Consuming Darkness, Arising Light

Chapter 43: An Acquaintance From The Distant Past

Bebe

A long beam shoots out of the big aura towards the very black clouds. Only Bebe and her friends, except Tweek, are awestruck as they watch it burrow into the dense gloom. Inch by inch, the beam of light starts spreading its pure luminescence from within.

Bebe lowers her head with a flinch when she hears a chorus of distant cries beneath them. Seems the monsters have begun to panic.

"Wow, can even hear them from up here," Kenny says.

"Be on your guard," Raven says. "We don't know how long Ingrum's barriers will hinder them."

Bebe looks up the sky again and frowns. She knew Henrietta wasn't exaggerating when she said it's going to take them more than a few hours to Purify the darkness here, but based on how the beam of light is progression thus far, it might just take them a few days to finish.

"Emerald, how long do you think this will take?" Bebe asks. Perhaps her Inner Guardian will know the exact duration.

"If They Keep This Up Ceaselessly, Which Would Be Very Unwise, Then They Will Succeed After Approximately Five Days."

Bebe nearly pales at that as she lowers her gaze, staring at Wendy's and Craig's backs through the bright aura. They're both only able to do this due to their Inner Guardians aid, though the extent contrasts the other. Bebe is mostly worried about Craig. As Yuna stated seconds ago, the constant flow of magic will potentially hurt his body. Yet, despite that, he wasn't concerned of such a risk at all. It was odd.

"So no matter how many people help, it won't change anything?" Bebe asks.

"Yes."

Even still, Bebe wants to learn Purification. Emerald told her it was within her capabilities, all she just has to do is practice her healing ability more. The downside is that it will take her some years to grasp even the fundamentals of the incantation, that is if she successfully overcomes the complicated training regimen Emerald once recommended to Wendy. Bebe is willing to give it a try and she won't stop until she learns Purification.

Time ticks by seemingly slowly. The monsters' panicked screeching hasn't calmed in the slightest. Bebe decides to strike up a conversation with her unoccupied friends, bored, but still on the alert in case the monsters manage to break free. Bebe realizes she never questioned Kenny about his hair, even though that was the first thing that came to mind the moment she saw him. She noticed this before, almost right after Stan and Kenny returned to the Marsh's house, that there are more white strands than blonde now, making it seem as if Kenny had unevenly dyed his hair. He answers that he woke up one day with a single white strand in his hair when he was a child, and he still has no idea how or why it suddenly appeared. Thanks to the aura, Bebe catches a glimpse of Yuna's face shifting into a slight frown. She reveals that Kenny has been marked, but has no knowledge on who could've done it, then reassuringly states that his life isn't in any sort of danger.

Kyle looks like he has something he wants to say on the topic, but soon opts not to comment. This makes Bebe curious, however she won't question him since he won't give a straightforward answer. He still hasn't told her and Wendy about how he, Stan, Kenny, and Mrs. Marsh overcame one of the worst ordeals they ever faced back at South Park. Instead, she and Wendy had to hear it from Clyde and Craig, who lent them a hand at the time.

"Hang on." Stan looks up. He widens his eyes. "The rain's slowing down."

That's when Bebe and the others notice this too, now cognizant of the decreased speed of the pattering sounds. The monsters below are making even more of a racket, but it seems they still haven't broken through Ingrum's magical defenses. It's impressive that he's managing both his barriers and doing Enhanced Purification simultaneously, just how much magical energy does he have? Bebe will definitely ask him later.