, you showed yourself to him, and for this, he must succumb to madness so his kind will never believe what he has seen. You are the one that sealed his fate in his life, and after it,” says the Dark Star.

“But he will never discover, his mind is not made for this,”

“Do not underestimate the human mind and the creations of the Light, in whatever reality they are. Aberon and Sarco will be sparred for now and they will act as spies to discover what the White Light is doing with the Light they got from the shard. Here and now, I bid you farewell. Sarco, you know what must be done,”

Sarco looks at you, and you look at him, both of you not finding the final words that should be told.

“It should have been me, I am sorry,” says Sarco.

“Sarco…you remember what I said while we were both at the river before entering Andes?”

Sarco clenches his fists with his head bowed down at the hearing of what you tell him.

“Yes I remember…” says Sarco.

“Then you already know I will forever be…the master of my destiny and the shaper of my fate…”

With a charged shockwave of Light, Sarco hits you and sends you right into the Abyss. You fall down into the Dark Mist, not feeling any fear because you are an entity, but thinking about what fate awaits you and your binding once you hit the ground. In the end, it is ironic how you are considered a betrayer of the Light when it feels like you are the one betrayed. And it is ironic how the guide that brought you into the realm of the Light, is the one that throws you into the Abyss itself. You wake up in a blinding darkness, not understanding if the falling has stopped or not. There is nothing but your own Light that shows you a way within the Dark Mist that seems to move slowly around you. You take a few steps on what seems to be the ground, but there is nothing to see, there is no structure, no being, nothing but a void. You sense a presence behind you as you turn around, but there is nothing, and you can hear in your mind something that sounds like chuckles and giggles. They sound exactly like in your past reality, like coming from the very children that inherit the realm of humans.

“Who is there?” you ask within the Dark Mist.

You receive no answer and continue to walk in the blindness of Darkness. After some steps, you hear a whisper inside your mind. The voice is like nothing you encountered before, it is a combination of a man’s voice with a woman’s voice that shifts with each word said.

“You are alone now,” says the malevolent voice while laughing.

“Whispers in the dark, I must not lose focus,” you tell yourself.

“What a foolish little entity. You stand at the blink of your own end, fearless, walking inside the void. Do you remember how it is to feel death again for a second time?” says the malevolent voice.

“I do not fear you and anything that you have to offer, bring whatever you want, I will make my stand here and now,”

“Seems like the Light sent us a ‘challenge’. Before I can send everything I have to you and destroy us all, we should get acquainted and have some fun. You stood too long without any feelings, let me help you feel again,” says the malevolent voice while it taunts you.

In an instant, a sense of dread washes over you, and you start feeling the very fear of death that you once had as a human.

“My feelings…they are back, and this fear is overwhelming, I must suppress it,” you tell yourself.

“Fear…it makes the taste of Light so exquisite, so easy to absorb,” says the malevolent voice.

“Get out of my head!” you say angrily, almost insulting the enemy before realizing you feel an emotion again.

“Spite and fury, do you wonder how many meet their end while under these emotions? They are still haunted by them here where you are. I can also sense you have a guest with you, a little shard that you carry on,” says the malevolent voice.

“No, leave him out of this!”

“I wonder what did you do so wrong that you were exiled together with your binding. It seems so cruel that at this moment he feels the same things as you, without knowing why,” says the malevolent voice.

“It was a mistake, I never wished this for him,”

“So you are sad now? Such an exquisite emotion, just imagine how many die with this feeling, never forgiving themselves and the things they have done truly. Always leaving a hole in their soul to be filled by Darkness,”

From the Dark Mist deformed beings with features start to emerge. Succumbed to your emotions you prepare for battle as well as you can. You remember you have Aberon’s Light within you and the shockwaves that can help.

“Whatever you throw, I won’t meet my end without a fight,”

With your hands formed into blades, you charge at the beings emerging from the Darkness. You slice and rip how many you can, without a moment to think. The battle lasts for what seems a long time, but there is no end to the Lost Ones. Without any contact with Andes, you start feeling weak, and the power disappears leaving you with shockwaves. You still don’t give up and push, throwing shockwaves and managing to dodge every touch that would absorb your Light. In the end, you are exhausted, and you feel weakened. From the Dark Mist, hands emerge grabbing you by the neck, arms, waist, and legs. And from within the mist, an imposing and degenerated being that looks like a demon emerges. It is Darkness itself that has come to greet you.

“It seems you made quite a mess here, but now we can continue our lesson,” says the Darkness while pulling the shard from you.

“I told you to leave him out of this!” you yell back.

“Such a protector, this should be a fine experience for Noctis, he can come out and absorb your Light,”

Within mere moments, an Avatar, almost as malevolent as Darkness itself appears in front of you. He starts absorbing your Light while Darkness is looking at your binding.

“Seems like you committed a crime, the mighty Dark Star did not have mercy for you. You encountered the White Light also from the looks of your wound. It will be a delight to absorb both of the Lights at the same time,” says the Darkness.

The Avatar of Noctis starts absorbing the Light from within you and the shard itself. You feel an immense pain from the process and reminds you of Kar-Gorgon’s test. But this time, you cannot share your pain with anyone.

“We are almost at the end of the lesson, it is time for you to feel what the Light can feel also. Agony and pain. Something that can be felt even after death,” says the Darkness.

“Master, there is one more Light within this forsaken soul, I can sense Aberon,” says Noctis.

“It must be a pleasure to sense him again, my most devoted agent,” says the Darkness.

“What do you mean by this?” you ask Darkness while agony envelops you.

“It took so much time to break him when he came here after his devoted ones. And from the Radiant Light, he became the Relative Sin. It was a heavy price to pay before corrupting him. Now he serves me within the realm of the Light, and it seems he made a fool out of you,”

“This cannot be possible!” you yell in pain at the Darkness.

“But it is, and everything goes according to the plan. Noctis will absorb his Light, and he will feel the pain, this will be a signal that we are finished. With the birth of my own Elements, I will reshape this reality after my own will. It is almost time for the final lesson. After all these emotions that you felt at the same time, do you know what follows next?”

At the end of the sentence, Noctis starts absorbing your Light with more power, as your consciousness starts fading away and the shard of your binding starts to crack.

“Madness,” says the Darkness.

You look up above for what seems to be the final time, and you remember the blue sky that you have seen right at the beginning of your existence while you were a human. Now the sky is surrounded by the Dark Mist, but with the last of your powers, you spot a white light coming from above that can be seen in this chaos.

“It seems that Light can shine, even in this darkness…” you tell yourself as you faint out.

The White Light approaches at high speed. You already fainted at the last particles of Light are being absorbed. It makes landfall right beside you, shining within the heart of Darkness itself. It is the unknown entity that you faced while being in Andes, and now it unleashes its powers.

“Saral, blind them!” says the unknown entity.

Within a few moments, a radiant white light appears from within the palm of the hands of the entity, blinding Darkness itself and Noctis. All the Lost Ones retreat from the area including its master.

“This is Saral, what are they doing here?!” the Darkness yells.

“Coral, protect me while me and Dystopia will heal him,” says the unknown entity.

A sphere of White Light appears, shielding both you and the shard together with the unknown entity. The entity channels her Light on the wound she made while in Andes. The White Light within you was not absorbed yet, and together with the help of Dystopia, it begins to take the place of the Black Light you were once made.

“This will not end like this! Eclipse, engulf them!” the Darkness yells.

Another Avatar of Darkness appears and starts engulfing the Light of Saral into Darkness.

“It seems the Darkness has its own Elements now. I will resist, but you must hurry,” says Saral within the unknown entity.

“I am almost done, I will place the shard within him again. Lor’damil, it is time we escape this cursed place,” says the unknown entity.

Your own Black Light is being replaced by the White Light, and inside the realm of Darkness, you are reborn. The unknown entity carries you within her arms as it launches itself high above with high speed, the Dark Mist following you.

“I curse you together with the Elements of the White Light. We will meet again, and both you and the exile will find your end!” says the Darkness.

You escape the Abyss together with the unknown entity and end up in an unknown realm. Because the Black Light faded from you and was replaced by the White Light, your memories of your past self are gone. You wake up, with your head on the knees of the unknown entity that is holding you. You are slowly starting to regain consciousness.

“What happened? Where am I?” you ask the unknown entity.

“It seems you are finally awake, you are safe now,” says the unknown entity.

“I remember…only darkness…”

“Yes, but it is gone now, we escaped it. And it is time for a new beginning,” says the unknown entity.

“A new beginning…what does this mean?”

“Stay with me, and I will explain…because from this moment, you are in Iunes, the White Realm of the Pure.”

To be continued.

This is the last story regarding the first series about the Black Light. The next series is going to appear somewhere in 2025 and the main focus will be on the White Light. These posts will not be the final version of the story, as I will need to look at them and add/remove details. With the images, I’m having a hard time recreating what I have in mind, as not even the artificial intelligence can understand what I want to describe. I hope in the future this will be solved, but until then I will work with what I have and remain with just some representations. I hope also that in the future, my message will be heard by more people. Thank you for reading until now, I promise to make my story more awesome and improve myself in the future.

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