Breaking

Author's note: I love the world and characters in this story, and have, for a while now, been thinking of an alternate path, one where Darx rejects the power of his demon side and stays in Riledo, trying to follow Imris's instructions. He will be trying to gain power, stand up to Kase and take back the people he cares about. It won't be easy or painless.
This path diverges right when Darx falls ****, but instead of hulking out with demon power, Darx has a mental break, and has to work his way back from the dark and lonely place he finds himself in.

Thanks for reading.

Darx felt the darkness consume him, surround him, felt himself falling, the voice of Syvis growing faint. The darkness wasn’t cold, wasn’t dead or empty, it was warm and alive. The shadows wrapped themselves around him. The energy soaking through his skin. Darx felt his rage, his anger, they nurtured the darkness, it fed off his feelings, growing stronger. His memory cycled through moments of pain and betrayal. The closeness he and Syvis shared, the barriers to his heart that he had opened to her. And then her lies, her betrayal, not just of him or the promises they had whispered to each other so many times, she betrayed his heart. Amelia had betrayed their dreams, his mother betrayed his relationship as her son, but Syvis? She had his heart, he had given it, willingly and fully, and she had crushed it.

Now that heart was gone, and he was empty. Empty of anything but pain. The darkness enveloped him, whispered promises to him, promises that his pain didn’t have to be his to bear alone. He could share his pain, show Kase, Syvis, everyone what that pain felt like. Along with the power that pain was offering him. He turned his hand, focusing energy into it, channeling the darkness. Then it shattered, everything shattered. Like a window breaking, reality just cracked and broke.

“This isn’t you.” The voice came from a figure ahead, a silhouette in the darkness, one he knew well. “You don’t have to give in, you can master the darkness.” Darx fell, the shadows, the darkness, they weren’t just wrapping themselves around him, they were taking him. “You can’t let it win. Please, Darx, don’t let it take your heart.” He collapsed, looking up he saw not Ophelia but through the broken panes of the world Syvis, running to him, then darkness.

. . .

“This isn’t you.” Another voice, this wasn’t Ophelia. Darx recognized the voice, and opened his eyes. Darx was in the woods, familiar woods, back home in Merton. In front of him, Amelia, the Amelia of his memory, when they were younger. . .

“You aren’t the one who gives in to evil, you are the one that makes things better.” She was smiling, happy. His feelings went back, it wasn’t that long ago, a few years, but this ghost of Amelia brought back the innocence, the hope of those days.

“Amelia. . .” he said, reaching out with his feelings, not so much for her, but for those days, the days before Kase, a time full of hope, dreams, happiness.

“And where did that get us, Darx?” The voice was his voice; but it was bitter, angry. “You want to be the hero Darx? You want to do things right?” He turned his head, but he knew before he saw the speaker, it was him, the dark version of himself, they’d met before.

“Like when you trusted Amelia, when you trusted Syvis, you still want to be that guy? Really?” Darx could feel the rage in his doppelganger's voice, it was his own rage, his own darkness, burning inside of him. Around him the fire of his rage burned, the forest burned, monsters were coming out, killing the villagers, everything was on fire.

“Did your noble aspirations help your neighbors, your friends?” He saw Kase holding him down as Fabe beat Oliver.

“Please, I don’t want to see this.” Darx begged and closed his eyes, shaking, scared. The truth was he’d love to be that boy again, would give anything to return to the world before Kase arrived. He'd live that life forever if he could. But the darkness was right, that Darx didn’t help anyone, didn’t stop anything, didn’t win anything, Kase came, monsters destroyed his home.

“It’s okay,” the voice came with a gentle touch, he turned and he was in the greenhouse, Syvis was looking at him, her eyes sad. “Things are bad, but we can work through it, we can believe in each other and move on from the hurt.” He looked into Syvis’ eyes, his memories flowed. Meeting her, the hurt he felt from Amelia still stinging, Syvis **** to trust him, but slowly letting him in, him letting her in, finding love. . .

“Oh god, what a chump.” This time the voice was Cal, the old Cal. “Look at this loser, **** to forgive and love and get fucked over again.”

Reality struck back like a troll’s fist. Cal was right, if Darx could have his way he’d take Syvis and Amelia and his mom and run away, try to get away from Kase, go back to Merton and live a happy. . .

“It’s gone you piece of shit!” Dark Darx was back. “It’s all gone. Merton is destroyed, Amelia is an insane murderess, your Mom Kase’s wife and Syvis his whore.”

Darx felt sick, his chest imploding, spiraling. He looked around, **** for something to hold onto. He didn’t want to be here, he didn’t want to be anywhere. Darx hurt too much to live, but mixed in with the pain and anguish he felt the darkness, and with it, the promise of power. . .

. . .

Darx shot up. He was cold, drenched in sweat, somewhere dark. He looked to his right, a window, outside the window was the city. He was in Riledo. But where? How?

“Oh Goddess, he’s awake.”

“Shit, scan him quick.”

He heard the voices but they were distorted, he turned to look, but his head was on fire, and before he could see who was talking, he crashed back to the bed.

. . .

“You don’t want to be evil, Darx.” He was back in the woods by his house. Amelia was holding him, stroking his hair. “If you go down that path, you’ll hate yourself.”

“He already hates himself.” Cal said, sitting on a stump and eating a piece of fruit. “And he should, he’s too weak to help anyone, to save anyone, to protect the ones he loves.” He spat on the ground, his eyes never leaving Darx’s, his face mocking him.

“That’s not true, there was nothing he could have done.”

Cal laughed. “Yeah, because he was weak, and Darx, even if you had been able to, would you have actually done something?”

“Of course,” Amelia left him lying in the grass to stand up and face Cal. “Darx did everything he could.”

“He didn’t do a damn thing, and we all know it. He ran around ignoring everything so he could hold onto his easy, care free fantasy. Kase just walked in and took everything he loved, because he could, because no one was paying attention, because Darx didn’t want to see. Don’t you get it?” Cal turned to face Darx. “You’re just Kase’s bitch. You should get up, go to Kase, and beg him to let you watch him fuck your mom and Syvis you pathetic loser.”

“Stop it,” Syvis stepped in front of Cal, her eyes meeting Darx’s “They don’t really love him, they love you Darx. We can get away from Kase, be free to live. . .”

“You’ll never be free of Kase.” Dark Darx took Darx’s face in his hands. He felt the dark energy burning through his hands. “He’ll follow you, taking whatever you love, twisting and destroying it. But we can stop him, I can help you, just give in to the darkness. . .”

Darx saw the world spiral, turn gray. His eyes opened.

. . .

“He’s awake again.”

Darx tried to see who it was speaking, everything was foggy. “Please,” he gasped, **** as he tried to speak. “Help me.”

Soft warm hands enveloped his, small fingers gripping his hand tightly, almost desperately. “We’re trying Darx, you have to fight. You can’t give up.” The voice was twisting, distorted. It was still speaking but the sounds didn’t make sense, the spiraling gray was back, he couldn’t see anything else.

He saw the Abyss. It was there, waiting for him, calling to him.

. . .

“It’s okay Darx, you’re safe. I’ve got you.” It was Syvis, her voice tender yet passionate. He opened his eyes and saw green leaves, flowers, it was the greenhouse.

“Just stay with us, we’ll take care of each other, you don’t need to fight, we’ll help you.”

There was a snicker behind him. “Help him what? Be a loser?”

“Can you stop, Cal?” Syvis asked, “All we need is our friends Darx, the people we love and trust, and we can get through anything, right?”

“Trust?” Dark Darx stepped into view, “That’s rich, trust, like this?”

Darx was back at Oblivion’s guild, hand on the door. He could hear the moaning.

“Don’t open it Darx.” Syvis begged him, she stepped in front of him, crying. “Please, just walk away, everything could be fine, we don’t have to go through this.”

“Yeah Darx,” came Cal’s mocking voice. “Just walk away, like the little bitch you are, or better yet, ask Kase nicely, maybe he’ll let you watch.”

“Darx.” Amelia’s hand brushed his cheek, “No matter what you saw, no matter what happens, what is in your heart is what matters. You can’t become a monster like Kase. You’re the good guy Darx, trust in that.”

“Yeah, who cares? If everyone you love leaves you for your worst enemy, how does goodness even matter? So you can sit back, knowing you let it happen?” Cal was right behind his ear, practically spitting on him.

“Open the door Darx, feel the anger, feel the hurt. Let it in, let the darkness in, let it give you power. We can be strong; we can fight. We can crush Kase, avenge ourself, take back what is ours.” Dark Darx said, pushing the others out of the way. He threw open the door.

“I don’t want this. I don’t want to see, don’t want. . .” Darx said, and the door, the sounds all vanished into the gray spiral of the abyss.

“Darx!” The voice was ****. “Darx, you have to fight, you can’t leave us like this!”

. . .

He felt heavy, cold, weak. He tried to open his eyes, but could barely see. Someone was grabbing his face. “Please! Don’t leave us.”

. . .

He was back in the woods, just outside of town, he could see the buildings of Merton.

“You can do this Darx.” It was Amelia again. “You can fight; you can live. Don’t let the darkness win, Darx, that’s not your story.”

“The darkness always wins Darx. Let it in, embrace who you really are; embrace your power, and fight.” His dark self was calm, confident.

“You’ll never defeat him, you’re too weak.” The voice of Cal mocked.

“Shut up!” Dark Darx yelled. Clouds gathered, the scene grew dark, thunder sounded. “You can have the strength, Darx, the power, it can be yours. Feel the power in the darkness Darx. Stop fighting it. We can kill Kase and take back what belongs to you.”

“But they would never smile at you the same.” Amelia’s voice cut through the noise.

Darx dropped his head, resting it between his hands, and he sobbed. “I don’t know what to do. I just want to stop hurting.”

“Then that’s it? This is where we stop, this is the end.” Amelia looked so sad.

“I can’t fix this!” Darx yelled, “I can’t fight it. I can’t stop it. And I can’t take it, how do I move on from this?” He sat down again, crying. “I wish Kase never came to Merton, I wish I never went to Riledo, I wish none of this had ever happened.”

“But it did.” This voice was different. Calm and strong. “It all happened. You can’t unmake what is past, you can only move forward.” There was a light, and a silhouette, a man. Darx tried to look, squinting as the light grew brighter. The light grew, enveloping him, overwhelming him.