It was a rough night. Though really, it shouldn't have been. What would cause him to have a hard time sleeping? Really, it was all said and done. Riku was found, Xehanort's Heartless and Organization XIII were gone for good, and life was back to normal. So why was the Spiky brown haired boy tossing and turning in his sleep? The night sky was a cloudy one tonight as Sora slept not so soundly. In fact, at the moment he seemed to finally settle down was the moment when the clouds covered over the moon, blanketing the mainland in shadow. And as there were shadows everywhere in his home, there were shadows everywhere in his mind. In the infinite realm of dreams, Sora found nothing, nothing but black. Darkness was the ground, the sky, or was it a ceiling? The empty void seemed to go one forever. This felt so familiar to him. That one day in Hallow Bastion, or rather, Radiant Garden, when no other than Maleficent had saved him, Donald, and Goofy. They had wound up in a place exactly like this. In his dream, Sora was even clothed in the same black outfit with the vest and many belts. He walked around, his blue eyes looking over every bit of the nothing around him. And to him, he felt like the air was caught in his throat. Nothing but black, nothing but Darkness, all around him.
"Hello. Anyone?"
No reply. Of course there would be no reply. Why would he expect one? For a dream, this felt very different from normal. Maybe he was hoping to see his companions from his adventures running up to him from the black, but there would be no such luck. He was alone. Lost and alone. But suddenly, something filled the void, the silence was ebbed. It was, it was... laughter? Someone was laughing. It was such a strange sort of chuckle. And weirder still, it was making Sora's skin crawl. Not just from the fact that the laugh was creepy, but it sounded... familiar. When he first heard it, Sora's head was whipping around, trying to find its source. Someone else was here! But where were they? Where were they?
What's the matter? Are you afraid, Sora? Are you afraid of the dark?
Who was this? Why was he talking to him, taunting him? And why was that voice so familiar if he couldn't place it? And then what he was saying, was he afraid of the dark? Well... no. No of course not. No matter what happened to him in the past, he was never afraid of the dark. Darkness was just- just part of the equation. The Worlds needed Darkness just as much as Light. That's what the King said, and he believed it. After all, there was Riku. He had the Darkness in him. It was his weapon, and what's more, he was on the side of good. So why was it? Why was it that this voice was right? He was afraid, but it wasn't the void itself. It was something else.
You are, aren't you? Ha ha ha. You know, that's really good.
Behind him! That's when he finally found the source of the voice. Instantly Sora spun around, ready to draw the Keyblade. What he found stopped him dead in that action. He was staring at a mirror. A full body mirror was propped up against the blackness, the reflective surface held up with black oak carved in very intricate patterns. All the while Sora had been stumbling around in this black void, he would have easily missed this were he not standing in front of it staring at himself. Seeing this, Sora gave a sigh of relief, letting go of that breath he was holding. Finally, something tangible in this place. Looking at himself, Sora folded his arms, putting his right hand to his chin. He had to think what that voice had said.
"Why would that be good?"
When he took his hand down, his reflection was smiling. It looked like one of Sora's more mischievous grins, but those eyes, the way they looked at him, it was something sinister. It wasn't him doing this, Sora himself was in a state of shock. This only grew worse when the reflection started talking to him.
"Because that makes things a lot easier."
At that moment, the reflection lunged at Sora. Yes, came right out of the mirror onto the hero. As this other Sora left the mirror, the black all around them seemed to suddenly cling to his flesh. When he came forward, his skin had turned black, and his eyes were an endless yellow. Just as Sora felt the monster's fingers wrap around his throat, he gave out a cry of terror. And sat up in his bed. The nightmare had ended, Sora was awake. He was sitting safely in bed, gasping for breath. Touching his forehead, Sora felt cold sweat. Slowly, he turned his blue eyes to the window. The clouds had moved, and a full moon was bathing the ocean in a pale light. That voice in the dark. There was no mistaking it now after he woke up.
"That was... me."
But, but how could it be? It was his voice. His body. His face. But, it wasn't him. It couldn't be him. What was lurking in his head in that dream? Just what sort of ghoul was trying to catch him in the darkness? That's when he laid back down, realization hitting him. He was afraid. It was needed, but he couldn't deny it, the darkness scared him.