Although Mira has had an affinity for Darkness for a while, she's never consciously thought about using it. It wasn't that she had anything against the element but that her other affinities were overwhelmingly more powerful.
She already had a versatile kit with just an ice and fire affinity. From her point of view, the darkness element brought little to the table, and she'd have to expend more effort into making it worthwhile.
However, the Guardian's words made her rethink her stance on not just the Darkness element but others as well.
'If all the elements are linked somehow, then doesn't that mean I can increase my power output exponentially if I use them in the right combination?' Mira thought, her eyes widening slightly.
Now, she understood why the Hell of Weakness was making her endure all this. One of her main weaknesses was that she wasn't even using her elements to their full potential! Hell, she wasn't even using over half of them!
"That's right, but you should know that even with your comprehension, combing elements or using them in tandem to complement each other is extremely difficult. It takes more than a basic understanding of how they work. You have to know the subtle ways they interact with one another." The Guardian explained.
"For example, the darkness element can actually increase how cold your ice is if you suck all the light out of the surrounding area like a black hole. Although light doesn't always produce heat, as that's dependent on other factors, this knowledge can be advantageous in most situations."
Mira nodded and fell deep into thought.
'I can't believe I've been wasting so much of my potential all along.' She sighed but quickly pushed those thoughts aside, 'Well, at least I know this now and can start training to use all my powers together rather than picking which ones suit me.'
Clearing her mind, Mira sat in a lotus position and summoned a glob of darkness in front of her. Next to it, she produced an icy blue flame. She wanted to keep them active for a while and see how the two elements interacted with one another, but the fire, even in its semi-weakened state, destroyed the glob of darkness like it was nothing.
Obviously, this only happened because Mira allowed it to, but the result still made her brows tighten.
'My Darkness affinity is a lot weaker than I thought. No wonder I never used this element.' Mira sighed once again, cursing herself for her negligence, but she didn't stop experimenting.
There were so many things to test and understand. In fact, there was so much to do that Mira didn't know if a week was enough to reach a sufficient level with her Darkness affinity and raise her understanding of her Yin Fire to the same level as the others.
Suddenly, she heard a sigh from the Guardian ring out in her mind, followed by a few words which surprised her.
"Sigh… I know this might be a little against the rules, but I'll assist you with this trial. With the amount of time you have, it's impossible for you to reach the minimum required understanding of both elements to pass the trial."
'Really?' Mira was both surprised that the Guardian was willing to help her and that he didn't believe her talent was enough to pass this trial on her own.
"That's right. You can refuse my help if you want and try and do it on your own, but I'm warning you that unlike what you did to improve your physique and other elements, there's nothing around here that can help you increase your understanding. The most you can do is either dig a tunnel down deep in the ground and cut off all light sources or wander around the mountains at night."
'That's… what I was going to do.' Mira smiled wryly.
She knew that looking for a fortuitous encounter was nothing but wishful thinking, especially with her luck. Thus, the only way to increase her understanding was to watch and experience it in nature, but doing such a thing is usually very tedious.
"That's why I'm offering my help. How many times have you experienced nighttime? How many times have you holed yourself up in a cave that light can't reach?" The Guardian asked, and Mira didn't have an answer; there were too many to count.
"Yet, despite all that, your comprehension of the Darkness element is still trash. What makes you think that just because you've decided to put all your focus on this task, you'll just magically see an increase in comprehension?"
Mira frowned but stayed silent as she knew, deep down, what he said was the truth.
"However, don't think I'm bashing your talent, as I'm not. There's just not much to gain from those two scenarios. However, you're in luck, as I happen to be an expert when it comes to darkness!"
Mira's expression remained neutral, not surprised by this at all. Instead, she felt it would be weird if he weren't an expert.
"Oh, come on! What's with that lame reaction? I'm saving you in your time of need, and this is all I get?" The Guardian pouted, but Mira could still sense the amusement in his voice.
'What if the Hell of Weakness wants you to teach me? Then, wouldn't you just be doing your job? Why should I show my appreciation for you doing what you're supposed to do? Also, aren't you some god-like entity? I'd be severely disappointed if you know nothing about the darkness element.'
"..."
The Guardian, who was reclining in a chair, watching Mira's life unfold on a giant screen, froze.
'Damn! What'd I do to you?' He wondered, but his expression soon returned to his casual smile.
Coughing slightly, he said, "Ahem! Anyways, let's get on with the lessons!"
Mira nodded and cleared her mind of all distracting thoughts, putting all her focus on the Guardian's next words.
The corners of his mouth raised, looking at Mira's state, "First off, let's address the obvious. Darkness, at its core, is the absence of light. Although sometimes this is more metaphysical than physical, that statement still rings true."
"However, without light, darkness wouldn't exist. Some idiots say that even if there were no light, the universe would just be dark all the time! In fact, some religions in the Immortal Realm believe in this doctrine, but don't listen to that nonsense! If the world was permanently submerged in total darkness, nothing would exist! Everything would just be barren wastelands."
"Why would this be? Well, I'll get into it later. For now, all you have to remember is that there must be darkness for life to thrive. Now, let's get into the lessons!"
"I saw that you were using your Yin Fire to interact with that dark blob. I must applaud you for coming up with such a way to train, but it's highly inefficient. Before you even think about forcing other elements to interact with your Darkness affinity, first you must understand its properties, something you are lacking."
"Remember, darkness is the absence of light, but that doesn't mean that it only exists in places light cannot reach. No, a place can be devoid of any light from a number of factors, one of which I'm sure you're familiar with: Black holes!"
"That's right! Our first lesson today will be on black holes and how they relate to the darkness element!
Suddenly, in front of Mira appeared a small, round ball of darkness. However, contrary to its small size, the pressure it exuded was immense! Just as she was about to defend herself, a wave of Qi surrounded her, protecting her from the effects.
Soon after the black ball appeared, the cavern walls began to collapse and fall into the ball, and light that Mira didn't even know was there dimmed, bringing her surroundings into a state of complete and utter darkness.
The temperature in the cave cooled off in an instant, and within seconds, it reached a point that even made Mira shudder.
Space warped around her, and Mira couldn't help but feel sick to her stomach as reality seemed to bend, causing her senses to go haywire. It wasn't just her sight, either, but every other sense as well; they were all disoriented!
However, before things could get out of hand, she heard a snap, and everything returned to normal. The ball disappeared, the cave walls returned to how they used to be, and the temperature rose.
As Mira released a breath she didn't even know she was holding, the Guardian spoke, "As you can see, the damage that level of darkness can do is devastating. Now, imagine that on a universal scale!"
A chill unknowingly ran down Mira's spine when the Guardian asked her that, as she couldn't even begin to imagine something of that level of destruction.
"Since you've just experienced darkness in its rawest form, let's review what you just witnessed! Then, we'll move on to other examples!"
