[Unknown POV]:
In a forgotten realm where chaos creatures roamed in quatillions, where the rules of reality were too chaotic to support normal life and the very space defied any and all semblance of order — where the sky shone a plethora of warm colors without any kind of Sun to shine upon the land and the earth itself allowed expulsions of reality to rewrite itself every few pulses; essences burned in pillars of crimson-orange and chaotic mana came in almost overwhelming quantities. Where the very air was too chaotic to inhale safely and the denizens here learned to exist without breathing.
In a castle greater in size than every Sun across the multiversal mortal plane combined — A castle encased with an orange bubble bound in reality confining chains that spanned the length of entire multiverses — a strange, crimson-orange shadowy form sat upon a throne of crimson flames.
His form was too eternally shifting for any being to properly distinguish any physical details about his appearance — Mortal or beast, no being would comfortably be able to look upon his form and remain sane. Even gods would lose their wills and cease existing in this being's presence. That was just how powerful he was.
"That Blasted Khaos Family O'Mine Could Never Truly Best Me," the being murmured to himself, seemingly not for the first time. "So They Sacrificed Hundreds of Mystical Realms To Keep Me Chained Here… Both Mortal & Divine!"
The being smiled maliciously to himself.
"They Failed To Realize That My Binding Is But A Temporary Reprieve For Them," the primordial being chuckled to himself. "It May Have Bought Them A Couple decamillennium… But The Time Arrives Soon, When Chaos Will Reign Once More… And This Time, Elder Brother Cannot Stop My Rise!"
Chaos was about to chuckle, when he felt it. A sudden spike of divine primordial darkness in the mortal plane caught his attention. It was brief but Chaos recognized the telltale signs of Erebus' spawn testing his powers; it caused Chaos to smile even wider.
"It Seems Elder Brother's Spawn Grows Stronger…. Good," Chaos spoke, bemused. "My Own Spawn Will Use His Erebean Blood To Free Me, And When He Does, Tis Will Become The Age of Chaos."
"I highly doubt that, dear brother," Nyx spoke, leaning casually against one the throne room's columns. "Even should you free yourself, I would just stop you a second time…Just like I did before."
"LIES! You Only Succeeded In My Defeat Because You Had The Family's Backing, Sister!" Chaos snapped, before reigning in his fury. "And Who Said You'll Have Such A Successful Victory A Second Time. You Have Grown Stronger Since Last I've Seen You, But You Aren't On My Level…Not While You Remain Separated From Your Aspects. You Won't Beat Me. You Don't Have The Power."
"Mayhaps your words have some wisdom… But Mother decreed none in the family may draw ," Nyx grinned a cheshire grin reminiscent of a certain white-haired demigod descendant of hers. "But I won't have to face you, even if you do get freed at that point. Should you shed family blood — any at all — it will be you who will feel her wraith. Not me — And you and I both know the outcome from a wraith of an Almighty, for even Eldest brother Erebus barely survives that, and he's the strongest of us all."
"I Don't Need To Fight To Win, Dear Sister," Chaos chuckled darkly. "I Just Need To Be Free, And My Forces Will Do That For Me. You Think My Forces Have Been Pliant In Their Banishment? That We've Not Endured & Grown Stronger Because of It? Erebus & I May Be Forbidden From Killing One Another But Our Forces Aren't."
"Is that so?" Nyx narrowed her eyes, not in fear, but in wary apprehension and sudden realization. Then, shaking her head, she turned. "Well, good luck with that, dear brother. I wish you the best in your endeavors." With that, she vanished.
"It Is Nice To Enjoy Your Company, Too, Dear Sister," Chaos murmured, knowing that wherever the Night Mother left to, she could still hear the shackles of his prison. "When I Get Free, I'll Be Sure To Repay You A Quintillionfold For This…".
Chaos sighed, before turning. His attention shifted to where his son — Joshua Allen — was currently conquering his sixth planet, ruthlessly slaughter any who resided and completely enslaving those who submitted.
He grinned in pride.
'I won't have to shed family blood, dear sister,' Chaos thought to himself. 'Someone else will do it for me.'
Chaos began laughing a deep, long, chaotic laugh that transformed into a cackle — A mad cackle and a grating one that echoed seemingly throughout his entire realm. It carried a promise he was not yet ready to reveal — A dark truth that promised blood….
[Corven Umbrovante]:
Corven floated in darkness. There were no stars. No suns. No moons. Or any celestial bodies. Only an abyss that never ended.
His situation was strange.
His mind was active, conscious even, but his body was not moving or even able to. He felt both sore yet enstrengthened. Weak but empowered. He felt like he was living something beyond the concept of who he was yet so uniquely himself that the contradiction was jarring. He was a living, breathing contradiction yet he was unable to do anything with that fact — And that realization frightened him.
"So you decided to use our power," a voice startled Corven, who turned his head to the left, seeing…
Three indigo-blue holes glowed within the massive shape, vaguely forming two eyes and a mouth. The being itself was larger than anything Corven had ever seen, so immense that he struggled to take in its full form at once.
But its size wasn't what truly shook him.
It was its aura.
Godly. Literally godly.
And Corven was no stranger to gods. He had stood in the presence of at least two Primordials and had even fought someone possessed by a god. He knew what divine power felt like. He knew the strange weight of a Divine Aura—the feeling that something far greater than a mortal was standing before him.
And this being carried something frighteningly similar.
That realization left Corven stunned.
This being was powerful. Insanely so.
"Who are you?" Corven asked, feeling his brows furrow.
"I am the embodiment of Darkness — Or, at least, the sliver of it that lives inside you," the being said, thorough its massive mouthhole hadn't ever moved through the words said.
"My…father…?" Corven asked, surprised.
"Gods don't often interact directly with the mortal plane without avatars…. That said, you becoming one would've ruined you from reaching your truest potential, and so your father did the next best thing," the cosmic mouthhole voiced. "He put the smallest sliver of his being within his son — As a gift. A potential booster divine and primordial beings would kill for. I AM THAT SLIVER. I AM YOU."
Corven wasn't sure what to say to that. How could he? If what this…thing said is true, then it could be considered an aspect, however minor, of his father… A person he's always had complicated feelings about. And its just living within him?
"I'm not living within you?" the thing stated. "I am you. In the literal sense. I am your raw, most innate self, unrestricted and untethered. I'm not him. I'm no aspect. I am you."
'This is a lot to process,' Corven thought, suddenly wanting to sit down somewhere to process everything.
"Take your time to be properly acquainted with this knowledge, but don't take too long," the mouthhole said. "For the longer it takes for you to digest it all, the more darkness is swallowing your world."
This gave Corven pause.
"What does that mean?" Corven knit a brow. "What do you mean by that? 'Swallowing my world'?"
The being released a dark chuckle.
"This is the first time you've consciously called upon a sliver of your true power, Corven, so of course you've lost control over it," the being answered, then, seeing Corven's severe face, seemed to decide another tactic would be better received. "You must control your element, Corven. I may only be a spec of a sliver of your father's power, but I am you and you are me. Reach within your will, lay claim to your power as is your birthright. You can never be harmed by darkness — It is your home, your fortress, your domain. You are the Erebean Prince of Darkness — Where your father is the source of the element, you are its destined ruler. The Fated King-to-be. Impose your will and the darkness will obey."
Corven closed his eyes and focussed, all of his senses reaching out and connecting to the surrounding darkness and the darkness that he felt was spreading through to the outside world. He felt the reaches of this darkness as it bypassed barriers, swallowed all light in its path, spreading even beyond the bounds of the dungeon itself. It covered the entire planet of Mythos and even the space around the planet, in itself — a darkness so thick, it no light could penetrate its depths —- Then it even began to spread further, attempting to reach outward, beyond the bounds of the planet.
It probably would've succeed, too, but Corven didn't give it the chance.
"Return."
It was a singular, simple command, but it carried its own weight and held its own great power. An undeniable will. And, in answer, surprisingly easily, the darkness obeyed. It stopped spreading, stopped attempting to swallowed all light. It stopped movement in its entirety….
Then it began regressing. Retreating. Returning. What was once spreading outward at an alarming rate was now receding its steps. In milliseconds, biomes were re-traversed, light reclaimed the land and the darkness was once more restricted to the dungeon itself. In no time at all, the darkness rushed back into Corven, and, with it, came the return of Corven's consciousness.
The last thing he heard from his darkness was: "Your darkness is the greatest affinity ever bestowed upon a member of the House of Khaos, greater than any mortal or gods' affinity for the element. It embodies the true essence of darkness — To be light devouring, all-encompassing and ever-consuming. It is not malicious in nature; it is transformative.
"As you learn to control your power and grow into your father's domain, you will find that it comes with certain traits and tendencies. Inescapable habits that may seem, to some, as cold… My advice to you is to not let the Darkness consume you. If you do, you'll lose yourself to it, and there are less worse fates than that."
And, with that, Corven was ejected backwards out of the dark space one minute and awaken the next, back in the Dungeon, fully conscious… Just in time to see his friends' arrival… Or he would have, if that was where his consciousness decided to go first.
Long story short, it wasn't.