"The darkness is strongest here. Perhaps it's the source."
Erta said weakly as she gazed ahead. Nightless Fire was still keeping her bathed in divinity, yet even that was already waning. And in the face of the heart of darkness, the light was finding it difficult to pierce through.
Erta was wary of it, afraid to even take a step forward into it, but the same could not be said for Caelum. He did not feel any fear from it. Rather he felt a strange urge to soak himself in it.
The darkness from before was like a cloud of noxious fumes that corroded their very minds. And yet, the darkness before them now made him feel something familiar. It was not the deceptive and maddening darkness from earlier. This was sincere, true to its very nature.
He fixed his hold on Erta and walked forward, their figures seemingly being swallowed by the curtain of darkness. And despite her misgivings, Erta trusted her husband.
"The brightest of lights casts the darkest of shadows. That is Chaos in harmony. That is Serenity."
As he spoke, white golden flames slowly sparked to life all around them. They were in the very heart of darkness yet their path was as beautiful as the star ocean beyond.
Shards of glass burning golden seemed like embers fluttering around them as white golden vines slithered about, trailing their steps and moving ahead to light their way. The path was straight and truthful, and the light was grateful.
Erta gazed into Caelum's golden eyes. Those unfocused eyes were witness to the inevitable laws of existence that she could not even fathom. But because she was still connected to a single ember of the Eternal Flame, she unexpectedly gained a glimmer of understanding of Caelum's view of the world, of the Serenity he sought amidst all the Chaos.
The corridor of darkness did not drag on for long, but for Caelum, it was a walk that lasted an eternity. He saw the nothingness that did not know its identity. He saw the birth of light that gave it meaning. He saw the inevitable clash of conquest. And he saw the grief that came when one side triumphed over the other.
The darkness could not know what it is without the light that guided the rest of existence. And the light could not guide anything with nothing to contrast it. Without the darkness, light was just another emptiness, losing the meaning of illumination. This was a balance that must forever be preserved.
The darkness danced all around them. The light it had been gifted seemed to sate the hunger and emptiness it agonised over. Caelum finally understood that the darkness truly was light's other half.
Without either, there would exist neither. The moment he accepted it, the darkness felt his sincerity and his gratitude. The ambition his light held gave the darkness a new vision, a new purpose. And finally, it flowed into him seeking his warmth to fill its hollow chill.
[You have gained a new aspect: 'Perpetual Night']
[Your 'Eternal Flame' reacts to 'Perpetual Night']
[You have gained a new ability: 'Twilight']
[Your divinity has risen.]
Ciel's voice, which they had not heard in quite a while, resounded in Caelum's mind upon sensing the changes within him. Despite her monotone, Caelum and Erta felt her surprise. And it was not just her. Even Erta herself was dumbfounded.
They stepped out of the corridor, but the darkness no longer hung within it like a curtain. Instead, it followed Caelum, his shadow now much darker than even the evening sky itself.
The divinity he gained this time was not just the divinity that was already within Perpetual Night. His newly acquired divinity was proof of his achievement in comprehending something fundamental to existence, even if it was just a very tiny portion of it.
Caelum walked out of the passage feeling a new wave of power brewing within him. It was an exhilarating feeling that he might never get used to. But before he could let himself relish the changes in him, he snapped back into focus.
Before them was another cage, the sole thing occupying the entire room. Within it was a young and beautiful woman, exuding an incredible charm, nestled within the comfort of a velvet bed. One leg, fair of skin, dangled lazily at the edge and hovering languidly above a pool of red.
Upon hearing their footsteps, her eyes opened and stared at Caelum. Gold met with scarlet for the first time, yet the gravity seemed to pull them toward each other as though long lost lovers.
There was something inexplicable that drew them to each other. The sweet scent was no longer just that. There was a quiver in Caelum's heart that grew stronger the longer he stared at the young lady. He had the urge to rush to her side and take her in his arms.
And it was not just him as the young lady herself sat up. Her body moving on its own as she crawled forward slowly, fully entranced in the presence of someone she had never even met before. Somehow, just meeting his golden gaze was enough to deafen the endless noises of the dreadful voice in her head. She felt safe in his presence, and she wanted more.
But before anything more could happen, both Caelum and the woman regained their minds. Caelum looked at her with weariness and the woman looked at them with fear.
"Who are you? And what did you do to me?"
"I didn't do anything! Please, just leave! Before he comes!"
"Who are yo-?!"
Caelum's words were cut short as a sudden wave of delicate authority enveloped the room. The woman's terrified face was all he saw before the walls were pulled apart. The floor stretched further and further, separating Caelum and Erta from the woman in the cage.
Then the scenery changed as ornaments and decorations materialised, painting the dull stone prison into the likeness of a throne room. It was huge and spacious, but none of it seemed to matter to Caelum as his eyes locked onto a new presence among them.
Standing by the cage was a man with long black hair slightly covering his deep crimson eyes. He put a hand over his chest and bowed slightly with an overly arrogant flare.
"Once again…, welcome to my house. Come freely. Go safely. And leave something of the happiness you bring."
"It's you."
"'Tis I, indeed."
Behind the man, the floor shifted as a large thorn seemed to sprout from it. However it was not a thorn, but a spear lifting up the body of a human. And there was not just one either. There were three spears lined up behind the man, each impaling a human.
Caelum could feel the strong mana within the three and deduced who they were instantly. They were the S-rankers who raided the dungeon.
"What an honour, to think I would meet the Impaler himself!"
"You know of me? Well, I know of you as well. The Angel of Slaughter whose mercy is death! You and I are not so different."
"Perhaps… except I only offer death to my enemies."
"And I offer them to fools worth less than food! Perhaps we're not so similar after all."
Vlad Tepes, the Impaler, chuckled. He had no intention of minding the other people in the room. His eyes were solely on Caelum. His tongue slithered out and wetted his lips.
The mere presence of Caelum was driving him mad, barely keeping his urge to lunge at him and bite. Then he noticed the woman in Caelum's arms, Erta.
She looked tired, but the light in her eyes was strong. Nightless Fire had already ended, yet her divinity was still palpable. Vlad smirked and spoke to Caelum.
"I should be glad that you have your own muse, but I am infuriated that mine still chooses you and your gaze."
He looked to the side, to the woman cowering within the cage. She was clawing at the shackle on her feet until her fingers bled. She desperately tried to shut out the voices, yet it was her own voice that was drowned out.
The tears she shed were slowly joined by the blood that leaked from her eyes. She denied her own existence, yet her very being would scream it to her even louder.
The tears were now as red as her scarlet eyes.
"Ah, my dear princess…! There are darknesses in life and there are lights. And you are one of the lights, the light of all lights."
The woman glared furiously at Vlad. Her resentment was palpable, yet he only found it sweet. To him, hatred was also a form of love. The obsession he held for the woman was hideous and perverted. It was beyond what her charm could possibly create. But anyone could recognise who the victim was.
And so, Caelum put Erta down a safe distance away. He looked at the woman and she looked at him. Again, gold and scarlet met. The attraction was much stronger now, but they were not carried away. Instead the woman pleaded with her eyes. She begged for help. And Caelum faced Vlad.
"What have you done to her?"
"She suffers not from my hand, if that is your query. And yet… even if she not be harmed, her heart may fail her in so much and so many horrors. And hereafter she may suffer… both in waking, from her nerves, and in sleep, from her dreams."
"Then release her."
"Best me and you shall do with her as you please."
With that, both walked forward and released their wings.
Vlad's wings were like that of a bat's, albeit much larger and wider, emanating an aura of viciousness. In his hand, an open wound pooled blood out and forged a crimson lance.
Caelum's wings sprouted from his back, two of which crowned with white golden flames, and the other embraced by cold darkness. In his hand appeared Gungnir wrapped in a silvery aura.
And the moment they took their stances, they both rushed forward.