The Blackness

"Evil is a word used by the ignorant and the weak. The Blackness is about survival. It's about unleashing your inner power. It glorifies the strength of the individual."

- Heis



The Blackness, also known as the Bogan, was an psychological-magic plague that was created by the presence of Ara Astaroth on Prime Earth and later spread to countless universes. This disease was the only thing that connected the omniverse to Idea of Evil and 5 billion years later was the source of power that created The Darkness during the events of LOTM: Destiny.

Individuals who exposed to the Blackness drew their power from darker emotions such as fear, anger, hatred, and aggression; thus becoming Black Demons from the Black Army and Etherious Demons. The Revelation of Qliphoth were major practitioners of the Blackness, and were the mortal enemies of Celica Arfonia. The Blackness was also considered to be a high-corrupting and infectious magic disease that slowly turned people in demons.

People like Kotori Itsuka believed that the source of Leohart's Cult power was the universe beyond the edges of the known omniverse, however, it was considered wrong as Ara was the person who infected many planets with her presence. Although many Magicians from Reality Council were taught to follow the light side, the Blackness was considered seductive, and a Magician had to maintain vigilance in order to avoid falling to the dark side, abandoning his humanity and becoming a Black Demon. Even a God raised in the traditions of the Light Magic from birth could quickly be corrupted by the lure of the Blackness in certain situations. Despite this, while the Gods often described the Blackness as a "quick and easy path," drawing upon its power did not necessarily come with ease or without cost to those who possessed strong compassion and were not used to drawing upon feelings such as hatred.

The Blackness can also be injected into the victims via using the Black Demons. A demon using Ara's Curse could infect a person with the Blackness if the subject enter inside of the body of the victim through an injury and slowly corrupt her using their most dark secret and negative emotions. The Blackness is also inside of the Black Tao and Black Tar, which explains the corruption of the people who drink it.

Use of the Blackness granted certain abilities that were generally closed to a user of the light side, such as possession, the ability to manipulate the future, and even, according to legend, to manipulate midi-chlorians to create life or keep someone from dying, granting this people immortality but exchange of having their sanity broken and becoming a loyal servant of Ara for all eternity whose only goal is to destroy the omniverse.

The power of the Blackness was penetrating and pernicious and could easily corrupt creatures like humans that are too naive and corrupt innocent people turning them into killers without necessary turning them in demons. Most of humans who accept this energy willing become Black Demons and Etherious Demons while people who are simply corrupted by it without their knowledge are corrupted and have their souls stained in black to the point that they cannot cross to afterlife, being forced to be stuck between the darkness of the Astral Words.

The Blackness was considered highly corrupting and could be even be considered like a zombie virus that can spread like a plague. Nu Wa believed that "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny," a view she espoused despite having personally witnessed the redemption of at least two individuals who were at one time deeply steeped in the dark side; Lusamine and Sasha. Additionally, use of the Blackness by somebody with generally good intentions in a moment of weakness could leave that individual feeling weak and shivery, with a general feeling of wrongness. If the presence of the Blackness was significantly powerful, nearby Energy-sensitives could feel cold.

Nature
The difference between the Blackness and light sides appears to be in how they feel to those who are aware of them. The light side at times has been described as a flowing river: soothing, constant, with hidden strength. In contrast, the Blackne sshas been described as a roaring fire: obviously powerful, seductive, and potentially dangerous. The Supreme God claimed that while the light side represented the compassion and tranquility of all beings of the omniverse, the dark side focused on individual passion and strength. He also mentioned that while the light side is about maintaining the status quo, the dark side is about change and evolution.

The Blackness was seen as having been used for selfish purposes, although many Black Demons who were accused of such selfishness claimed that the Blackness was simply a means to achieve an end to make themselves all-powerful once Ara was dead but when she was alive, it had the purpose to gather more minions to serve Ara Astaroth in her quest for chaos and destruction.



Many found the Blackness to be addictive, unable to resist its pull the more they were subjected to it, like Elesis Du Tirial during the events of LOTM: Sword of Kings AA Final - Eckidina Arc: Unit-CM 130 Arc. Even as their physical bodies slowly decayed, Blackness users became more powerful and are on the same level of Pure-Blooded Devil. However, some users, noted that the use of the Blackness was a practical matter, as the power it granted was more efficient when performing destructive powers like telekinesis. Like the light side, the Blackness was often treated as a semi-sentient entity with purposeful designs.

It has been theorized by some that there is no such thing as the Blackness but only malevolent intent in the user, since most Blackness users already possessed negative intentions like Elesis, Lusamine and Aki Honda or else fell victim to the temptations of absolute power and domination. It's also hinted that there was truly only one magic that was above such things as "positive and negative, black and white, good and evil." Ara stated that the only difference was that the Magicians saw the magic as a power in itself, while people like her believed it was a means to power.

Corruption
The Blackness much like a strong, addictive narcotic, affected not only the mind of the user but the appearance as well. As one immersed oneself deeper within the Blacness, its malevolent power took a toll on the body. Some people suffer physical degradation because flesh and bone lacked the endurance to channel the immense power of the Blackness indefinitely. Sasha, for example, was deformed and had her body completely changed by the power of the Blackness, leaving her bald and pale.

Many Blackness' users experienced a change in the pigmentation of their eyes, as their normal eye color would transform into a luminous, sulfuric red. Often the skin would also lose pigmentation, becoming pale and mottled while veins became increasingly visible. The hair would also lose color, making it appear as though the darksider was aging rapidly. The user's voice would also be altered, becoming a few pitches lower and raspier. However, this happens only if the person accepts the Blackness to their free will. There are a few exceptions that the Blackness actually left the people more attractive to match their personalities. People like Heis had their appearances changed to something more attractive to complete their sophistication and calm personality.

The Blackness could have an even greater effect on the mind, as the user often stopped trusting people and become quick to anger. Continued immersion in the Blackness could even result in insanity, as in the case of children like Kruel Rose. It should be noted however, that the individuals who went insane were all disturbed or traumatized even before their conversion, and the Blackness simply exacerbated their conditions.

While the Blackness could destroy a body, it was also capable of sustaining one. The hateful, passionate, determined energies of the Blackness were so powerful that it could prevent death for a body that was far past the point of death for a normal being. Humans like Burckhardt survived for almost three centuries. Klarion had his skin pale and become a slender figure. However, people like Zarc had is flesh "cracked and scarred" and he had "several thousand fractures in his skeleton,". He survived through the power of hate and called upon the Blackness to make him near-immortal.