When you read something powerful and accept it as is, you create a "belief" about it.
However when you start questioning it and get to understanding the root cause of it, it creates a foundational "understanding" of it. Hence Kaliyuga has to be understood along with the other three yugas. Sanatan Dharma explains everything happening in cyclical form, not linear. It is exactly the form of a sinusoidal wave form, where all energy exist in that form. Extreme Kaliyuga happens at the bottom most point of the sinusoidal curve. And it is not absolutely dark as you have put it to be. Starting with four legs of the Dharma signified by bull, each leg representing austerity, cleanliness, truthfulness, and kindness; in the age of Kali Dharma stands on just one leg of truthfulness, which will be extremely difficult to decipher, though not impossible, because the human mind will be covered with extreme darkness of animal desires.
When you understand the above description of Yugas and Kaliyuga, you can come out of reactive Karma, instead you can propel yourself into proactive Karma. Manav-avatar of Lord Krishna is meant for such understanding.
Only the weak will fear the dark times. But it is the king of the jungle who hunts in the darkness. So, humans have to live above fear and greed to hunt for "truthfulness" in this dark age of Kali.
Do not live by "belief" of fear and greed; instead indulge into mental exercise to "understand" how to tackle "Kali Yuga". Reach out for the truth - the ultimate truth.
This "very powerful force" is not outside of oneself, but is within which is tormenting each and everyone. This force is nothing but the memories of your Sanchit Karma which keep erupting like volcanoes in an unconscious form, making you to act primarily driven by fear and greed, the basest of the animal instinct. It is accumulated from several past lives which were generated then out of darkness of ignorance. Karma in plain simple terms is like the Golden Rule - what goes around comes around. Say if you were a some sort of a Islamic raider in your past life who invaded, looted, pillaged and raped Hindus, in this life you will be a Hindu to experience the same act done by an Islamic in this life, who in past lives bore your brunt. This is how Kali Yuga grows extreme and intense when it approaches its peak. It loves to torment and create hell for humanity. Only the wise would still participate in this world without getting affected by it. Exactly like how Vasudeva Krishna lived.
Kaliyuga will sabotage your life only when you get trapped into it. Kaliyuga is like a honeytrap in which when one gets trapped, it makes you to do things against your wishes, to perform betrayal. It is the highest form of intelligence manipulation and Ops.
It seems you are looking for a Disneyland to make you feel good. The reality is that each one of us has to go through the Amrut-manthan to excrete the poison out and retain the Amrut. It is an effort within and not from outside. In order to do this we have to get over of the enslavement of the two most manipulative Indriyaas of our Eyes and Ears which enslaves us to the demon Kali. Indeed there are several others which also play a role. It is only the ultimate truth which will give us mukti from the demon Kali.
