The Tales of the Shadows

2.1. Clementia: Wave

Ehren stood still amidst the ominous atmosphere, the aura heavy with darkness. All he could hear were the whispers of incarceration, but the sound seemed to enter his mind from another dimension.

Ehren's eyes opened to the 'present' state of chaos. Trees that once stood tall now lay about the ground in pieces, a few, rugged ones still remaining. The barren ground cleared all positive vibrations that emanated from Ehren, as if the land's abyss was unwittingly sucking it all in, a black hole in the geometry of sentimental information.

The Shadow took slow steps forward, further focusing on the darkness. Such an aura didn't even belong in Tenebris, and it seemed to disturb the essence of Chaos.

All of a sudden, a myriad of seemingly invisible creatures stood on the land, evading any and all light. Even so Ehren was aware of their powerfully subtle auras of darkness. The smallest sense of Sylva Vita still lingered in Ehren's mind, depleting as the new auras came into his focus. He remembered sitting under Paliv Verasel peacefully, but the entity had to bring him here. Oddly enough, Ehren was aware of what had to be done.

He now knew everything.

He didn't like what he had to do, but there was no other way. Creatures of darkness... demonic creatures born out of the horrors residing within the demons' minds.

Ehren focused on the energy of the celestial bodies around the land, generating unimaginable amount of energy in his vessel. The land itself remained neutral, choosing to remain a bystander in this unwanted, unforeseen conflict.

Ehren's Yuran was fired to life, a small sphere of absolute energy hovering over his palm. An invisible force was generated by that electromagnetic source, but what was emitted was the fundamental of the dark creatures.

A combination of the technique of Solis and Liber. Zeal Desruct with light to blind darkness, and nuclear forces to tear apart what shouldn't have ever existed.

It wasn't much different from what a certain entity had done three centuries ago.

There was a burst of bright, somehow leaving the ground unscathed while doing its work. The creatures remained unseen till their end, but the aura of apologetic tranquillity and distant comfort provoked their thoughts. The sounds of trauma and complete darkness flooded his mind despite the bright scene before him, but Ehren remain composed.

Within a few moments his sight was once again free, though a heavy weight now rested on his thoughts. The fire was now reduced to a sphere of pure energy, now. Ehren was surprised; no shadow that he knew of had ever succeeded in a Zeal Desruct in this manner before, not without depleting their own zeal, too. Moreover, there was enough energy remaining to form an individual sphere. A sphere of the most neutral and cosmological energy possible, for the negative and positive energy had been annihilated away. Perhaps remnants of it interacted to form this sphere.

Its entropy was forever zero.

Suddenly, a profound and almost silent 'voice' entered Ehren's consciousness, the tone ever so slightly dismal.

"Only Hawsod and Hearth, as leaders, are supposed to know about everything. Why do you know about the techniques, about what happened three centuries ago?"

The thought propagated with a minacious aura, alerting Ehren of even the most quantum existence around him. His expression remained composed, unchanged, but chaos was now in his mind.

"I do not know. Within the smallest moment, Paliv Verasel showed me everything."

"Of course, it aids the leader of the Shadow-Trappers. But it never gives such information so suddenly, to any leader."

"Perhaps it has something to do with who I am."

"Who are you, Ehren?"

"Who are you, Vlad?"

A delicate silence filled the atmosphere, as if massless strings bound the particles around Ehren.

"Do you know who you are, Ehren?"

"Somewhat, yes."

The tension disappeared and waves of empathy travelled to Ehren, alleviating his guilt, if only a little.

"I too know who I am somewhat. Or perhaps, I know what I am, but the other question remains unanswered."

Silence remained, its existence seeming infinitely long but really was for the briefest moment in time. A moment unknown.

"How do you feel?"

"I don't think I'm supposed to feel. I don't know if I feel anything but I suppose... yes, something weighs on my aura, doesn't it? You can sense it.

"A distorted colour, radiations that could be deathly, perhaps. My lack of expression makes this burden heavier, I think, but there is a sense of assuage here. Are you comforting me, Vlad?"

The entity responded with silence, and Ehren had his answer.

"This is how humans cope with information, isn't it? Expression to release that negative and positive energy so that they may remain neutral. We didn't need expression. We were pure, neutral. I see your perspective, Vlad, to rid the universe of the positive and negative creatures. I was told to do the same, after all. But I do not agree with what I did.

"Do you?"

The entity's mind rushed into chaos, all chains of thoughts dissociating into meaningless information. He didn't understand the question. Was that Shadow asking about his motives? He had no motives. He was following the laws of nature, of concrete existence.

"How do you handle the guilt, Vlad?"

What guilt did he speak of? Vlad wasn't sentient, so nothing made any sense. There was no opinion, no emotion...

Oh.

"I... I have help. Two entities and a Shadow.

"It is okay, Ehren. What you have done is nought but the inevitable. Giving any more creatures sentience, especially the negative ones, would shatter equilibrium in time. You haven't committed genocide; few still remain. But for now, this is enough.

"Return to your home, Ehren. Your child, it will help you."

Ehren's gaze turned towards the gently burning sphere, the yellow glow reflecting his gentle eyes.

"Humans need forgiveness to counter the negativity of guilt. Will someone forgive you? Will someone forgive me?"

"We are not sentient."

"But we are acting for them."

The air was rigid and all was still as the sphere travelled towards Ehren.

The smallest smile of sorrow was on Ehren's face.

"Goodbye, Vlad."

Ehren walked slowly, eventually slipping into the abyss of Chaos.

"Goodbye, Solis."

Vlad was at peace.

---------

Ehren stood beside the tall Tree, a mellow aura emanating from its spirit despite its prominence. Ehren felt humble in that moment as he stood with his eyes closed, silence all around him as he listened to the Paliv Verasel's voice.

It was the first time the spirit took so long to give someone a name. Born in Chaos, of Oblivion's energy, with Grace's nature. A duality of neutrality.

However, none of it seemed to give the being the right name.

Genji stood beside Ehren, his aura full of patience and wonder. The Shadow had accepted the responsibility of Ehren's 'child' as Ehren had to take care of two others and was, of course, a leader. Genji was a member of the Shadow Council too, so Ehren could at least always be informed about the new being.

Suddenly everything in existence paused and a single word was whispered by the spirit. Ehren felt something.

Clement.