The figurative scene has two related aspects: removal or uncovering, and the appearance of darkness that follows it. They need not be forced into a false opposition.
The borrowed verb expresses a withdrawing or stripping action; the following clause names its perceived consequence. The action, the intended figurative comparison, and its outcome must be kept analytically distinct.
This distinction matters when discussing alternative explanations: an account of one part of the sequence should not be mistaken for an exhaustive analysis of the entire metaphor.