Val ran one finger on the handle of his teacup as he collected his thoughts. "Darkness is an element", he said. "The elements are -- that which is essential to us living beings. They are the foundations of what we are - and of what we need. We exist amidst these forces. We need all of them. We need the night as we need the day. And is the sunset not as delightful as the sunrise?".

Adrien breathed out as he let Val's words reach him. "Yes", he then said. "Yes, but... Darkness magic is... destructive".

"When we studied abstract defense magic, I had you practice by defending against a fear spell. That was Darkness magic. Would you say that the use of that fear spell was destructive?".

Adrien bit his lip. "No", he admitted, "but..."

Val smiled. "Did you know that a lot of healing magic is Darkness magic?".

"Really?".