That makes a lot of sense. I had similar thoughts, but couldn't flesh them out as much. It's been awhile since I read the original trilogy. I actually trimmed that post down a lot, because there are so many questions that Lifeforce and Deathrise give rise to. It feels like there's an explanation in there somewhere, and when it's revealed it will make a lot more sense. That was just the biggest piece of my question. Another big piece is that usually, when an epic gifts their powers, it helps to diminish their own darkness, which also doesn't seem to be the case for Lifeforce. Which could be because he lets himself get injured so frequently, or just be the way he let his own psyche change, or be from Deathrise. So many questions and possibilities...it makes me happy, and also confused.
I also wondered if Deathrise came about from so many epic powers, and so much of the darkness, mingling together. Like, maybe they played off of each other and exacerbated the darkness into something stronger than the original, that couldn't be removed just by the departure of Calamity.