A Second Chance

Journey To The Depths

You guys are the absolute best. Thank you for always understanding when I need a hiatus. As a present, here's another chapter <3

[♥]

[KEYBLADE GRAVEYARD]

[Eighty Years Ago]

In the middle of the vast wasteland, with nothing around him but rocks and dust, sits a man cloaked all in black. His legs are sprawled out before him, his palms rests on the rock where he's perched. The silence is almost deafening, but it's the perfect place to go to think without a soul around to interrupt.

So the sound of footsteps naturally grabs his attention, glancing up as he watches a man equally cloaked in black marching towards him. This new intruder is much shorter than him, he can't help but notice as he stands at attention before the original man.

The man reaches a hand out, his cloak hiding his face behind a shield of darkness.

"So?" he calls out.

The second man raises his hands up, pulling back his hood to reveal a young man with stark gray hair and bright gray eyes, his face pulled into a frown.

"Yeah," Xehanort stoically replies. "It wards off darkness. It's useful," he admits as he admires his black outfit.

"Told ya! So, how'd it go?" the man asks. "The tour."

Xehanort walks forward, taking a seat next to the strange man. His head is turned down to the ground, but a smile grows on his face.

"I learned, the reason for my existence."

"Ohh??" the strange man replies with fake interest. "Tell me more."

"All around the world, people live seemingly peaceful lives," Xehanort explains, his fingers digging into his thighs as he stares at the rocks in the near distance, recalling his trek around the worlds at this man's insistence. "They believe themselves to be moral and virtuous, but it's all an act. Darkness lurks in the pits of everyone's heart. Their light is a total farce."

"Sounds like your trip around the world opened your eyes, but you got a little bit more than you anticipated. Must've seen a lot of darkness."

"Those who are weak, and those who desire greater power," Xehanort muses as he rests back, his palms sliding down the smooth rock and his gaze now locked on the brown sky, "simply strip the strong of their power, and convince themselves they've earned it. That's how people become tainted by darkness. They believe what they want to believe, using hollow reasons as justification. They repeat the cycle, and their darkness grows."

"So you're saying the weak feel the need to justify their actions to maintain their sense of self. Can't let that slide?"

"No," Xehanort quickly retorts, glancing to the side at his companion. "It's better they be ruled by darkness. People carry delusions of having power, but it's a lie. They are but sheep pretending to be wolves. Though I admit, I can understand why."

"Ohh, never heard that one before," the man teases as he holds his hands up in the air in mock defeat. "A Keyblade wielder willing to side with darkness? Why not just let them be until the darkness consumes them?"

"Because left alone, the world would fall to chaos. There needs to be order."

"You sure about that?" the man asks, resting his hands on the rock as he forces himself to his feet. "Why not just sit back and watch it play out?" he adds, his hands clasped behind his back as he takes a few steps away from the younger male.