Kingdom Hearts; The Twilight Keeper

Chapter XVII; Lost Empire

It was almost imperceptible the changes to their barren path. Ever so slowly it changed from just normal rocks to something more ruin-like. The dry ground was replaced with shallow water, soaking through their boots. It wasn't long before Yuki could tell they were standing in the ruins of a city.

She ran a hand along a wall, staring around her. It was unlike anything she had seen before. Still simple, the buildings were all made of stone. But something felt off about the world. Strange letters were carved into the walls surrounding murals of what looked like great statues. Whatever it was Yuki couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"What is this place?" Yuki asked, looking around once again.

"I don't know," X said. He was staring at the letters, tracing them as his mouth moved.

"Second time." Yuki and X both looked up at Y. She stood with her arms crossed as she looked around the ruins. She glanced away from their gazes, seeming unnerved. "I mean, this is the second world we haven't recognized. So, why bother?"

Yuki frowned. She had a point. Like the last one, she had no idea what this world had been. It didn't give her the same feeling of dread she imagined it would if she knew the world. So what was their point?

"They must have some kind of point. Aryum isn't random," she said. Her gaze once again turned to the entire ruin. It had to have been a city at some point. Though now they appeared to be at the edge, more spread out before them.

"Yeah, but she certainly won't make it obvious," X said with a sigh. He turned his attention back to the writing on the walls. "It'll probably take a few more worlds before we see some kind of pattern."

"Ok, first thing first then," Yuki said, she turned her attention fully onto Y. "Y, we need to find the lights remnant."

"Oh, that sounds fancy," Y said with smirk. Yuki looked away before she could see anything else. It just seemed like the right thing to call the remainders of light. It was certainly easier. "I like it."

Y paused for a moment, resting her hand over her heart as her eyes closed. Yuki waited silently, not looking away from Y. X seemed to be only mildly interested, still looking at the walls more than his sister. His hand was jumping from place to place, matching symbols and patterns to one another. 

"It's this way."

Y turned and led the way through the ruins, her footsteps sloshing through the water. The sound seemed to attract Heartless, a kind Yuki had never seen before. They were a dark blue of sorts with something like wings on each side and blue tentacle-looking things underneath them. What was most annoying was the way they wove in and out of the water itself, exploding out with enough force that the water droplets stung. Even so, the three of them managed to dispatch them easily enough.

A pause in the Heartless gave the three elites time to recover. Yuki could only keep her eyes scanning the surrounding. X was back to where he always seemed to be, at the walls where the strange letters were. Y was looking around as well, her arms wrapped around her tightly.

"What do you think this world was called?" Y asked.

"I have no idea," Yuki said with a shrug. Glancing at Y she could only frown. "Is something wrong?"

"It just seems, familiar I guess," Y said, biting her bottom lip. Her eyes scanned the surroundings, trying to find something that Yuki wasn't sure even existed.

"I think it's Atlantis," X said suddenly. Yuki looked over at him with a frown. She had heard of that place before, hadn't she?

"Do you mean Atlantica?" Y asked. Yuki was familiar with that world for sure, at least from Sora's stories. She had never visited and honestly wasn't sure she wanted to. But it wasn't the same as the stories she was thinking of. Old islands tales.