Unsafe

I flinched at her bitter tone and the dangerous nature of her words, but steeled myself a moment later. I had not expected such a sudden turn of events, but a moment later, I steeled myself. I had not wished to leave this illusion so quickly, but there was nothing I could do anyway if they wished me dead. 

"Nightblade! I know you're upset, but don't take it out on him!" Lord Nightshade chided angrily. 

After silent staredown, the duo turned to me in unison. Having apparently come to a compromise, Lord Nightshade decided to explain things to me.

"The reason why humans have affinities to certain elements in general is due to the influence of the Gods of this world. Their very existence influences the land, which can be seen in how humans, the species most malleable and open to change, develop specific affinities on occasion based on uncertain factors. This is undoubtedly something all of you know about."

"However, there is something that you likely do not know. When one possesses an affinity on a scale that it begins to manifest itself as a secondary aspect of one's spells - such as your ghostlight - it exceeds the kind of affinities that would be caused by the influence of our Gods."

I stared blankly at him.

With a sigh, he continued, "This holds great importance for reasons I care not to explain for now, but just know that it would allow one to empower beings beyond Greater Elementals."

"For this reason, a single person like yourself would be able to significantly enhance the power of multiple beings on the scale of Dark Lords or even above, something that can affect multiple battlefields. Considering how fiercely the war has raged between Light and Dark Elementals for centuries, both sides would fight for any edge they can get, and a resonant user - the name for people with enhancing aspects to certain elements - would be a major boon."

"Usually, resonant elements are utilized by isolating them and using them to create items to temporarily raise strength and power. It is undeniable that at a stage below Lesser Elementals, the benefits one can provide are generally pitiful, such that only Greater Elementals can usually be enhanced due to a lack of quantity. However, although resonant elements do not grow much stronger as one's strength increases, the amount of spells they can cast and how quickly they can recover from their fatigue increases drastically."

"Naturally, this increases the amount of resonant element that can be produced, directly increasing the number of Elementals that can be enhanced. In fact, with the strength of your ghostlight, once you became an Archmage, your ghostlight would be sufficient to enhance Night Reapers - not only is it extremely high-tier amongst resonant elements, once the quantity is sufficient it could be used to create items for multiple Night Reapers, something that could grant us major advantages."

"For this reason, we suspected that you might be exploited to create large quantities of ghostlight at the cost of your health and sanity. For example, it is possible that they could force you to constantly cast spells and harm yourself physically and mentally, while only healing you to keep you from perishing. It would be a life worse than death - every day, your body would endlessly go through a cycle of injury and healing, while your mind bent and broke as time went on. It is not a life we would wish upon any."

I felt chills creep down my spine at this description. Death was not something I feared in this state, not when it was only the precursor to another journey, but a life spent in a mind-breaking state of torture… it would be the worst possible fate for me considering my circumstances.

"As previously mentioned, we did intend to send you back to an encampment and ensure that you lived out a peaceful life for the rest of your days so that your darkness resonance would never be discovered, but now a massive problem has presented itself… you have a second resonance for light, one that seems greater than even your ghostlight."

Internally, I rolled my eyes. "Look, we've been going around in circles for ages. So what is the problem at hand here? What's the issue with me having two resonant elements?"

The two Dark Lords exchanged a grim look. 

"It means you will never be safe again in your life," Lord Nightblade replied darkly.