Woo-hoo a new fanfic! I've been sitting on this one for a few months, and now I finally have my computer back, so I can finally post this up! I'm really loving how my new story is turning out, and I hope you guys like it too! This is my first original story (the only KH similarity will be a few characters but none of their elements) so I'd appreciate reviews and see what you think of it! Half of the characters will be original, including my main character, just to clear things up a bit before I get any confused comments. Please enjoy!

Prologue: The Heart's Umbra

I once had to give up everything I had for the people of the world.

Now I ask you: would you do the same thing?

Probably not.

"Why should I?" You might say. "They didn't do anything for me. The world never cared about me or my feelings, or my hardships. They don't deserve anything."

In a way, yes, that's true. The world doesn't care for an insignificant speck of dust that is you. The world revolves on its axis, orbits the sun, brings rain and shine. The world just keeps moving on untouched by time.

The people of the world, well – they couldn't care less for one individual like you either. The people are human. They are vile, cruel, and twisted, and deserve nothing more than the Armageddon to snap them into their senses. But by then it would be too late for them. They'd be incinerated, asphyxiated, torn to shreds before they can experience life the way it should've been. They don't deserve anything less.

That would be the initial response.

Before you jump to conclusions, think things through a little more. You will realize that it would be the end of a world that never had a chance to right itself, as wicked as it had been. It's your world too – you can't survive without it. You don't want to die ignorant. Likewise, most people don't deserve to die ignorant. It would mean the true end of the world. No hope in saving it – no hope in saving anything.

Somehow, this hopelessness, this sense that everything is lost – it's the drive behind trying to save yourself. But you're only bringing yourself closer to the end despite your efforts. All the geniuses out there with their new innovations meant to make life easier – that's a lie.

Mankind is hopeless. It's the bare truth. And they all know it; in the deepest recesses of their minds – they know that they're doomed. All the positive outlooks that they seem to have on life are only the shadows of the truth.

How does – how can – anyone save a world as cursed as this?

I stared up at the starry sky without seeing it. The blades of grass wet with dew tickled my fingers. There was a pressure inside me at what I had just done – and what I was about to do.

There wasn't any alternative, and my companions knew it, though they denied it with every fiber of their being. Typical for people I guess – they just don't want to admit that there wasn't always a way to fix things by their wont. We're human – it's a curse that you will never be free from, no matter how hard you might try to surpass its boundaries. You might delve into the most vile and disgusting ways to deny the fact that you're human, but it's no use. You will never escape from the eternally bounding rope of mortality.

"You're out of your mind," a first figure said, standing so he towered over me. "What you're planning might be the end of us all."

"Well, it's better than it being inevitable, isn't it?" I told him. "Besides, you already agreed to what I am about to undertake – and accepted the responsibilities and the risk that comes with it."

"How were we supposed to know that this was what you were planning on doing?" A second demanded heatedly, tracing a path on the dew-wetted grass. "It doesn't seem possible that you thought this through carefully enough –"

"I have!" I retorted. "I did think this through – and for much longer than you can imagine. You have no idea how hard it was for me to accept the answer – that my plan is the only way we can hope of ever succeeding – but we have no other choice. It's the only way that I – that any of us – will be able to survive until the time is right. The words of the prophecy only exacerbates the notion, so I'll be damned if you find another way out of this. If you don't appreciate how long and hard I've pondered my choice, then I'd love to hear any new fresh ideas."

Not a word came from any of them.

"That's what I thought." I drew in a deep breath and released it slowly in order to calm myself. "Let's get on with it. We don't have any more time before the Forsaken are on us."

A third figure sidled up, slightly taller than the rest of us. "You heard him, you two. Stand aside." Reluctantly the two figures moved back several paces.

A blaze of bright blue light, and so a gleaming silver katana pommeled with a jewel of deepest blue flashed into existence in the new figure's hands.

"You ready?" he asked quietly. I nodded, unwavering.

"Then let's do this." The tip of the blade began glowing with a soft blue light, like a miniature lantern.

"Don't you worry about a thing," he assured me. "We'll make sure no one catches on to your decision and that nothing happens to you."

I nodded. "I'm counting on that. I'm only doing this because I trust you guys with no reserve, anyway."

The figure said nothing.

"Oh, another favor before we go through with this..." I turned to the figure who had stood over me. "Please make sure that Umbraen knows of my plans...and that I'm really sorry."

He nodded. "I will."

A weight lifted off my shoulders. "Thanks." I turned to face the third figure again. "Go ahead."

"All right." He raised the sword so it was level with my chest, then he whispered, "Good luck."

Blue light illuminated the hillside as the deed was done and all was lost in the blackness.