Heroes of Dreamland, Book 7: Kirby and the Battle for Dreamland (OLD)

The Light Will Arise

Once upon a time, there was a dark day in the fair realm of Dreamland. For many souls, all seemed lost. The world was drowning in Dark Matter and Darkness, time had been frozen, and it seemed as if all the heroes had either fallen- out of time, or out of the battle, for good. No one knew just how dire of straits the heroes were in; most citizens thought they were still hiding, refusing to help their adopted homeland. Little did they know just how big of sacrifices some of them were making, even while the people of Dreamland thought they had been abandoned by the souls they expected to save them.

There was little Light, if any, left on Planet Popstar that day. Even noon looked like night. The Fountain was still, so still; the sakuranoki was devoid of blossoms, bare-branched and bent. The Dimension Mirror above seemed to be almost ready to explode with the fiercest storm that had ever been seen in its glassy portal. The stars were blocked from view, even at night, by the Dark Matter, and the color of everything, every flower, blade of grass, person, and animal on the fair star had all but faded away.

If ever there were a time when hope was truly lost, this was it.

But while the realms of Dreamland, from Cappy Town to Whispy Woods, White Wafers to Ice Cream Islands, Butter Building to Nutty Noon, Green Greens to Cookie Country, Orange Ocean to Raisin Ruins, gave themselves up for lost, something- a tiny flicker, nothing more- began to change the fate of the starry planet.

As one soul of the Mirror's design fell into eternal Darkness, lost between dimensions and away from the stream of time, another rose into the stars- but not in the way you might think. Shh, Luko. It's not polite to interrupt. Some of us know who that is, but not all of us. Be quiet and listen, my dear little one.

Let's see... The Curse of the Mirror came to be when the first Mirror Worlder, Dark Oraca, destroyed her original in cold blood, hating the very soul that had brought her to life. The Curse was created both to protect the Light reflection from their Dark twin, and even, at times, to protect the Dark from the jealous or disgusted 'Light.' Unfortunately, like any other curse, the Curse of the Mirror had some obvious, awful consequences.

That's why there was created a way- only a single way- for the Curse to be broken. If ever the day came when mirror twins could both learn to be Light, to discover how to live together in harmony, then the Curse would no longer be needed. And so, when the Mirror soul rose into the stars, having just sacrificed herself for her Dreamlander reflection, the Curse shattered into pieces. An original's life was no longer bound to their 'copy's,' nor the other way around. As the Curse came to be when a reflection jealously took her original's life, it perished when a reflection selflessly gave her life in exchange for her original's.

Although there was no one there to see it, in that instant, one realm of Dreamland was healed. The being who had taken over as its Heart was gone, and so, that power returned to the possession of the great artifact itself, where it belonged. The selflessness of the Warrior of the Mirror cleansed the Mirror World and repaired the Dimension Mirror once more, taking away its ability to make Dark souls and returning it to its true purpose of creating new, unique beings. There was always a chance it would change again someday, but for now, the Mirror was safe.

In Tick-Tock Clock, time soon began again, thanks to the Warrior of Time and the Knight of the Galaxy. Having both lost their Mirror reflections, they thought themselves lost, but little did they know that the Curse they now feared was no longer able to touch them.

Darkness was still rampant in Dreamland, but the salvation of the Mirror World was a defeat it had never expected- and, much to its later harm, it believed it had rid itself of three Light souls, when truly, it had only taken away one. Time was moving once more, which had never been part of its plan. It was still confident in its victory; it knew that the time for the Light to fall had finally come, and so, it brushed these minor setbacks off to the side. It had everything it could ever need in order to be able to rule the Galaxy- a will, a mind, and even a form. It could see no possible way that it could taste defeat, not now, not on this, its most glorious day.