The Blind Witch

Below are the whispers made by Erebus as well as my thoughts behind them. Some are self-explanatory, but some hold back stories that I never revealed in this book. I hope you enjoy it!

Darkness is the natural order of things. Light can only last so long. When one realizes this, all that remains is the intrinsic sense to travel to the darkness. Why fight what is to come?

This is Clarissa's first time hearing Erebus as he talks to Nyx. Nyx ran from him thousands of years ago. But he feels he is inevitable; the darkness is inevitable. He asks Nyx why she fights, knowing that she will lose to him.

The shadows creep in slowly. It is the eternal darkness, swallowing the world little by little. It feasts on the weak, needing the nourishment to conquer all.

The dark needs to feast, and for the darkness to grow, Erebus needs Nyx. He cannot bring forth an eternal darkness without her. He is simply a Lord of Darkness, but she is more than that. He needs her.

The creatures that dwell within the darkness are cunning. They adjust to the nothingness around them. They learn to creep in the shadows, stalking their prey.

When Nyx creates darkness, she creates new life and new light. Her darkness is never pure darkness. But, Erebus' darkness is pure darkness. The creatures that are born to his darkness are those who are greedy, those who seek to destroy others. Vampires are one of those creatures. Though they were cursed by the other gods for feasting on the flesh of mortals, they did so only by the push of the darkness.

Fire is destructive. Though it is a source of light, fire is a friend to the darkness. Fire destroys, making room for the darkness. Where one is, the other is sure to follow.

At this point, Erebus still does not know about Clarissa. But, he is a fan of fire. The fires created by the Great Chasm are an example of fire followed by darkness. Erebus respects anything that destroys and leads to his darkness.

All it takes is a little bit of wind to extinguish a candle.

This whisper came in when Aiden had been attacked by the witch. It was a reference to Aiden's magic being like the fire of a candle. But, it also referred to hope. The hope that Nyx had held onto for years. The only thing that kept Erebus from her. Erebus knew it was weak, that she was weak.

If light seeps into the darkness, it is absorbed. The greater the light, the stronger the pull. Darkness will be all that remains.

The last of the whispers to just Nyx. Erebus was close; he could feel her near. His darkness was spreading. It was only a matter of time before Nyx was swallowed by it. She would no longer be able to create once he had her again.

I know you hide within the child. I have traveled across hundreds of universes to find you. I will make her submit to me, as I have done you.

This whisper was both to Nyx and Clarissa. Clarissa meditating, viewing the histories in the darkness, meant he could see her. She was using dark magic, Nyx's dark magic. He knew what Clarissa was. He saw Clarissa as a weak attempt at hiding. This would be foreshadowing when Erebus kidnapped her.

She clung to the emotions of mortals. It made her weak. I wanted her to be strong, to be powerful. I wanted more for us.

This was Erebus speaking directly to Clarissa. He was remembering Nyx and how she was during their times together. He viewed the emotions of mortals as a weakness. For him, the emotions were not needed. There was only death and darkness. There was no need for happiness, for love, for hope.

All things perish with time. When they turn to dust, they shall be welcomed to the darkness.

This was in reference to Azrael's death. He knew who Azrael was. He knew what his death meant to the people who followed him. But he cared not for the man nor his throne. It gave him an opening to Clarissa.

I followed her once. She was my mentor. She taught me how to control the depths of the darkness and how to wield it to my desires.

Erebus remembers how he was once a student of Nyx. She took him under her wing when the Ancient God of Darkness refused him. He looked up to Nyx once. Her power is what drew him in. He fell in love with what she could do. He wanted her back, that Goddess of eternal darkness. He wanted her power.

You have hidden yourself so much that you have forgotten who you are. Let me free you. Let me help you.

Erebus knew that Nyx had forgotten much of the past. She had spent so much of her energy hiding herself from him, that she was lost within herself. He knew how to free her. Though he was sincere in helping her to remember, his reasonings were not genuine. But Nyx knew this. She needed to hold out a little longer. Clarissa had the strength to hold him back. She just needed to show him.

You are cunning, little one. I shall make you submit. I will break that will of yours. I will make you regret ever escaping me.

Her sheer force of power was a surprise to Erebus. He knew that she was an oracle to Nyx, that she had once created a small sun; what he did not know was that Clarissa had a piece of Nyx in her. She is a Goddess in the making. She was stronger than him.

I shall offer you a deal, little one. Surrender yourself. Give yourself to me, and I shall not unleash my destruction upon this world. You have until nightfall to decide.

The last of his whispers. He wanted her to surrender. He knew she loved the mortals that surrounded her. He hoped that if he offered safety for Earth, she would come to him willingly. What he did not anticipate was that many with her were willing to die for her. They believed in her. They believed she would save them from his darkness.