Beyond the shattered wall a labyrinth awaited, daring those who found it to test their luck in darkness. For the first time, the Numbers learned there was an abyss their visors couldn't fill. There was something to the walls that stole their sight away, making the darkness no different from stone. Fortunately, Gupta's light remained. It carved the path ahead for them—a blue-white ring, revealing the way. As they followed, their minds returned to each other, finally processing some of the data they consumed. Fang lagged to stay at Ace’s side, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“How are you feeling?” Other than horrible, miserable, and uncertain of what awaited. She knew that could just be her, but Ace didn’t hide the turmoil on his mind.

“I’m all right. I just can’t stop thinking about the Enclave, or this mission. This was supposed to be about Graduation, but it feels like something they should have given to Grade A.” His eyes went to Assassin, his mind went to memories of Abigail. Maybe those two could make this mission work, but him? Raven? Wasn’t this out of their league? And that was just considering the nothing they knew before. At what point was he someone meant for this mission?

Fang shook her head. "You might be right, this mission shouldn't be about us, but I feel like we were the only ones they could send on it. I think there's only a few Dark Disciples. So many of the others have parents and homes. I wish that meant we could survive, but I think the red one proves not even the Enclave will.”

“Do you think administrations knew anything about this stuff?”

She had been thinking about that for a moment, but her answer remained the same. Even with Gupta’s words, it didn’t seem likely, but she did wonder about a few other things. New Dawn was established at least twenty-five years ago. How old did that make the Enclave, the only Bastion against the Grays? “I don’t think so,” She finally replied. “But they might be hiding other things we should know.” While she couldn’t imagine what those things were, she imagined they were as big as New Dawn.

Ace considered her words with eyes cast down. “Do you think we should share whatever we find ahead?”

She shook her head. “If we make it back, I want to see what information we can get out of them first.”

Ahead of the two, King spoke with Assassin. “I want your opinion on something.”

“Shoot.”

“If you and Fang had no Luminance to begin with, what do you think your weapons were made of?”

“I guess it wouldn’t be Umbra, right?”

“I think it could, actually. Depends on what Umbra feels like.”

Assassin summoned his sword again. “If you mean physically, it feels lighter than the practice weapons. Mentally, it feels strange but right. It’s not like I’m holding a sword, it’s like my desire to have one makes it appear. I feel it in my hand because I expect to feel it.”

King nodded; he knew Assassin would be the best person to ask. “I have a theory. We always heard that a horde of Grays is a deadly encounter, but we met one pretty easily. We cut through them without losing anyone, and while people like Judge and Silas could beat a horde themselves, I don’t think they could do better than you can right now.”

“Your theory is that I’m stronger?”

King shook his head. "I think its more that the Umbra isn't just about making weapons, it changes us too. When we Amplify our Luminance, we get stronger and faster for a short period. We have to terminate it to get full access to Umbra, but what if Umbra is always there. You have a sword because you want one, right? Well, what if Umbra does more than that?"

“That sounds like it could be right, but what ideas is it giving you?”

“I’m not sure yet. I need to understand Umbra a bit more.”

Assassin offered his sword. “Let’s see if you can hold it.”

King took the blade, and it immediately started coming apart. He frowned but took a mental note. "At the very least, we can say that without termination, it's impossible to maintain."

“Do you think you’ll regret keeping your Luminance?”

“No. Not yet at least. I still have to figure out how this thing works, and I don’t think I could do that without my Luminance.” He looked at the halo.

Assassin stared ahead. “I'm not as smart as you, but I know you'll figure something amazing out. You're easily the best at this stuff.”

“Best among our group, maybe.”

“Best in the Enclave.” Assassin smiled. “I’m a good judge of these things, right? Fang is a good leader. Ace will always show his place on the team. And you’re the best when it comes to our equipment, even the red bastard knew it.”

Assassin truly saw him, King could tell. The boy always had his eyes on Fang, but the looks he gave his friends were honest. Assassin knew how good everyone he cared for was, and the King in his eyes was the best person King could be. It warmed his heart to see it, but that just made his chest hurt. Knight always looked at him like that. Every time they were together, King longed to meet the version of him that lived in Knight’s heart. He stopped and sniffled. Knight was gone; those Blues stole a priceless treasure away. Those Blues—rancid rotten meat in fake human skin. They stole his joy, and the Crimson Prophet helped. His heart rose to a raging fire. He would make that thing regret turning the halo over.

The maze finally ended as a chamber opened up. The Numbers froze. Littered around them, some places in piles, bodies lay broken. Torn, crushed, smashed into pieces—bodies made a grotesque garden; some from things they couldn’t recognize. Gupta’s light shined across from them, and they crossed the garden slowly. So much of it was alien that they weren’t sure what was dead. Gupta’s light faded, and an orange pinprick remained, staining the black glass.

“I'm sorry," A voice filled the room. "I can't let you go further." It spoke with true regret, and that made its echo worse.

One of the piles stirred, and a man crawled free. He dropped to the floor like his legs were unfamiliar. Wobbling to his feet, the Numbers faced him with ice in their chest. It wasn't that they were waiting, they just couldn't take a step. Their minds were screaming to attack, but their bodies refused to move.

“They call me Butcher, sir…” He paused, waiting. “I told everyone in charge I’ll kill anyone that tries to enter that room.” It sounded like he answered a question. Butcher raised his hand. A Luminance Band sat on his wrist, sparkling orange. Lightning twisted into a long cleaver above him, and he lowered it to his side. Holding it in both hands, he flashed forward.

Assassin caught his slash, and bolts arced out where their blades met. They met each other's eyes; the orange of Butcher's burning like a seething kiln. His blade shifted back. Though Assassin caught the next slash, lightning snaked across his cheek, bleeding a shallow scar. He didn’t think that block was good but knew it could be far worse. Each follow-up slash was more of the same—darkness dancing after the kiln-bright blade; lightning cutting out. It cut above his right eye. It cut down his chest. It cut the outer side of one arm, and the inner side of another. Each slash left its mark where it hoped to land, making Assassin bloody. It was only between the blink of one that he got his counterattack. It missed all the same, as Butcher leaped back. As those eyes examined him, he took in a breath.

“Can you beat him?” Fang asked.

"Yeah. I got a good feel for how strong he is." Assassin was hoping for that question. "Could you all stay back though? This might be too hard if I don’t fight alone.” Because he knew how good his friends were, and they were not prepared for this.

"King go forward, I think the way will open."

“What about you and Ace?” King shot a look at her.

“If Assassin fails, we have to delay this as much as possible.” Fang watched Butcher, cautious of him changing his target. "If Ace and I try to go with you, I have a feeling this will escalate faster."

King nodded and ran for the wall. As he reached it and reached out, the light pulled him in. Butcher breathed deep, making a cleaver in his other hand. Seeing it, Assassin thought about his arms. He willed the Umbra to change them, shifting them to limbs of darkness. The whisper from before returned, and he shook his head.

“Still don’t know what you’re saying.” He readied his sword. "But could you give me a minute, I'm a little busy."

There came a flash, and it met a burst of shadows. Assassin shredded one blade apart, and went for the stomach, catching the other. Butcher pushed this up and over his head, re-weaving the broken, swinging for the chest. He tore shards free as his target pulled away. Stomping in pursuit, he cut down. Assassin cut up, and darkness ripped the cleaver apart. It cut around for the other, going for the face when that one was through. An orange light sprayed free, but most of Butcher got away; realization blooming. Assassin made the Umbra change his legs, hearing the question again as he slipped behind his foe. He cut clean through from shoulder to waist. Butcher’s body glowed and popped. Its particle smashed together across the corpse garden, reforming the man staring Assassin down.

“I might die if I’m not careful. I’m sorry, Dr. Gupta, but this is the last you’ll see of me.” He said, replaying whatever happened before the garden was made. Assassin wanted to strike, but a Luminance dome kept him back. “Luminance Maximize." Lightning exploded out, peeling skin free of a crackling orange upper body; coils of bronze sinew twisting down his sides to his feet. Body piles collapsed as his luminance retracted, and Assassin trembled. He willed the Umbra into a cuirass, listening closely as the whisper came again. He still couldn't translate, but he kept the sounds in mind. Whatever it was, he thought he'd need it for this fight…

♦

King was pulled through a black ocean, liquid and flowing as something guided him on a string. He broke the surface like a dolphin, landing dry on a beach despite the waves. White sand rolled down the shore, starting the path to a house on his right. He followed it, taking in the dark depths, looking out to an orange horizon. He knew places like this existed, but never imagined something so picturesque. The black sea, the white sand, the steam-like wavering forest of palm trees; he was not on an island, but someone's depiction of one. He climbed the stairs on the sand in front of him, and walked through a door—open and waiting. He followed the large living room to the windows on the opposing wall, emerging onto a deck, where a man in a glowing coat stood. He looked out to the sea, dark hair slicked back; brown-skin—healthy. Naveen Gupta looked very much alive, and he turned to face King with an expecting smile.

“I’m glad you all didn’t try to fight Butcher. I wasn’t sure anyone would make it.” Gupta nodded.

“What is this place?”

“My domain. It’s rather shoddily built, but I didn’t have much time to figure out the specifics.”

“And my friends?”

"They're safe, maybe. Time flows faster here. Your travel back will take more time than the entirety of our conversation." It was clear he still had much to say. King nodded firmly; there were questions he needed to ask.

“Why are you here, and what are they fighting out there?”

"I'm here to defend the last key to our plans, that's what Butcher is doing too. He kills anything that tries to take it, and I make sure it doesn't grow wild." Gupta waved, sprouting chairs. He sat and bid King do the same. "He's a Refracted Harbinger, by the way. He's the last one New Dawn made."

“What went wrong with your Harbinger plan? Considering we use our Luminance to fight, I think creating some sort of Luminance battery was a good idea.”

"That would be because of the Advent Ascension—the reason why Butcher is our last Harbinger.”

“What exactly went wrong?”

“Fifteen years ago, we contacted the Enclave to send us their most influential people. They had to be so magnetic, that they drew others in. They had to be adored; people you couldn't avoid. Their magnetic Luminance was the first key to the plan, but we neglected how magnetic they were. We were also blind, literally. For seven years, we thought the Spear of Hell merely wounded the God Eternal, but we were sorely mistaken."

“That is good news right…? You’re not going to tell me that made it stronger…”

"I'm not, fortunately, but it didn't make matters better either. The Spear of Hell is a complex machine. Stabbed into the God Eternal it unraveled the thing into a sun-like shape above us, slowly pulling it apart. The spear was an effective weapon, but we never realized what it could do."

“But it sounds like other people did.”

"They did in fact, a long time ago. Back when gods were more commonplace, some people were more attentive. They made religions, like others did, but they weren't blind to the Luster. I mentioned that my favorite color is Yellow, remember?" Gupta snapped, and a yellow orb appeared. King nodded. "There would have been people who saw this Luster and thought to build a god of their own. They didn't know the true purpose of the Luster, but they knew they could make gods from it."

King gulped. “So they prepared for the Advent Ascension.”

“You catch on fast. Yes, that’s what they called it. The Advent Ascension would be when their God is Born and raises rightfully to his position in Heaven. They wanted to create a God King, and they knew it was a matter of time.”

“But if they knew this that far back, how did the God Eternal ever win?”

“Because the God Eternal always foiled their plans.”

“Right! It eats all other Luster.”

"That was going to happen once again, until we at New Dawn got in the way. By summoning the Spear of Hell, we wounded the God Eternal, and the spear began pulling it apart. It started with all the bits that don't match. Red, Blue, Green, Pink. Pick a color, if it wasn't Orange, it was torn free. All of that Luster was hidden in the overcast, slowly moving into clusters that matched. And then we took our Harbingers and used power similar to the Spear of Hell to pull matching Luminance into them. We never noticed the Luster, and that plan backfired."

“The people from the Enclave became potential gods…”

"What remained of New Dawn began to call them the Lustrous Lords. Each one had the power to become a God King, it was just a matter of figuring out how."

“Did any of them want to stop the God Eternal?”

“Most of them wanted to replace it. There was a great battle that left the majority wiped out.”

King looked down, thinking of the wasted time. That was fifteen years ago; the opportunity to save the world was right there. He gritted his teeth, and a cup of water manifested in front of him. "No thank you." He said as he looked back at Gupta. The man waved it away. "Why did they become like that, didn't they want to at least stop it first?"

"They began to drift. Too much of their minds pulled away from their Luminance and into the Luster. Therein, they couldn't distinguish themselves from what others hoped they'd be. They became focused on a singular purpose, and embodied that aspect.”

“Butcher is like that right now, isn’t he?”

“Yes, afraid so. He lives to defend this place. He doesn’t even see people anymore. After all those demons and angels, I can’t say I’m surprised.”

"Demons… as in the gods of dead cultures?"

“Yes. The God Eternal has eaten for a long time.”

"Is Butcher why Grays don't come here?" King thought back to their mission.

“Indeed. They touch his Luster from afar and are cut down there. They can’t get close.”

King shook his head fervently. “That’s stronger than anything we ever learned about. How are we going to beat The God Eternal if we can’t beat that.”

“You can, actually. As Dark Disciples, think of what you truly are. Even though this world had the Plentiful Luster present in it, you were all still born of the Dark. The Darkness reforged your soul, and what is the darkness but the absence of light.”

“What does that mean?”

“You are Dark. Your very presence erodes the Luster and Luminance. You are naturally the perfect weapons against foes like this.”

“But we’re not strong enough. If Assassin dies, Fang and Ace will follow. They’re both better fighters than me.”

“Assassin, huh?” Gupta laughed. “Is that one of the left-handed ones?” King nodded. “Then you don’t have to worry, he’s already heard the Voice of Darkness, he just has to answer it.”

“Do you know what it’s saying?”

“What is your Dark Name?”

♦♦

Assassin was nearly the shadows themselves. The Umbra changed and wrapped around him, making him streaks of blackness through the room. He clashed with explosive fury with Butcher, bending slashes away as he failed to land any of his own. Butcher could always come back, but Assassin was good enough to dodge, and parry what he couldn’t. He conjured a second sword, pushing Butcher to the ropes. Even cornered, the man was too fast.

No! Assassin wasn't fast enough. He could kill this man if seconds didn't delay him—if his blade could be where it needed to be. Butcher fought like the man that build this garden, but his strength stopped there. He cut down everything that got in his way, but he had never tried something like Assassin before. This was as far as Butcher could go, but Assassin? He'd tell you he hadn't even taken the first step. He willed a hood around his head, using that to drive Butcher's blade aside. His slit through Butcher's pec, and the man pulled away, raising a fist to clear his eyes. Butcher saw a younger man when he was through, but for a moment, he thought he saw death.

“I don’t know what you are, but I will stop you.” He said, and Assassin smirked.

“You can’t stop me. I’m aiming for the God Eternal.” He heard the whisper again, but this time loud and clear.

“What is your Dark Name?”

He called to Fang, “If you got to choose my name on the bus, what would you pick.”

She was at ease—confident in his inevitable victory. He told her he could win, and even with precautions, she believed him. “I always thought of you in a certain way when we first got to know each other. You were always on my tail, even when I didn’t expect you. I loved you for always standing behind me. You were my Shadow.”

"Shadow, huh? That good for you?" He asked the whisper. Umbra swirled beside him, molding a jet black heart. He took hold of it, keeping his left arm outstretched. He knew what he was supposed to do. He knew it so well it came as easily as breathing. "Dark Heart…" Dark veins grew and fed into his arm. "Beat.” It did, and the Umbra closed him in a coffin.

Ace moved forward and Fang stopped him, fearing for the worst. Something twenty-feet tall with spindly limbs loomed in the darkness beyond the prison with a finger pointed down. Suddenly, it spoke.

“Through this Dark Burial old birth is discarded. For this rebirth I pledge a new name. He is Shadow, and he is Assassin. His Devil name shall be Shadow;Assassin…”