KINGDOM HEARTS: Core of Darkness

PROLOGUE

Breath was a gift. That very gift, I took for granted. Every action I took was labored. It hurt to slash, to strike, to cast. Simply trying to sustain my life was a task that became increasingly difficult. Each move I made kicked up dust from the dry, cracked pavement beneath my feet, into my lungs. Everything smelt of rot, decay and darkness. The environment itself did all it could to make defending myself the hardest thing imaginable.

Our Keyblades clashed... This wasn't my place, fighting front lines. I fell back, gathering the remnants of my magical energy, and channeled it into a fiery mass which erupted from my Keyblade.

A direct hit.

If I could, I would have smiled. I would be lying if I denied hurling an inferno didn't send tantalizing tingles up my spine, let alone seeing that very same inferno I conjured create some distance between the enemy and me. While euphoria kept me content, that spell sapped every last bit of magic out of me.

Across the battlefield, the figure of him lay still, tendrils of smoke wafting from his body as his darkness sizzled around him.

My hands fell loose around the hilt of the Keyblade. Before I could drop it, the matter shaping the blade unraveled, untangling from my hands and reshaping itself into the confident hand of my cousin, and best friend.

"Sorry I'm late," she swaggered up to me. "But it seems I came at the right time."

I took another glance at the body which lay just out of sight in the hazy darkness. "Selena... are you gonna do it?"

She looked down at the Keyblade in her hand, at the blade which was the catalyst of all events that led to now, at the blade which caused so much pain but tied together the hearts of so many. "I think this is it, Soleil," she said, flourishing the Keyblade. " Time to finish this sucker!"

She was a blur, a wisp barreling in the murky blackness amongst decrepit buildings and forsaken grounds. With a leap, I saw her take a quick look back. It was a fleeting moment, that lock of eyes. As meek as I was, I stood tall, assuring her with the ghost of a smile that said "finish this." She caught my smile, and returned the favor with a downward slash. I no longer felt small, I didn't have the need to be small. It was almost over... until the darkness which sizzled about Selena's target became something uniform, something solid, blocking the mock finishing blow in a fray of white sparks and dull flecks. The umber shield then burst into a violet-electric explosion, sending Selena floundering through the air.

My pulse picked up again, the dread of the situation returning as a borderline panic attack. Magic wasn't an option, the last bit of it siphoned out for a fruitless fire. I prayed that the blast that sent Selena airborne wasn't fatal. Unfortunately, the fall would end up with another Keyblade wielder perishing by the works of him. I couldn't let that happen. No more would die, if I could help it.

Cracked pavement makes a horrible cushion. My body however, that had to contribute something. I tried my best to mentally calculate where Selena's plummet would end, and attempted to intercept the collision.

Finding that spot, I dug my feet into the darkness sodden rubble, and braced for impact.

She hit me hard.

It wasn't like a blow to the gut, which left you breathless. It wasn't a blow to the face, which left you dazed and confused. Neither was it a blow to the legs, which left you whirling for balance. It was devestating and complete blow to my entire body. I didn't just lose my breath, it was stolen, I wasn't just dazed, I was borderline unconscious, and the concept of balence was completely unknown as my body tumbled and rolled with Selena's, our edges blurring into one rolling, painful shape.

The rolling eventually halted, but the pain remained. The sour tang of blood filled my mouth.

"What a shame," his voice was gravel, dirty and rough, a sort of sultry noise that you hated to listen to. "You two trained for how long, and this is how you fight?" He punctuated his speech with a kick to my gut. Whatever air I had recollected left in a violent wheeze.

"Sh—" her voice was weak, strangled in her throat. "Shut up!" An inward smile graced my bloodied lip, she was alive.

He chuffed, "Poor Selena, you can't even stand! I'm terribly sorry. But fret not, it'll be over soon."

He lowered himself, and lifted me from the ground as if I was nothing. I struggled, trying my best to fight against the grip on my collar. Soon enough, my back laid flat on his front, with something cold and deadly reasting by my throat.

"Let him go!" Selena cried, staggering to her feet, only to crumble and fall under her weight.

"Look at her squirm, Soleil! The way she sobs for you, and oh! That delicious look of absolute rage."

His grip tightened like a vice, and Selena fought against her wounds once more to free me, but failed. My captors breath shuddered in ecstasy.

He clicked his tounge, taunting "How sad, Selena. He's dispensable, and yet, you want him to live? The Keyblade chose you."
 
"You don't get to say that! You of all people don't get to decide for our Keyblade!" Selena spat.

"Oh, but I will. I'll decide right now." He released his grip, and I fell hard on my knees.

"Stop!" Selena cried.

"He may not be a true Keyblade wielder, but he will die like one!"