"Myles…" it whispered. "You have a strong spirit, delicious."

'Why the h.e.l.l did you help him out and leave yourself here?' Eva scorned.

"Who's that speaking within you?" the darkness asked.

I opened my mouth to answer but no words came out. I was surrounded, probably about to die. You'd be surprised how calm it feels to know you're about to die. Although I didn't feel like speaking to my potential killer, I didn't fear him anymore.

"I see…" it went on. "You have a bright future ahead of you Myles. It would be a pity if I halted it right now… a real pity indeed."

"What are you?" I asked. I had to force my lips to move, my tongue to bend and spit the letters out. I wanted to know what that thing was, at least.

"Isn't it obvious?" the thing surrounding me said. "I'm the darkness."

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"No," I replied. "Darkness is what exists in the absence of light. You absorb everything. I can't see my hands no matter how much I try."

"That's real darkness boy," it said. "I have to tell you Myles, I have someone I need to kill and soon. I'm tempted to take you with me. You seem mighty delicious for an appetizer."

"Why haven't you?" I asked.

The darkness chuckled. "No matter how much I tried to leave this place, I seem to be pinned down, imprisoned. It won't do me any good if I killed you now, would it?"

"You didn't seem to have this problem with the banshee," I said. I seemed to have gained some confidence after that thing admitted it was trapped.

"Let me ask you this, have you met a giant snake before?" the darkness asked. "It's vicious and devours everything on its path. To my knowledge, it must live in the sea by now."

How did it know that? I've never told anybody about that hateful creature. My silence must have answered for me, since the thing started chuckling again, a deep rumbling akin to thunder.

"So you have seen it," it said. "Didn't you wonder why it kept you alive? You of all people? How many were with you?"

"Twenty," I replied. I remembered that day as if it were yesterday.

"Haaaahahaha…" the thing went on laughing for a while. The earth beneath me cracked. I was afraid I'd get swallowed by that instead. "Do you know why then? Why it spared your life?"

I've never given it much thought. I had my suspicions, but I always deemed them stupid, or superst.i.tious.

"Speak, moral!" the darkness ordered.

"In my native land, the snake is a beast created by Osimir, the G.o.d of the Sea. If you don't make an offering before setting sail, the snake will appear and devour you."

"Hmm… I never took you for the religious type…" Was it me or did the thing sound disappointed?

"I was," I admitted. "It was one of these phases, but that's the only thing I could attribute to my survival that day."

"A beautiful coincidence," it said. "Did you set sail after that incident?" It asked then went on with a rumbling "hmmm…" It didn't allow me to answer though, it just kept speaking. "You did, did you not?"

"Yes," I said. "But the snake never appeared before me again."

"Of course it wouldn't," the darkness said. "You'd given it the most precious gift of all. And let me guess, you took it as a blessing, did you not?"

"What? I didn't give anything, it took it from me!" I protested.

"Tomayto; tomahto," the thing said. "It took it, and that was that. I wish it were me who met you then…"

"What's this all about anyway?" I asked. The thing was apparently willing to talk to me. I wasn't in imminent danger just yet.

"You have a gift, Myles," the darkness said. "What's your family name?"

"How's that relevant?" I asked. "As far as I'm concerned, I don't have a family."

"It's relevant to me boy," the thing said. Its tone had suddenly changed to that of threat. I could sense its murderous intent once more. "Answer the question."

"Stalwart," I said with great reluctance. "Although it's a name I don't wish to be a.s.sociated with anymore."

"Interesting," the dark thing said. "No wonder the snake got to you first."

"What's this all about?" I asked.

"Maybe you should ask grandpa," the darkness said. "I would love nothing but to devour you, but I get a feeling retaliation for my actions would be fierce."

"Are you talking about Theolonius?"

The darkness started laughing again. Its voice boomed within my mind, causing my Essence to go out of control. I struggled to keep it steady, control it, before it erupted. I feared the dark thing wouldn't be able to control its hunger if my Essence seeped out. A larger crack appeared beneath me.

"Theolonius can't get near me," the darkness said. "But if 'he' didn't want to reveal himself to you, then I don't see why I should."

"Are you talking about that three tailed fox?" I asked.

"Maybe," the darkness said, amused. "I sense another Fragment within you. You're an interesting mortal indeed. Did Minsec recruit you for the Holi Wars?"

"Nice dodge," I said. "Is it the three tailed fox?" I repeated my question

"If you've seen the fox, then you know something," the darkness said. "That's all I'm willing to say. Answer my question now."

That didn't help. Everything concerning that white fox was shrouded in mystery.

"You can sense Minsec's Fragment in me, can't you?"  

"Yes," the darkness said. "You have a pretty powerful Spirit Fragment. I can sense time fluctuations coming from it, but it doesn't mean it belongs to Minsec."

"Would you answer one more question if I answered yours?"

"It depends if you cooperate," the darkness retorted.

"What do you mean by that?"  

"I usually devour and absorb my food's thoughts," the thing said. "For reasons I can't tell you about, I am forbidden from consuming you. So I'm willing to… how do human mortals put it… make a deal with you."

"What kind of deal are we talking about?"

"Is that your question?" the darkness said. It sounded like it enjoyed toying with me.

"I haven't answered your question," I said. "Our deal begins only after I answer the first question about Minsec."

"This talk thing is complicated," it said. It sounded somewhat frustrated.

"What kind of deal do you want to make?" I asked. "I can't agree to a deal unless I know of its terms."

I felt wind brush up against my face. In that absolute blackness, I didn't know whether something touched me or if it was that foul thing's breath. Did it even have a breath?

"I exist in this realm to kill Tao Zhar," the thing said. "When I was first summoned here, I was tasked to devour that devilish being and take it with me to the Primordial Realm."

"Tao Zhar, I've heard this name before," I said. "Boon spoke of him."

"It was his father that summoned me," the darkness said. "Tao Zhar had angered the wrong people. He was banished to another realm, away from my reach, but he wasn't killed. I couldn't get back to my home. I waited for thousands of years for that devil to come back. But he's still trapped. I heard him speak to you earlier. That only means his shackles are getting loose."

"Do you want me to bring this Tao Zhar here?" I asked.

"No," the darkness said. "He's been gone for far too long. I suspect he's grown even stronger. If he comes back, even I can't deal with him. An Aeon dies if it can't kill its target. I don't wish to die just yet, but there's a way to deal with him, once and for all."

"And what's this way?"

"Keep him trapped," the darkness replied. "He's almost out of time. He'll die soon of old age, but someone had found a way to contact him now. To break Tao out of his prison, the summoner has to break a lock that exists in this world. That's what Tao's enemies used long ago. They banished him and kept the seal here, away from him."

"That must be why Lemien is targeting the city of the Sebyan."

"Don't call them that," the darkness said. "Didn't your mother teach you manners?"

"What? I'm being lectured by an unknown ent.i.ty about manners now?"

"They hate that name, don't use it against them."

I sighed. "Whatever," I said. "If I kill Lemien and stop his a.s.sault on the city, this Tao Zhar won't come back, right?"

"That is correct," the darkness said. "Tao Zhar has been imprisoned for thousands of years. He's running out of time now. I give him three months before his soul shatters."

"So keeping him locked up will ensure your victory," I said.

"Yes," the darkness replied.

"Why don't you go and hunt Lemien yourself?"

"I could have done it when he was still talking to you from up there," the darkness answered. "I've been here for far too long. When my summoner died, I lost my true form. I can't leave this place. I kept devouring Essence in order to survive. I thought the banshee would help me regain mobility, but that's as far as I can go."

"I don't get it," I said. "You didn't hesitate to make your way here when you heard Tao Zhar's voice."

"Anger drove me forward," the darkness said. "Can you imagine being trapped here for nearly two thousand human years? It's enough to make one lose his mind! I lost more of my power by rus.h.i.+ng in like that. In the end, that necromancer fled. All this talk about Essence makes me hungry…"  

I felt that murderous intent once more. s.h.i.+vers ran down my spine. "What do I get out of this deal?" I said, trying to change the subject.

"Are you Minsec's candidate?"

"Yes," I answered.

"Then he's locked the Fragment for you, and won't let you use it unless you beat Qil'Al's candidate."

"You sure know a lot about the Holi Wars," I commented.

"Of course," he said. "It's our only form of entertainment back