…
Darkness. 
What is it exactly?
It is said to be the state of no light. When nothing could be seen or perceived. When there is absolutely nothing. When the world has just begun to birth itself. A state far above and far beyond the fleeting existence of mere mortals. All are born from the darkness, and all will fall into it once they have carried their time.
One could not simply escape it.
So what does it say to become a master of it? To become a master of the existential point that came before and shall be our after? What does it mean to be in control of a power that, by the grander plan of cosmos, signifies the end of mortality? Is that truly…a mastery of it? Could one become a master, of something that meant your nonexistence? Could ever, truly, control it?
That is quite an odd question, young man, what is darkness?
Why are you interested?
…
“My Lord,” called a voice to him. A small, winged creature postured beneath his feet, “they have arrived.”
A long, draped hand motioned to him. “Let them in,” he spoke softly, his voice booming. The thoughts that occupied his mind were fleeting.
The creature bowed. It turned its slithery body, not like a humanoid but neither like a worm, and proceeded to the door.
“Halt!” he said. The small effort he gave to his voice shook the room he was in. “Come over here, if you would.”
The creature looked over to its master. It bowed again, understanding the orders clearly, before resuming opening the door.
One could never take control of the darkness. One may, in their hearts, pray that it could be tamed. Whether with purifying light, a prayer that shall ward it off and bring back all of the life on earth. But one could never get rid of true darkness. For a fact, it shall always exist. It shall always give birth, and it shall always take life. And those who seek to stave it off, are bound to experience…disappointments.
“You may come in,” the creature hissed to the guests.
Darkness shall thrive, because it ought to so. It is the original ruler. It is the originator of all. The true state of the earth. It is ungovernable, untameable. 
It is extraordinary.
Would you not consider as much so, My Liege?
A deep laugh reverberated through the chamber, which was meant to be a chuckle. Three smaller figures turned their heads, looking for the origin of that effect.
“Looks like he is in a good mood!” the young man claimed.
“Shut it, Clavat!” the sharp-dressed lady snapped at him.
The third, a lady in a dress continued to move herself until she was in front of him. She lowered herself to the ground, gracefully, almost coquettishly. The previous two joined in soon after.
“Greeting, Lord Vacuo.”
“I welcome all of you back, my friends.” The figure did not opted to greet back, nor even stand up from his seat at least. But he had no need to. His followers worshipped his presence enough as it was.  “I am quite happy, to see you all return.”
All three took a bow. “The pleasure is ours,” said Penna. 
“Now…tell me all,” he asked of them. The winged creature moved over to lie under his arm. “What happened?”
…
Azure stood over the edge of the highest roof in the city. The whole of cityscape was revealed in front of him like a mural within a museum. To be said that he was mesmerized, would be an understatement.
This world had become vaster. In fact, it had become even louder, too. Brighter, as well, to the point that in his mind, any darkness that could’ve resided there would have been chased away before it took root. He could imagine the miniature Torques scrambling for safety from all of the accursed shining lights that plagued the streets. If Lord Vacuo was any other villain, him coming here would have been ridiculous.
Speaking of that devil, a thought occurred. That is to say, it returned again. Was it truly because of the King himself? The spirits have come to a temporary conclusion, that the actions of the villains were likely due to King Magus, who was heading the ARKYO Institute. This made the most sense, for as to why leave the town down to one general. They had basically been given a free chance to destroy whatever the base they’d built in that small, unknown area. But, even so, that still carried in it more questions. Including the whys, the whats, and the whos. Like a never-ending cup, to which one might pour rivers only to never fill it up. The questions shall arise again and again.
It was then that Azure’s mind stumbled upon a thought. In the same manner, as one would a rock that reminded them of the same one near their house. They truly were ignorant, he realized. But now, they had a chance to learn more.
“Zamarad?” he called, the upper-level gust of wind barely deafening his non-existent voice, “I know I have not dealt with such questions, but I feel that now would be the most appropriate.”
He looked over his shoulder. Rose was sitting down, meditative stance, completely cut off from the world. Next to her, Zamarad, her towering protector was looking over the princess. Kage was missing, as he usually had been. Neither even questioned that he was,  but as to where, most likely just searching Lord Vacuo again. He could always return with some more news.
“What is it?” the emerald warrior spoke. Her voice was even, as to not disturb the princess.
“About the His Highness, the king,” Azure said, making her flinch. Her gaze was squarely on Rose, before she moved it over to him. She seemed to be irritated, and hesitating. “You may reveal it to her on your own time, but do you not see it as important to share this information with all of us? I get that, you swore an oath to Rose, to be more truthful to her first. But I think we were also the victims of your secrecy?”
“I do not need you to stimulate me, Azure,” she snapped at him back, even tone still. Then she softened, “I care a lot about Rose. She is a sister to me. You do understand?”
Azure nodded sympathetically. “Of course,” he said. This fact had become more than apparent as of late. “We will reveal it to her posthaste, as the time arrives. Now then, are you prepared to answer?”
Zamarad scowled, but gave in and nodded nonetheless. 
“You have the worst habit to say the most necessary things,” she said sorely. “Now then, what is it, that you oh so desire to learn? Perhaps the king’s secret plan? I am afraid I have told you all that I can on the matter.”
“Whatever else you can say about the king,” he answered. “I knew him mostly as a ruler and as a father, but never a schemer. Would you consider sharing some of that side of him?”
Zamarad softly scoffed. “What could I share? Hum, naught but wasted air. His cowardice? Plans to use the souls of his people to save himself? His self-servitude, plans to use of his own daughter as an experiment? His two-face nature, and deception towards tying his death away with loyalty of his people?”
“He had survived for nearly thousands and thousands of years,” Azure mentioned.
“As I have come to guess, but never stated,” Zamarad noted to him.
“Regardless, that could surely mean that he made more than enough time to follow a new plan, in these modern times. From a glance, how would you say, is it possible for him to fuel his goal again with this?”
Zamarad furrowed her brows. “What do you mean?”
“You mentioned how previously, this cowardly two-faced man, would look into enacting some sort of a plan, perhaps to make himself immortal. Because of outside factors, here and there, that ended for naught. Surely, he might try the same plan again?” He then pointed over his own shoulder.
Zamarad followed his finger and glanced into the city. She came to understand what he meant, growing horrified. Not from a suggestion, it looked like. But from it being more than a possible explanation.
“So you suggest,” she said, clicking her teeth, “his plan is to replicate the original?”
“I am pointing towards a possibility,” Azure noted. He was unhappy himself, truth be told. These thoughts are truly vexing, indeed. “We have no information of his current plans, as to the reason he would found an institute. His previous actions point towards this goal, of all miserable things.”
“That would not work.”
Azure raised his eyebrow. 
“That trick would require more than a simple spell, Azure. He would have to reach to every possible corner, affect every possible person alive. Believe me, when I say this, that the feasibility of this spell only came to be because of his kinghood. Every part of this land would have to be filled with special type of mineral, collected and administered under his own orders. From the buildings to the clothes, to the land itself, they would be filled with such cursed clods. He would make sure that any who would ever come, live with and leave from him, would be a part of his spell.”
Azure narrowed his eyes. “Would it not be possible for a man who would live a millennia as we do a year to reconstruct it again? Surely with time, and right motivation, he could, possibly, find a way?” 
He waited for Zamarad’s response, but all she gave were scowls and signs of disagreement. On some level, she probably saw him as not far off. And yet, she wouldn’t concede to his suggestions yet. 
“So, which is it?” he goaded her.
She peeked at Rose. “It would also require common sacrifice,” she responded, finally. “As it happened to be, whenever he chose a town to burn.” She then looked away and became quiet, for considerable amount of time. She was trying to pick words. “There are no more bloodshed being given these days, at least as commonly as it was in our time. This spell that we spoke of, it would require life force. It followed the same principal, that made what we are, right now.”
Azure narrowed his eyes, only to promptly widen them. A chill came up his spine. “Are…you suggesting…the spell that transferred our souls..?”
“Yes,” she confirmed, turning the other ghost pale. “I had wondered how Lahpa-Pessa managed to move our souls, but most likely it was due to this spell. It seemed that she took action as soon as she saw the possibility. Quite crafty mind.”
Azure bit on his tongue. He did not want to think or prod any further than this. But he had to steer this conversation anyways. 
“So…then,” he proceeded to collect himself, words stumbling. He had no idea if the emerald warrior noticed. “As you say, it is impossible for him to perform this spell due to its complexity. However, could he still do this on a smaller scale?”
Zamarad seemed to have thought on it, then placed her hand on her fist. 
“Where are you going with this?” she asked with inquisitive look.
“I believe, Vacuo might have considered this as well.”
“Aah!”
Both of them turned to Rose. She was on her hands, panting into the roof’s surface.
“Your Highness? Rose!” Zamarad called out to her, seeing the princess shake. 
The two stared at the princess, who would not respond. After a moment, she seemed to have slowly collected herself, before entering into another trance. It was at this point that they both dropped the conversation, for the meanwhile. 
Soon enough, the princess opened her eyes and gasped.
“Rose!” Zamarad called to her again. 
The princess simply exhaled, clearly from all the stress she exhibited. Being dead did not stop her from looking like she had nearly battled for her life.
“I am far from a novice, and not even an expert,” Rose admitted, still shaking lightly. “And yet, I am not proud of how little I learned.”
Azure exchanged glanced with Zamarad. The emerald warrior helped the princess up, while he asked what exactly happened. From few words she gave, she came across as mostly annoyed and disappointed, despite the sudden attack. But, when in the desert, anything is more than nothing.
“Tell us all you can, Rose.” Zamarad said to her, holding by her shoulder.
Rose sighed, then covered her face. Azure considered if it really was such a good idea to have her use her sensory powers within the city. While they are surely not far from ARKYO, this area was huge. The town required them half of day to do a thorough search. Here, by estimation, would require three days, done without a pause.
“I am sure,” Rose spoke, carefully, “that I’ve seen my father. And without a doubt, he is within that institute.”
“And?” Zamarad asked, her tone strong yet gentle.
“He may have seen me.” 
Both of the spirits fell aback from hearing this. As they exchanged glances, both realized they shared the same thought, and so did Rose, probably.
“However, I do not know if he sensed it,” the princess told them, “but it as though we have connected. I believe in my efforts, I managed to alert him of our presence, for better or for worse.”
All three went silent. Having the king learn of their presence was not preferable for any of them. They’ve essentially lost their surprise factor, and perhaps the princess felt awful for messing it up. On the other hand, who was to say that the King might be less inclined to see his own daughter again? They knew very little of him, of course. This could go in variety of ways.
“What of the forces of Vacuo’s?” Azure asked, opting on not dwelling on this question. 
The princess looked away, her arms folded. She moved away from Zamarad towards the edge, passing by the blue warrior.
“I am deign to say I am surprised, but,” she then mournfully laid her head on her palm, “they have hidden as well. There does seem to be a trail of dark matter, where Kage has been going to. I believe he can gleam into it more than I ever could.”
She became silent again, looking more and more depressed by the second. Azure, despite both of them being spirits and on top of multiple storey building, suddenly felt colder standing there. He looked to Zamarad, perhaps to find a mutual companion, only to find her glaring at him. It was at this moment, that the pressure fell on him again. 
Why am I responsible one again? He wondered in his thoughts.
“What of Taja?” he asked
Rose promptly turned and looked at him. Immediately after, she then looked to Zamarad. After a while, she smiled and laughed, taking away the chill they felt earlier.
“Somewhere nearby. No need to worry, both of you,” she said coyly. This earned her looks from both. “Tomorrow, we can find her along with her current host. It seems she has been doing well. Now, how long has it been, since we last saw her?”
“Far too long,” Zamarad said. “This miscreant has always made trouble.”
Azure chuckled. He could not agree more. After all, Taja was first to have perished. And now, she was last to be found. She would constantly make it a game for all of them to find and catch her. Seems these things will never change.
Azure looked to the cityscape again, bright and loud as it was. Both Rose and Zamarad joined in that endeavor, enamored by their surroundings.
They were almost whole.
…
“That is all,” Penna finished her speech. 
Lord Vacuo stroke behind the ear of one of the winged creature. It was lying and purring, like a pet. A twisted one of course, fitting for the lord.
“I see,” he whispered, his voice echoing in the chamber. “So he may have seen the warning and came prepared. Well done, Clavat.”
Clavat, quite literally, looked more elated from hearing this. He even puffed up his chest, which bothered the most reserved member of the collective.
“You’re welcome, my lord!” he winked, making Penna groan.
“How is your end, Brachia?” Lord Vacuo spoke, filling the chamber with his heavy voice. He then moved his hand to under the creature and brought it close to himself. 
“Slow, but sure,” Brachia said, airily as usual. “The plan is working wonderfully, my Lord.” Her eyes were locked on the demon, as she noticed the interest that her master seemed to be taking to it. “If I may ask something?”
“Of course,” he answered simply, scratching the tiny pet’s hand with his large hand.
“While I am not too worried about our mole, but is it right to put him through this situation at all?” she said, getting a look from Penna. The two have shared the sentiment, but the latter was always surprised whenever the former would spontaneously throw restraint.
“He will survive, he always did.” He raised the demon to his face. This made all three of them focused on that creature, as if they were eyeing some forbidden treasure. 
Lord Vacuo looked no different than darkness itself. While one could see that there was a face, some hands, a pair of feet, and other parts of the body that looked normal, whenever they looked at him, it was as if they stared at a collection of black dots. Or a cut part of lightless room. Perhaps, it was for this reason that, as he swallowed the demon whole, none of them flinched. They had not realized that he consumed the creature
“Pardon me,” he even said, in a manner that meant he did something rude. Neither of the three understood what he did until some point later. Once they did, their reaction was quite different.
“My Lord!” Penna stood up, looking alarmed. “Do not tell me-!”
“Quiet, Penna.” He motioned her down, which she did. She quietly hissed at herself for being so inopportune. “I was simply hungry, that is all. The darkness is growing within me. It is…an unruly force, so I might have felt hungry. Off you go.” He then dismissed them with another wave.
The three stood up, without a question. That said, when others chose to walk away, only Clavat stayed in his spot. When the two were at the door did Penna tried to call for him.
“Hey!” Clavat shouted, almost managing to fill the chamber with his voice. “We should try and cause chaos or something. Like old times! It has been a while, hasn’t it? What do you say?”
“Clavat!” Penna yelled, her eyes wide with horror. “What are you-“
“Hmm…”
She looked up to her lord, who seemed to be contemplative. She could never imagine that he would ever give something like this a thought. And yet, behind the think veil of darkness, a smile showed itself.
“Perhaps so…” he said. “Let us give a visit…to this modern world.”
…