Pain. It was an oddly pleasant feeling. The complete darkness enveloping him should have been terrifying, but the endless stabbing and aching that shot through his body with every breath, every thought, clouded out all else. Or almost all else.

The stone walls rising high above disappeared into the shadows, and still more Heartless were crawling down out of the catacombs above, smelling the rank scent of blood and terror that emanated from him. The end of the hall that he had come from was shrouded in shadows too. How long ago had had it been that he had made his way through the shadows, stepping into the Heartless ambush waiting for him at the end of the hallway? So close and yet so far away.

Nearly within arms reach of where he now sat was a door. Majestic and silver, it rose high above him, it too disappearing into the depths of the shadows that hid the vaulted ceiling. Once, it had glowed with light. Its glow synchronized with flickering lightonce living within his heart. He had been a fool, believing that the light would never die. He knew better now.

Here he sat, in the depths of Hollow Bastion, learning that perhaps he had been wrong all along. Amid the endless infestation in what was once such a great hall, leaning against the wall for support, he was caught helplessly in the swarms of Heartless. For an arm's length around him, there were no Heartless. The ugly yellow eyes of thousands of shadow creatures watched him, refusing to come any closer and step into the red circle around him.

His own eyes were trained on the pool of blood that held the Heartless at bay and it was growing by the second as more of the hot, red liquid seeped out of the gaping hole in his chest. Before him, resting in its own blood, was his heart.

He took another breath and the pain was blinding. Tears swelled in his eyes and he tried desperately to hold them back, but still they spilled out, tracing stinging, burning paths down the raw skin on his cheek. His vision still blurred, all he could see was the now-dull silver door.

Riku. That was why he was here. To finally release Riku from his dark prison. He had failed in his quest, now only feet from the door and helpless to make those last few steps.

A quick movement drew his attention. There was a soldier heartless stepping into the circle of blood, defying that which kept the others back. He could have sworn that the filthy creature sneered at him. Reaching down with one clawed finger, it touched his still throbbing heart.

Instantly it twisted into a gnarled blackness. He let out a cry of pain, which only succeeded in hurting him more. He could feel his soul twisting with it. Darkness and shadow began to cloud his mind, and though he tried to fight it, he knew it was too late. He was dying, and the Heartless would steal his soul from him in his last moments. The tears began to roll freely down his cheeks once again, but this time he could not feel pain.

Staggering to his feet, he lifted his Keyblade, which felt like a dead weight in his hand. In a last desperate attempt, he threw himself at the door. His body slammed against the wood, sending shots of pain through him. He could feel the bones in his shoulder snapping. He collapsed against the door, with now only instincts to guide him as he struggled to stay conscious.

The wood was warm against his skin. Drawing in one last gasping, rattling breath, he let the tears overflow once again. Lifting his hand, he pressed it against the door and let it slide down the smooth wood, tracing a thick ribbon of blood down the length of it.

Riku…

Sora…

I'm sorry…

Shed your pain.

Only for you would I surrender

Then surrender to the sweet bliss of this nothing

Only for you would I slip silently into darkness

Then join me in death

…this bliss of nothing

…this bliss together.

……………………………

That was a lot more horror angst than I had intended. Oh well. This is why my profile says that I don't post this stuff most often. R+R, this is my first attempt at this kind of stuff. Constructive criticism is most welcome.