The Secret Behind Dark Power [Plot | Private]

 
After the Kou Civil War had ended and the results were less than appealing to the dark king of shadows, the silver hair man wondered what to do with his time. There was a phenomenon of dark djinn appearing in the world, one incident in Heliohapt which brought destruction upon the golden sands and another in Kou toward the end of the civil war. Since the final battle, Gao had remained missing or presumed dead. What were these dark djinn and why were they appearing? Why did they seem less than their Solomon counterparts, unable to rip themselves from their insatiable desire to destroy and kill? At least the monster in Heliohapt supposedly spoke, but then what made the two djinns different from one another?

Nox and Tai-Shi stood beside the king, almost like statues next to the throne, watching their king examine his crown and mumble to himself as his silver eyes gazed toward the door to his throne room.

The door shifted, creaking as it opened. Entering the room was none other than Yoshi, another of Adrastos’s most trusted allies. He had been stationed in Balbadd, keeping an eye on things and making sure the council was still under control. A few months had passed, if not much longer, since the dark king gained control of Balbadd, but he had not done anything to the gambling trading port for fear of losing control by doing something drastic.

“Yoshi,” Adrastos greeted as he stood, a thin smile upon his lips and arms outstretched, “my brother, what brings you here from Balbadd? No bad news, I hope.” Yoshi shook his head as he made his way forward. “You know as well as I, that bringing such news would be best through a lesser pawn, my king,” he bowed. “Everything is fine.” He glanced at Tai-Shi with interest, no doubt curious about the new addition and hungry for fresh meat. “The council has boosted Balbadd’s economy and strengthened their national defense, just as planned,” he kneeled in front of Adrastos, his head bowed humbly, “If we are to start manipulating things into our favor, now would be the best opportunity as eyes focus on Heliohapt, Reim, and Kina.”

The dark king walked toward his brother and placed a hand on his shoulder, “Please, Yoshi, no need to bow your head for so long. I agree, but there are still things I must do here. In fact,” he added with a note of enthusiasm, “I’m glad you’re here. We’ve been working on something I think you’ll be interested in: a man-made dungeon beast called a homunculus.”

Yoshi raised a brow. “A what?”

The dark king chuckled, “You’ll see. You’re one of the most interesting sadists I have ever met, but if you go through with this experiment… Well,” he smiled, “You could be anything you could ever want: a king,” he paused to give Yoshi a side-glance, “assassin, torturer, whatever.”

“No, sire,” he rejected, “to be a king is not within my nature and is a title more befitting of you, though I appreciate the praise. You know I just enjoy the kill, the torture; I’m itching for some change after how dull Balbadd has been since your leave.”

Adrastos reached into his coat pocket to reveal a small vial filled with an unnatural black substance. With a wild gleam in his eyes and a sinister smile, “It’s a good thing I have your antidote to boredom in this little vial then,” he said, pocketing the vial, “which I’ll give in due time. You’ve kept an eye on things for me, so what do you think I should do with Balbadd?”

Yoshi fiddled with his knives. “The country is running smoothly without your direct hand in matters thanks to the members you appointed to the cabinet. Raza has been keeping the economy growing while siphoning the very bare minimum to fund the Shadows. Zia has been strengthening the military and country security, giving us some insight on potential recruits for our numbers in the process. Honestly, I don’t see why you don’t just kill the minister and take over, stop hiding in the shadows.”

Adrastos shook his head. “I will when the time is right. Do you think I want to be seen the same as that lunatic in Heliohapt? He destroyed the capitol, split the country in three,” running a hand through his silver hair, the magician sighed. “Chaos is enjoyable, but what good is it if I can’t control that chaos? He didn’t think it through; now he has all that mess to deal with and I hear there may be a conflict between dungeon beasts and everyone that isn’t one.”

The dark king had no interest in soiling his hands in the same filthy pool as Lagi el Nagi, now Requiem Jynx, the vampire tyrant of blood-stained sands under the toxic sky. There was still so much left to do, but motivation and time often turned into obstacles. His organization still needed a base of operations, a haven to retreat if the need ever arose. A position of power was required in Kou to increase the Order of Shadows’ resources.

“All in due time,” the dark kind repeated. So much to do… Where to start? Adrastos clapped his hands together. “Right,” he said, “Let’s get you sorted first, Yoshi.” The magician would lead the way with his three subordinates following close behind. They would enter a room filled with magicians hovering over tables with liquid-filled glassware and instruments scattered on the surface. Parchment paper, scrawled with ink and crumpled into wads, was strewn across the stone floor. Human-sized containers were lined up in rows, hidden behind a black curtain covering a doorway to an adjacent room to the left. Slabs of stone adorned with leather straps split some tables apart, some still occupied by cadavers of failed experiments.

“Clear the area.”

When only the four men remained, Adrastos’ silver eyes looked at Yoshi. “Are you sure? Even I don’t know what will happen to you after the process is started.” Yoshi’s smile was insane as his eyes gleamed with fascination. “Stop wasting time with your misplaced concerns. You wouldn’t have me by your side if I couldn’t handle whatever you put me through.” Yoshi was right. The dark king put his subordinates through hell at times. This was different though; Yoshi could die just for a chance to become stronger, and he was one of his most valuable pieces. “I’ll be fine, just give it to me and leave.”

Adrastos shook his head as he grabbed a clean needle syringe. The vial was taken out of the silver-haired man’s pocket to puncture with the needle and extract the black sludge from the tiny glass casing. Nox and Tai-Shi secured Yoshi to one of the empty slabs by his ankles and wrists. Zane, the flamboyant fanalis, would have begged to be in Yoshi’s place. Shivers crawled up Adrastos’ spine.

Adrastos inserted the needle into Yoshi’s forearm after finding a suitable vein. Yoshi’s body began to violently shake. Most people would scream in agony. The sound from Yoshi’s mouth was maniacal laughter as foam pooled in his grinning mouth. The general, being new to the group and having just met the masochist, recoiled from the sight. “He’s enjoying this?” Another detail slipped the dark king’s itinerary it seemed. “I’ll introduce you later,” the magician turned on his heels to leave.

“You’re just going to leave him there? What if he dies?”

“Then he's served his purpose obviously,” his fingers massaged his right temple. Sympathy wasn't in Adrastos's nature; Yoshi was correct. If he couldn't handle it, the dark king was better off finding another candidate. Furthermore, explaining Yoshi to Tai-Shi would be exhausting, a task better left for another day. The whispers were returning, the shadow in the corner of his vision shifting ever so slightly. Erebus was calling, demanding attention.

 
Stumbling through the dimly lit corridors of the underground Alchemist hideout, Adrastos felt his chest being crushed by some invisible force. The pain in his head grew worse with each passing second, gnawing at him, distorting his vision, twisting his insides. This was not an illness; it couldn’t be something so trivial. The dark king staggered through the door to his bedchamber only to collapse on the floor.

“That’s gonna hurt,” a distorted voice chuckled. “Not as much as what you’re about to experience.”

No longer feeling the effects from moments before, Adrastos looked at a cloaked figure. The face was shrouded in shadow, with dark wisps floating of their form. Erebus, no doubt. His djinn often spoke to him in dreams or visions. The magician simply referred to them as hallucinations with no real meaning despite everything that happened since meeting the late Zhizhu. Normally, the dark djinn of shadows would manifest itself as Adrastos, but for some reason chose a different form. Adrastos couldn’t understand. Dark djinn were man-made, an accumulation of mankind’s despair, rage, and malice. Was this dark djinn the only one to talk to its master? Was this one different? Impossible.

“Is it? What about Heliohapt? Kou? Neither one acted like the other.” The figure sat in a throne resembling the skeletal chair Adrastos owned. “Maybe I, or we, are more than just a mass of mankind’s negative emotions? Maybe we can like the person the Contractor bestows us to bond with,” he said with a small twirl of its misty black hand. “Or whatever this is supposed to be.”

Adrastos remained still and silent, waiting for the apparition to get to the point behind this intrusion. He, it, or whatever, always enjoyed playing the long game, dragging out the conversation. Eventually, the silver-haired magician sighed. “Bonding isn’t in my nature. Nor is it yours, Erebus.” The dark king grabbed the apparition by the shoulders and threw him off the throne, replacing him where he sat. With legs crossed and fingers interwoven with one another, the lord of shadows stared down the phantasm of his dark metal vessel.

“Tell me your secret.”

Erebus cringed away. “If you knew, you would die,” he replied. “Then I would be destroyed or given to another person.” The dark king smirked, his teeth glinting from the candlelight. “So little faith in me? I don’t plan on dying until this world is reborn.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Adrastos leaned back and narrowed his eyes at Erebus, his smile a firm line on his face. Erebus sighed. “You’re so stubborn when you set your mind to something…”

The cloaked figure paced in front of the throne. The irony came to mind at how the roles switched. When did his master become so certain? Wasn't it only months ago that the magician questioned his resolve and path in life? With yet another heavy sigh as his shoulders lowered and back arched forward, Erebus relented. “Very well, but you must follow these precautions to the letter.”



A darkened sky boiled above the city. The wind was screaming through the streets, slamming shutters with a crack. A lone figure, illuminated only by the streaks of lightning that split apart the black clouds, stood on the outskirts. He wielded a twisted black scythe with a bone blade in his right hand. By now, the pieces were in place: Tai-Shi was on stand-by while Nox arranged things back at the base. With the destruction of Heliohapt and the crumbs left behind in Kou from the Dark Hand, he hoped this plan would go smoothly. Adrastos held his scythe with both hands, and with a swift steady motion, impaled himself with his own weapon.


Waking up, Adrastos found himself staring at the ceiling in his chambers. Beside him was a strikingly gorgeous viper with deep amethyst eyes and dark purple hair draped over her voluptuous bosom acting as the only coverage for her. “Ah,” she sighed, “so the king of shadows hasn’t succumbed to a strange illness.” The woman’s full lips puckered into a pout despite her usual steely eyes glimmering with traces of relief. Adrastos rolled his eyes as he sat up.

There were no windows in the room to indicate the time of day. The tone of the woman’s voice was not concerned, but playful. Concern wasn’t a word in her vocabulary. She was a mirror image of himself; the only difference was she was still capable of feeling pain and emotions. Adrastos watched as she stood to pour a glass of wine in two glasses. “Even if I was ill, I wouldn’t keel over,” the dark mage responded. “So don’t sound so disappointed that I haven’t.” She chuckled. “My dear,” she cooed as she offered him a glass, “I wouldn’t have married you if I was so eager for your death or thought you to be so weak.”

The king of shadows reached out to take the glass, but stopped when he noticed how his hand trembled. Noticing this, his wife set the glass aside and firmly held his hand with her dainty palms. “Your body is still recovering,” she sighed. “Why…” Through her long lashes, she gazed at Adrastos. “Why didn’t you bring me? Or tell me your plan?” One hand reached out to cradle his shallow cheek. “Instead you left me here to wait until your general brought your limp body back. I almost did think you had died, you foolish man. What were you thinking?” Ahh… there was worry after all. The corners of his mouth twitched, almost as if the ghost of emotions tickled at his facial muscles to react. “It needed to be done,” he answered. “And? Was it worth it?”

Silence.

The king of shadows couldn’t remember the events of that fateful night. Just screams, fire, destruction, death. It was all a blur. But if she didn’t know what happened, then that would have meant Tai-Shi… Was he protecting her? From what?

A knock.

Entering with solemn expressions were Tai-Shi and Nox. Tai-Shi bowed, but only Nox said anything. “We need to talk about what happened.”