Dark Matter

**Dark Matter** is a mysterious cosmic force that serves as a major antagonist of the *Operation GEAR* series. It is the subject of Polaris's worship, and the cult wishes to bring it to Earth to usher in what they see as the next stage of evolution.

## History

Finansielle relates the history of Dark Matter to Colress Antimony during *S.O.S.*. In Tenganist mythology, a creature referred to as the Forbidden Beast was born at the beginning of time and "has survived ever since in the primordial darkness beyond the stars." It created Dark Matter and sent it through Ultra Wormholes to explore the universe, seeking to find the life-giving light of the "Radiant One", who was born at the same time. As per Finansielle's description, the Forbidden Beast seeks this light in order to evolve into a perfect lifeform, and will in turn allow humanity to evolve into an eternally unchanging state beyond life and death.

In *Father*, the Tenganist Prophet explained that the Tenganists who founded Argyros Town originally found a group of Dark Matter cultists living on that land, who worshipped a demon known as Azrael introduced to them by Dark Matter. They were led to believe that if they could bring Azrael into their reality, Dark Matter would grant their wishes. To accomplish this, they sacrificed one of their own to act as Azrael's host body, but because she could not survive absorbing all of Dark Matter at once, the remaining amount of the force manifested as a Zoroark until the time she could. Kratos, the leader of the Tenganists, led a war against the cultists, ending when he destroyed them and sealed away the Dark Matter present, but this resulted in Azrael's death as her body was too bonded to Dark Matter. In the aftermath, Kratos and his followers constructed the Coronet Rosary to fend off apocalyptic visions they experienced during the war, only to be driven mad when they realized the device could bring about the very apocalypse it was built to prevent. The Tenganist Prophet attributed this to Dark Matter, which could have been manipulating them in order to cause the foretold event.

Later, Sheena spoke to Dr. Zager at Pierce's urging. After confirming that the Tenganists of the past battled Dark Matter, Zager asked her to describe it. She explained that there were multiple writings about its nature, usually describing it as an amorphous dark substance, a mold-like mass or a hard shell. His fears confirmed, Zager confessed that he was once a member of Polaris and created an artificial human using the genes of an unknown girl and a "dark substance" as part of the Azrael Project. Sheena, horrified by the realization that Dark Matter was not fully destroyed by Kratos during the war, proposed killing the new Azrael to eliminate the threat she posed, but Zager refused this suggestion, fearing that if she were to be killed, only her humanity would perish, leaving Dark Matter in full control. As an alternative, Sheena theorized that if the Life Orb was able to seal Dark Matter away five thousand years in the past, if she could reclaim it and transform it into a Jewel of Life, it could be used to destroy Dark Matter for good. Following this conversation, Looker decided to warn his apprentices, Mitsumi Crowe and Silva Shaw, of the threat Dark Matter posed.

Meanwhile, at the Polaris Temple, Father and Finansielle met in the former's office, with Finansielle encouraging Father to cause chaos so Dark Matter would have plenty of despair to feast on when Azrael reawakened.

## Abilities

While many of Dark Matter's abilities remain unknown, some of its general capabilities have been revealed. It is a parasite-like force that can cause vivid hallucinations, often without the victim fully realizing where said hallucinations are coming from. It does this in order to foster despair in its host, which it then feeds on to get stronger.

It is also able to travel across immense distances, traveling through space unencumbered by the harsh conditions it is exposed to. Despite this, it still benefits from the use of Ultra Wormholes to move more quickly between two points in space.

Dark Matter, when physically seen, is able to shapeshift into multiple forms.

## Relation to Canon

Dark Matter is the main antagonist of the video game *Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon*, where it appears in its mold-like mass and hard shell forms. However, it is not depicted with any deity behind its existence; the Forbidden Beast's role is original to the *Operation GEAR* series.

## Trivia

* Dark Matter's physical description and abilities merge aspects of the *Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon* entity with Dark Matter from the *Kirby* series, a cosmic force that feeds on negative emotions and acts as the main antagonist of multiple games in the franchise. This Dark Matter is usually depicted as an amorphous black cloud with a single eye, and the *Operation GEAR* series borrows this cloud-like appearance.
	+ The *Kirby* Dark Matter is also depicted with multiple deity-like characters manipulating it from the shadows or otherwise originating it, such as Zero/0 (from *Kirby's Dream Land 3*), Zero Two/0² (from *Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards*), and Void Termina (from *Kirby Star Allies*). The Forbidden Beast's connection to Dark Matter is a reference to these entities.