Dark Aether

Dark Aether was created when a Leviathan from Phaaze crashed onto Aether, splitting it into two dimensions. Dark Aether is called as such because it is a twisted "dark" version of Aether and the "dark matter" in its atmosphere is damaging to "light" beings, such as humans, the Luminoth, and Space Pirates. Simply visiting Dark Aether can quickly kill creatures of the "light" universe unless precautions are taken. Dark Aether is home to the Ing, a race of shadow beings. Their connection to Phazon is uncommon as they are seemingly unaffected by its intense radiation. This is possibly because the Emperor Ing would have originally been a native creature that was corrupted to protect the Leviathan's core. It has also been suggested that as a result of the Leviathan creating the Dark Dimension, the Ing race may be the "mirror" counterpart of the Luminoth that inhabited the planet. However, this is very unlikely, as there are no dark "mirror" versions of other creatures that lived on Aether long before the Luminoth (Darklings, of course, do not count, as they are light creatures that have since been possessed by the Ing rather than entirely separate entites). Another theory to the creation of the Ing Horde is that they were originally Phaz-Ings from Phaaze that were aboard the Leviathan, and that the Emperor Ing were the guardian, and that they were then mutated by the dark atmosphere of Dark Aether. Dark Aether is only accessible from Aether by Dark Portals. Since the two planets share the same space, they vie for planetary energy. Aether and Dark Aether were at war for about 50 years until bounty hunter Samus Aran fought on the side of the Luminoth. Samus successfully removed the remaining planetary energy from Dark Aether, destroying the Dark Dimension in the process. The Dark Dimension collapsed on Dark Samus, but she survived. It is also possible that she may simply have escaped shortly before the dimension collapsed, as she previously demonstrated the ability to open and use dimensional rifts at will.

The creation of Dark Aether split Aether's planetary energy into two halves, leaving both planets weak and unstable.

It is interesting to note that Phazon is only found within Dark Aether. Luminoth Lore seems to suggest that during the initial impact on Aether (causing devastation to the plains of Agon and the forests of Torvus), the Phazon Meteor opened a rift to the Dark Dimension, moving the Leviathan to Dark Aether. This is supported as the Luminoth Lore data says that after the Luminoth emerged from their shelters the Phazon Meteor or any substantial crater was no where to be seen. Planetary scans of Dark Aether reveal a large crater and deep cracks running through half of the Dark Planet.

Biology
Dark Aether had many unique creatures, like Darklings, creatures of Aether possessed by the Ing. Below is a list of every enemy or species encountered on Dark Aether, or mentioned to have inhabited but no longer do.


 * Airthorn
 * Amorbis
 * Bladepod
 * Blueroot Tree
 * Boost Guardian
 * Chykka
 * Chykling
 * Corrupted Sentreye
 * Dark Diligence Drone
 * Dark Grenchler
 * Dark Ingsmasher
 * Dark Luminoth
 * Dark Phlogus
 * Dark Pirate Commando
 * Dark Pirate Trooper
 * Dark Preed
 * Dark Quad
 * Dark Samus
 * Dark Shredder
 * Dark Splinter
 * Dark Tallon Metroid
 * Dark War Wasp
 * Darkling
 * Darkling Tentacle
 * Dormant Ingclaw
 * Emperor Ing
 * Flying Ing Cache
 * Grapple Guardian
 * Grenchler
 * Guardian
 * Harmony Class Drone
 * Hunter Ing
 * Ing
 * Ing Horde
 * Ing Larva Swarm
 * Ing Webtrap
 * Ingclaw
 * Inglet
 * Ingsphere Cache
 * Ingstorm
 * Ingworm
 * Ingworm Cache
 * Jump Guardian
 * Liftvine Crystal
 * Lightbringer
 * Lightflyer
 * Luminoth
 * Lumite
 * Metroid
 * Nightbarb
 * Power Bomb Guardian
 * Quadraxis
 * Sentreye
 * Space Pirate
 * Sporb
 * Tree
 * Venom Weed
 * War Wasp
 * Warrior Ing
 * Watchdrone
 * Webling
 * ULF 19
 * ULF 31

Sky Temple Grounds
Just like the light Aether counterpart, it's the surrounding area of the Sky Temple, though most of it is blocked off by Ingworms, preventing Samus from exploring it completely. This is where the Emperor Ing himself makes his home guarding the greatest amount of planetary energy stolen from Aether.

Dark Agon
The dark version of Agon Wastes is mostly the same. The Ing are not very active on this area, due to them being initially unaware of the threat Samus poses for them. The temple guardian of the area is Amorbis.

Dark Torvus
The dark version of Torvus Bog is a poisonous bog. All the waters of Dark Torvus Bog are poisonous making it twice as dangerous. It's also teeming with Ing activity after their defeat at Agon Wastes. The temple guardians of the area are the Chykka Larva and Chykka.

Ing Hive
The dark version of the Sanctuary Fortress is the hive of the Ing. In this area, the Ing are the most active. The temple guardian of the area is Quadraxis.

Sky Temple
The final area of the game. The Sky temple requires 10 keys to access (Samus needs only 9, since one of the keys is already in place) and is the home of the first and eldest Ing, the ruler of the Ing Horde: Emperor Ing.

Trivia

 * After Samus regains the planetary energy in Dark Torvus Bog, Dark Agon Wastes and Ing Hive, the sky in that area becomes red, unlike the normal purple. However, it cannot be seen in the Sky Temple Grounds or in the Sky Temple, even after the last planetary energy is recovered.
 * Dark Aether is the first of four planets to be destroyed by Samus Aran, the following three being Phaaze, Zebes and SR388. However, in Dark Aether's case, it's technically the destruction of an entire dimension.
 * This concept is stated in interviews to be based on The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, which also involved two worlds (Light and Dark World in Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Light Aether and Dark Aether in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes) that the main character has to travel between both to progress.
 * Interestingly, the skybox is the same for all areas (with the exception of the previously mentioned red skyboxes).

Éter Oscuro