Gatekeeper: Prince of Darkness

by InfiniteBrony

Preperations

The sun rose slowly as I gazed to the eastern horizon from my perch, standing behind the wall of windows on the eastern wall of my office on one of the top floors of SpyreShade Tower. I heaved a heavy sigh, rubbing my dark, bloodshot eyes. I take in a deep whiff of the pleasant aromatic scent of the fine Colombian dark roast held in my hand. The rising sun painted the sky in various shades of pink and gold, shining through the clouds in sharp angular slants and alighting upon the numerous glass and steel skyscrapers the composed the city, lighting them up in glistening shimmers like a myriad of vertical oceans. The sight was beautiful, and the everyday miracle of its existence served to inspire within me a small amount of awe and some much needed hope. Something of which I’d been in short supply as of late. My ever-present feeling of dread that had hung about like a shroud had yet to abate, and the recent reports had done nothing to help.

1,152. That was the estimated death toll. 1,152 people simply dropped dead due the strain my rage and my wraith inadvertently caused on their souls from within the Realm of Shadows. That’s not even counting the mounting death toll of hundreds from the freak storm and earthquake caused by my interrupting of the world’s flow of energy. All over the gulf and the Caribbean. People stopped breathing and their hearts stopped beating, dying in their homes, in their beds, in hospitals, in clinics and even in the streets. Hundreds and hundreds of widows, orphans, brothers losing brothers, parents forced to bury their children, and families torn apart. All because one bug didn’t know when enough was enough.

It had been years since something like this had happened, not since I had first Bonded with Sombra, before I had learned to control myself, and even then it had been nothing like this. For years I had maintained careful control, for years I had kept everyone safe, protected them from what lurked in the dark, from the things that could hurt them, including myself. All of that had gone out the window in mere minutes, because of the meddling of a young upstart that it would be a good idea to push one of the currently most powerful singular beings in the world past his limit. I hated him for that, almost as much as I hated myself.

With another deep sigh, I took a drink from the steaming mug in my hand, not for the first time wishing my coffee was Irish. And that I could still get drunk. Turning away from my windows, I walked back to my desk, noticing my dear assistant Rosaline standing silently in front of it. I must have been even more out of it than I thought if I hadn’t noticed her come in.

“Sir?” she queried tentatively, taking note of my haggard appearance and having heard of the events that transpired not long after her swift fleeing of the Cuban meeting. “Are you well?”

Breathing deeply, I rubbed my tired eyes before responding. “I’m as well as I can be, Rosaline. What is it?”

“You’ve got a meeting in fifteen minutes with the heads of Engineering, Arcanics, Logistics and R&D about Phase Two of The Darkness Project,” she said, her eyes showing genuine concern.

I couldn’t help but give a sharp, dark, and empty, chuckle at the reminder, causing Rosaline to flinch at the almost painful cynicism in my dark mirth. If there was anything good to come out of this painful debacle, it was that there was irrefutable proof on just how effective the Alpha Shadow Drive was. If estimates were correct, barring any more unforeseen variables, my long term plans could be set forward by several years. With a deep swig I downed the rest of my coffee, ignoring the burn as it went down my throat.

It was going to be a long day,and it was best to get it started.

*~-/^\-~*

Thank the gods today was finally over. Ever since it had started it seemed to drag on and on, one issue being addressed after another, but at the very least, much had been done today. Phase Two was all but completed, now that the Alpha Shadow Drive had already been completed and been proven successful, all that remained on that front was to move the other twelve into place and activate them. The various SpyreShade subsidiaries around the world in New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and many other major world cities, had already activated their beacons. The entire Shadow Drive Network should be up and running in the next forty-eight hours. All that was left was my part in the setting it all in motion and then Phase Three could begin. Of course, magic on that level would leave me completely drained for no less than a full day, so there were quite a few things I needed to take care of beforehand.

Not the least of which was keep an eye on my city. Alvarium Rex had been here for a full day already, and had done little more than observe. I wasn’t quite sure why he was here in the first place, but he didn’t seem to be doing any harm, so I wasn’t about to move against him. Something that did interest me was a rather peculiar run in he had with some of the undesirables of my city, El Diablo Muerte, and one of my employee’s, the sister of one my best underground black market contacts, a man that called himself “Leo”. After using some of his magic to save little Amelia from a group of thugs, he took her to a small coffee shop not far from SpyreShade Tower itself to talk, before leading her into yet another ambush and allowing her to be gunned down. As upset as that made me, it didn’t take much digging to find the price on her head, and Rex’s reason became obvious to me, as much as the consequences of her having survived this night. Given Rex’s proactive disciplinary approach to the thugs who committed the deed I was willing to waive any direct repercussions in lieu of reparations already made.

On the thought of El Diablo Muerte and death, there was something else that caught my attention happening around town. It seemed that the young man I had saved from certain death when I flexed my magical muscle had taken it all to heart. Having taken up the born again name of Penumbra – the shadow’s shadow – he was all but a living nightmare for anyone in the city wearing a red and gray bandana. Thugs were disappearing from the streets, many of them simply never getting home. Many of them were afraid to leave their various homes or crack houses, hiding away and cowering in the shadows. Some of them even hanging up their bandanas permanently, doing what they could to make a new living on the straight and narrow.

Penumbra himself had taken it even further than I expected. Every night, just as the clock struck midnight and every time he killed another one of the scum of the earth, he would actually pray to me, giving thanks for the new life and all the dark gifts I bestowed upon him. What interested me most of all though, was the fact that lately I could actually hear his prayers. Every pious word he spoke into the darkness I heard, every drop of blood he spilt with the dagger I gave to him I could feel, every life he took in my name I felt. It was definitely an… interesting occurrence to say the least, and I couldn’t help but see no end of potential with the situation. At the latest it seemed he had actually begun attempting to inspire others to join him in his pagan worship. Needless to say I would continue to keep an eye on him, and see just how this interesting situation would turn out.

At least all of that was done and over with for now. The sun had long since set, the moon was high in the sky and there was something of vital importance to attend to. Breathing deeply, I exhaled, releasing tension as I closed my eyes. The lack of light, gently swirling smoke and runes carved into the floor created the perfect atmosphere as I meditated deeply. [Sombra,] I Thought, sending a mental ping across the Link. [Are you there?]

The response was long in coming, and it was almost several minutes before he Thought back. [Aye, Victor, I am here. Is it time?] His mental voice was slowly and serene, a far cry from his usual gravelly growl.

[Yes, it’s time.] I responded, my own mental voice somber in light of the situation. [We both know it must be done. We’re out of options, and we always knew that this was the last resort.] I was met with silence for a time after I Thought, and continued. [We both know that you can’t force this. We must win them over first. It is a new age, and diplomacy is the key. No matter what happens, we must sit upon the crystal throne. You know this as well as I.]

[I know,] he said, sending a wave of resignation in the mental equivalent of a sigh. [It must be done.]

I swallowed thickly before Thinking back, [Remember, after this I cannot directly assist you any further. You will face them by yourself, and when the time comes I will have retreated to the Demesne as we agreed. You will be alone.] I could feel Sombra’s emotional response to my words much more easily than any actual word retort, and the usual anger and pride that all but defined him was all but absent, replaced with a turbulent maelstrom of apprehension. Solemnly, I Thought, [Venne Yvne Acculs.]

[Kaiin Ea Weight.] he whispered in turn.

[Sanctum Nihlumbrae.] I finished. As we spoke the prayer, I began the ritual; the various runes etched into the floor all around me lighting up and several points around the room igniting with ethereal violet flames. The gently wafting smoke from the various burning candles and incense began to swirl and congeal, encircling a hollow globe two feet wide directly in front of me, the sight reminiscent of a satellite image of the earth’s weather systems. After several moments, I felt the moment of truth arrive. With a deep breath, I reached inside of myself, digging deep, perhaps deeper than I ever have before, and pulled. I felt the cold shivers travel down my spine, a strange and foreign emptiness briefly filling me, my breath being sucked from my lungs in a fine, glowing silver mist. I plucked at the Strands that connected all, and the world trembled around me, the Darkness writhing in response. The empty globe slowly filled, with a dark liquid, a plasmid miasma which grew, shifted, burned, flared, and writhed. I could hear the pained shrieks of those lesser Shades that were unlucky enough to be nearby at the time as they were violently reduced to their most base form and converted to pure energy and quickly absorbed. I could feel it there, as if it were a part of me, an extension of myself. The orb of Dark Power grew for several minutes before tapering off, stabilizing at two feet across, spinning slowly in place, flaring in several places and drinking in what little light there was like a dark star.

Panting heavily and satisfied that it was complete, I contacted Sombra. [Are you ready now, my friend?]

For a moment, there was only silence between us, stretching on for what seemed like hours before Sombra swallowed his trepidation and answered simply, [I am ready.]

I swallowed thickly past the emotion in my throat, nodding despite him not being able to see me. Carefully, I reached out to either side of myself, holding out my hands as I Focused, and they began to glow with an unearthly energy. With a deep breath, I braced myself, tensing and…

[I am… afraid.]

[Me too.]

…brought them together.

Immediately, the portal opened. Like a rent in space itself, it screamed and howled, violently swallowing everything nearby, the wind rushing in harsh gales as it was vacuumed up by the dark abyss. With a nudge, I sent the Orb hurtling into its depths, where it was swallowed whole as the gate slammed shut behind it.

And then all I knew was darkness.

*~-/^\-~*

Somewhere far away, an ancient princess, much beloved by her people, awoke in the dead of night with a shrill scream, her thoughts filled with visions of glowing green eyes and baleful purple mist.

Comments

[DominiusTWD]

both of these stories are getting far more complicated. the only constant i know is that rex is clearly the bad guy and inadvertantly sombra and victor are the good guys.