Goodbye Somber Shadow

Prologue - Overture of Descent

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any intellectual properties owned by Disney or Square Enix. In this case, the keyblade and the italicized lines.

[Showered in symbolism, drowning in alliteration]

"Wait!"

A place of dull sand and nothing more: a graveyard. Those wandering through it ignore all they tread upon, all they have past, and think only their destination.

"Please don't go!" rang a clinging voice from behind.

Once upon a time, in a world far from today, lay a cascading ocean blessed with sun-kissed shores. The shallow pools gave way, drifting towards the dreamy bay, washing lightly atop the warm sugary sands; we held each other closely, until the world lifted us away… Sinking softly, slowly, into a soothing hush, we settled faintly upon that familiar bed... fond of our old, old illustrations and unsigned vignettes--they left us flushed with both crimson and amber. Up and up, we caught raindrops that sailed the crescent stairway high, splashed upon the silken sky... a canvas, a blanket that covered our world... holding us, consoling us, always there to rest our cares in deep, deep immerse… and the only sound we shared was the gentle flux, brushed between honeyed dust, a melted melody, a dance unrushed, that swam with sweet air, for only us. It was flawless... an impossible existence… wrapped in ruin and saved by sleep: our home... my dearly beloved.

Once upon a time the world was young and magic flowed lively with the vibrant seas, a cleansing reprise. Dreams drifted with the soaring clouds of open sky, drawn to the dawn of a world revived, streaks of gold upon the folds of tides trapped in their spellbound sequence... But once upon a time was not for ever after. The tender moonlit bay had faded, the light dimmed and the world aged to a desolate, parched purgatory. Defeated, drained, a dry, empty desert cries sapped tears to a past reflection above, a shimmering mirror beyond reach... an indigo fantasy ever-fleeting to the hollowed land beneath. The forgotten shore was left behind merely to crack and crumble in time, as the grains of dull lay rest.

Those advancing in defined, straight course lead themselves away from the worthlessness left trailing.

"Don't leave!" the voice begged louder than before, desperate for attention.

Someone from behind, someone from the shadow chased after another. Hasty footsteps digging up tarnished grains, up from the forgotten dirt-dimmed sands--a glimmer of an undying resolve to catch up... a short, slim figure in jaded, foggy white racing after the shadow of another. In right hand was a long, sword-like weapon: the keyblade. The keyblade bore a blackened cylinder handle with a golden, box-shaped guard: the once proud protector, the now displaced defender. The cylinder shaft extended outward, a shimmer of cold and gray--its metallic exterior reaching for the spire, rising far above, and exceeding the tallest summit. It climbed the full expanse of the azure sky, where upon its edge, like a flag who flew unshaken was the sight of an empowering emblem, one composed of the will and strength of all worlds--united... unified beyond the vast spectrum of the sapphire sky--all captured in the embodiment of an unmistakable crown... forged, honed, and sharpened from mere metal into a banner of blade. A chain attached lie opposite to the blade, teetering on its end against the wind. The blade and all connected to it had once shone with striking radiance, but began to dull as it fell nearer to the source of the shadow.

"There's meaning here! Things dear, things you once held close to you before... things you can't leave behind without taking notice!" the voice chased after those that cast it away.

The keyblade chose a young boy as its master. Around his neck stood a long chain of many linked memoirs, molded into one sole promise. A lone promise sworn to another, born into a single metallic heart, one whose heavy outlines melded two shades of blue: as light and dark as the ever shifting sky. And at its center, the heart was gifted the hues of deep, passionate red, holding its place at the base of the long chain. The heart wavered back and forth as the young boy distanced himself further from whence he came. He escaped into sea of limitless sky and desert of flat, beaten earth. And between said awing sight was the back of another slowly spilling into the endless horizon.

"Please listen to me! Don't just ignore my words and walk over them!" the panting voice pursued those that turned away.

The air melted its thick, heavy, suppressive coat firmly encasing the defiant one. Bound so heftily with weight and chains so strained in confinement, he was anchored by the searing truth: it was undeniably real. Blurred waves of torrid restraint clashed with the heaves of his rough, hoarse breath. An instant would be lost, and an eternity collapsed atop the dwindling remnants of sands now faded. Fated to scatter like ash: banished, buried. Here lies an unwritten epitaph slowly eroding to the seasons that did not exist: a scarring reminder for each step forward with foreboding fate for every glimpse back. But despite the suffering, despite the pain, the loss, the consequence, despite the irreturnable failure, he never discarded his belief. He refused to bow; he rejected surrender, and pushed past the invisible enemy. He answered back, erupting in a thunderous roar that broke the muted sky: a cry out to awaken a world disconnected. His beating breath with pounding steps was purely an echo left back in the dream once called home. The other ahead kept pace and did not look back, but step after breath, through sheer unbreakable will, the boy saw himself slowly uniting together, closer and closer. With hungering breath and searing chest, a heart chased after.

It was as though anything seemed possible--that a boy could save worlds, and rescue all he deemed irreplaceable... always and forever. And the shadow would recede to reveal only two--brought back by a promise, a vow, a pledge, an oath. But it was all broken--shattered and divided. The shadow turned back only to answer with its own blade: dark, cold, and unforgiving. It came crashing down upon the boy. The boy raised the keyblade high and above to meet the other with all his heart--only to see it shatter into small fragments of light... like fallen stars no longer banded to the now sullen sky. The shadow's edge ripped through the boy's heart and tore him away from the world he longed to save… all that was left was the empty feeling… falling.

Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light.

Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts.

The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared.

But small fragments of light survived...

All came crashing.

Slipping, stumbling, stalling...

"The sky... the sky is falling..."

Swept away by blue sky, embraced by hardened earth.

--It's the world we live in now.

Words from the writer: To whom it may concern, I would like to say this now. I am not a good writer, but a determined one. I do not possess any sort of talent or creativity to write fluidly, but have invested a lot of time. At one point, I lost my will to continue. You may find that somewhere. It's an ironic contradiction as to what has been written. At the beginning I actually enjoyed what I wrote, but as time passed, I started to hate it like a song I've heard too many times. I am not sure if I will continue this series as I had initially planned. It's supposed to be a long journey that will take a lot of time to complete. I'm not going to lie to myself nor am I wishing for sympathy, but I will say that motivation from others will be the only reason to keep me going. Hopefully this wasn't all in vain.

There is more than what is seen upon the surface. Dig.

Words for the reader: Pull and Push. Flow and Crash. White and Black. Dull and Vibrant. Leaving the shore—into inescapable depths. Hopeful Sky and Harsh Earth. Sinking and Falling. Drowning and Buried. Death of a Dreamer. "A Dream within a Dream".