The book was Dark Red and hand a black binding. In bright red, the words 'The Heart of all Darkness' were written on the front.
Turning the pages slowly, she read the table of contents and then the preface, followed by a brief introduction to the book. There were small notes tucked between the pages, each with its own understanding of the technique in question.
'The Heart of all Darkness is a compendium of the Void. To seek out Darkness will leave one to be surrounded by it. To seek out light, the Darkness would be destroyed. Light is a symbol of truth, while Darkness helps to conceal. Light is the Fastest, but darkness takes all other spaces in an instant.' The book went on to start listing spells, arranged by their corresponding sections. 'Affliction, Demonstration, Concealment, Evaporation, Dark Nights Winter, The Fire of the Heart, Extinguish, Encapsulate, Depravity, and Vacuum.' The Final Spell listed in this book was called 'The Heart of All Darkness.' Its ability was to channel the power of any spell but to conceal its presence, extinguish oppressive forces, and rob all others of energy like a gluttonous pit, it was an extreme ability. To consume the power of another a price will always be paid.' The Heart of Darkness is not evil, but The minds of many are.
Reading the book, Hana felt like there was something wrong. In the very back of the book, laid several pieces of paper loosely fit into its cover. Pulling them aside, she noticed that the handwriting matched her fathers.
'The Heart of All Darkness is a very powerful technique but it changes you, much like the Gygax. In order to counteract this effect, I, The Esper Emperor Zao Wu Hai, have undergone extensive risk and change.' Hana paused while she read it and blinked hard, making sure not to miss a word. 'I chanced upon a Demon, though, I didn't know it was one at the time. The moment it hatched from the Dark Black Egg, it bonded with me. The small black spot was a constant source of agitation, always either ignoring my call or eating the thing in my hands. Once it had consumed a great many things, it changed, evolving while it grew attached. I almost lost myself, my mind and almost cost the lives of my friends during the process. It was thanks to the Teachings of an Onmyoji that I was able to regain my sanity and along with new power, the spot had undergone a dramatic change. It evolved into a multi-colored spot, not unlike a rainbow.'
There was more but Hana stopped to digest the information, 'Demon..' Hana stared at the black flames on her wings and kept reading. 'There were many advantages to the bonding, though, there was no contract. The spot would, on occasion, provide assistance but it was always finicky and chose when it would decide to help, rather than listening to requests. My life was saved several times by such occurrences. Demons require a lot of energy to advance, they seek out the strongest sources and cling to them with desperation.
Hana put the paper down and took a deep breath, in her entire life, she had never heard this explanation from her Father. "Father, how do you see these things.. so far off, so long ago." The pages were worn, the book itself was magical but the loose papers had aged a bit like they were left on the library shelves for someone to find.
Turning her attentions back, she continued to read his private notes. 'I once read a passage along a wall in a mystic place, it didn't mean very much to me in that instant. It spoke about finding the light within, "Darkness cannot exist without the light, the void, complex and evoking, cannot be without a contrast. Where there is darkness, there is an absence of light, where there is light, the darkness recedes. Consolidate your darkness, The Heart of All Darkness, it brings out the Light. Light is faster than Darkness, only because without light, all that exists around is darkness. In a world of Light, the darkness hides in the deepest recesses. Those with the Bloodline of the Esper Emperor should know what it means to walk along that lonely road. For reasons you may one day understand, I forbid revealing any information about the Royal Bloodline to others.'
A Large handprint was placed on the back of the sheet, there were link marks along the joints in the fingers, making them appear to be claws. Around the edge of the sheet, a small incantation was written.
'If you're reading this, here is my cheat sheet answer. When burdened by great events, your heart will rage. Harness it. Turn the power back in on itself and control the power. The only way to reverse a fleeing light is to retract the dark. The only way to retract the dark is to expand the light. Find a place, the deepest recesses of your body, then, start from there.' There was a small Ying Yang symbol on the bottom left hand corner of the page, next to it was the number 1.
'1?' Staring at the number, Hana was lost in thought.
There was a stir from the Coach, Dissait had woken up and found himself cuddling with the snake. His gasp was enough to catch her attentions. "Hana!"
"Yes?" Her tone was mischievous while she replied.
"Why is the Snake in the Coach!" Dissait stepped out and walked along the Astradon's back.
"It was too slow, I didn't want it to fall behind." Her answer made sense and Dissait dropped the subject.
"Any idea of when you'll be ready to go back?" Dissait yawned and stretched while he asked.
Hana shrugged and tapped the Astradon's head. "I want to defeat enemies..I guess, mostly I just want to level up. I missed the fighting competition because of a misunderstanding, I don't know if they were a challenge but I haven't even been able to truly try my powers out. Its all a bit annoying and none of it was my fault."
"That's the God Murphy, fucking with you." Dissait leaned back against the coach while he looked at the clouds in the distance. "Its an old Earth term. Everyone needs someone to blame, chaos and the uncontrollable, that's Murphy. Murphy is the God of Randomness and the origin of the idea that anything that's bad that can happen, will happen. The unexpected is usually unwelcome." putting his palms to the sky in an 'I dunno..' gesture, Dissait closed his eyes. "I'll rest here, that snake was wrapping itself around me."
"Haha.. okay. Well, the Murphy God sounds like someone I'd like to meet one day." Hana smiled.
'Tsk, its just Murphy...' he wanted to correct her but stopped caring mid thought.
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A Day later, the group found themselves face to face with a large wooden city. Ebonat, was in the opposite direction. "What is this place?" Hana asked Dissait while she looked at the large wooden pillars. If they didn't have carvings on them, Hana would have assumed that it was natural.
Dissait opened his eyes a bit more and took in the sights. 'Roman?' "These look Roman, but.. they are too old to be our people." Pointing to several statues, he was soon confused.
Hana didn't understand. Her knowledge of Earth history wasn't complete.
Dissait knew and that was enough, "We should remain guarded. Veltin, turn back." he tried directing Veltin to alter course but it wasn't his beast.
Veltin was Hana's first contracted beast, Caoimhe was summoned. He wouldn't listen to any orders that didn't come from her mouth. After a moment of pause, Hana called for Veltin to stop. "So, What do we do? Turn around?"
"I'll scout ahead. As a member of the Stealth Corp, how can I not do my job?" Dissait jumped off Veltin's back and disappeared behind some falling leaves. His mood seemed soured.
'I need that skill.' Hana tapped at the Astradon's head. He understood the signal and began walking again. There were large buildings, several times taller than traditional houses that appeared to be the work of giants. All doors were closed and the houses themselves looked well kept. 'It would be a miracle if no one lived in this place.' Thinking to herself, she kept Veltin moving forward.
'PAH!' A noise could be heard from the distance and Dissait's limp body flung like a ragdoll toward Hana. He was hurling end over end and was bleeding from the face.
'Tohptcshe-hee' As he hit a tree, it shook and rattled. He laid there clutching his face, recovering. When he regained his bearings, he yelled out. "Hana, He's strong. Retreat~~!"
Before could finish the last syllable, a humanoid landed on top of Dissait's body in a Pencil dive.
The ground beneath them split apart and a portion of it collapsed beneath them into a crater. The tree toppled down and Dissait was punched repeatedly, then, thrown into the air. A powerful kick to the ground sent the attacker into the air under his own power, he leapt toward Dissait and a Dark Grey Energy was forming around his fists.
"Eclipsing Uppercut!" He yelled.
Hana's expression changed and she whistled. Caoimhe caught Dissait and flew in to land.
The attacker landed after the uppercut then jumped back to Hana's position. He landed nearby and stopped to appraise his next opponent.
Caoimhe's glare and the Aura of the pair made an imposing challenge, originally the fight was somewhat one on one.
'Two massive auras, so much bloodlust..' The attacker stopped and pointed at Dissait. "You dare sneak around our territory?!"
"It is a misunderstanding. The area around here is thick of wild creatures, he was scouting ahead for dangers." Hana explained.
"Our borders are clearly marked by the edge of the sky, since you've violated our space, you can die here." He pointed a finger and a gray film accumulated. When it got to the size of a grapefruit, he fired.
'What an asshole.' Hana tried blocking the blast with her shield but it cut through the blood barrier and crashed against her wings. She kept the attack from killing Veltin but her wing took a hard hit. Caoimhe took the cue and flew overhead, then, a breath attack came from above. A fine spray of pollen and needles flew out, Hana flashed to the side while the strange being kicked a rock toward her. It followed her trajectory perfectly and smacked her in the face, breaking her momentum.
The needles from the Basket Drake were tough but they didn't pierce the being's skin. He laughed, "Courage? Now you show Courage?" Ignoring Caoimhe, he walked over to Hana and kicked her a few times while she was on the ground.
Hana could do very little to resist and took a boot to the face.
A red pulse erupted from Caoimhe and Veltin. Both grew several times larger and the Coach that was atop the Astradon's back fell to the ground.
"Ultinia is the land of the Gods, you dare stand against your GODS!" The gray film began to accumulate around the attacker's body, it grew thick and eventually looked more like rock before it took a shape. Very quickly, the cloud of gray gas looked more like a statue, a large Roman Statue.
The Shield was larger than the Astradon and the Spear was taller than the trees. It towered above them all, Hana stood up while twitching. '{@$$@(%!)#$#}' A chant came from Hana's mouth, one she had never uttered before. A curse so strong it required the language of the damned.
Blood began to spill from Hana's body.
The ground shook and a red hand pressed out from the soil. Hana passed out.
The hand grabbed at Caoimhe and broke her neck, another hand came out and rang the basket drake's body like a wet rag above the circle of blood that surrounded Hana. It squeezed every last drop of blood from the Basket Drake's body and tossed her remains to the side.
Dissait saw everything as it was happening and he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
A Large red figure, much like the gray giant, was standing against it. It had three arms, each held a sword and its body was formed of blood and crystal. It roared and slammed against the shield with one of the crystal swords, shattering the shield.
The Grey Apparition swung its sword to counter the incoming attack and two swords were plunged into the large summons from the Ultinian.
A great explosive force pushed out and knocked Dissait back into another tree. Hana's body was sent rolling toward the Astradon.
It burst into a gray light and collapsed into dust.
The attacker, the once proud figure, spat out a mouthful of blood and stumbled. As he looked up, he saw the sword that had destroyed the shield crashing down upon him. It cleaved the Ultinian in two and a gray power collected into a stone that fell to the ground in his absence. The body of the Ultinian had vanished, leaving only a small rock.
Dissait pulled out a potion and drank it, the broken bones in his ribs began to mend and he stood up haphazardly. "Hana." He rushed to her position.
She was unconscious, unresponsive and cold.
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Three weeks later.
At the Sect, a guard noticed a large Ethereal Beast approaching the main gates.