The Dusk Zone
The Dusk Zone
The world we inhabit - the world in which Tokyo is - is the Prime world; expansive, full of life and energy. Here, neither magic nor Dark Energy is dominant. The world is neither comprised of Youma or Fairies, but of mortals, humans. There are many other worlds that connect to this one (and occasionally a youma or fairy will find their way to Tokyo because of it). But the most important - and dangerous - of these is the plane of darkness, shadows, and Dark Energy - the Dusk Zone.
The Dusk Zone lies 'next to' the Prime. It is not merely a 'negative energy prime', though some incredibly powerful landmarks and monuments have twisted versions in the Dusk Zone and can be used to attempt to navigate it in a way somewhat relevant to the Prime.
The Dusk Zone is absolutely suffused with negative energy - it is choking and cloying and if the average person were to cross into it, it would be mere moments before they were twisted into a youma or worse. It is not the source of all dark energy - that is negative emotions - but it is a place overwhelmed with it. Some few who have studied it have theorized it may be another Prime that was overtaken by negative energy and moved next to ours, to serve as a staging ground for invasion.
In the Dusk Zone, monstrous horrors like Pierrot and Metallia wait to become strong enough to rip into our plane and turn it into a second Dusk Zone. In the Dusk Zone evils older than the original Silver Millennium lurk, patiently waiting for their chance to destroy us. In the Dusk Zone it can seem like the very land is hostile to you, as cracked ground gives way to dark black crystal shards.
Yet darkness is also enticing as it is dangerous. For those born of it or corrupted enough to withstand it, the Dusk Zone is also beautiful and even comfortable. The trees grow with varieties of fruit, strange versions of our own that fizz when bitten into, with tastes entirely unique and delicious to those who can eat them. In the Dusk Zone one can witness sky painted auroras with blacks and purples and other dark colors that do not exist in the Prime, colors one is hard pressed to forget once seen.
The Dusk Zone also connects to the Prime in a non-euclidian manner, allowing creatures and characters who are charged with dark energy and also talented enough to step into the Dusk Zone quickly, and use it as a transition point to another place. Commonly known as a Duskport, it is the source of the longevity of many antagonists - allowing them to shift away before Mahou pile on after defeating youma. Due to the odd nature of the Zone it's much easier to teleport farther away than it is close by. Most villains only use this ability to appear in the prime, set a plan in motion, and leave when the plan inevitably fails. Using it as a combat range teleport is much harder.
Incredibly powerful Dark Energy users, on the level of Queen Beryl and higher, can warp the Dusk Zone by being in it, contorting the malleable energy to suit their own desires, carving out small domains within the Dusk Zone that match their image and needs - their own little Dark Kingdoms.
