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Aris Noble
I changed it to this: As Aris moved closer, straining to reach Braze, the thick, inky blackness beneath him began to churn, alive with a malevolent pulse. It latched onto him, drawing him into its suffocating embrace. The shadows tightened, slithering around his legs, dragging him ever deeper into the blackened mire. The darkness clung to him, thick and treacherous, pulling him under as though the ground beneath his feet had transformed into a bottomless abyss. The tendrils of shadow coiled tighter, and tighter, spiraling up his legs, creeping toward his waist, crawling up to his chest with a relentless hunger, as though it sought to devour him whole.
Aris's strength, once seemingly unstoppable, became his curse. Every struggle tightened the shadows' grip, dragging him faster and deeper into the depths. The more he fought, the more he sealed his fate—his power fueling the very force that would consume him. The oppressive atmosphere echoed with mocking laughter, the kind that vibrated through the very ground beneath him.
The
Shade of Regret emerged fully now, its voice booming through the realm with a cruel, gleeful cackle that echoed endlessly through the twisted landscape.
"You feel it, don't you?" the Shade taunted, its voice dripping with malice, slithering into Aris's mind. The suffocating ink slithered up to his ear, drowning out the world as it crept inside, muffling sound and thought alike. It seemingly seeped into his skull, wrapping his mind in a cold, silent haze.
"There's power coursing through your veins. But you are not its master—you never were. You think you hold it back, that you have control, but it has always been there, waiting... waiting for you to break. Why fight it? You were never meant to resist. Let it out. Unleash it." The shadows seemed to be feeding off Aris's internal battle. The more the Shade spoke, the more the realm squeezed, urging him to give in, to let go.
Then, with a dark shift, the Shade turned its attention to Braze, its words now digging into the heart of the young boy's despair. The shadows around Braze's limp body seemed to throb, as the Shade revealed the cruel truth.
"You thought someone would come for you? That someone could save you?" The voice softened, dripping with mock pity as it circled Braze like a vulture over prey.
"You are already mine. Why struggle? Accept it. Let the darkness wrap around your heart. No one has ever escaped this place... and neither will you." A sickening realization settled into the air. The realm had been using Braze all along—
a puppet to lure Aris deeper into its trap, to weaken his defenses, to draw out the conflict within him. Braze's once-frantic struggles ceased, his face contorting in twisted resignation as the darkness further claimed him. His eyes, distant and hollow, were no longer his own. The Shade laughed again, a rumbling sound that reverberated through the very fabric of the realm.
"See how easily he crumbles, little spark? Just like you will in due time."
Little spark...?
That was it!
Through the crushing weight of shadow and despair, a memory flared to life flashing before Braze's eyes—faint, but still burning within Braze's heart. One of the first lessons his master,
Jasper Kai'el
, had taught him. Force Light.
Summoning what remained of his strength, Braze reached deep, pulling at the thread of light buried beneath the darkness. At first, it was barely a glimmer, a single star trembling in the vast void. But then—suddenly—the light burst forth, a radiant blaze, hotter and brighter than he had ever imagined.
It ignited in his palms, a dazzling firestorm of brilliance that cut through the suffocating shadows. Blinding, searing, resplendent—the light erupted like a supernova, its brilliance unstoppable. The very air around him seemed to shimmer, vibrating with the intensity of the pure, uncompromising radiance.
The darkness writhed and recoiled in agony, the tendrils of shadow curling under the sheer might of the light. It was hope made manifest, a defiant blaze against the overwhelming abyss.
The beacon of light in his hands was glorious and fierce, its warmth spreading through the void like a wildfire, and for a brief, beautiful moment, the realm itself trembled under its power. The hopeful sentiment of warmth Enveloped both Braze and Aris.
The darkness surged, writhing in agony as Braze's
Force Light erupted, a blinding burst that cut through the suffocating void. The Shade recoiled with an agonized screech, its form splintering and distorting under the searing light. But it was resilient, its essence clinging to the shadows, struggling to
overwhelm the two boys, determined to snuff out their defiance.
Just as the Shade's power began to crush the last embers of hope, the darkness
shifted, as though the very fabric of the realm had been disrupted. A ripple spread through the shadows, and suddenly, the suffocating blackness around them
shuddered—not from the boys' efforts, but from something else.
Then he appeared.
Out of the inky void, a figure emerged—tall, composed, his silhouette one with the shadows. His glowing blue-white eyes cut through the darkness with cold persecution, and the shadows recoiled, shrinking back like prey before a predator.
"You've fought well," he said, his voice calm but filled with quiet authority.
"But you're in over your heads, precious starlights."
The Shade hissed violently, its twisted form writhing in defiance, but the realm itself seemed to tremble before the figure's presence. With a single, deliberate gesture, the shadows clinging to Aris and Braze shuddered and slithered away, dissolving under the force of his will. The suffocating weight that had pinned them down lifted, leaving the two boys gasping. Braze's light flickered faintly in the aftermath, still glowing in the hollow of his palm, though he could barely feel it now.
"You're lucky I came when I did," the figure added, his glowing gaze lingering on Aris, weighing him for a moment.
"But don't mistake this for kindness."
The Shade, in one final, desperate surge, reared up, its form swelling like a tidal wave of darkness, ready to crash down. But Vael'Ruun's voice rang out, steady as steel.
"Enough."
With a smooth, predatory grace, Vael'Ruun stepped into the heart of the shadows, moving through the darkness as if it were his natural element. His hand sliced through the air with a deliberate gesture, and a faint pulse of shadowy energy radiated from his fingertips. The Shade let out a soundless, agonized scream, its form twisting and writhing as cracks of light appeared along its surface, like fissures in a glass vessel.
The Shade shattered, its dark tendrils splintering into nothingness, swirling into black smoke that quickly dissipated into the void. The oppressive weight in the air vanished, and with it, the dark grip that had been suffocating the boys.
As the Shade was destroyed, the ground beneath Aris and Braze gave a faint rumble, as if the realm itself were adjusting, unsettled by the sudden absence of its dark master. Braze slumped forward, his chest heaving as he took deep, ragged breaths. The energy he had poured into the Force Light had drained him, and the glow in his palm flickered out, leaving only the lingering warmth of its memory.
Aris, freed from the shadows' grasp, felt the cold bite of the void recede, but his strength, so formidable in the physical realm, felt strangely hollow here. The realm had fed off his power, possibly leaving him unsteady.
"This is my domain," Vael'Ruun declared, as the last remnants of the Shade evaporated into nothing.
He turned to face the boys, his gaze steady, his glowing eyes softening with a quiet, almost paternal calm. The shadows around him no longer seemed menacing; instead, they seemed to flow with him, part of him, bending to his will.
"You're not the first outsiders to stumble here, little starlights." he continued, his voice quieter now, almost thoughtful.
"But perhaps you'll be the first to survive."
The silence that followed the Shade's destruction was eerie, but it carried with it a strange sense of relief—as though something had been released from the heart of the realm.
