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Chapter 168: The Darkness In All Of Us III

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"Mm, exactly like this. Just let it flow naturally." Ian instructed as he controlled a cluster of yellow energy before him to act as he will.

Ian was seated in the middle of his bed with Harley in his arm, a blanket over their head. They looked quite cozy and focused as Harley followed his instructions.

He was teaching her the ways of the emotional spectrum. How to control the yellow energy of fear and the violet energy of love.

"All emotions are intertwined one way or another, and some may require other emotions to function optimally... Fear functions best with a person of strong willpower. Love is most optimal with a bit of greed."

Ian patiently explained as he released every energy of the emotional light around him and Harley. He was controlling them through his staff, so his control wasn't as optimal as it is with the Rose of Death.

However, in the short time since he acquired the emotional energies, Ian experimented a lot with them, gaining a very deep understanding of them.

"Greed? Uh, is it because love is a parasite? The most vicious of parasites?" Harley wondered, bringing a smile out of Ian.

"Yup, you should understand love better than anyone, better than me in fact, so just let it flow naturally. You're used to letting your emotions run wild, so do so. Be vibrant..."

Harley does understand love better than most people despite what one might think. She experienced its downs, most vicious bites, but she also experienced its ups, its fabulous beauty.

She experienced many downs with the Joker, someone who used her love for nothing but personal goals while returning none in return.

Harley settled closer in Ian's arms, experiencing the joy of love firsthand, so she released the energies of her rings amidst those emotions.

The power of love surrounded them brighter than that of fear. Ian however knows of Harley's mood switching tendencies. At this time, her love is strong, so much stronger than his.

The power of fear, however, was very weak, almost nonexistent because there was no fear to be seen or felt around. 

She didn't feel any fear in Ian's company, and she couldn't use his fear because she can't detect it in the first place.

She can however see its results because before her was the solar system in which Ian released all of his emotions.

It was a hazard, the likes of which have never been seen before in the universe. The powers of his emotions still lived even after he left and created fascinating scenery.

The entire solar system was in rambles, just a bunch of rocks flying about.  That's odd considering it once had a few stable planets, massive planets.

Now, however, all it had were remnants of what it once was, a scenery painted by the existence of all the emotional experience.

Well, it was more so the chaos of some opposite emotions clashing against each other, causing such destruction.

In the end, however, the overwhelming energy of fear prevailed and took control of the situation, creating a very odd scenery of colossal broken rocks slowly floating in a certain direction.

It was almost like there was a black hole in the center of the solar system pulling everything towards it. The thing pulling everything was called the center by Ian, the exact place he stood when he unleashed his energies.

Ian certainly didn't expect his actions to lead to such a phenomenon, and he was very much looking forward to seeing the end result.

He was even thinking of accelerating the process, but he wanted to train his control of the emotional spectrum first.

And so, Harley continued on with her training with Ian. Even he was training, controlling all the emotions at the same time in a process of trial and error.

His training however soon came to a halt as Ian started looking around in surprise, in three directions to be specific.

"Hm? Huh? Wait..." His magic and the Rose of the Psychic were working perfectly, allowing him to detect three strange occurrences happening at the same time.

He sensed a certain event happening on earth through his rings, someone descended to earth.

He felt someone waiting for him right outside of the grey Rose, not someone he expected he would meet.

The last thing was related to Ivy, but it wasn't too urgent, so Ian decided to handle the uninvited visitor first.

"Gen, what do you want," Ian spoke, still in the master bedroom, but his words reached the white Martian.

"I want to work under you," Gen spoke emotionlessly, his words also reaching Ian.

"Hm? Seriously?" Ian questioned, confused.

"Seriously." Gen nodded.

"No, I meant like, are you seriously expecting me to accept you?" Ian stated. It felt like a joke to him.

"Yes... You're the only one who can help me achieve what I want. I have no helpers left. I'm all alone." It sounded like some heart-wrenching words, and they would've brought a tear out of Ian's kind heart if not for Gen's emotionless and cold tone. 

"Oh, your people died out? You ought to be careful with your actions because a step inside the abyss can declare your doom." Ian kindly advised.

"..." Gen stayed silent for a second before muttering in a bit of a powerless tone, "They were exterminated by you... Accidentally upon the destruction of planet Oa."

"Oops... Wellll, my advice still stands, if you've been more careful, none of this would've happened." Ian shrugged.

"I beg the difference, but okay," Gen shook his bloodless bald head, and added, "I can do anything you want with no question as long as I acquire the complete Anti-life equation."

"Except that I don't need you," Ian spoke with a frown, stroking his chin in contemplation.

"But I can provide a lot of help, and I know a lot. Very few know more about the universe and life than me..." Gen begged the difference again.

"Enter." Ian ordered as he stood up, pajamas manifesting on his person instantly, "God I love magic."

Soon, Ian and Gen stood face to face. They've fought before, but now they stood before each other in a potential collaboration.

"There is in fact something you can do," Ian stroked his chin, a brilliant light passing in his eyes that drove a chill up Gen's spine, "I can send you something to ask for resources."

"It's not that simple, is it?" Gen questioned.

"Of course not. You'll likely die, hopefully in a good way." Ian smiled. His smile became even wider, noticing Gen's stale expression. He wasn't afraid, and he seemed to disagree.

"Okay, let me be more specific, you'll die..." Ian warned, seemingly testing the white Martian.

"I will not." Gen disagreed without hesitation.

"I see..." Ian murmured, his smile vanishing from sight, "I told a person very dear to me something. 

It was a long time ago... Knowledge is very important, the most important. You know nothing about me, yet your desires led you here... What I want to say is that there is darkness in all of us, and I don't like your darkness."

"Wait!!"