Before Imperia’s official announcement about her complete withdrawal from all involvement in Naghmian internal affairs, he had gotten a heads up from his friends at the IIA.

He had been standing at a smoke shop, smoking a cigarette when he received the call.

The information opened a sinking pit in his stomach because he knew perfectly well what the announcement meant for his Naghmian wife and friends.

Immediately after the call he had dropped the still burning cigarette and rushed home to his wife.

Years of their work, effort, and sacrifice had all just burned up in waste because of the casual whims of his superiors.

When he disclosed the contents of his call to his wife Amaara, she also had immediately understood what it all meant for them.

Thinking they were on the same page, he brought out all of their travelling bags and began packing everything. He also began calling everyone, giving them the news of what was about to go down and told them to pass the information along to others.

He was frantically packing his bag when Amaara walked up to him and placed a hand on his arm.

He remembered the mixed feeling of confusion and panic when she told him she wasn’t leaving.

He had tried to reason with her and when that failed, he tried pleading but that did not work either.

In the end he was begging her while she looked at him with a sad smile and tears in her eyes.

In his desperation he had called others, telling them to try and convince her to change her mind but it had the opposite effect.

Hearing her decision, dozens of their party members and workers chose to stay behind with her to face what was coming.

It was madness.

Despite everything he did to try to change her mind, she just stared back at him with sadness in her eyes while crying.

In the end she had taken his hands in hers, looked him in the eyes with her tearful ones, and told him why she could not leave.

He remembered everything about that moment.

The time of day, the warm colors of sunset, the scene of the movie playing on the tv, the smell of spicy food from the kitchen, the neighbors arguing loudly next door, the barking of the neighborhood dog, and the sound of an airplane flying above.

He remembered everything, except what she told him.

She was staring into his eyes and saying something.

He tried to make out the words but the sound of everything else around them grew louder, deafening his ears.

Amaara spoke on, ignoring all the commotion around them.

“----- ------- ---------- ----- -- ------------”

He desperately tried to make out her words but the noise around him grew louder and louder.

It grew so loud it encompassed everything.

Amaara finished what she was saying and was looking at him with a sad smile but he hadn’t heard anything.

He shouted over the loud cacophony of sounds to tell her to please repeat what she had said but she simply stared back at him with the same sad expression and longing in her eyes.

“I CAN’T HEAR YOU, PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU SAID.”

In response to his words Amaara simply smiled. Her expression was sad and yet also calm.

He tried to shout once more.

He wished to know what she had said with all his heart.

“What happened lord Alfzaar!?”

The boy woke up in the white circular floating bed. His body was drenched in sweat.

The small fairy version of Arya was floating beside the bed, looking at him with concern.

Dazed from the dream he had just had, the boy looks around the room, hoping to find Amaara staring back at him.

“You were screaming in your sleep lord Alfzaar, is everything alright.”

Remembering his current circumstances vexes the boy.

“….My name is not Alfzaar,” He tells Arya with a tense tone.

Arya simply looks back at him, her concerned expression unchanging.

“That would be odd if that were the case considering your genetic code is over a 99% match with lord Alfzaar.”

“….that…..would be odd indeed.” The boy agrees hesitantly, pushing the frustration off his mind.

“Is it really over a 99% genetic match?” he asks Arya.

“Yes, it is. It’s why you were not only able to enter the facility but also this chamber without triggering any security. From your voice to your blood, everything is a direct match.”

The boy could only utter a simple “Huh” in a confused response.

“Tell me, was this Alfzaar eight years old?”

“No of course not, Lord Alfzaar has been the head of the council and the ruler of this world for over several millennia now.”

“So, isn’t it strange that this thousands of years old king is now suddenly an eight-year-old boy?”

“It certainly is very odd, yes. However, I think the answers to these queries are right in front of us.” Arya answers his rhetorical question while looking toward the terminal/table on the other end of the room.

The boy follows her line of sight.

“Yeah, you’re right about that.” He agrees.

“Lord Alfzaar you should know that you were out for more than 15 hours and it’s almost night time..!”

He interrupts her by raising a finger in front of his closed lips, motioning her to be quiet.

“First, I gotta use the bathroom, then grab my sword, and then eat. After all of that we begin the Qs and the As.”

Bobbing her head up and down silently, Arya agrees with his preposition.

He jumps out of bed, wearing only black boxer briefs.

“Who knew the battle suit was retractable just like the sword.” He thinks while staring at the black underwear.

“The self-repair and regenerative nano-tech even keeps everything clean down there.”

At least according to what Arya had told him.

“I get its for fighting and all but god damn it’s pretty convenient.” He adds as he heads toward the bathroom.

Almost an hour later he is sitting on the floating white chair with Alfzaar’s terminal in front of him and a cool cannister of Vitarya in his hand.

Well-fed and well rested.

Arya was floating beside him.

“Ahem” The boy clears his throat before continuing.

Stolen novel; please report.

“First things first, I remember you mentioning a powerful darkling trying to get inside the facility?”

“Yes, last night when you were clearing out the mutated verminoxi, a hunter class darkling was trying to tear into this facility. It even ate all the remaining verminoxi that escaped the facility.”

“By verminox you mean the giant gray rats right?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what a rat is? But the male verminoxi are gray in color yes.”

“Ah never mind, so this darkling creature ate the escaping verminoxi?”

“Yes, here. It will be a bit dark but I can show you what happened.”

Arya waves her arm and a digital screen materializes in front of him.

“Damn, how advanced is the tech on this planet.” He thinks inwardly.

The footage on the holographic screen in front of him was very clear but also dark.

However, he could make out the familiar arachnid legs and strong powerful claws. It was the dark crab and it was clutching a thrashing live dark rat in one claw while lazily munching on the half-eaten carcass of its sibling with the other.

The living rat was thrashing wildly, desperately trying to free itself but the boy knew it was impossible.

He knew exactly how strong this creature was.

“It’s the same fucking crab!” he thought inwardly but voiced a different question.

“This creature is called a darkling?”

“Yes, it is a darkling. More accurately it is a hunter class darkling, from its design it appears to be a female so that makes her a huntress I suppose.” Arya explains as if she were describing a critter on an informative wildlife channel.

“The males and females have somewhat different designs.” She adds.

“A darkling huh, what an apt name.” the boy replies as he remembers the foot long fangs inside its gaping maw.

“I’ve encountered this particular one outside the facility and I managed to get away, but how does it still know where I am?” he wonders out loud.

“Hunter class darklings can mark their prey with pheromones using their tails, claws, fangs, or even by secretions. Most markings are easier to get rid of, except for injections into the blood stream. In that case the pheromonal markings have to be systematically removed out of the blood.”

Even before she finished her explanation, he remembered the dark crab or huntress stabbing his shoulder with its tail.

“Fuck.” he thinks before asking.

“What happens if you’re marked?”

“Well, for the darkling it’s like you’re carrying a tracker. No matter how far the person runs, the darkling will always be able to track them. Hence, why they’re called the hunter class.” Arya explains with her calm smiling tone.

On the holographic screen, the huntress had finished devouring the dead carcass and was now moving the living struggling rat toward its wide-open mouth.

“That’s enough Arya you can turn off the display.” He says, feeling sorry for the poor dark rat, or verminox, or whatever the fuck it was.

“No problem. Are you ready to ask about all the information you need?” She chimes.

“Yeah, I’m just thinking about where to start.” He answers a little distractedly.

In his mind, he was arranging the logical order of information according to his priorities.

This world, no, this universe, was so strange and alien to him that he could essentially start with anything. However, his analytical training from his past life arranged the order of his informational requirements, prioritizing the most important in line with his survival needs.

“The darkling knows where I am and it’ll always know where I am. So, the first thing to know about is the way combat works on this planet. After that, I need to know about how the darklings work. And then it’s finding out about the most secure destination. Everything else comes afterward.” Is his analysis.

Turning to Arya he asks.

“What are these glowing energies that come out of the animals and people on this world?”

“Hmm I’m sorry I don’t understand?” Arya looks at him quizzically.

“…Like I asked, the glowing energies. Red for strength, Gold for speed, and Blue for protection….”

Arya’s expression only grew more and more confused as he brought up the colors one by one.

“…..Arya you better not be pulling some kind of ‘this is classified’ bullshit or I swear.”

“No! No, truly I have no idea what you’re talking about. Truly! I’m sorry.” She says while frantically waving her arms with a confused and apologetic expression.

“Ah for god’s sake I mean this energy!” He exclaims as he brings up his hand with the engraved ring.

Softly igniting a red aura over his hand, he turns his ring into the black sword with a brief flash of light.

Understanding dawns on Arya’s face.

“Oh, you mean Aether.”

‘There we go! Yes, so it’s called aether. What is it? Where does it come from? And why are there so many colors?”

There is a three second pause as Arya simply stares at him before continuing.

“I don’t know how you could’ve possibly forgotten this but I will explain. Aether is the very foundation of the universe. It’s an omnipotent field that can be found everywhere, whether you’re on land or in space. Just like the other foundational forces of the universe, aether has its own unique properties, but unlike the others it interacts with both living organic and dead inorganic matter.

She twirls around him in the air as she continues to explain.

“All living beings use aether and depend upon it for everything. Because of its unique properties and the dense energy it possesses, aether is used by both flora and auna for hunting, running, and all their daily activities. The intelligent species of the universe use it for their technology, military, medicine, and their own individual powers.”

The boy was intently listening to everything, hanging on her each and every word.

“So, it’s similar to how all living things need water.” He asks her.

“Yes, that is correct. Except water that enhances your power and improves your overall health. I was thinking I’d have to explain what water is to you as well.” Arya chuckles.

“Yeah, yeah I get it, continue please.” The boy smiles wryly and urges her to go on.

“Yes, no one really knows where exactly aether comes from or how it’s made. It has always just been right there, and by ‘there’, I mean everywhere. Aether is as old as history itself, and according to most cultures, it was even present before the birth of the universe. So much so that all life in the entire darkbound domain has evolved to develop a specific biological system that can channel and manipulate aether. However,”

“However? Also, what is this domain you’re talking about?” he asks her with a quizzical tone.

At this question Arya stops twirling in the air and immediately turns toward him with a worried expression on her face.

“Lord Alfzaar….are you really ok? You’re kind of scaring me with these basic questions that even children know the answers to.”

“You’re scared? Try being the person who doesn’t know anything.” He replies sarcastically.

“Well, that’s true I suppose.” Arya agrees and continues.

“By dominion I mean the Darkbound Donimion. A closed galactic system that is made of approximately 100,000 planets including this one. About 85% of these worlds house intelligent life that have their own distinct cultures, countries, and empires. There are countless alliances and enmities amongst these worlds, and even more factions and affiliations. At any given time, there are thousands of wars being waged between them throughout the entire dominion.”

This time it was the boy’s turn to be shocked.

His eyes almost bulge out of their sockets as his mind processes what he has just heard.

“..100,000 worlds!” The figure flashes across his mind.

Struggling over his initial shock, he asks her.

“….and they all have their own societies and civilizations?”

“Yes, that is correct. Many of them even have multiple countries and empires.” Arya states as a matter of fact.

Hearing her describe this insane tidbit in a matter-of-fact way made the boy feel dizzy.

Back on earth, everyone believed that they weren’t the only life in the universe but to think that it would be simple common sense in this universe was incredulous.

“Uhm are you alright lord Alfzaar? You look like you’re in pain.”

“Yeah no I’m fine” he replies

Pushing disbelief out of his mind, he asks another question.

“You mentioned it’s a ‘closed’ galactic system, what did you mean by that?”

Arya gives him another look that suggests that this was also common sense but doesn’t give any comments.

She carries on with her description.

“I mentioned that Aether is pretty much omnipresent throughout the universe, right?”

“Right.” He agrees

“Well, there are two types of aether that the domain’s civilizations are aware of. The aether inside the dominion and the aether just outside the boundary of the dominion.”

Using her hand, she begins to draw shapes in the air and surprisingly to the boy, glowing lines form along the traces of her fingers.

The first shape she draws is that of a tear that looks like a normal rain drop, but then she says something the boy finds crazy.

“This tear here is the overall shape of the dominion; all 100,000 worlds I just told you about can be found inside this tear-shaped space.”

The information causes another bout of dizziness inside the boy but she presses on.

“The aether that is used by the collective dominion worlds, can also only be found inside this tear drop. All technology within the domain runs on this clear aether and all life has evolved specialized organs to channel and manipulate this very aether.”

She pauses in her description, waving her arms to encircle the teardrop-shaped drawing with a dense black color on all sides. The shade touches the boundaries of the teardrop, extending outward to form a black circle around it, more than a hundred times larger than the original drawing.

“This is the second type of aether just outside the boundary of the dominion. It is called dark aether and it is the primary aether that creates and is used by darklings, although it’s not a strict rule since they can thrive on the aether inside the dominion as well.”

The boy stares at the large black circle in silence as the puzzle pieces click into place in his mind.

“And let me guess, this type of aether is black in color and can stop light from passing through.” He tells Arya.

Arya looks at him in surprise and says “That’s absolutely correct! Do you remember everything?”

“Nope, not at all, but it explains why there aren’t any stars in the night sky.”

“…stars? Do you mean celebrities lord Alfzaar?”

“No, never mind, continue please.”

“Yes well, the dark aether surrounds the dominion on all sides and it goes on for no one knows how long. There is not a single entity in the entire dominion that has explored the large swathes of space inside the dark aether and returned back safely. There are no facts or figures that precisely describe how far the dark aether goes. In fact, many consider the entire universe to simply consist of dark aether.”

“And they’ve never returned because of the darklings.” The boy guesses.

“Yes again, lord Alfzaar, although dark aether by itself is safe to channel and manipulate for all living beings, it has a specific quality that makes it very deadly. When huge amounts of dark aether concentrates and clumps together it produces a substance called dark essence.”

He remembered the image of living strands of darkness stretching toward his palm on the column outside in the wasteland.

“The black ooze.” He thought inwardly.

Arya continues with her description.

“This dark essence is the subject of a lot of scientific debates and inquiries. Although countless worlds have been studying it and its effects for millions of years, no one can actually say what it or dark aether actually is. The only effect everyone knows for certain is that repeated injection or digestion of this essence can corrupt any living being into a mindless darkling.”

Understanding the implication behind her words, the boy glances at the floating drawing enclosed in a big dark circle.

“So…..this giant space of darkness around the dominion….”

“Is teeming with dark essence which in turn means the space inside is riddled with vicious bloodthirsty darklings.”

Arya completes his sentence.

“Judging by some educated estimations, for each dominion planet there are 10 planets out there filled to the brim with darklings. This is the main reason why no civilization, despite their might has ever veered outside the dominion and it is also the reason why this space is called the darkbound dominion.”

“Because its literally bound by darkness.” He thinks inwardly

Hearing this particular piece of information, the boy takes a deep inhale and exhales slowly to calm his rattled mind.