Prologue
Two Years Ago…
"It's been a long time since we got back," said Riku. "Three years tomorrow in fact."
"Really?" sighed Kairi. "I'm too young to grow up."
"So…I hear that the high school offered you a job teaching kids not to build rafts to find other worlds," said Kairi.
"Yeah…I haven't accepted yet. I mean…I'm 19 and I'm still in college yet someone is offering me a job that would take years to train for," said Riku.
"Do you think you could compose a classical piece and do my whole art portfolio?" asked Kairi, smirking.
"Not really," said Riku. "Why is Sora doing a classical piece, I thought he hated classical music."
"Oh hell yeah!" squeed Kairi, giggling uncontrollably. "I've done a painting of you and Sora totally doing it in Radiant Garden."
They both sat on the dry ground, the wind of the storm puncturing the usual silence of the overly graffiti covered cave. There had been many new additions to the drawings from newer kids to the island; some were signed by kids called Tavix, Nex and Aiko.
Sometime in the past…
"Hmm…Tavix, Nex, Aiko…" said a man in black robes, shadows covering his facial features. "One of them shall make a great vessel for our cause."
He stared at the three images of the 12 year old children, each one with different emotions, pondering while reading their profiles.
"They are all destined, like we are, but the second one will be easier to manipulate," said a woman, also in black robes and her face covered with shadow. "Domestic abuse and bullying during most of his childhood will have softened him up; his mind will be easy to penetrate."
"Perhaps you are right…but what if you are wrong?" inquired the man.
"I am never wrong, as you well know, master," she said hastily. "The light shines very dimly within that boy; he may as well be a heartless."
The man chuckled and smirked. He placed a hand on the image of Nex and a dim light illuminated the picture. It melted into the hand of the man as the other images faded into the darkness.
"Task Balc to work on him would you?" asked the man, grabbing her arm and pulling her hooded head closer to his mouth. "And keep an eye on him. I have never trusted the darkness and some of his reports are very doctored, as are his actions."
"Yes, Master," she replied. "May I ask why you do not trust our comrade?"
"It comes with living in Radiant Garden for most of my life, I have never trusted the darkness outright," he explained.
"Even though we ourselves our darkness? Even myself?"
"I trust you, my dear, but the others I give little trust, Balc the least of it," he said, scowling. "Now go and do what I have tasked you."
"Yes, my lord," she said, bowing and fading into a portal of light.
The man drummed his fingers on his chair, smiling evilly in the darkness.
"You will be ours Nex, whether you want to or not," he said aloud. "Even if I have to kill you, I will make you one of us, one of the Dark Keybearers."
He laughed maniacally into the shadows…