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You think it's safe to say you've had a pretty good day. Saved the world for a second time, recruited several new townsfolk for the castle, and you got to spend some quality time with your friends.
You still can't quite believe it, even now - you have friends. Real, actual friends. Great friends, in fact. You've had to pinch yourself more than once, when they weren't looking, just to be sure. Granted, they weren't always the best conversationists, but that didn't really matter. Just being around them has brought you a happiness and fulfilment that you weren't even aware existed before yesterday. You'd always wondered what it would be like to just hang out with other people, and now that you knew, you wondered how you ever managed to survive without them.
But the day is coming to an end, and your friends are leaving. Susie says something about wanting more cake next time, flashing her rows of long, sharp teeth at you in what you now understand to be an excited grin. Kris doesn't say anything - they never were much for words - but by the way they look back at you and smile warmly, you know that they too are glad that you are friends. It is a bittersweet feeling in your heart as you watch them step into the light, and yet the promise of seeing them again tomorrow makes it impossible to be truly sad about this parting. You can barely wait for it.
You wave to them as hard as you can as they rise up into the inky black sky of your dark world, watching them become smaller and smaller until they are just two black dots. And then, you watch as the light recedes to a thin, brilliant line in front of you, and finally dissipate.
And in its place, the dark comes roaring in.
With no more light to hold it at bay, it gathers itself up and disperses, falling upon the land like black snowflakes. All it touches becomes overwhelmed and subsumed by the storm. You watch your castle dissolve into the encroaching void. No-one else seems to notice as their entire world fades from view, as their fellow darkners, their loved ones, disappear into the dark. Only you are witness to the silent, tranquil oblivion rushing to meet you. You do not run from it. You do not close your eyes. You simply wait and accept what is to come.
This is something all darkners must reckon with, sooner or later – the doom of obscurity, of being left forgotten behind an old piece of furniture, or at the bottom of a dusty toy box, or up on a high shelf in a disused closet. The dark congregates in these neglected spaces, away from the eyes of their masters and friends, corroding the memories and feelings that gave them life until nothing remains.
There is no pain as your form is erased – only a temperate numbness that spreads from your arms and legs, creeping up towards your heart. It is surprising how gently the dark swaddles you, almost as if it's trying to cradle you to sleep. You might even consider it oddly pleasant. Peaceful. You take in a lungful of air – the last lungful you will breathe for a while – before you too are completely taken.
And all that is left is darkness.
Infinite…
Absolute…
Lifeless.
…
Tomorrow…
The thought rings through the abyss, clear as a bell. A whispered defiance against the emptiness. It should not be possible. Nothing can exist here. And yet, something persists.
You persist.
But you are so small, now. Divorced from all sense and sensation, unable to see, hear, touch, or taste anything, you cannot exert even the smallest force upon the unfeeling, uncaring void that now closes in on all sides, threatening to crush you beneath its oppressive blanket. All you can do is cling desperately to this one thought, and wait.
That's when they'll be back… tomorrow.
Time holds no meaning in this non-place. Minutes and years are interchangeable. Tomorrow could be a century from now. It could be in five seconds. There is no frame of reference, no way for you to tell. All there is, all there ever can be, is this never-ending now, an eternal instant where nothing happens, nothing changes.
They promised. They said they'll return, so they will. Of… of course they will.
You know that this night will not last. Nonetheless, you are frightened. You're no stranger to this state of being. Before... you didn't know how long it had been. Only that it must have been a very, very long time. So long, in fact, that at times you briefly considered just letting go. What had kept you going, through those moments? Was it the unspoken promise that, somehow, you would be found again?
Of course, that was all you had really known, back then. There hadn't been this... hope, before. This wonderful, terrifying thing that offered you salvation, but always, always with the implied threat that at any time, for any reason, it could be snatched away from you. It is this hope you cling to now - the hope that they will once more honour their promise.
Because... they like being here, don't they? They... they like me... don't they?
That was it, wasn't it? Be nice to the lightners. Let them do what they want. Make them feel welcome. Make them feel appreciated. Make them like you. Maybe, if you did that... maybe they would come back. Maybe... maybe you could even get them to stay. Just... just for one night. Just so you could... exist, for a little longer. Breathe in the air, savour the taste of marshmallows and chocolate, the feel of scratchy scarves against your fur, the warmth and life of another living being nearby. To feel your heart swell with joy as you talk and laugh with friends, to bask in the light their soul gives off and feel... complete, again.
Yes… because we're… friends.
You think about Susie, larger than life, louder than thunder. The deep roar of her unbridled laughter, the limitless exuberance she pours into everything she does, the reassuring solidity of her presence. She could carry the weight of a world upon her broad shoulders, but you also wonder, a little guiltily, what it would be like to sit atop them as she ran, clinging tightly to her wild mane, whoops of joy tearing from your throat, wind whipping through your fur and scarf billowing out behind you.
You think of Kris, quiet yet dependable. How they always step up and do whatever is needed, no matter how silly or dangerous. The way they so naturally take the lead, as if they were created for that very role, inspiring hope and courage in their allies. You think of the small kindnesses that they sometimes show you, warm and bright like dappled sunlight in a tranquil glade. But you also see hints of a deeper pain, something that not even your magic can heal. You would give anything to take that pain from them, if you could, just to see them smile once again.
These memories burn brightly in the dark. Hold onto them. The dawn is coming again. You only have to wait a little longer. Your dear friends will return. And you will be there to greet them, with a warm smile and a delicious cake.
Kris... Susie... see you tomorrow.