| abstract | - This trope is basically the ultimate logical conclusion of Dark Is Not Evil. It usually manifests in the powers of The Dark Side being treated as equal (or even better) compared to the powers of light, coming with the same acknowledgement and worship that people offer to the Light. It may still be treated with suspicion or fear by the common people, however, since this trope rarely excludes that Dark Is Evil. Usually, this kind of darkness takes the form of a "pure" darkness as opposed to the "corrupted" darkness that is typically used by villains. The philosophical interpretation behind this is Dark Is Not Evil taken to extremes, where it is acknowledged that light and darkness can and must exist only simultaneously. Darkness can still be associated with aspects such as death, but expect this to be treated in a somewhat positive way, such as death being an important part of the cycle of rebirth, being natural and therefore being necessary for the world. Also, a dark god may simply be doing an unpopular, but still very important job, rather than being a villain. This kind of darkness may not be nice, or comfortable, or maybe it is even outright terrifying, but it nontheless radiates a dignity that cannot be denied and, like it or not, you know that the world would be worse off without it. "Pure" darkness powers can often easily be distinguished from their "corrupted" counterparts. An Instant Kill spell by a corrupt villain would likely involve a lot of pain, mutiliation, brutality etc., while a pure darkness spell of that kind might result in something resembling a peaceful sleep or simply dropping dead. Pure darkness powers tend to avert the more obviously negative aspects of darker powers such as Mind Rape, Cold-Blooded Torture and somesuch and instead tend to be more spectacular and flashy, or involving beautiful stuff, like conjuring up the star-filled night sky, or awesome stuff like summoning a black raven to attack the enemy. For instance, if a hero's signature move was a combo attack where he cloaks his blade in light magic, a "pure" darkness counterpart to that move would simply involve cloaking the blade in shadow instead. Despite this, it may still carry some of the usual problems of dark powers, such as the Noble Demon spirits empowering the Sword of Plot Advancement deciding that their user is not worthy enough to use their sacred sword and killing him, or simply the usual problem of prolonged exposure to the darkness being dangerous to the mind. Note that "sacred" does not have to equal "good". More often, these characters embody a morally neutral concept or ideal. On rare occasions, villains can use The Sacred Darkness, but usually this only works when they are opposing another villain who is using the corrupted variant in a A Lighter Shade of Black situation. Can also be interpreted as necessary and holy when its part of a Yin-Yang Bomb. In a similar vein, the pure/corrupt interpretation can be done for Light in a Light Is Not Good scenario, such as a "corrupt" light spell that poisons the enemy. Note that this trope is not just Dark Is Not Evil. The usual variant of said trope is that a good person is using dark powers despite their villanous and problematic ways for the sake of good. That is not really this trope. This trope is about some kind of darkness that exists in a form where you can reasonably justify its existence for the good of the world or when darkness is treated in some way as equally as holy or good as Light would be treated. Generally, if your hero can make a somewhat logical World of Cardboard Speech, a Reason You Suck Speech or simply a Rousing Speech involving the virtues of their particular brand of darkness, it qualifies. Similarly, if following this darkness has a bit of a Right Makes Might feeling to it, it would also count. Examples of The Sacred Darkness include:
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