Origin Of Darkness

> "Sentience is either a gift for the ones destined to think, or a curse so unstoppable only Void can heal."
>
>

**Origin of Darkness** is the first novel in the Chronicles of Void science-fiction and fantasy trilogy by Marty Matthew. It has not been published yet, since the novel is in progress at the moment.

## Plot

#### Part One: Smoketown

The story is divided into three parts, the first, Smoketown, opening with The Bright One finding himself in the Void. He suffered a great brain damage and total amnesia. He is around his twenties, and knows nothing about himself or his surrounding. He notices a Light Bulb situated in his chest as a part of his body. He sees a nearby settlement nearby, Smoketown, and he plans to visit the place to find out more about the place he ended up in. In the world of complete darkness, little Bluelights tend to appear, guiding "Brighty" trough the paved stone asteroid path. In the town, everyone acts strange. Every inhabitant is a soulless, dark being, who never speak with him. He names them Empties after the first encounter. He notices the Tower of the Snake, looking down in him from above, and he knows he might find answers there. As he enters the City of Snakes he is chased by the guards, who are Empties too. He hides on rooftops and in canals and meets with Ratter. She is a mischievous being, and unlike the rest of the inhabitants, she seems to be conscious. She guides him trough the canals and tells him that this place is called the Void and if he wants to know more, ask the Governor. She names him Brighty, because in this city, he is the only one whose Light Bulb reflects light.

Brighty sneaks past the guards and enters the High House. He speaks with the Governor, who tells him he could get answers in the Facility, situated in the Nebula Rift. However, he tells Brighty it is forbidden to go there, and because he shows no interest in the Governor's words, the guards take him to the prison. Meanwhile, we get a glimpse of the Empties life trough an individual called the Miner. All Empties are controlled by Void and they are all parts of a hive-mind, without thoughts, only doing what is their role. He does his daily routine while a relic from his past is revealed. A man called the Messenger arrives in Smoketown. Also an empty, but his role is the most unique. He brings materials for sacred rituals, He travels around the Void, visiting every settlement and doing the same thing. After doing his duty he leaves Smoketown and while flying, he notices a man floating alone. He snaps out of the hive mind and helps the Loner. It is revealed that he is a Gainer. In his cell, Brighty feels Dust on his skin. Infection slowly takes over him. His cellmate attacks him to take his light, but he defends himself and accidentally kills him. The guards come to investigate and Brighty takes this chance to escape.

While he is chased by guards in the City of Snakes, he returns to Smoketown to find someone who can take him to the Facility. He finds Ratter on the street, and they are about to publicly hang her, but he runs for her rescue. Brighty asks her if she knows how he can get to the Facility. She tells him to sneak on a ship in the Dockyard. As they get there, a citizen alerts the guards, and they stab Ratter, causing her death. Brighty runs away and sneaks on a ship where he hides. The owner of V87 Mantle, Lucky Brom, returns to his ship and takes off. Brighty comes out and tells Brom to take him to the Facility but he refuses. They fight and Brom wins but it turns out he is also a Gainer, and he chose to keep him alive. He tells Brighty he will take him there if he will help him escape from Void once he is done there. The Lantern Hoarder makes an appearance and he has a whole collection of all Gainers in Smoketown.

#### Part Two : Exodus

Brom takes Brighty to the Facility, but before letting him go, he turns back to his hive-form. They fight again but Brighty successfully escapes and lands on the Facility's surface. He enters and gets caught by the Keepers. It turns out it is a prison, and nobody says a single thing. After he discovers that the bars of the cell are made of Darkness, and for some reason he can cross them, he sneaks out. He tries to find the reason why he was forbidden to come here, and in one of the cells, he spots an old man, completely safe from Void, with his Bulb lighting faded. He talks with him and he tells him that there is no escape from this world, because everybody is here on purpose. He tells Brighty, that inside the Facility, it is safe from Infection and that's why he never leaves. He tells Brighty he has 3 days until he becomes the same as the Empties. The Elder Fool tells him to visit the Eternal Flame, because with his light, he might be able to break it and free everyone. And he tells him that it is fate. Before getting caught again, Brighty leaves the Facility and on the back of the Baan'tuus he begins to head towards the Temple of Eternal Flame. Meanwhile Brom returns to Smoketown and the Governor awaits him. He tells him he is sentenced to death and it will be done publicly.

Brom has returned to the hive-mind state so all he can do is accept his fate. The Miner watches the execution as well and thinks about if it's right or not, but one of the Empties tell him that it needs to be done. The Messenger returns to the Station to get the munition he has to give to the settlements. He meets with a full bright person who gives him the Blizkrate. Brighty reaches the Temple and says goodbye to the Baan'tuus. He enters and the High Guardian, who tells him that she has been waiting for him. She calls him son for some reason and tells him he has only a little time until the Turn. He storms in the temple and ignores every Empty praying inside, he reaches the Flame and touches it, creating a big flash of brightness. He sees Darkness and understands everything. How Void slowly claims him and that he can do nothing. The prophecy Jeremiah told him was a lie, he cannot break the Flame. But he understood, that all the emotions and wills of people here are contained in this Eternal Flame. The priests throw him out of the temple. The Guardian tells him he can't avoid his fate, and it is to join him in the Darkness. Brighty lost all his faith, and he starts to walk on the Pilgrimage back to Smoketown.

He sees the Herders hunting down the Bluelights, to make light finally disappear from Void. Brighty turns, and becomes part of the hive mind. The Messenger returns to Smoketown and as he returns to his ship, he is attacked by the Miner. He knocks him out and as he wakes up he sees the Miner and the Lantern Hoarder. Both him and the Miner regained their conscience, and they want to free the people by killing the Governor, believing he is behind all of this. The Hoarder tells them it is not true, but they think it will make the other people come back too. The Hoarder sees that none of them are the Chosen he is looking for, so he leaves them to create chaos, which will at least help him move around.

#### Part Three : Blaze

Jerome and Siv, members of the Zeta Colony noticed the flash Brigthy caused, and seeing light in all this Darkness gives Siv hope. They live in a place surrounded with Baan'tuu scales, so it is protected from the Infection. They have ships and Siv decides to leave without permission to look for the thing that caused the light. After half a day of flying, she reaches the Pilgrimage and Brighty walking on it, entering Smoketown, now as an Empty. She knows about the healing power of the Bluelights and she decides to catch him and bring him back. Brighty tells her there is no way to get out of here and he totally gave it up. Siv however offers the opportunity for Brighty to join them in the Zeta Colony, because they live there without being Infected. Brighty accepts the opportunity.

The Messenger and the Miner enter the City of Snakes and learn about the history of the place and about how people began to appear. The Governor finds them in the Tower of Snakes, and with his guards, he fights against them. They defeat the Governor and he tells them there is nothing that can change things around here. Especially not them. He mentions the family the Miner had before and he pushes him out of the Tower, killing the Governor forever. The Hoarder examines his notes and as he is looking at his plans, he hears two guards talking about a so called " Bright One". He knows he is the One. But the guards told each other he has been infected too. So finding him will be hard. He goes out to the streets of Smoketown in a disguise and tries to find him.

Brigthy is brought to Zeta Colony, and Jerome is really angry about Siv's actions and the risk he put herself into. But they manage to calm down and tell their story to Brighty. Edmund also tells Siv that the Bluelight's heal for Empties is temporary, and lasts for only 25 hours. Siv begin to panic and tells Jerome the mistake she made. Jerome wants to take Brighty outside the Colony, sacrificing himself in the process. But Siv disagrees. Edmund shows Brighty how they hunt down the Baan'tuus from inside, and tells him they always need to change the scales because in this form, they only last for a few months. When Siv is about to tell Brighty about her mistake, the Infection reclaims Brighty and the whole shield of the Colony is broken. Its only a matter of time until they turn too.

The Messenger tells the news with the people, that the Governor is dead and it is time for a change. But people seem to dislike his actions and the guards from the City of Snakes appear to shut him down. The Hoarder however helps him and tells them to find the Miner and flee to the ship called V87 Mantle. The Messenger runs away and finds the Miner in his home, now turned back into his hive mind state. He knows he is running out of time. He tries to make the Miner come with him, but he convinces him that it's pointless anyway, and the Messenger turns back also. The Lantern Hoarder captures a guard and asks him about the Bright One. He tells him he was captured by an unknown ship with a "Z" mark. The Hoarder knows it is the colony and after sparing the guards life, he heads to the colony.

Brighty walks out from the colony and sits down on an asteroid. He hears a sound in his head calling him home. So he heads into the unknown, and tentacles of Darkness grab him to return him Home. Most of the Zeta Colony has turned, Edmund went after Brighty to avenger what he did. Siv and Jerome are the only ones left to be conscious. Siv begs for forgiveness and both of them accept their fate. The Loner opens his eyes, and feels he has a role yet to be completed, he lands by Smoketown. The Guardian tells the priests to close down the temple. She tells them to increase the defenses in the Nebula Rift just to be sure that the One never leaves this place. Brighty is pulled by the tentacles while Edmund is following him, trying to shoot him down. Brighty however saves him from a tentacle. Edmund is claimed by the Infection as well. The Hoarder finally gets to them and exits his ship. He helps Brighty with the Red Blaze and tells him he is the One, the one who was prophesied. And he shall free every living being one day. He tells him that he is from the Red World and that with the lantern he can leave trough the Blue Rift. The Hoarder is sure about it now.

The Messenger and the Miner walk out to the street and they hear something they want to examine. They spot a figure in the dark which goes right to the ship called V87 Mantle. They enter the ship to look for the man, and the door is shut behind them. The Messenger looks out and sees The Loner, thanking him for giving him purpose. After, he takes off his protective mask. The ship flies up because it's on autopilot and they leave. Brighty asks the Hoarder the revive Edmund as well because he want to take him with himself. They enter the ship of the Hoarder, leaving him behind. In the Rift, they encounter many ships, defending both rifts. Edmund decides to sacrifice himself by destroying the whole blockade. Brighty jumps out onto and asteroid right before the Blue Rift. He uses the Lantern to open up the binding on the Rift. Meanwhile Siv and Jerome notice two Quarkils, entering the Void just where they are. The Hoarder is picked up by the Messenger and The Miner, saving him from Turning. Jeremiah gets called in the office of the Facility and they take him to the Colonel. Brighty enters the Blue Rift, leaving the Void behind.