Legacy of a Star Child

Chapter 19: Heart of Darkness

"I hate them, they lied to us! They lied to us to keep us apart Kieron! I want to kill them all!"

"Morgana please... I understand your anger, I am angry too. But taking there lives will not change anything."

"I...you don't love me anymore, do you?"

"Of course I do, I am angry they lied, but I am happier than ever to know you are my sister. Its alright that we cannot be together in the other way, but that will never mean I stopped loving you. I've loved you since the day we crossed paths on the street. They cannot take that away from us."

"Kieron..."

"Its alright now, clearly, they have forgotten there place in this world, tell me... did they ever show you, the prophecy?"

"Prophecy? No, why? I wasn't allowed to read anything, they said it was dangerous..."

"Some day, sooner or later, this world will end. And when it does, it will be rebuilt. It will be the hearts of young people whom will help save it. The purity they bring to the world will return balance, a balance that I fear will be disrupted soon, for us. Two hearts that connect, two that take apart. Two of Light, and Two of Dark."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, that those who are lost, overshadowed in darkness, will be reconnected, lead by the light, and those who bring evil, will be dismantled by the darkness, the true protector of the light."

"I... wait, I don't understand..."

"The darkness is not evil, my lovely sister, it is the knight in shining armor that cloaks the light in the safety of its embrace. Only evil is the culprit for misuse of both dark... and light."

-----

-Xemnas awoke from a strange dream, his tired golden ambers swiveling from side to side as he sat up... it almost had felt like someone had been there with him. It was actually a terribly uncomfortable feeling, well, no not feeling, thought. Right. The man rose from his bed, hand threading through his hair, it seemed as though he were forgetting something, something important. The only thing he kept thinking about, were the dark shores on the outskirt of the castle, but... why would he feel compelled to go to the beach? And especially at this hour. Ah well, maybe a walk would do him good. He got out of bed, grunting as he rubbed at his face with his hand, and threw on the clothes he had been wearing that day, would look kind of silly walking along the beach in his sleep shorts. His rather masculine form gave to the pressure of his tight black pants as he slid them on and pulled them up, drowsily looking over at his muscular build in the mirror, he needed to start working out again, he was losing some ab muscle mass, and he wouldn't be caught dead showing off misshapen pecks. He grumbled running his hand over his ripped 6 pack before sliding on his shirt, then his robe. He pulled on his hood like a tired angsty teen trying to hide in the back of class. He slid into his boots and went out of his room, shutting the door quietly behind him before descending down the hall, the click of his boots audible as he walked. He wasn't exactly trying to hide his late night wandering, but he also wasn't looking to stir anyone. Unfortunately for him, his footsteps did awaken someone. Someone whom usually took a walk around this time anyways. Not that Xemnas would notice however. He was in a daze. Something just felt off to him, and no matter what he did in an attempt to clear his head... it wasn't working. He just kept walking, the clicking of his boots the only sound echoing in the hall. Eventually, Xemnas did make it outside, and wandered to the shore. He seated himself on his favorite boulder on the beach, a spot he regularly came to in order to think. He could remember talking with Roxas here a few weeks after he came, asking him what exactly the boy remembered about himself. Part of it was to see if he remembered anything about the key bearer, and the other was of course of genuine concern for the boys cognitive development. Xemnas sat there for a good long couple of moments, he started to detect the presence of being watched but... his head was now starting to spin... He grunted and held his head, something was wrong. Very wrong. Before he could address the notion that he might be being watched however, he heard a voice.-

Hello!? Hello! Is anyone there!?

-The voice seemed to be echoing from the void, from the dark abyss across from the man. Something... no, someone, came from the abyss. A boy. Riku. Xemnas had heard of Riku, he and his people had dug into a lot of information about the boy, for he too was a potential solution to there issue. The problem was, from what they had heard, a man delusioned by the darkness had snatched up the boy, and frightened him of this darkness... the darkness they teetered on the edge of, shunned by the light. Xemnas himself believed that the one wandering the darkness, had probably been his old mentor, he must have gone mad in this darkness that the apprentices had left him in. That was something he somewhat remembered from his time with the apprentices... most of it being small snippets of conversations, vague, scattered...sometimes Vexen or Zexion talked about master Ansem... talked about how foolish they all had been to keep going, but, Xemnas himself... with how everyone talked about it, while he acknowledged this was his fault for pursuing and dragging them all with him, he still wondered whether if Ansem would have just talked to him, told him why, perhaps, this all would have been oh so different. Even now Xemnas could not deny, that his fascination with hearts drove him just as much as desiring his back. It was like something in the subconscious... and now seeing this boy, calling for help, he was both leery, and concerned. Xemnas got up from the rock, and staggered, hands gripping to his head, his breath sharpened, a pain, deep within his chest all of a sudden.-

How did you arrive here, are you lost?

I... I don't know, where am I? This isn't where I was supposed to end up, who are you? Have you seen anyone else come by here aside from me?!

-The boy was frantic, almost as if he was running from someone... he was scared. Xemnas's pain sharpened, and he dropped to his knees, causing the boy to stare, eyes widened, concerned.-

Hey! Are you alright!?

-He bolted for the man, and went to reach for him... that was, until Xemnas's hood had fallen off. Riku immediately gasped, and took a step back, shaking.-

...n-no... no not again! You can't be back!

-With the flick of his wrist, Soul Eater, his keyblade was thrust within his hands. He was shaking, staring at Xemnas whom had finally sat up on his knees, confused. But before either of them could really take in this situation... before either could explain themselves... Riku's eyes flashed gold, the boy paused, seeming entranced, just like Xemnas. In one swift action, Riku forcefully stabbed Xemnas through the chest with soul eater, causing the Nobody leader to gasp in pain, his eyes clouded, and something strange seemed to occur... a whispering roll of darkness seemed to come from Riku, and lashed out at Xemnas, shooting through his chest with Rikus blade. Blood splattered across the boulder behind Xemnas, as Riku tore his blade from Xemnas's chest, smiling a demonic grin. That expression was short lived, his eyes seemed to switch back to bright, piercing ocean blue, and he now stared down in horror... he had stabbed that man! Had he... done it because he mistook him for Ansem seeker of Darkness? Something inside Riku told him to run, and run he did. He tore off across the beach, speckles of Xemnas's blood on his shirt and coated all over his blade, his mind shattering trying to process that he may have indeed just dillusionally killed a man for no reason. Xemnas whimpered and dropped on his back in the sand, his hands gripping intensely to his hemorrhaging chest...was this... fear? Yes, this was fear, he could... feel. A voice came calling for Xemnas, shouting, horrified of what they just witnessed happen, before the person could come into view however... Xemnas's eyes flickered, and then shut, he couldn't hear anything anymore.-