Soul of Darkness

Darkness was given a whole new meaning for Kaladrax when he woke up on the Negative plane. As his eyes adjusted to the new, deeper darkness he was able to start making out his surroundings. His vision improved but still all he could see was darkness and a dark gray mist swirling through the air. A low rumble echoed through the empty space he found himself in. Looking around frantically in search of the noise he stumbled upon Kariss, prone on the ground, barely recovering from the ordeal. 

Another rumble disturbed the air around them and in the distance revealed a massive dark dragon with lights that were also somehow dark in this space. It was Null, he waited not too far from them. Using the swirling lights as guides, he dragged Kariss with him towards the dragon god. By the time they arrived at the foot of the giant dragon Kariss was awake. Below the large spectral dragon god, on the ground, was a chained person on the floor. The dragon that hulked over the chained figure gestured towards it and moved no more. The only thing Kaladrax could think of was to break the chains so he did. He took up the Null Blade that he had extracted from his dead friend’s body and used it to hack at the chains. They came apart in a flash of metal and sparks. The now free figure stood up and began to talk. 

His features were soft and feminine with a long mane of jet black hair that went down to his knees. He was thin and lanky like an elf. His skin was pale and his eyes were a flashing blue violet. He began to talk about what needed to be done. The Null avatar began to explain how to tame the wild beast he had become. To do so he entered Kaladrax’s mind and let him see the dragon wars that raged long ago. He saw Tiamat and Bahamut amassing their armies of Chromatic and Metallic dragons. They threw themselves into battle and Null was trapped between. Upon death, dragons from both sides would come to him for an extra chance to continue their fight. 

Loving all dragons, he tried to grant them their final wishes but the dead kept coming to him. As the wars raged, more and more dragons died. Null grew more powerful with each dragon that came to him but also grew more unstable. As his power grew other races began coming to him for second chances and that was his downfall. He began granting extra life to non dragons and it broke something in him. With so much to deal with and so many souls to handle, his mind began to break. It broke into three pieces: the uncontrollable beast, the Null Blade (his strength), and Chronepsis (his heart). The Null Blade and Chronepsis escaped, leaving the beast behind to rampage and continue gathering souls. The three needed to come back together to give Null control over himself. 

Kaladrax agreed but asked if Null knew what would happen. He asked if Null knew whether or not he would cease to exist. The avatar shook his head and explained that he only needed the piece of himself that was held in Kaladrax’s soul. He would remain intact except for the part that needed to be rejoined with the god. Kaladrax nodded and agreed to give up Chronepsis. He joined hands with the avatar of Null and a low dark blue light began to emanate from them. A small blue spectral flame shot out from Kaladrax’s chest and went into the avatar. The two kept their hands linked for a few more moments as the blue light faded. They dropped hands and the avatar smiled as, for the first time in hundreds of years, he was whole. The spectral dragon above them roared with delight. Kaladrax stepped back as Null visibly healed from his break and exerted complete control over the swirling storm of souls around him. 

Kariss stumbled forward and asked if she was recognized by the god. He told her that he could smell his brother on her and that she must be one of his followers. Kariss responded by throwing herself into a long litany of reasons why he should meld with her now that he was made whole by Kaladrax. Null told her that he knew what she wanted but warned that it might not stick. Kariss’s plan involved using herself as a vessel for all three dragon gods: Bahamut, Null and Tiamat. In doing so, she would merge them back into the great, ancient dragon they were parts of. 

She hoped to bring peace among dragon kin by doing so. However, Null warned that they were naturally at odds with each other. He would willingly merge with Bahamut but Tiamat would never want that. Being the embodiment of chaos, she would fight the merger with everything she had. She would never be caged again. He and Bahamut might be able to keep her trapped but he also warned that she would never stop fighting them and eventually they might break apart again. Even after hearing this, Kariss concluded that it was worth a try. Leaving Kaladrax to deal with Null she walked off a way to give them privacy and think things over. 

Kaladrax was astounded by the request from Kariss but tried to focus on the good side of having the great dragon together and peace among dragon kin. Kariss was mollified by Null’s response. He assured her that, should she be able to tame Tiamat and force them to join, he would do his best to work with Bahamut to keep Tiamat contained. With that settled Null smiled, bowed and waved his hand. They vanished from the Negative plane and were brought back to the Shadow Fell and their frantic friends.