Dark things slithered about, and screams echoed through the dungeon. They were sound from the spirits of Maria’s victims they haunted this place the Vali dungeon. From legendary knights, to peasants begging on the streets humans from all walks of life found their way into her pantry. Like a child going at a cookie jar when their Ma isn’t around, she devoured them mercilessly. As was her right, he wasn’t judging her nor the wails of angry spirits demanding justice. Markus could only sense them when he touched the dark, he had a feeling he would become more familiar with them. They waited for him to open the door and let them slither inside his mind. Once he let them in there would be no restoring his mind to its former purity.

“Markus pay attention, you looked like you nodded off there. Is the late-night training getting to you? We could cut it short.” Maria said in a cheerful voice that twisted his nerves. He gave her his full attention. “Good, now, since you’re human there is a danger of the dark souls in this place trying to overwhelm you. I need you to eat them.” He stared at her for a while and she blinked at him politely.

“Eat them, like how I eat things normally?” Markus asked.

“They are broken pieces of dark chipped away when a soul leaves the body swearing vengeance or worse giving in to despair. Markus they aren’t really people just shavings from them. The worst parts.”

“Alright, I’ll try, any tips?” Markus said.

“Once you start keep eating until there’s no room left. If you don’t then one will slip in and alter you in ways you can’t imagine.” Marie said.

Markus nodded and parted his feet. He needed a good stance, the waves of darkness around them was thick.

His will flexed like a powerful creature changing directions. The ocean of darkness shook around as his movements caused ripples. Shapes in the darkness couldn’t wait to get inside him and wreck his mind. He wouldn’t let them.

He sent all the air out of his lungs gripped the darkness around him with his will and began pulling it in. Markus pictured his will becoming a meat grinder taking in the screaming spirits in the dark and breaking them down to an easier to consume form. As the spirits entered him the meat grinder’s crank turned grinding bones with the muscle and tendons. All of it formed into an easily consumed slurry filling wherever darkness went when he ate it. Some of the bones were tougher than others. Before they went through, he added another array of grinders and sent the slurry through another round.

Minutes passed, and his lungs were full. If he exhaled it would shake his process and a few of the spirits might really get inside him intact. Maria had her eyes on him like he was doing something impressive.

Pa would tell him he was being sloppy. Why would his lungs have anything to do with eating darkness? He didn’t know, and Pa would argue that they had nothing to do with one another. Then Markus would be stubborn and argue his point even if it was losing.

A wail and a frantic exhale later, Markus let out his breath and went back to breathing. He was still eating the darkness like Marie told him to. He was just breathing while doing it. She still had this impressed look on her face that made him want to swell with pride. Then it hit him. He was full. The grinder was still going but the slurry wasn’t going inside him anymore.

“Alright, I’m not changed, and you said you would teach me how to use darkness like you do?” She continued to smile in that creepy way Markus was beginning to associate with her when Markus did well.

“Tell me Markus, why did you consume darkness? Don’t most humans either materialize and element or manipulate it?” Markus nodded wondering where this was going. She looked at him pointedly. Oh, this was where he was supposed to answer.

“To give me a blueprint to work from. I’m guessing the stronger the darkness I can eat the better form of darkness I can emulate.” She shook her head.

“As wrong as wrong can be. You take in the dark because using chaotic darkness is as likely to turn on you as to follow the orders of your will. With your own darkness, you don’t have to worry about it disobeying you.” Marie said. That made a sort of sense. He had so many questions. “Save it for next time. Make a tentacle of darkness from the darkness you just absorbed, then draw it out.”

Markus nodded and felt the dark within him it changed already. It felt like an pet eager to leap at his command. It didn’t even interfere with his psychic energy. At the command of his will it leapt out and his skin mutated. He stared at a growth rising from his forearm. A long fleshy tentacle shot out staying rigid as a pole. It itched like a thousand ant bites.

“Good this is a good example of a tentacle. This is the bread and butter of darkness. Tentacles can rip through prey, act as extra limbs, and damage enemy morale. Vampires don’t often use such techniques because of our inherent vanity. Even I would rather not use the skill. That’s why familiars were invented.” A gray shape leapt from her body and formed into a bat. The thing flapped its wings a few times and flew up to her shoulder. Glowing red eyes covered the creature.

“Is this the skill you wanted to show me? It doesn’t look better than the tentacle.” Markus said.

“Oh, and you are the master of all things dark?” Markus was silent. “No, ok well bats are an example, the technique is called familiar, bats is just a subskill within it. What makes my bats an effective weapon is their ability to infect humans and turn them into fledglings. I can turn an army of knights into a pile of corpses and never lift a finger. When making familiars remember that when they infect flesh the target will change. I wonder what your familiars will turn people into?” Marie said.

This was going into dark territory no puns intended. Markus didn’t want to become the next dark hero or worse a demon lord. This skill would be on the don’t use ever list. But saying that he needed every tool he could get his hands on.

He withdrew the tentacle back into himself and felt his dark energy was missing a little. He ground up a bit more darkness. The screaming bothered him less than the thought of causing a horrible plague. There was a problem, what would he use for a familiar. Bats weren’t his style and crows seemed a little used as well. Every dark lord ever had a crow, bat, or snake fetish of some kind.

Putting his hands together, he let his thoughts guide him and they led to Stan. He wasn’t about to unleash a horde of Stans on the world. But it got him thinking in what he hoped was the right direction. Conventional, wasn’t really him anyway. The darkness swirled within his hands creating an egg. He placed it on the ground and watched the thing hatch.

“You know that has to be the most disgusting familiar I’ve ever seen.” What stood up 10 inches tall looking around was the cross between a T-rex, a wasp, and a prayingmantice. The black winged lizard with scythes for arms spit a wad of acid on the ground and flapped its thin black wings spraying dust all over the ground. Marie stared at it for a full ten minutes. The creature moved about hissing and scratching. Occasionally, it fluttered its wings moving with a sound like a hawk fluttering. It mandibles adjusted as it looked around. Multiple glowing blue eyes covered the creature. Markus could see through them. “Congratulations, your Pa would be so proud. I’m going to let you fight like before the difficulty is about to go up a bit, hope you’re up for it.

“One more thing Maria before you go. Why do I way so much and I’ve never heard of nobles weighing a lot that weren’t fat.” Maria giggled at him for a long time. When she saw his face she sobered a bit.

“Markus you ate a dungeon’s treasure. You know darkness has mutating effects right. Well instead of growing extra arms or a third nipple, your weight scales to your base vitality. Hope your future wife is sturdy because its hereditary.” With that Maria vanished in the shadows.

Skills/spells

Psychic

Telekinesis: Apprentice 10, Empathy: beginner 20, Telepathy: beginner 15, Life Support: beginner 30

Sub skills

Pierce 12, Slash 15, Crush 20

Dark

Familiar: beginner 5, Tentacle: beginner 2, Eye: beginner 1

Ice

Freeze: Beginner 80

Light

Chains: initiate 10

Monster tamer

MISC

Eating: Initiate 50

Movement: Initiate 30

Brawling: Initiate 19

Farming: beginner 10

Hunting: beginner 5

Spells

Light Psychic Hammer

Piercing ice

Slashing ice