Chapter 65: C65 – Darkness

"So you're close to advancing? The magic pyramid would indeed be a good place for you."

After hearing his son's inquiry, Ryker rubbed his chin in thought. 

"Alright. I'll get you in. In three days meet me there at sunrise. Bring anything you might need for anything you want to do."

"Understood. Can Ava join as well?"

"Sure. I can arrange another room."

"Thank you, Mister Strider."

Hearing Ryker's willingness to help, Ava gave her thanks. Ryker smiled and nodded at her. 

With these plans made, Dirk and Ava finished eating before showing themselves out. 

...........

The next few days, Dirk continued to go about his peaceful life. 

Neither he nor Ava did any training. Not only did Ava need to heal, but Dirk didn't believe any training would be effective. As their anima Rank increased, he found that training became less and less beneficial. The normal human body would have to maintain consistent and constant training to retain its peak physical state. But with Anima, that fact diminished in truth. Anima maintained Dirk's monstrous stamina regardless of whether he trained or not. At the very least, Dirk could go a few weeks without training and likely not suffer any repercussions. So taking a few days off would be nothing more than a small rest. 

With that, he earnestly focused on his mana heart and magic. 

With his mind clear, Dirk found himself creating more and more runes required to create the mana heart rune. At the same time, he studied the extra material his enchanting teacher handed him, and he found many more inspirations and connected dots. He quickly advanced in skill and comprehension. 

As for the level of the mana heart itself, it had been at the cusp of advancing for a while now. Dirk had been holding back, refraining from practicing his mana lungs until he completed the rune. After that, it would only take a little nudge, and he would officially step into the Tier 3 realm. 

At times though, Dirk would find himself stuck while forming runes. When this happened, he switched to studying his spells. Two of the spells he glanced at were Void Walking and Curse of Darkness.

Void Walking required a Tier 4 or exceptional Tier 3 mage to practice. Dirk wasn't either of these things because he hadn't even formed his earth mana heart, let alone his dark mana one, and Rita herself had only just begun using this technique when Dirk entered the academy. After a year, she had taken a full step into the Tier 5 realm, and her Void Walking seemed to be perfect. However, Rita was a pure Dark Mage and a genius when it came to the dark element. Dirk's focus was split between enchanting, his other elemental spells, and anima. Training any one thing would take longer. Luckily, he at least had good affinities for his elements. This made training spells that much easier. 

In essence, everything required forming runes. Spellcasting, otherwise known as magic, was forming runes and attaching them to a magic circle, forming a closed circuit that could control and emit its power. The runes in these spells were merely instructions containing every detail of the movement of mana and the effects of its manifestation. 

Enchanting was also comprised of forming runes. One formed runes and then attached them to similar mana circuits, like code in a machine. However, the big difference between enchanting and spellcasting was that enchanting required one to attach mana to a physical object. It brought together the ethereal and material. Thus, it was many times more difficult to enchant than spellcast. One had to have the 'innate ability', though Dirk disproved this misconception through the attainment of his [Mana Resonance] skill. 

Knowing this, Dirk came to form the understanding that the key to all things magic was runes. Thus, the way to become stronger was to increase one's ability to form runes. This required comprehension of one's elements. 

Runes were a magical language, one that communicated with and controlled the mana around them. The runic language had long been established in this world. Countless books had been filled across millennia that constantly expounded on magical theory. Low level spells had long been perfected, and everyone in this prosperous era was advantaged in that they merely needed to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors. 

Dirk knew that forming his own understanding of magic was important, but he also wasn't one to reinvent the wheel. As he enhanced his comprehensions, he constantly referred back to all the spell texts his AI had scanned and stored. He would often have visuals of the runes within the books displayed in his vision as he formed runes in the air. He would search for the meanings behind each and every line, angle, and connection as he sought to match the runes perfectly. 

For 3 days, Dirk did this. He and Ava both. Ava had picked out multiple water spells that she now studied. She and Dirk would lock themselves away in his magic workshop with a denser mana environment, and there would constantly be flashes of light as magical lines formed themselves at the behest of their masters. Dirk and Ava's fingers fluttered around, mana tracing along their tips. 

For Ava, sitting and spending hours practicing spells and cultivating mana wasn't a new thing. Unlike Dirk, she only had anima, alchemy, and a single element to train. With Dirk's three element classes, enchanting and forging classes, and then his obsession with physical training, he never dedicated a lot of time to training magic. Until now, it had only been a supportive thing he used. His physical body was still his go-to weapon. 

But now, Dirk was dedicating all his time to studying magic, plunging into the fathomless depths of its profundity. At first, Dirk had trouble spending more than a couple hours or so at a time practicing magic. But on the second day, he went for an entire 12 hours, never ceasing to form runes and study them. 

Not even Ava could spend so long concentrated on one thing, and she had spent many more hours than Dirk practicing magic. Dirk's concentration had surprised her. However, with how many secrets he had and the amazing things he was capable of, this much wasn't enough to shock her. She was only impressed by his sheer, absolute focus. 

Though, perhaps what was more shocking was his endurance. Practicing magic consumed energy, and a lot of it. It was a big limiter for Ava, and she could only go several hours with light energy usage at most before wanting to fall into a deep sleep from exhaustion. But Dirk seemed to have endless mental energy. He formed runes nonstop, moving from one train of thought to another without any breaks. Ava could maintain such energy consumption for perhaps a few hours, a mere fraction of what Dirk could. 

Unbeknownst to her, a part of this discrepancy was due to their mana cultivation methods. Dirk's could be called one of the best, especially for him who had multiple attributes. It came from Duke Hillshire who had received it as a gift from the emperor himself. Such a gift was anything but ordinary, and it had been handed down to Dirk as its sole practitioner due to its strenuous requirements. 

Though, a large part of the discrepancy between them was caused by their differences in talent. While it wasn't an absolute fact that more attributes indicated greater talent, it was a rather reliable indicator. Those with multiple attributes, or one of the rare light or dark attributes, regularly surpassed their peers at the same level. Dirk not only had three attributes, but the dark attribute was one of them. All of them had high affinities too. His talent could be called unrivaled. For him to display such amazing feats of magical stamina wasn't at all uncalled for. 

However, Ava couldn't truly see the extent of Dirk's talent or rapid pace of comprehension. Not even Dirk knew how much or how quickly he was advancing. 

All Dirk could feel while practicing for 12 hours straight was this sense of wonder. This wonder grew and grew, until he entered an ethereal state. His mind seemed to become one with the mana around him as all these comprehensions permeated into his soul. He felt like he was directly communicating with mana itself, understanding its language and forming a deeper connection with it. 

When he entered this state, those 12 hours passed incredibly quickly. Dirk felt himself fall deeper and deeper into the deep end of this mystical enlightenment.

However, as he fell further and further down, he suddenly felt a certain darkness creep up and reach out to him. There were dark tendrils that wished to reach out and pull his soul down into the abyss below, infecting him with chaos. For a while, Dirk didn't seem to care about this. It felt good to just let go and bask in the wonder of discovery. 

But then, something within him lit up. Dirk's mind snapped to lucidity, and he realized what was happening. Feeling himself about to be lost to that darkness, he gritted his teeth and fought back. The light of his soul shone brightly on the darkness that had almost wrapped around him. Only, this light didn't burn it away, but wrested away control. 

Dirk utilized his mind and will to control and convert this darkness to his own, making it a part of him. He had realized that this darkness, although it sought to infect him, still contained comprehensions of the element. He felt a desire for this as he still felt as if he were being enlightened. When he took control though, he understood something. The darkness around him was the embodiment of the dark element. This darkness acted as if it were alive, and that was in fact the truth. 

Dirk had long wondered why people like Garel who were dark mages were as chaotic as they were. He had concluded that something about the dark element drove them to be that way. Now, he realized that this was it. 

To meditate on magic was to plunge into its depths, subjecting yourself to it and gleaning secrets. But if you did that with the dark element that seemed alive, you risked giving some of yourself up to it. To understand the dark element was to subject yourself to its nature, thus allowing you to understand its nature and wield it. 

But this led to the person in question becoming a little bit insane. The chaos of the dark element infected that person, changing who they were. But these people wouldn't care since they attained more power, so they willingly did so. 

Dirk didn't want that though. He, above all others, hated discord. He was quite the opposite of chaotic. He was orderly, strict. He sought understandable patterns and predictability. Even in battle, a time of chaos, he found order and calculated risk. 

He would never hand himself to chaos. He was a man of discipline. And when the darkness sought to infect him with its filthy chaos, he didn't just push it away, but rebelled. He injected himself into the darkness, taking the power for himself. It was almost like his soul was burning as his very being took control of this foreign invader.

When that happened, there was a low roar. In that sea of mana around Dirk, everything shook. The darkness then revealed deep black eyes that stood out even in the abyss, looking at Dirk with hostility. He gazed back. It revealed endless nothingness and anarchy. It contrasted greatly against Dirk's bright soul, and it wanted nothing more than to eat him, turning him into its vessel. 

But it couldn't. With that roar, the tendrils that weren't taken over by Dirk retracted. Then, Dirk was ejected from his ethereal state, returning to reality. 

"Argh!!"

Opening his eyes, Dirk let out a loud grunt. His hands grabbed his head as a stabbing pain shot through it. He fell and writhed on the floor. 

While he had taken over some of the darkness that sought to infect him, it had come at a great price. Compared to the being that controlled the very dark element itself, Dirk was absolutely nothing. The tiniest modicum of its power had caused him to overexert himself in order to fight it. 

"Dirk? What happened?!"

Not far from Dirk, Ava was stunned. She had been practicing peacefully when he suddenly yelled. This shocked her, causing her heart to jump out of her chest. Dirk wasn't easily harmed, and if he couldn't handle pain, it was unknown how amazingly deep that pain had to be. 

"Gahh!! Hahh!"

"Hey! What's going on?!"

Dirk continued to exclaim in pain on the floor. Now, Ava was scared a bit as she could only watch. Thankfully, Dirk seemed to get his pain under control as his grunts died down. After a few minutes, he was quiet except for his heavy breaths.

"I'm... fine."

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Dirk spoke to Ava who continued to sit beside him. There was still a sharp pain in his head, but that much he could deal with. He took a few deep breaths as he sat against a wall, his limbs limp as if he were dying. 

"Are you okay? What happened?"

Ava moved over, taking a handkerchief out of her pocket and wiping his forehead that was now dripping sweat. Learning from Dirk, she had also started carrying one. 

"I... was only meditating, if you could call it that. But, there was this darkness that wanted to grab me. It was the dark element."

"The dark element? How did it grab you?"

"It was alive."

Dirk shuddered a bit as he remembered the encounter. While he had a battle hardened mind that wouldn't be fazed even in the face of death, in front of that dark existence, he felt amazingly insignificant. That existence could be likened to some kind of god, one that ruled over an entire element. To be gazed at by that being caused his very soul to shake. Thankfully he got out quickly. 

"The element was alive. It wanted to grab me, but I fought it. Fighting it... took a lot out of me though. I'll be fine. Just need some sleep..."

Dirk muttered as fatigue rapidly overtook his mind. Ava was worried as she supported his body that started to tilt. 

"I... Are you sure you're okay? I can go get your parents."

"No, they can't do anything. I wasn't hurt, only a bit shaken. I just need rest. Sorry... for worrying you."

"Hm?"

At that moment, Dirk's body went soft as he laid against Ava. She heard his shallow breathing and knew he had fallen asleep. Seeing that, she sighed before grabbing his body, picking him up and carrying him to his bedroom.

After laying him in his bed, Ava felt a bit of fatigue set in too. She had also been practicing all day and was tired. As for eating, she had sat motionless for hours, so she wasn't even hungry. 

Deciding that she was too tired to care, Ava slipped into the bed as well. Her heart beat a bit in nervousness, but as they had slept in even closer proximity before, Ava didn't mind that much. After a minute or so, she lost herself in the warmth and comfort of the bed while worriedly watching Dirk's sleeping face, falling deep asleep herself. 

..........

That night, Dirk's mind didn't just sleep. When Dirk fell unconscious, he felt himself plunge back into that ocean of mana. 

Many different mages had many different visions of what mana was to them. To practice magic was to subject yourself to it, and while doing this, one usually visualized their experiences in different ways. 

Mana could be considered a dimension in and of itself. It existed alongside the material world, permeating through all facets of existence. When one communicated with mana, they used their souls to communicate with this dimension. While doing this, they experienced this dimension and visualized it in their own unique way. 

For Dirk, he saw it as an ocean with an endless depth. This ocean was comprised of the mana he could see. Even as a child, Dirk had come to see mana as an ever-present fluid around him, like air. He could see endless seas of fire, lightning, rock, and metal. Then, there was darkness. 

When Dirk had lost himself in enlightenment, he had fully plunged into this ocean of elements. However, when he lost himself, darkness struck, and he was forced to fight back. 

Now, as Dirk dreamed, he found himself back in this ocean of mana. Looking down, Dirk could see that endless depth, a void of chaos. 

He floated above this void amidst the other ordered elements like earth and fire. For a while, Dirk wondered why he was back in this ocean. Then, he saw those two eyes of nothingness open back up in the void. They bore into Dirk's soul with unsuppressed hostility, but also curiosity. 

A pure soul...

Suddenly, Dirk heard a voice. The voice was horrible to hear, both grating and terrifying. Dirk would cover his ears, but this voice pierced directly into his soul, imprinting the voice into his mind. It caused him to grit his teeth. 

You will be mine. You cannot fight me. Give up your soul, and become my vessel! You will wield limitless power!

This voice spoke again. Dirk was shocked to hear this. This was the voice of the darkness. This was the Will of the dark element! Dirk had never heard anything about communicating with an element before. Then, he suddenly realized that this was the source of the whispers he heard when losing himself in his lust for battle. It was the source of temptation. 

Dirk was able to quickly surmise what was going on. It was an offering. Dirk's pure soul, this Will wanted it. A perfect vessel capable of limitless growth, there was no better deal! 

Dirk could attain limitless power, grasping the very source of the dark element, becoming the ultimate dark mage! Dirk would surpass even his sister, who to the current him, was an insurmountable existence.

But, that would require giving himself up. This could be described with a single sentence.

Selling your soul to the devil. 

Come to me, and grasp my secrets. Through me, you will ascend. You will become a god! Just let yourself sink. Let go, and bask in my endless darkness.

Dirk gritted his teeth as more words came into his mind. At the same time, tendrils of darkness crawled up to him. They morphed into dozens of hands that wished to pull Dirk down. 

Before these hands could touch him though, Dirk looked straight into the eyes of that darkness. His lips curved into a sneer, though it was a pained one.

"Get the hell away from me. I'll grasp your secrets on my own. You want to come and eat me? Just wait for me to go down there myself! When I do, I expect a full course meal!"

Insolence!

There was a rumbling as the ocean of mana shook with a shockwave. Dirk's soul lit up once more, and he reached out to take some of the darkness that reached out to him. However, this darkness instead formed a small bullet that shot out at him. This little bundle of darkness flung Dirk away as the tendrils retreated. 

I will have your soul! Dare to encroach on my territory, and you will feel my wrath! You will never wield my dark element as long as I exist! Begone!

Suddenly, a wave of power crashed into Dirk. His soul was ejected from the ocean of mana. Since he had already drained his energy once, he didn't have the power to fight this small attack from that dark being.

"Aghh!!"

"What!?"

In the real world, Dirk suddenly shot up with a scream. Ava woke up instantly, her heart almost stopping from the shock. She looked over at Dirk who panted heavily. Reaching over, she turned on a light. 

When the light illuminated Dirk's face though, Ava was shocked. There was blood streaming from his nose, eyes, and mouth. 

"H-hey, what's going on?!"

Ava carefully reached out. She was a bit fearful though. This was twice now that she had been scared. But now, she was a bit scared of Dirk. 

She looked at his face that sported a hateful stare. Dirk's teeth were gritted as he stared off into space, almost as if he were glaring at his ultimate nemesis. With his heavy pants, he looked like he was going to kill someone. 

Eventually, he calmed down though. When blood dripped from his chin to his chest, Dirk rubbed his face and saw that he was bleeding. Scowling, he got up and went to the bathroom, washing up.