"I am the God and the Demon of this Paradise!"
Even though it was still the same young Novius as before, when he stood in the Paradise of Darkness that was cast by him, his entire personality was different! He truly was like a god of darkness in this place who had control of everything.
The dark mist also transformed his clothes into something more authoritative.
The Mist around Gabriel changed into Sharp Spikes that spread out. Gabriel stood amidst the spikes, not moving. He didn't look scared either, as if he was sure that he couldn't be hurt.
Just as he expected, the spikes stooped right when they were mere inches away from his skin.
Thousands of dark Spears floated around Gabriel as if they only needed one instruction to hit him.
"This is the Darkness... The Darkness that makes you control everything!" Novius stepped closer to Gabriel, looking deep into his eyes.
It was as if he was just trying to show what this spell was truly capable of. The mist in the Paradise of Darkness wasn't just an obstruction for others! It was the biggest weapon for them since they could control the mist like it was a part of their body.
"It's a spell that helps you fight multiple enemies even when you're alone! That's why this Spell is something you need to learn if you want to even have a chance of defeating us!"
Novius canceled the spell, and all the darkness disappeared right away as if everything that they just saw was no more than an illusion. The sky returned to normal.
"What you felt just now was the essence of this darkness... The overwhelming darkness! If you can embrace it, it's good. If you can't, it'll be such a waste..."
Gabriel saw Novius retreat back. The spell that he had shown was certainly more overwhelming than what he cast. It was the perfection of Paradise of Darkness that he also wanted to possess.
"Embrace this darkness..." Gabriel mumbled under his breath, gazing at the back of his left hand.
All his life, he had heard how darkness was a bad element; that was something they needed to be scared of. That fear of darkness was instilled in their hearts ever since they were young, but he knew that it was just a false mirage that the world had created.
Darkness was certainly scary, but it was more than that. Darkness was able to take a person's vision away, but it was also something that gave something equally precious in return.
A person couldn't see anything in the darkness, but at the same time, that was also the time that allowed them to see without their eyes. It was the darkness that made people use their other senses, stimulating them to improve them further. Darkness was everywhere, yet it was nowhere.
Gabriel closed his eyes, trying to imagine the feeling of being surrounded by this darkness.
Novius smiled, seeing Gabriel taking it seriously. He could see that Gabriel was really on the right track.
To help Gabriel further, Novius snapped his fingers, changing the time of day here. What was a bright day until recently was no more than the darkest of night now.
There were no stars in the sky. There was not even a moon above them.
"This guy... If he were born in our time, the world would've been so different." Novius walked back to Cylix.
"If he were born in our time, the history would certainly be different..." Cylix agreed. "The Kid is really something else... Whenever I think that I understand him, he proves me wrong."
"He is like a deep Abyss... filled with secrets. Whatever he does... None of that is normal. I don't know what to call what he has. A Gift from the Gods? Or a curse?" Novius asked, even though he knew that Cylix wasn't going to have an answer to this question.
Cylix took a brief pause before responding, "I am not sure... But I don't think it matters at this point. Even the greatest of gifts can become a curse depending on how you treat it."
"It will depend on how he treats what he has," he continued, watching Gabriel just stand in the darkness. "And also on how the world treats him..."
"So far, we know that the world hasn't been kind to him." Novius agreed. "Anything is possible in the future. All we can do is try to help him with our teachings... But how he uses that teaching, it'll all rest on his shoulders."
"He can either change the entire World, bringing it on the right track of eternal prosperity, or he can destroy it to create something new... I hope it's the former, but there is some fear in my heart that it might be the latter..."
****
Gabriel stood in silence in the Darkness. For a moment, he even forgot where he actually was, losing himself in the silence.
The silence of this darkness was so peaceful... So welcoming...
Gabriel didn't even realize when he started truly embracing the darkness. He thought about his experience with the Darkness. Even though it was painful at times, that Darkness was now his ally and under his control. He knew that if he had this ally before, he wouldn't have had to go through that pain. This ally would've protected him.
"I don't want to be scared of you... I want to accept you..." Gabriel raised his left hand without opening his eyes.
He didn't cast any spell this time, and it seemed more like he was talking to himself, reaching out his hand toward an imaginary friend.
Since his eyes were closed, he couldn't see it, but his surroundings were slightly changing. Specks of darkness appeared around him, circling around him as if he was their sun and they were his stars.
The Darkness had never left him... The Darkness didn't refuse to accept him. Instead, it was he who had always had hesitation around that darkness ever since he returned from the prison of darkness, but now that he understood himself and this darkness better, he also started embracing the darkness.
His Mark of Element of Darkness started shining brightly, becoming even darker than it usually was, as if the Mark of Darkness was also truly accepting him for some reason.
Seeing all the changes, Novius could only smile. Gabriel was succeeding.
Gabriel slowly opened his eyes, realizing that his vision was much better now. Even in the darkness, he was able to see as if it was a bright day. Moreover, he could also feel the darkness in his surroundings. His entire visage was also different now, and he seemed more grown up and more mature.
"Paradise of Darkness," Gabriel spoke without even casting the full spell. However, just the three words proved to be enough now that he was one with the Darkness.
A Dark Domain spread out, even covering Novius in it.
Gabriel glanced toward Novius. He didn't look sad, but he didn't look happy either, even though he had succeeded in controlling the spell.
The mist around Novius changed to spikes as well that surrounded him. The sharp ends of the spikes stopped barely a few inches away from Novius...
Gabriel not only cast a spell successfully, but he had also managed to enter the second stage of the space where he could control the mist even more.
The spell still placed a heavy burden on his soul, but that burden was much less than he had when he cast an unstable spell.
A similar dark robe appeared around Gabriel's back, but his black robe was slightly different than what Novius had.
There was a beautiful mark in the middle of his Robe of Darkness that depicted his Mark... The Bleeding Moon.
