The Caves of Nevermore

[PandArsonist]

Both the closest and the farthest rims of the Under Earth, the Caves of Nevermore were called that for a very specific reason. Any travelers not closely linked to the Darkness that ventured here were rarely seen. In this place of corruption and convoluted existence, it didn't require being a wielder of the light to get you killed, or worse. All it took was the the tiniest sense of of weakness, the briefest opening, or even a glimmer of a weakened spirit. In this part of the Under Earth, death was the best thing one could hope for if they were lost, or captured, the few denizens of the realm being cruel creatures, far from being even remotely human. If one could survive in the Caves of Nevermore, it meant two things; one, that the survivor had a deep command and mastery of the dark, and two, the survivor was either very very skilled, or very very lucky. Some rumors state that those without souls go straight to the Caves of Nevermore when they die; though whether it's to be tortured for eternity, or to torture others, is unknown. Other rumors say that deep within the Caves of Nevermore, in a long forgotten cavern, lies an ancient dark force, a force that rarely takes on shape, but has been predicted to one day pass some of its power on to another.  

[PandArsonist]

Completely unaware of where he was going, Naru stumbled in the darkness. "Friggin A...they don't call this the Under Earth for nothing I suppose...Still...I need to be more careful..." Naru slowly closed his eyes and tried to get a grip on his bearing. This place wasn't natural...and yet..Something within him seemed to harmonize with it. Naru opened his eyes again, hoping that they would adjust soon. His vampiric vision seemed to have little effect in this section of the Under Earth. Luckily for him though, the walls had a deep purple glow emanating from them. They seemed full of untold horrors, and he half expected the caves themselves to try to swallow him, but he pressed on. He had been warned about this place, and he had heard the stories. "Allright...relax. Stay cal;m...and keep that dark energy flowing through your veins...and you'll be fine..." Naru exhaled slwoly. Funny, that a Vampire Lord like himself should be so nervous. Truly, this area should be no problem for him ordinarily. "Well...As soon as I'm done here, I can get back to the king and make my report...I have to stick around for a bit though..."
Naru pressed on, searching for what he had been sent to look for.  

[PandArsonist]

Countless time had passed, Naru had lost track long ago. He had finally gotten used to the Darkness flowing through the caves, and he used it to guide him, traveling towards the center of the source, drawing ever closer to what he felt would be the source of the strange power he felt, the power he thought the king was looking for. He had finally found a clue that he was on the right track, a wall stained with blood, painting words and memories. It was ancient blood and tainted, but Naru was able to glimpse into the final moments of it's original owner. He saw in these memories a vast darkness filled with hate, evil, and despair. But beyond that, extraordinary power, more than he could fully comprehend. And so it was that Naru began to seek this source, imagining what he could do with this power, unable to fathom what he wouldn't be able to do with it. he continued on his path for darkness, uncaring of what it might do to his soul, already past the point of caring that bit by bit, moment by moment, his soul was already being ripped slowly away from him.  

[Awesome Sensei]

A large bright white light appeared before Naru. Upon closer examination it was a smile, no face could be seen behind it, yet opening eyes, pure white eyes were staring at him, the ominous smile ready to devour his soul. "Kill the Light..." It uttered as Naru passed out.

[Naru receives the gift of the genesis, and the power of darkness]  

[PandArsonist]

It was close...Naru could feel it within him. He knew that whatever power that ruled this land of Darkness was nearby. Not even the dakrest of the dwellers of this unholy world would come here, none of them would ever dare try to challenge its power. Part of Naru was worried about that; to think something powerful enough lived down here to scare away even the most demons...This was a force to be reckoned with. And Naru barely had any idea what it was. The few creatures he had encountered here chose instant death rather than even hinting at what the source of this power was. The closest thing to a clue he could get out of them was that this "source" was the beginning and the end. It created the darkness, and controlled it. It almost seemed like it might be a god of sorts. It was likened to one at least. Naru had sensed countless sacrificial caverns as he had gotten closer and closer, each more gruesome and bloody, each more sinister in spirit and design. But I can handle this. I can survive this. After all, I can already bend shadows to my will, and shadows are part of dark. So I must have some control here. I must have some power. I'm still alive, aren't I? Slowly, Naru started to gather the dark shadows around him, not wanting to be caught unguarded. He felt the atmosphere around him slowly shift. It seemed that his search had finally started to turn something up. He wasn't sure what it was yet, but he felt something coming, something big. And then he heard the voice, the ominous voice, ordering him to kill the light. A smile appeared, and for a moment, Naru felt a pure power course through him. It was dark and violent, but it was stronger than anything he had ever felt. And then, without a moments warning, he faded into unconsciousness.
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Time passed, and finally, Naru woke up. He was still in the same place he had been before, but he sensed nothing aroung him. The strange power still lingered within him though. "So....This must be what I was searching for. And now, it seems it's given me part of it's power. So I guess there's only one thing left to do. I'm off...to kill the Light."  

[Awesome Sensei]

"You passed out?" No central voice was located, instead, thousands of voices were screaming inside of the head of Naru. There was laughter in the voices, most of which screaming in horrible pain. It chuckled as a shadow began to encircle him, it had the same face as the gigantic smile he saw. The body was no where to be seen. Breathing a black fog into Naru's face, it was toxic. The voices continued, a voice that would drive anyone insane. "This isn't even my body, and you can't contain your fear can you..." Icy hands clenched onto Naru's face, squeezing tightly, breathing becoming difficult. "With a moment... you could be dead. You are mine... Now... Use that darkness. For my real body is not here, that power should be enough to destroy this..." A large voice echoed inside of Naru's head, causing his ears to bleed. "This HELL!" the ground crumpled, and the mouth of the face opened up, as large black claws began to rip it apart, covered in purple blood, a pure black figure of Naru was staring at him, except instead of weapons, it held a skull in its hand. The purpose of it completely unknown.

"Naruuuu..." It laughed, its voice much higher, yet same fundimentally the same as the counterpart. The darkness rushed forward, opening its mouth to devour its other half.  

[PandArsonist]

Naru was fully unprepared for the attack. And yet, he felt...unafraid somehow. "I wont...I won't....I won't die this easily!" Naru searched deep within himself, reaching into the new powers inside of him. He closed his eyes and counted slowly. One...two...three...You're MINE! Naru opened his eyes dashed forward suddenly, Kenkage fully materialized as a black and purple flame blazed around Naru's body. "This cheap imitation is no match for me!" Naru yelled, as he charged forward, slashing at the fake Naru. "This darkness...this power...this body...It's all mine!" Naru dashed even closer to the fake Naru and thrust his sword forward, hoping to impale the impostor.  

[Awesome Sensei]

As the blade approached, the false Naru smiled. "Oh? This power is yours is it?" As his blade slashed through the stomach of the imposter, darkness began to form around the blade, as the shadow disappeared, crawling up the blade and appearing behind Naru, with the skull held securely in his hand. "You can hit me all you want, but you are afraid..." He uttered, as he jammed his fingernail into the back of Naru's neck, causing intense pain down the spine. He chuckled further, before turning around and holding out his hand, a mass of black energy forming into his fist. After a moment, it was about the size of a baseball, and throwing it into the air, he used his free hands to force the skull to open its mouth, as the baseball sized darkness fell into it. The skull turned black.

Holding it outward towards Naru, the skull opened its mouth, and a blast of darkness was sent straight towards him, while shadows began to dance around the false one. They were singing in a child's voice, slowly while eyes began to watch as Naru was attacked. Death was coming soon, and fear was something that was sure to come.  

[PandArsonist]

Naru grunted and clenched his teeth as he was attacked, his eyes glowing a deep red. "Afraid, eh? You really think so?" Naru quickly dispelled his blade. He started to say something, but was cut off as the second attack hit him. "You knnow what...Maybe I am afraid...Afraid that I'll have to see your ugly face! Your own mother wouldn't even look you in the eye, would she!" he yelled as he once again searched for the new powers within him, while wiping away some of the blood from a cut that had opened right above his eyes. "Let's see if you like the taste of your own medicine!" He pulled the shadows to him, and then pulled the darkness as well, combining the two into a giant sphere. "I call this little baby the Chaos Sphere...Let's see how you like it!" He quickly sent it flying through the air, towards the skull that the darkness seemed to be using to attack, and then smiled slowly as a new idea came to his mind. He once again started summoning energy towards his hands and ran straight to the dark figure.  

[Awesome Sensei]

"Momma! Oh momma how I miss her. Oh yes that is right, you killed her did you not?" The false Naru began to laugh, a heartful laugh filled with anger and craze. It was very much like how the regular would laugh if he would become eviler then he currently was, which darkness tended to do in people, even those strong in heart. A sphere of his power was coming forward, and as it got closer, the false naru began to scream, it hit him in the stomach and instantly the real Naru's stomach flesh began to rip apart, as if the attack had hit him instead. "I am you silly! You only hurt yourself!"  

[PandArsonist]

Naru winced as his flesh was torn into, only to be astonished as the darkness from the ground lept into his wound and started healing it. It seemed that his Vampiric regenerative abilities had transferred to darkness as well. "Heh, you don't get it, do you? I don't know what happened to my family. But I don't care! I'm tired of being a pawn though, and I'll do anything it takes to get every last drop of power you have to offer! You say that by hurting you, I hurt myself. So I guess, If I hurt myself, I'll hurt you in return! I've died and come back to life before. The question is, can you?" Naru grinned, and his eyes became a deeper red as his hair slowly started turning black, his body responding to the Darkness within him in strange ways. He summoned his sword and held it out, the tip touching his chest. He wasn't sure if this would work, but he had a back up plan just in case. "I've made the trip to hell and back, and survived. I'm not afraid to make a second trip, if that's what it takes!" He slowly began pushing the blade against his body, piercing his heart, but not flinching, waiting to see what would happen next.  

[Awesome Sensei]

The false Naru clenched his heart, as he slowly turned into the shadow that belonged to the real one, it was truly his shadow placed into life, and the gigantic smile came back. "Very good... but I have a true test of skill, not just wits." At once, a large beast, the size of a house, fell from out of nowhere. It held multiple weapons in its thousands of arms, and its teeth were larger then a man. It stared at Naru with its golden eyes and shouted. "Food for me?" as it rushed forward, a gigantic club falling down towards Naru, as five different blades slashed, two vertical, one horizontal, and two making an x.  

[PandArsonist]

Naru smiled a wide, cynical, sadistic smile. "Oh...this is easy...Just too easy! Have you forgotten who I am!? Have you forgotten that I now CONTROL THE DARKNESS!?" Naru laughed a deep laugh as the swords came upon him, the blades tearing his body apart, only for his body to quickly rebuild itself from the darkness. "You made a mistake choosing me! I am no longer just a user of darkness, I AM Darkness!" Naru dashed towards the giant opponent, it was too large to miss, unlike the other one. As Naru lunged towards the monster, an eerie glow surrounded his body, and he pulled back his hand. He gained speed as he went through the air, and right before he hit the creature, he thrust his hand forward, penetrating the creatures own heart. "You....you will give me more power! DARK CONSUMPTION!" Slowly, Naru pumped dark energy into the creature, slowly converting it into a solid mass of darkness, and just as suddenly, Naru began to absorb that darkness within him. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. I shall feed upon you, and consume you, making you part of me forever, adding your power to my own!" Naru's body seemed to be overflowing with power, a dark aura bursting and flashing around him, sending out a tremendous presence. "Well? What's next? What other creatures do you have that I can make my own?"  

[Awesome Sensei]

The smile returned, and multiple smiles surrounded him. "You are perfect... kill the light, and return it to the darkness where it belongs..." then it was gone, leaving Naru alone. A door opened in front of him, leading him to the forest.  

[PandArsonist]

Naru felt the darkness around him slowly fade, and control slowly returned to his body, as his hair returned to normal. He wasn't sure what had happened to him exactly, but at the moment, he didn't care. He closed his eyes and walked through the doorway, not looking back as he called out a few final parting words. "I'll kill the light...but this darkness...I'm keeping it...Period."