User blog:Pollux83/Beyond Light and Darkness, Chapter 15 and 16

Again, 2 chapters.

Chapter Overview

 15 On dark paths



 Back in Tegras began the work on the 2nd crystal. I was not sure if it was a good idea to create a crystal that could store demonic energy, but we needed the data.

So the whole torture again. At least we could reuse some of the procedures. Nevertheless, we always produced rejects, but the Order did not spare any costs and efforts to provide supplies.



 Kai came to visit regularly. Unlike me, he always had enough time for his family. However, I had decided to go this way and was not able to return any more, so much I also wanted it. After all, I now regularly took a vacation.



 This time we needed only 7 months for our 1st crystal. It was small and misshapen, but after 7 months it does not matter. Then, finally, the 4th crystal was perfect. The crystal was also hand-sized and black or much more incredibly dark. In contrast to the green crystal, it had 7 sides and not 5.



 We had made a black crystal. Now only one thing was missing, and asking the Order was anything but easy for me. It did not help. To test the crystal we needed an individual with enough demonic energy and I knew what that meant.



 The 1st Mamono was a harpy. They had put them in a cage. The poor thing was completely frightened. I had to force myself to ignore my pity for her.

I did not force anybody to be there and most of my co-worker left the lab. In the faces of those who remained I could recognize the same emotions I had. The employees of the Order, on the other hand, did not seem to have any problems at all.



 So we started with our tests and I collected her demonic energy with the crystal. The harpy collapsed thereafter from exhaustion. The crystal in my hand was now deep black and released a slightly demonic aura. After all tests had been completed, the crystal was safely kep t in a magical container, and I was the only one who had a key to it. To enforce this I had to threaten my "superiors" with my dismissal. That the Order had 2 of the green crystals was already bad enough, but the black crystals were much too dangerous. The Order would have been able to do something else with it, either intentionally or accidentally.



 A few weeks later they brought us a Beelzebub. They must have given her something, because she did a completely out of her mind impression. The Order was probably on the safe side. Compared to a harpy, a Beelzebub possessed a large amount of demonic energy and was therefore perfect for further experiments.

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<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> When everything was ready, I took another crystal and let it absorb the demonic energy. The crystal was even darker and its aura was clearly noticeable. The thing was clearly dangerous. One mistake and the stored demonic energy would have corrupted us all. We went very carefully with our tests and I kept the crystal afterwards. I was relieved when the crystal was finally enclosed.

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<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> In the next 3 months, the Order brought us a Minotaur and a Goblin. The results were similar to those of the harpy and confirmed the results we had already made with the green crystals.

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<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> Then she came, a succubus. The Order had actually managed to capture a succubus alive. When I saw her for the first time, I was shocked.

<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> Her wings was completely shredded, and one of her horns was broken. Her body was covered with bruises. I had said that I needed a monster for experimental purposes, but not that they should torment her. She looked terrible. A part of me wanted to free her, but the other part of me knew that she would never leave this place alive, just like the other Mamono. Her life was over from the moment she was captured by the Order.

<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%">I swallowed my anger down and made the tests with the crystal as fast as I could.

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<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> Succubi are considered as the Mamono with the biggest amount of demonic energy and she should not disappoint me. The amount of demonic energy the crystal received was enormous. When I touched the crystal, the energy burned literally in my hand. I decided to do no more tests and sealed the crystal immediately. Now we had 5 crystals, any more we did not need. We had gathered enough information to see a rough pattern, and finally could begin with our true work, the creation of a crystal that could absorb "Holy Energy".

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<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%">16 The goal so close

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<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> I was home again. Eleana went to school now and learned diligently, and Norik also eagerly explored the world around him. Anyone who saw us like this must inevitably get the impression of a happy family. But the truth was complicated. I was seldom at home and this discomfort Lara ,and if I had not pushed her to continue the work in the smithy, she would probably have given up her dream. All the more we enjoyed the time together and with the children. Every single moment for us was more precious than gold.

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<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%">In Tegras everything had been prepared in the meantime. We started with our work as many times before.

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<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> It was routine work. The alchemists changed the composition of their mixtures, the magicians used different spells, etc. Each day was like the other, until I got a letter from Niskara. It was from Lara and in it stood that she was pregnant again. I did not hesitate for a second, and immediately submitted my vacation request. Even if Lara got much support from our friends and family, I just did not want to leave her alone. Especially not at such a moment.

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<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> And so I traveled regularly between Tegras and Niskara in the coming months. First only with the horse. Later, more and more often with the help of the green crystals and my windmagic. It clearly has advantages to be the boss. It took some time, but I always got better in controlling the energy of the crystals. Meanwhile, I was able to use two crystals simultaneously.

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<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%">It lasted only 11 months and 17 days until we had the first success and again 5 months until the first crystal lay on the table in front of us.

<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> Meanwhile Lara had born a healthy son, whom I regularly visited. I had missed Levi's birth, but Kai and his family had taken good care of Lara and the children.

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<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%">The crystal was almost transparent and had 8 side faces. It was undoubtedly immaculate, but only half the size of the other two. In a direct comparison, it seemed almost tiny and even after several attempts, the crystals simply did not grow larger.

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<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%">The next problem was the activation spell. Here everyone could let his imagination run free, maybe he landed a lucky hit. What did you think how new spells were developed? One of the magicians finally was successful, the crystal reacted.

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<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> One of the light magicians tested the crystal first. It worked. A small light gathered in the crystal. It was relatively small, but at least greater than the light of the device from that time. We let all present light magicians use a crystal, but the result was always the same. So we led the energy of the crystal gradually into a single, but also that increased the light only imperceptibly. It was enough to make you crazy! We were again in a dead end. A few more weeks we tried out different settings, but the result was always the same. Nevertheless, we did not give up.

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<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> At some point, one of the workers noticed something. The crystal in which we had unified the energy was a little bigger than the others. I could hardly believe my eyes. All the crystals had exactly the same size. The crystal must have grown. I had to think.

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<p align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> Could it be that our crystal was not perfect? That would at least explain its size. We knew that the crystals did not collect pure energy. The energy in the crystal was therefore a mixture of many sources. If, however, the union of the energies allowed the crystal to grow, the combination of the energies might perfect the crystal. This would mean that a combination of the energies had a higher degree of purity. For a perfect crystal we needed pure "Holy Energy", which we did not possess. So we had to make it. But the energy of the light magicians was too small. Even the energy of all light magicians of the continent would not be enough. We needed more sources.