The closer they got, the more agitated the creatures around them became. It was as if they were trying to warn them away from the centre. Finally, the ground started to shake, and the trees began to bend towards the source as if worshipping it. Avis and Sky paid no heed to the warnings and continued on. When they reached the centre, they saw the source of the darkness. It was a black liquid seeping from a well and flowing into a river. The river then snaked its way towards the outside of the forest.

"This is it?" Avis asked. He didn't see anything exceptional apart from the glowing rune pillars surrounding the source.

Sky walked closer to the well and looked down at the black liquid. It was churning and bubbling as if alive. He could feel its malevolent presence trying to reach for his very soul.

"Yes, this is it." Sky's voice was trembling, and his body was shaking. He could feel the darkness trying to consume him, but he fought against it. As he got closer to the well, a pitch-black figure floated above it. It was in the shape of two pyramids connected with their bases. An octahedron emanating a black aura into the well.

"I sense something familiar about this thing," Avis said as he looked at the figure. "It could be from the Darkness dimension?"

"I don't think so. I can see ether-lines contradicting themselves. Some are thick and full of energy while others are warped and broken." Sky was studying the figure intensely, trying to find a weakness.

"There's something else," Avis said as he looked around the runes. "These runes, if I'm reading them correctly, they are drawing out the darkness from this thing and stabilising it. If we can break the runes, then maybe we can destroy the source."

"That's a good idea, but how do we break them?"

Avis smirked, "That's simple, my boy. Just pour some of your ether into them. I can't sense any ether from these runes, so that must mean it's of the darkness attribute. Nothing like polar opposites to counter each other."

Avis looked at them closely and found that Avis was right, "Okay, I'll try."

Sky walked to the nearest pillar and placed his hand on it. He then started to pour his ether into it. The rune began to glow a brighter red, and the black liquid started to bubble more violently.

"It's working!" Avis said as he eyed the pillars.

Sky nodded and started to pour his ether into the other pillars. One by one, the pillars glowed a blood red until all glowed the same. The black liquid was now a boiling cauldron of darkness. The pillars glowed brighter and brighter until they exploded, sending Sky and Avis flying. When Sky staggered to his feet, the contents of the well were flooding out black ooze much worse than the steady stream before.

"What have you done!" A voice rang out in the minds of Avis and Sky. It was a deep, guttural voice that sounded like it was coming from the depths of the abyss.

"I... I don't know," Sky mumbled while staring at the flood.

"Foolish mortal. You have condemned this forest to a fate worse than death," the voice said. "The darkness will consume all under my domain!"

With that, the voice was silent, and the black liquid started to recede back a few meters. 'Is she fighting back?' Sky thought in a daze.

"Sky!" Avis shouted, "Put yourself together and think; there must be a way to fix this."

'I don't understand. Could it be the runes that were stabilising the source? Was it not the cause of it leaking? How can I fix this?' Questions filled Sky's mind as he racked his brain for an answer.

He then looked at Avis and saw the same look of desperation. There was one thing that crossed his mind earlier. Ether-lines. The ether-lines within the source were all contradictions of one another.

"Avis," Sky said, "can an object have more than one attribute?"

Avis looked puzzled by the question, "I'm not sure... I think it's possible, but why are you asking? That thing is only exuding darkness. I don't sense any other attributes from it."

"Ether-lines"

"Ether-lines? What has that got to do with anything?!"

"Anything the darkness touches that I've seen has always corroded the ether around it. But this thing has some ether-lines that are thick and full of energy and others that are partially corroded. What if we can use that to our advantage?"

"I... I have an idea, but I'm not sure if you will like it."

"What is it?"

"We need a container. A container that can influence darkness along with other attributes."

"The only thing close to that is me?!"

"Yes, I'm afraid so. If you can move this thing to your soul space, where you have greater control, you can influence it to stop exuding the darkness attribute."

"How do you know this will work?"

"I don't. But it's the only thing I can think of."

Sky thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "Alright, let's try it."

He then placed his hand above the octahedron. His hand started cramping, and black veins started to appear. The black liquid was being drawn into his hand.

"Sky!" Avis shouted, "You're going to get consumed by the darkness if you do that!"

Sky ignored Avis and continued. He then grasped the octahedron and pulled with his mind. A large amount of black liquid rushed into his hand, making him feel dizzy. The veins on his arms crawled upwards towards his shoulders. The black ooze continued to pour into his hand until the octahedron was completely dry.

"Ahhh!" Sky shouted as the octahedron floated upward and floated into his head.

'What the-'

Before Sky could think, he was plunged into darkness. He felt himself falling and then flailing as he struggled to find something to grab onto.

"Help!" He shouted, but his voice echoed back to him in the darkness.

He continued to fall until he hit something hard. He stumbled to his feet. Although vague, he recognised this place. His soul space. But it was different. It was darker and lifeless. The vibrant trees blocking the ray of sunlight and the green grass that hugged his feet were no more than withered stumps and lifeless plant life.

He turned around and saw the octahedron in the centre of the space. It was surrounded by a black liquid that seemed to bleed out of the octahedron within the centre of the soul space.

"What have I done?" He whispered.

He then felt something happen within him. The darkness was seeping into his mind and taking control. His body started to move on its own as he walked towards the octahedron.

"No!" He shouted, but it was too late. His hand reached out and touched the octahedron.

The darkness poured into him once again as soon as his hand made contact. He could feel himself being engulfed by the black liquid. It filled his lungs and burned his eyes. He tried to scream, but it only came out as a gurgle.

He could feel himself losing. Something within his core pulsed. Then it pulsed again. It was resisting the darkness, creating a barrier around itself. Sky wanted to reach out to his core and release the ether within him. But he couldn't. His mind struggled to remain conscious, and his body was no longer under his control.

Then he heard a voice. Avis's voice.

"Sky! You have to fight it!"

He could feel the darkness creep further into him. It was getting harder to breathe. He could feel himself being dragged into the abyss.

"You have to fight, Sky! Don't let the-"

Nothing. He couldn't hear anything, feel anything. The darkness had consumed all but one thing. His core pulsed again. Then again. Every pulse caused the darkness to recede. Finally, Sky's remaining consciousness closed in on his core. He could see thick purple energy pushing the darkness away.

'Lily...' He thought.

The energy Lily slapped him with must've settled down in Sky's core and is now protecting him. The thick, pure ether she gifted him was the only thing keeping him alive.

'I... think... I... can win..."

He reached out for that energy and pulled. The more he pulled, the further the darkness receded. Like a game of tug of war, he was able to break free bit by bit and retake control of his body. He gasped for air as he felt the darkness leave his system. He stood amidst the darkness, alone with a single figure. It was a humanoid creature oozing with black liquid. Its eyes were murky pools of darkness, and its mouth was a gaping maw. The liquid morphed into a familiar image. Sky stood still as he looked at... himself.

The creature simply stared at him with amusement. Then it opened its mouth and spoke in a deep, guttural voice.

"You are mine now."