Bright colored eyes slowly fluttered open.

They stared up at a storm filled sky in an unfocused daze; their mind hazy and body aching as a long, ominous, streak of lightning flashed above. The child tried to recall the events prior to finding themselves in this foreign land, but found it useless as their thoughts slowly drifted off to incomprehensible gibberish.

The sky shouldn't look like that, they thought to themselves

It should be blue, like the ocean. Calming hues to the eyes, peaceful to look at, with white fluffy clouds that challenged the imagination of children. The child smiled softly at hazy memory. l̪͕͎̯̦͙r̕͞v͇̬̘̤͖̤̖͔͘̕͡f̭͢a̧̠̩̩̱͚̰̕͟e҉̮͎͎̦u͏҉̠͔̞̖̟v͙͖̯̜͡y̷͇̰͔̩͈b̡̛̳̖̪̠̥̱̞̠͡a̯͈͙e҉̠̱̖l͖̗͙̜̭k͉̙̬͖͇͚̙̻̕ liked doing that.

The child paused. Who... who liked to do what?

Their mind cleared, and the hazy fog disabling them to think washed away to form a single question– Where am I?

They regained the feeling in their arms, and slowly turned to push themselves upright. One arm supporting their back, and the other used to massage their throbbing head. What happened to – A sharp pain suddenly exploded from their chest, causing them to heave as they fell on their knees. Pain. They're in so much pain…

The child clutched their chest as though something big and sharp plunged its way straight through it. Their eyes grew wide in terror as the feeling lingered, pushing deeper, harder. It was close to unbearable. The pain crawled up their limbs, causing the child to cry out in a horrifying, terror-filled moan. They coughed harshly; blood splattering the ground as they caught their breath.

Everything was on fire. They couldn't feel their arms and legs. It was like they had turned as heavy as lead and were as stiff as rock. Their chest throbbed ceaselessly, pushing and pulling at his heart as though someone was torturing him with an invisible blade. Their mind paralyzed them to the point that their own thoughts kept on repeating a single thought - Die. They're going to die… They didn't want to… They don't want to… I don't want to die.

They heard the faint ringing of a bell, and the pain mysteriously vanished. It was like the torture wasn't even there in the first place.

The child remained on the floor, heaving, and sweating, partially traumatized and confused by the whole ordeal. They patted their chest, looking for an explanation for the pain, but found nothing.

They were safe.

The child let out a relieved sigh and slowly sat up again. They unconsciously braced for another shot of pain but it fortunately never came.

They wondered what caused it in the first place, but the more they thought about, the more the thought escaped them and was left forgotten. Frowning at what they were so focused on earlier, the child instead looked around and busied themselves with something else.

Around them, numerous purple colored houses, with flora decorating the windows ledges towered about two stories high. Papers were scattered about, its fine print left unreadable. They picked one up out of curiosity and attempted to gloss over it. They felt as though they should be able to read it. They continued to walk along the streets yellow bricked road, a warm feeling of home whispered at the back of their mind. This place made them feel safe. They didn't question the odd sense of security and kept on exploring.

Everything felt familiar, that much assured them, but something felt off. This place... it was empty. Perhaps even too empty.

The odd familiarity they had of the town guided them mindlessly through the corners and streets. They had no destination in mind, but at the same time, knew exactly where they needed to be.

The child emerged down a flight of stairs to see themselves staring at a fountain plaza. A dark, foreboding feeling simmered deep down on their chest, and a haze of black cloud erupted from their hand. It went by unnoticed as they clutched their chest and willed the feeling to go away. Unfortunately, the feeling remained in the surface and refused to back down.

Suddenly, a memory flashed in front of their eyes. A boy with silver hair, wearing an ornate red triangular scarf around his neck sat beside another kid, idly chatting and laughing at something. They child recognized them. The other kid had their face. A face that looked neither too masculine nor feminine. It was easy to be mistaken for both genders, and they didn't care being called either as well.

The silver haired boy...

They know him... but who?

The child blinked and the memory quickly faded out to their subconscious, dragging along the dark feeling in their chest, but not the image of the boy with silver hair.

The child walked over to the fountain and picked up a snowy white flower on top of a whorl a three green leaves that mysteriously lay on the spot where the mirage appeared. "This is…" A distant sound of bells ringing snapped them out of focus and into another confused hazed. "Wh- what was I doing...?"

The bells continued to chime and the child looked around, curious of its source. They ran up the stairs, and kept on climbing until they reached a boardwalk that overlooked a massive clock tower. Its gears and gigantic metal pendulum were not moving, but the tower continued to ring loudly. The clock was stuck in twelve o'clock and the child released a breath they didn't know they've been holding in.

"Foretellers…" they mumbled softly.

A strong pull urged them to go closer, but something else kept them back and insisted that they remain outside of the tower. Never go inside. Whatever was inside… they knew they wouldn't like it.

The child unconsciously raised a hand to their chest again and shivered that same unwanted feeling filled them. The darkness poured out of their hearts sleeve yet again going by unnoticed. Why didn't they want to go to the tower?

The child looked back at the tower and was surprised by how closer it appeared. They blinked, and it was a few meters closer. Another flutter of their eyelids, and suddenly the clocktower sounded like it was right beside their ears. Its deafening chimes sent the child to fall back on their behind and press their hands over their ears to drown out the ringing.

Everything started to fade around them. Their sight grew dark as they felt the weight of the clock towers bells crush them under its heavy song. They turned on their belly and attempted to crawl away from the sounds. They didn't want this. They wanted... Dark circles begun to form around their eyes and the child absentmindedly reached out to it, begging for mercy.

You should've died.

The child gasped as a voice entered their ears.

Why are you alive?

Strenuously, they looked for a source of the voice, but didn't find any. Just a bunch of voices with no faces.

LIAR. TRAITOR.

He never should have given you a chance.

l̪͕͎̯̦͙r̕͞v͇̬̘̤͖̤̖͔͘̕͡f̭͢a̧̠̩̩̱͚̰̕͟e҉̮͎͎̦u͏҉̠͔̞̖̟v͙͖̯̜͡y̷͇̰͔̩͈b̡̛̳̖̪̠̥̱̞̠͡a̯͈͙e҉̠̱̖l͖̗͙̜̭k͉̙̬͖͇͚̙̻̕ did the l̪͕͎̯̦͙r̕͞v͇̬̘̤͖̤̖͔͘̕͡f̭͢a̧̠̩̩̱͚̰̕͟e҉̮͎͎̦u͏҉̠͔̞̖̟v͙͖̯̜͡y̷͇̰ and l̪͕͎̯̦͙r̕͞v͇̬̘̤͖̤̖͔͘̕͡f̭͢a̧̠̩̩̱͚̰̕͟e҉̮͎͎̦u͏҉̠͔̞̖̟v͙͖̯̜͡y̷͇̰ you.

The child shut their eyes; fighting of the tears that threatened to fall and attempted to drown out the voices. They're not real, they told themselves.

The indescribable fought back, inadvertently telling them that these thoughts, no matter how terrifying, were in fact the realest thing they have at the moment.

The child cried. Every single dark thought flooded open to swallow every their very being. Every breath, every act they can think off was being swallowed by the darkness. It was suffocating. A dark cloud phased over them, circling around their chest and hovering very closely to their heart. It offered them a bit of comfort, like a cold embrace assuring them of safety and whispered for them surrender.

To surrender to darkness.

Their breath grew shallow; pained and labored as they kept the last fires of their will alight.

Something flickered to their left, and the child's eyes grew in panic as a very familiar ball of purple light summoned a dozen or so two legged creatures with clawed hands, jagged antennas, and soulless yellow orbed eyes.

The child pressed themselves near the railings, a loud siren in their head telling them to fight.

Their eyes mysteriously fell to their right hand, a fractured memory telling them to raise it and summon a weapon. Though suspicious, they followed the call and raised their arm. The dark swirling around their heart traveled towards their hand as they reached for the light that felt warmer than the cold claiming to protect them.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" the child's raw agonizing scream echoed in the realm as a burning, almost unbearable searing fever exploded all over their body. Their body felt like it was on fire. Fighting off the warmth that tried to find itself back in their already cold heart. They felt their own heartbeat drum in the back of their ears, joining in the bells that did not cease and clouded their senses to the point of losing themselves in the sounds.

Everything hurt. Everything was too loud. They wanted to die.

The dark creature's attention was immediately on them. They were too paralyzed to move, and could only cry out in torment as creatures ceaselessly tore through their clothes, flesh, and insides.

"He…l…p…" they breathed out desperately.

Just before they succumbed to the reassuring whispers of the cold darkness that was slowly enveloping them, a creature with gray fur and white socked legs, hobbled over to them. The child blinked. cv͇̬̘̤͖̤̖͔͘̕͡f̭͢a̧̠̩̩̱͚̰̕͟e҉̮͎͎̦u͏҉̠͔̞̖̟v͙͖̯̜͡y̷͇̰, they called.

"Don't move now, it's okay..."

Tears swelled up around the child's eyes. Trembling as they reached out, until the darkness swallowed them whole together into nothingness.

Time was nonexistent in this world.

The child scurried past the dark, malevolent creatures as that aggressively ripped open a bag of noisemakers on the street. They immediately sought shelter in one of the inns nearby and waited for the Heartless to get tired.

They don't remember how long it has been since they woke up in this world; or how long it has been since they last died in the hands of those Heartless. But every time they did, they wake up on the same place over and over again, as though waking up from a nightmare. The child knew it isn't however. Everything felt too real. The claws digging into their skin, the teeth ripping through their flesh. It's not something their mind can come up with.

It happened over and over again. They didn't know how to fight it at first, but they forced themselves to learn. Every death. They took as a learning opportunity.

The child glanced at their hands that have turned a bright shade of red at the tips, then progressed up their shoulder like charred charcoal. They closed them in a tight fist as that burning feeling to call forth something warm echoed in their mind. They realized very early on that they can summon some kind of weapon to fight off the Heartless. What the weapon was called, they couldn't remember. No matter how hard they tried. But calling it forth also resulted in torture that equaled the pain of dying at the hands of the Heartless, so they avoided it the best they could.

Still, it didn't mean the feeling of wanting to reach out and let that warmth fill the numb coldness that remained in their heart wasn't tempting.

Subconsciously knowing that the Heartless can be destroyed by a weapon gave them ideas to protect themselves. They used wooden boards and other metal objects to fight them off, and they would retreat for a while, but never too long. Fighting them was useless, they learned that much. The only other solution they can think of… is to understand the enemy.

A dark, invisible, cloak wrapped around them to assure them of their decision. The child sighed. They didn't know when they started turning to that cold darkness for comfort, but it was a lot better than being left alone with their own thoughts. Every death they had, only made them curse their fate even more. They haven't the faintest of how they got trapped in this hell in the first place, and the lack of answers and never-ending cycle of pain made them angry, resentful, and bitter.

Everything felt too unfair. Surely, what they did before this life shouldn't merit such a punishment?

They never did get an answer, but the darkness… The darkness that their mind told them to avoid, never trust, provided them with solace and protection they can never hope for.

It didn't help them find a reason to keep on living. They loathed this place. They loathed everything. They desperately hoped everything just stayed still and dead. They hated being alive and saw death as the best escape, but after a thousand of those, it felt useless. It became difficult to care about anything. They stayed alive, but it was more an obligation than a want.

The darkness would revive them, no matter how they ended to choose their life. Heartless or by taking it on their own, the darkness would always bring them back.

They don't recall when they started calling the creatures as Heartless, but it just rolled out of their tongue one time and it felt right. The child was convinced that, the Heartless – creatures born from the darkness of people's heart… sought after them because of the light that lingered in their heart.

The child shifted in their seat, careful not to worsen the state of disrepair their clothes were already in. They were tattered at the edges, and have started to turn black at the seems. The child had no idea what was causing the impossible discoloration, but they supposed dying, and being resurrected repeatedly had consequences.

The darkness kept them alive for some reason, but the child can't figure out why. They supposed it was to keep that small warm light in their heart from burning out, but they can't call it forward. What was the point of keeping them prisoner if the darkness itself won't allow them to connect to it?

Playing with a broken doll.

The child frowned. The thought came out of nowhere but found themselves slightly agreeing. A doll. What an appropriate term to call themselves. They didn't feel human anymore. Not after everything. They hardly feel anything anymore. They supposed they did feel something, but it felt fake to them. They wanted to feel real emotions. Not emotions that are awful and feed the darkness. Looking at it that way, the child supposed they were nothing but a doll after all.

The darkness whispered in their mind again, telling them that they were no such thing.

The child scoffed as though just being told a joke.

While they grew to hate the darkness, they also relied on it far too much. Their guilty pleasure. An unforgivable sin.

Everything around them was just too scary, too unfamiliar, but the darkness wasn't. It felt like an old senile friend. So the moment they actually felt darkness connect with their thoughts, the child didn't even hesitate. Conspiring with the sentient matter of darkness is a lot better than becoming one of the mindless creatures that inhabited it.

It was a malicious entity, the child knew that much, but it was also suffering. The darkness… It longed for something that the child unconsciously knew they wanted as well. No words can describe the feeling that blossomed in their chest when they welcomed the darkness, but it was like regaining a piece of them they didn't know they lost.

The child understood that accepting the darkness was not right, but the power it promised to give them was a much better option than having to endure a cycle of torture. It promised to keep them safe, and it did. They haven't had a direct encounter with the Heartless in a long time, which meant, they also haven't died in a long time. They would still see them scattering about, but with the Darkness' guidance, the child was able to feel where they were, and with enough practice, was able to send them away through thought alone.

It was like the Heartless listened to them.

It was a great feeling knowing that despite losing everything – their identity, their past, their home - the darkness gave them something to define themselves with. It felt wrong but they didn't care. They didn't care about anything nowadays.

After acknowledging the power scouring their fingertips, the child felt a little excited and began experimenting. Very cautiously, they attempted to influence the darkness. At first it was just the Heartless, then it became much more. Darkness poured out of their heart and hands like it was their own. The power they had was exhilarating. An emotion they haven't felt in a long time. But the darkness did not like being controlled by a mere child.

In response to being used, the darkness would often feed its thoughts and feelings unto the child. These came without warning, so much so that it was becoming hard to delineate what was their own or what was influenced by the darkness; or vice versa. But much like their growing apathy over their own life, the child cared less of where their thoughts ended and where the darkness began.

As long as it was keeping them alive, that was all that matters.

Time passed by around them in a blur.

At this point, the child has forgotten just about everything that used to keep them grounded in reality. They stopped caring about who they once were, they stopped looking for answers. Instead, they followed the course the darkness was leading them, walking around the town, stacking boxes on top of each other and scavenging for items in various houses.

They had no idea how long it has been since they got trapped here, nor how long has it been since they last died, so much so that the discoloration of their arms and clothes had ceased. They were back to their normal color now, but in their place, was the feeling something heavy inside their pockets.

Weirdly enough, while they can feel their weight and the coldness that encased them, the child can never touch them. An invisible force that was weighing them down. Nevertheless, the child learned best not to think about those as of late. It's better not to think about anything at all.

The child walked around the cliff overlooking the town, searching around for a very specific white colored flower they grew to like. All flora in this world were withered and dead, except for this one. They can't recall its name, but it was beautiful. It reminded them so much of l̪͕͎̯̦͙r̕͞v͇̬̘̤͖̤̖͔͘̕͡f̭͢a̧̠̩̩̱͚̰̕͟e҉̮͎͎̦u͏҉̠͔̞̖̟v͙͖̯̜͡y̷͇̰͔̩͈b̡̛̳̖̪̠̥̱̞̠͡a̯͈͙e҉̠̱̖l͖̗͙̜̭k͉̙̬͖͇͚̙̻̕

The child doesn't remember if they ever liked flowers back in their old life, but they definitely do now. It was so full of life and vigor, and filled them with feelings hope and wonder. They didn't feel such emotions themselves, but the thought of feeling those kept them calm. They've been trapped in this darkness for so long, that they've actually forgotten what it feels like to feel, or even hear their own voice.

The child bent over to scoop up the white flower they have been looking for and carefully lifted it unto a small pot. From the corner of their eye, a lone figure leapt in the air and landed in the middle of the town, intrigued at the new world that the darkness had conjured up for them.

"Wait!" cried a girl with blue hair as the child retreated back up the stairs with no clear destination in mind.

There shouldn't be another human here. T̢͕̩̖̳̔̐͛̿ͅh̴̩̩̣̘͍ͬ̅ͮͬ͛͘͝e̠͙͓̬̮͚̱͛̇͑̿ͫ͗̚͟ ̧̱̣̪͔͖̣̣̜̏̐́̓̓̕ͅẁ̦̩̯͐̍͊̎̈à̶̟̺̻͉̘̣̦̺̀̐ṟ̷̡̯́ͦ̅̀̔̔͊̚͟ͅ ̞̗̗̼͙̙͇ͪ̒̈̀̓ͦ̊̕s͕̃͋ͦ̉ͥ̏h̸̗͍̩͖̖̱ͮͮ̓͋̅ͩ̒o̢͓̜̲̱̥̮̗͓͌̓̿̍͆̇ų̦̄͆l͕̩̞͓̿̊ͯ̍ͪ͠dͫͬ͏̳̠̯̫̦̺͡nͦͤ̓̋͗ͬ̈̐͏̵̗͙͖̱̠ͅ'̩̭͈̪̩̭̙̼̲͊͑̿̂ͣ͊̕͢t̳̗ͬ͗ ̵̰ͧ̃ͤ̔̈́̍̚̚͞h̩̝̆̿̉̚a̻̤͍̜̰̲̝̱͂̋̂ͨ̂́̍ͫv̧̜̻̤͓͍͔̇͊͝e̞̳͓͙̱͖ͬͤ͑̑̅̓͘ ̸̲͇͓͙̠̌̓̇ͯͯ͢k̢͎̱̝͙̑̎̀͆ͮ͜͠e̸̢ͨ̾͗p̠̠͍̗̼̝̙̈̒͌ͥ̓̽̿͐ͅt͎͋̈ͪͨ̀̈͝ ͗̎̽̔͏̗̲̹͟͠a̻̲̘͚̓ͥ̓͋͋ͯ͂͐ņ̓ͯ͑͑̽ͦ҉̫͎̗͉y̥̟͔͉͈ͭ̃̆ͬ͂̂́ͪ͂͜͝o̡̧͙̜͖̹̖̭̦̯͎ͭ̾̌͑̀ͪ͌n̴͇̳͈̂̔̈̓ͫ̉ͧe̔̂̎̂͘҉̞ ̸̺͉̞͕̬̳ͭ̆ͤ͡a̡̼̍̏̓ͫͫͧ̐͟͠ͅl̶͇̰̮̦̺̑ͬi̵̪̺̟̦̎͌ͭv̨̩̰̪̜̱ͨ͆̍̔ë̠̟̻̟͍̭̉ͩ͛̕͘,̲̦̩̗͕ͥ̈́̐̉̎ͧ͡ ̫͈̙̻ͩͥ̾

The darkness felt the turmoil filling up their thoughts, and brushed against them; reassuring. The child didn't hesitate to call upon it, and using their raw, ceaseless, panicked thoughts the darkness summoned Heartless with every step they took. The blue haired girl back pedaled and summoned a weapon to her side.

The child heard that familiar chime of bells again, almost forgetting that they existed. They looked back, despite the darkness telling them not to and gasped. Still hidden from their chaser's sight, the child focused their gaze on the key-shaped weapon the girl was holding.

She raised the weapon into the air, and a burst of magic shot out from it and decimated half of the Heartless blocking her path.

An uncomfortable feeling creeped at the back their spine. A lingering feeling of a long forgotten memory, and a pull from the light they've long forgotten existed within them, screamed at them to reach out. They have seen one of those weapons before…

Unconsciously, the child looked at their hands again and wondered. Haven't they tried summoning a weapon before too? Frowning at that dangerous urge, they pushed the thought down and did as the darkness told them too. They started to walk away from the stranger, but something kept them from getting too far. The forgotten warmth in their heart was practically begging for them to notice it.

For the first time in a long while, the child felt a wet stream of tears fall from their face.

They were so lost... They wanted to go home...

Throwing away the fear the darkness kept on drilling in their mind, the child reached out, finally connecting with the light they've ignored, and felt it fill the darkness in their heart. Something tickled the edge of their fingertips. It was warm, and bright. Unlike the darkness. Their finger twitched, a glittering spark, then all too familiar pain washed over them.

They fell forward, heaving as every muscle in their body cramped and left a burning, creeping sensation up towards their throat. They let out a strained call for help, but no rescue came. The warmth was replaced by the cold they've gotten so used to embracing now, and whimpered – crying over another futile attempt to regain themselves.

T͈̞̭͓̰̞̯͎͚̿̈́̋͌ͤ͜h̵͕̪͗͆̄́̓͋ḙ̡̳̺̮̙͈͇͐ͭ̿͂̇ͭ͝ẙ̨̡̡̭̱̪̤͎̣͙̊̒̇ͭ̾͋̊̈́ ̛̱̭̬̣̻̠͈ͣͪ͞l̸̾ͪ̓͊ͧ́҉̱̮̤͓̹̪̭ǒ̓̉ͨ͐̌҉̲̻̯̪̹̦̼ṡ̩̹̱̳͇̩̣͉͆͐̄͑̉ͫ͛͑t͚̭̝̯͈̺̪̪̑̄̍ͧ͆͢ ͕̹̦̯͇̘̽̓͆ͭͣͮ͗͗̓t̨̲̤͓͖͐ͮ̀͊̌ḩ̩̜͚̺̬̯̤̓ͪ̀͌̏͒̄͘e̗̜ͯͭ̓̽͂́ͩ͟͢͡ ̥ͪ̋͑̋͊ͯ͆r̯͓̠̣̼̫͌i̛͙̭͖͓̮̤ͣͪ̓͐́ͅg̩͉͍̱͇̩̙ͮ̐͋͌ͤͣh͔̟͓̟̜̫͖ͤͭͤ̌̂̓̃ͅͅt̵̴͖̘̙̘̼̫͍̄ͦ ̷̜̖̆̂̎̿t̼̺̐͌̍͑̾̈͢o̤͍̪̭̺̓ͭ̈́̐̈̿̓͗͗͟ ̛̣̞͔͈̗͇͚̭ͤ̃̂̕ș̷̡̪̥͇̞̼̖̻̖ͮ̀͠u̩̞̠̘̗̼̗ͣ̂͑m̙̠͕̟̝̜̜̥̮̓̾̓̅̏̎m̝͚̻̥̓͗ǫ̜͈͚̻̘̯̒̉͋͝n̴͉̹͐͌ͪ́̄ͩ́̚ ̣̫̈̓̍ͦ̈́̂̔̔͢aͮͧ̒ͧ̐̚͏̬͇͕̼̟̲̞̻͟ ͙̲̰̘̦͚̏́̀͛͒ͅḳ̡͎̐̄̊ͨͯȇ̫̫̹ͭ̑̔ͣ̀ͣ̏̑y̵̖͙̩͖̯̮̏̂͌̈̾b̸̵̨̝̰͕̟̳̿ͤ̈̾̋̅͗̽ļ͚͎̱̰̥̱̻͚̿ͯ̾̓̎̈́̃̓ā̓͝͝҉̘͚͕͕͚ͅd̴̗̯̣͈͖̜̺̠͚̔ͯḙ̢͂ͩ̑ͅ ̷̦̼̜̰͍̓̈́ͫ͝m̧̫̯̿̇ͮ̑ͨ̋ͥ͒͜ḯͯ͑͏̞̥͍̦̰͝l̵̨̗͛̎ͧ̃ͅl̸̫̠̫͎͖̻̱̈̉̿͂̊ĕ̶̱̪̤̹ͤ̚n̰̘͋̋̽ͤͮ̔̃͒̓n̔̔ͨ̏̐̿́͛̑͏̹̞͚̺i̩̦͔̰ͤ͗ͪ̑ư̹̥̞͉͂́ͥͪͩ̎ͦͮm͚̭̖̱͉̠͎̪̈̋̂̍ͅs̶͖͈̱̥͙̣̝̀ͫ́̒͌̽ ̯̳͓͌ͬ̍ͪ͐ăͪ҉͚̮͟g͎͔̻͓ͭ̐̓ͮ̈́͛̚o̡̩͇̽̒̊̊̐ͣͯ̆͟͞

The child doesn't recall falling asleep amidst the fever that erupted from attempting to summon a weapon to their hand. They dismissed the thought and looked around the town for any sign of the blue haired girl, or Heartless. They thought about searching for the girl and asking them about their weapon, but the darkness' will overrode their thoughts and insisted that they keep out of her way.

The light only hurts us. They use us for their own gain.

The child frowned in agreement. They didn't know why, but they agreed wholeheartedly.

Despite going out of their way to avoid the only other living being trapped in this darkness, the child happened to meet her again in the Fountain Square without warning. The darkness yelled and the child attempted to run, instinctively calling unto the darkness, but the girl laid out her best foot forward and begged.

They listened – for some reason – despite the darkness banging on their mind to destroy her. The child didn't know why either, but upon recalling the weapon she had on her hand; something about her made them feel lighter.

Her name was Aqua.

She claimed to be a warrior of light and that it was her duty to protect people like them, children, from the Heartless. She seemed surprised when they cut her off with the name they've been using for the creatures since the beginning, but paid no mind to it and politely refused her help.

The darkness seemed pleased with this decision.

They didn't need her protection. They've gone through death and back again, surviving and outsmarting the Heartless on their own time and time again. They've put so much patience and effort in learning the darkness that the child was fairly sure they'd rather trust their life on it, rather than a girl with a ḳ̡͎̐̄̊ͨͯȇ̫̫̹ͭ̑̔ͣ̀ͣ̏̑y̵̖͙̩͖̯̮̏̂͌̈̾b̸̵̨̝̰͕̟̳̿ͤ̈̾̋̅͗̽ļ͚͎̱̰̥̱̻͚̿ͯ̾̓̎̈́̃̓ā̓͝͝҉̘͚͕͕͚ͅd̴̗̯̣͈͖̜̺̠͚̔ͯḙ̢͂ͩ̑ͅ.

Despite making their intentions clear, Aqua persisted on following them around. The child thought of letting her get tired of following their mundane routine, but soon grew tired and irritated with being shadowed. To think years of isolation would make them more aversive to company rather than yearn for it.

They've lost her a couple of times through quick parkour's over rooftops and window sills; but for some reason, she's able to find them twice as fast. The only time they've actually lost her was when Aqua went missing for about a day or two, and they happened to find each other in the fountain, again. It wasn't like they wanted to be in the Fountain Square, the child just felt strangely attached to the place and liked being there. It was the only place aside from the cliff where the flowers bloomed, wherein they feel most at peace in.

The last time they attempted to lose her, Aqua was quick to follow after them with some gymnastics of her own. She even tried to humor them and started asking. They didn't answer her, but the child mulled over the question that didn't ever cross their mind. It just felt like something they have been able to do since the beginning.

Where did they learn to jump over walls like that?

Soon after that, Aqua always tried to spark conversation. They don't want to respond to her, but their mouth decided to move on their own. Surprising the child themselves, as information they didn't even know came out of their mouth in strings of words that made sense. Like the clocktower's on and off existence in the realm, or the fact that the town looked more mesmerizing during a sunrise. The worst realization that came was that they don't remember their own name.

"Oh come on," she skeptically said. "Everyone has a name. Surely you have one of your own."

They insisted, over and over again that they don't remember it. They never thought about their name since they first woke up here. It didn't seem important at that time, it still didn't at the moment. They were content with not knowing anything, or at least, that was what the darkness told them.

A strange feeling at the pit of their stomach, wanted to at least know what they were called before. When Aqua kept insisting, they grew irritated at her, then frustrated at themselves because they can't remember anything. Then before all of the pent up can burst out, and call out to the darkness, the child just... felt lonely. They haven't felt that in a long time.

"I don't know because… I can't remember it."

For the first time since they've met her, Aqua looked at them with eyes of pity. The child didn't know whether to be offended or thankful, but hearing them come from another person, made them feel a little happy. "Having no memory of who I was isn't so bad. I don't get to feel sad about whatever happened here – or anything at all…"

"But don't you live here?" Aqua pressed. "Don't you remember your friends? Family? Don't you... miss them?"

They stepped back in alarm at the string of questions and avoided her eyes. Suddenly the dark abyss felt more alluring than the questions that now bothered them. Did they have friends…before all of this? What was their life like, in this town? Did they have a family? Were they….?

The air around them grew heavy as feelings of unfounded survivor's guilt plagued the child's mind. They shouldn't have survived… Everyone only wanted to move on. The leaders only wanted what was best for everyone, for them. The child saw it as betrayal, when in reality, it was them that betrayed their trust.

The child frowned, as the darkness mimicked their feelings of anger.

They didn't have the right to choose that for everyone, a voice similar to their own argued. They erased it all and made everyone forget. They made us forget. They hurt you. Chose him over you. They were never your friends to begin with, why should you feel guilty about what happened?

"We'll go together"

Their breath hitched as the words echoed in their mind. An image of that boy with silver hair reaching out to them flashed in their mind and the tears began to flow freely. The memory played like it just happened yesterday. The boy wiped out the tears on their face, and they leaned to their touch. They missed him.

Suddenly, the feeling of longing morphed into a dark pit in their stomach which caused the to seethe in anger.

The boy's image disappeared and they stared wide eyed at Aqua, who was looking at them with those same pitiful eyes. Growling lightly, the child slapped Aqua's hands away and shouted, with more raw emotion than they know they are capable of.

The darkness stirred, content. It wanted this.

Aqua backed away, explaining her side, but the child denied and refused to believe any of it.

They didn't know where the anger was coming from, but they were screaming. Aqua looked dumbfounded. The child denied crying over something superficial, but upon feeling the wetness of their cheek, the anger was replaced with fear - What is happening to me?

They started shaking, confused, scared, and terrified all at the same time. They tried to recall why they were feeling these emotions. They shouldn't be feeling any emotions. The memories which caused them to feel began to fade. They reached out, grasping at straws, not wanting to forget anything, not wanting to forget the emotions – "Ngh!"

Unbearable, indescribable agonizing pain shot through their head. The more they tried to keep hold of it, the more the pain doubled. They rolled over, screaming. They pushed Aqua away, and the darkness cloaked around them, protecting, calming them. Suppressing the memories that were threatening to tear them apart, but also feeding on the feelings of anger, the need for revenge, to claim what was stolen from them to get everything they lost back.

It wasn't my fault. It was theirs. They tricked me.

I let them trick me.

I killed everyone.

It's my fault.

"I'm sorry…."

Aqua's pleading voice brought them back to their senses, and the child looked around horrified at the amount of Heartless they have summoned unconsciously and started mumbling about what they did. Aqua reassured them, and instead asked to help them get to safety.

The child didn't need to be told twice. It was their fault they are in this situation.

Aqua summoned her weapon, and the child's attention lingered on the blade. They slowly reached out to touch it, that strange call of familiarity urging them to claim it, before they caught themselves. The darkness warned them of another world of hurt. They shook their head and ran at Aqua's command.

They ran without a single destination in mind, and grabbed a pot by the fountain. They left it in front of a house they took shelter in, that oddly felt like relaxing upon entering its walls. They saw a table at the end, and a faint visual of a green diary but a haze in their mind forced them to ignore it. They crawled under the staircase and whimpered at the throbbing pain that shot up from their arm.

They almost died again.

The Heartless got them. The child shuddered at the thought of reliving death over again and silently wept at everything that they've been ignoring for so long.

"Who am I?"

They were standing in the middle of a room filled with huge gears. The air was heavy around them, and the child felt as though the three people standing opposite them were shocked. Disbelief and hurt written all over their face.

A boy with silver hair stood in front of two other, his brows furrowed deep in anger. He couldn't believe what was in front of them and was saying something inaudible. Their mouth was moving, but no voice came out.

The child can't make it out. What was he saying?

The child stepped forward, pointing an accusing finger towards a boy with blonde hair. He was wearing a mismatched set of black and white clothes, and shook his head in denial. Whatever they were accusing him off was dismissed as a lie, but the child didn't believe them.

The child summoned a weapon in their hand and it felt just right, neither too heavy nor light. Like a missing piece of their heart that was finally restored to its rightful place. They did not want to let it go. Its purple handle fit nicely in their petite gloved hand, and the way gold and black metal spiraled around the blade made them feel alive. The golden star at the tip glowed in accordance to their will, and they tapped the hilt at the ground menacingly.

A girl with long black hair gasped and called out to them. Again, no voice. But the child felt their mouth open to respond. They couldn't hear what it was they said exactly. All of them looked shocked at their answer, and the child raised their weapon to threaten the silver haired boy.

The boy took a small step forward to bargain, begging, and pleading for them to understand their choices, their decision, but the child didn't listen.

They betrayed them, they betrayed everyone. They betrayed me.

Their blades clashed, and the silver haired boy parried. Dark energy began to envelope the child's weapon and the silver haired boy's eyes widened in horror. He pushed them back and cried out. The child stepped back, keeping an offensive stance as a boy with pink colored hair laughed. He stepped forward, placing a comforting hand on them. They said something again, something indecipherable, and then everyone's blade was raised against each other.

Amidst their battle with the silver haired boy, a sudden immobilizing pain shot through their chest. Their weapon vanished, and the child fell to their knees. T heir eyes grew wide as they looked down in terror to see a bloodied star blade pierce through their chest. The blade was abruptly pulled from their chest, and the child fell flat on their back. The silver haired boy dismissed his weapon and immediately knelt to their side to cushion their fall.

Tears lined his eyes. He was saying something, calling out desperately for a name that sounded familiar. What was he saying?

The black haired girl hiccuped and covered her mouth with her hands, blade also falling to her side. She shook in horror and cried out loud as she witnessed her friend die in front of their very eyes. The blonde haired boy glowered, anger immediately directed at the responsible party and ran forward. His blade clashing with a black, thorn shaped blade.

"Ephemer… I –"

"Plņ̷̘̞̥̭̘̭͊ͬ̉͌͌̑ͦv̨̠̳̾̒̓͐͑ͨ̚l̆̿̋̂ͬ̀̀̋҉͍̲̜̖͙͙a̶̢͈̰̮͓̻̝̝ͥ̅ͦͮ̌ͥ͌i͎͎̦͖ͩ͜n̴̥̳͔̞̙̹̺̳͔̄̎̆͛̓", don't go..."

As their consciousness slowly waned and dark circles started to border the edge of their vision. Ephemer flew to the other end of the room as he blocked a powerful magic attack from a boy wearing a fedora. His eyes were hidden by his hair and hat, but the child glared up at him even in their death.

"You knew this was necessary P ņ̷̘̞̥̭̘̭͊ͬ̉͌͌̑ͦv̨̠̳̾̒̓͐͑ͨ̚l̆̿̋̂ͬ̀̀̋҉͍̲̜̖͙͙a̶̢͈̰̮͓̻̝̝ͥ̅ͦͮ̌ͥ͌i͎͎̦͖ͩ͜n̴̥̳͔̞̙̹̺̳͔̄̎̆͛̓"," the boy explained as though it was the plan all along. "I promised you'd see your friends again didn't I?"

The dying child opened their mouth to ask why, but only blood came out in their violent coughing fit.

The girl ran for the fedora wearing boy and forced him back. She attempted to check on the dying child, but fedora boy pushed back against her. She cursed out loud, and the child apologized ceaselessly in their mind.

Tears mixed with blood as they watched their friends, repeat the mistakes of the Foretellers. It was all their fault.

Ephemer dropped right next the them, struggling to fight back, and the last thought that plagued the child's heart kept them from being lost forever.

They're going to pay for what they did.

A warm green light encased their body, and filled them with new energy they didn't know they've exhausted. The dream lingered at the back of their head, familiar because of its recurring nature, but more memorable now than ever before.

Ephemer said their name. But everything hurt too much for them to recall it. The name faded from memory, but the dream oddly remained.

"Kid?"

The child moaned lowly in response to the voice that called. They sat up, careful not to exhaust themselves too much and opened their eyes to see Aqua's own glisten in worry. She looked battle worn. Blue strands of hair sticking out in more places than one, her clothes torn in some places, and her naturally pale skin, looking more bruised than usual. Despite looking ragged and tired, her eyes continued to shine in concern for them.

The child studied her, feeling oddly guilty, and decided to ask. They were scared to know what the darkness made them do this time, but they needed to know. They opened their mouth to apologize, but Aqua beat them to it and hugged them tightly as though not wanting to let them go.

The child blinked. "Aqua?"

"Don't scare me like that ever again."

"I –" the child started. "I'm sorry?"

They don't remember what happened. The dream, no, the memory felt too recent. Like this was the dream, and that was reality. A reality where they… died. Their hands unconsciously balled into a fist behind Aqua and they buried their face deeper unto her shoulder blades. It was a scary memory, too traumatizing to even keep in mind. No wonder they would try to forget it the moment they woke up in a daze.

The child can't fathom how Aqua can stomach watching them suffer this every night. They wondered if they should tell her…

"You shouldn't be," Aqua said, not moving an inch to let the child savor in the comfort she's giving them. "I should've understood your situation more. The darkness is keeping your memories captive, and if we found the right way to unlock that, I should've expected the darkness to fight back. It just didn't occur to me that I'd be fighting you."

"I – Aqua – I don't understand why you're apologizing."

Aqua pulled back from the hug and looked at them, confounded. Her eyes searching for any sign of lies in the child's own and sighed. "You don't remember?"

"I don't…" the child said truthfully. Aqua guided their attention around the field and the child noted how there were scorched patches on the floor and some flora losing color due to exposure to darkness.

"Did I – Did I do that?"

Aqua closed her eyes, and nodded. "Unfortunately. After I suggested we make your nightmares worse, you shut me out. You became a completely different person. You used… the darkness like I've never seen you before. You were using these round things to create and use magic with the darkness."

The child blinked, somehow knowing what Aqua was referring too. They prodded the weight on their pockets and searched. To their surprise, the child was able to feel the ghost weight they've been feeling for so long now. They pulled out a blank faced intricately designed dark-purple medal that looped around a silver colored heart at its top left.

"What is that?" Aqua frowned curiously.

The child traced the edges and a memory flashed on what it was and how it's used. "A reverse medal. We use it to cast magic…"

Aqua gasped, surprised about the quick ability to remember what they were and placed her hands on either sides of the child. "You – you remember?"

The child frowned, attempting to recall more, but was unable to. It was odd how no pain came along with it. "Barely, but these medals… it allowed us to use the darkness without tainting our hearts. We found out later that it wasn't doing any of that at all. It was opening our hearts to the dark, and all of us were unaware of it."

The child tightened their hold on the medal until it disappeared in a fluff of black smoke. "I used it far too much because it was strong. Stronger than the regular medals. I opened my heart to the darkness and allowed it to consume me and my thoughts."

They looked up at Aqua and saw the questions forming in her mind. They can't tell them about the dreams yet. Not until they figure out what really happened to them; and their friends before that specific moment. The least they can do is offer her an explanation as to why they were trapped in the Realm of Darkness in the first place.

"I think I died, Aqua."

A/N: I have a week off of Internship and now have the time to finish this. Wow, it's been so long since I last updated (May? Seriously? Wow?). Thank you for your patience and waiting for the last chapter to come out! I wanted to put this out during major Kingdom Heart announcements and I so totally missed the opportunity to post it when Aqua-nort was revealed.

Which is probably a good thing because I managed to include some elements of Keybladers being corrupted in the realm of darkness. I am convinced Aqua isn't a vessel but slowly turning into a Darkling, but the white hair is most likely a sign that a wielder has gained control over the darkness instead of being taken over by it. Also sorry for all the Blaine and Lauriam fans here that I made them the bad guys, but its a head canon I've had since the beginning.

I don't know when the prequel-sequel will be posted, but it will focus on the aftermath of the Keyblade war and how Player ended up here. The ending is pretty much spoiled but yeah haha. I can't think of a good title, so maybe you guys can help. I'm choosing between Daybreak Wonders or Dreaming of Tomorrow.

So, till then! See you everyone~ KINGDOM HEARTS THREE IN LESS THEN 3 MONTHS, CAN YOU ALL BELIEVE IT?