"Oblivion/Salvation"
Tagline: One boy stands on the knife edge between oblivion and salvation, and only the voice locked inside his head knows which he shall gift to the world. Follows "Key to the Dive".
Themes: Finish the Fight (Halo 3), Luck (Halo 3), Halo Theme Mjolnir Mix (Halo 2), Ichirin no Hana ~Huge Hollow Mix~ (Bleach), "What I'm Made Of" (Sonic Heroes)
Prologue: Dive
In darkness a figure awoke. The young man, somewhere in his late teens, had long red hair pulled into a braid and bound by gold wire. He was wearing a mostly black outfit with a strange silver symbol imprinted on the chest of his shirt. It looked like an upside down heart with a stylized cross rising out from it. As the figure stood he shook his head to clear it before opening eyes, revealing eyes black as onyx stone. He looked around in confusion.
Where am I? How did I get here? What am I doing here…wait…who am I?
He was standing on a glass circle, a wide circle demonstrating a colored image of a spiral comprised of white, blue, and silver swirls. In the center of this spiral was a single red circle, with a single black circle in the center surrounded by a trio of black tomoe.
"Who am I!?" The figure cried out suddenly, fighting futilely against the panic he was feeling.
Suddenly whispers surrounded him, coming simultaneously from everywhere and nowhere at once. There were so many and they were so jumbled he could only make out snatches.
…ame….a…..y…….you….name……axu….
"Axu? Is that my name, Axu?" He asked frantically of the darkness around him.
Suddenly the whispers vanished.
Looking around frantically the mysterious boy found no sign of any possible source for the whispers.
"So I am Axu?" He muttered softly before raising his voice. "So then where the heck am I?"
Despite his complete lack of memories Axu knew that wherever this was simply was not normal. He could feel it to his very core.
Suddenly a voice, much louder and far more clearly than the whispers echoed through Axu's mind.
"So much to do…so little time…Take your time. Don't be afraid. The door remains shut, despite attempts to open it. Now, step forward. Can you do it?"
As Axu once more looked around frantically for the source of the voice a trio of objects appeared before him in a burst of purple white light floating in the air: a sword, a staff, and a shield.
"I said where the hell am I!?" Axu yelled as his confusion deepened.
The mysterious voice ignored his question and continued on. "If you give it form…it will give you strength. Choose well."
Axu continued looking around for a long time, trying to find wherever the source of the voice was hiding. After nearly ten minutes he gave up in frustration and grabbed the nearest object to him, the shield.
"The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is this the power you seek?"
"Yes." Axu replied in frustration growling as the shield in his hand vanished and a strange silvery gauntlet formed on his right hand. He still wasn't sure why he had chosen that particular item.
"Your path is set."
Axu growled in further frustration as the gauntlet vanished and he felt something…odd inside himself.
"Now, what will you give up in exchange?"
Axu turned to regard the other two items. In frustration he grabbed the nearest one and threw it out into the blackness.
"The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. You give up this power?"
"Fucking yes." Axu replied, growing frustrated with the mysterious voice. He was stuck in this void and all he wanted was answers. All he knew was his name.
Suddenly Axu felt something shift inside him and the staff floating nearby vanished. The floor suddenly shattered beneath him and Axu pushed off of the nearest shard, instinctively throwing himself into a flip as he dropped. A few moments later he landed solidly on his feet in a crouch on another glass panel, the surrounding darkness still all enclosing. As he stood he noticed that the panel beneath him was different than the one he first awoke upon. Around the edge a series of symbols, seemingly tied to the elements or something similar, sat inscribed in circles set within a golden ring. Inside of that was simply a series of concentric rings, each a different color, and a black circle at the center upon which he had landed.
"You gained the power to fight."
Axu looked down in surprise as the gauntlet reappeared on his right arm. This time it had symbols inscribed upon its surface in a grid-like pattern. Each one, he noted, was the same as the circles surrounding the rim of the glass platform.
"What the hell is this? What is going on here?"
Suddenly a group of the small inky black creatures appeared. Axu was surprised when something in his mind echoed a single word.
Shadows.
He was even more surprised when a sudden flash of images broke his concentration in response to the whispered word. He saw a red-haired girl fighting against a group of similar creatures in the rain of some dark city.
"There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong and you will succeed."
Axu growled and backed up, clenching his fists and raising his right arm in front of him. Despite still being confused he felt drawn to the gauntlet on his right arm. Grinning as a sudden thought occurred to him he raised his left hand and pressed one of the symbols, a spiraling vortex of fire.
Suddenly he heard screeches and he looked back up. The myriad of small shadow creatures were screaming as a swirling burst of fire dissipated them into dust. The burst lasted for barely a second, but Axu's eyes widened in shock.
"Whoah…" He muttered as he gazed at his arm. To one side of the symbols a glowing gold bar had shortened slightly.
Some sort of power gauge maybe?
"Is that all you got?!" He yelled at the darkness and whoever his mysterious opponent was.
Despite his amnesia he felt this must be some sort of twisted game someone was playing.
"Behind you!"
Axu spun in response to the shouted warning and growled in anger. Whoever the hell was messing with him was REALLY getting on his nerves. Behind him a roiling mass of black figures, Shadows and other similar monsters, was stepping forth from the black beyond. As near as he could tell they were likely to be endless. He growled in frustration, wishing he had something more than just swirly fire death. If the gauge on his arm was any guess he wasn't going to last long with only that.
Suddenly one of the larger shadows leapt at him, its right arm raised in preparation of a vicious slash. Axu fell backwards in surprise and reached out with his right arm frantically wishing he had something to block the blow. Suddenly a flash of light blinded him and he heard a clanging sound. When the light clear he saw the creature had been knocked backwards and the gauntlet on his arm had changed. Or rather, it was not alone.
In his right arm was a long silver-white sword of some kind, an elegant design that resembled a key with three teeth. The large hilt enclosed his right hand and a silvery chain lead from the end of the hilt to attach to the base of his gauntlet.
"What the hell…?" Axu said in confusion. He noted that the 'display' for lack of a better word on the gauntlet had changed. It had become a single square panel rather than individual buttons and the symbols had now formed an odd overlapped circle.
Must be some sort of digital display. Axu thought, simultaneously wondering how he knew that.
Before he could wonder further voices began to echo around him.
The Keyblade
Keybearer
Chosen
Knife's Edge
Salvation
Axu spun around in surprise but could find no sign of the source of the whispers. Suddenly one of the black creatures screeched and charged at this.
"Ok, let's do this thing." He muttered as he dashed forward, spinning and slashing with the exotic blade as if his body already knew how to handle it.
As he began destroying the mass of Shadows he focused on the movements of the blade, wondering just why the motions he was following were apparently buried in his blank mind. Who was he before he lost his memories? Why can he remember this and not his name?
It took Axu nearly twenty minutes, but finally the swarm dwindled and died away. As the final Shadow died by his blade the mysterious voice spoke once more.
"The light burns strong within you. But the closer you get to the light…the greater your shadow grows."
Suddenly a dark burst of energy appeared before Axu, resolving into a massive shape rising above him as the glass below him turned pure bone white. When the figure finally resolved Axu growled and crouched, clutching furiously at the blade in his hand. The display on his gauntlet flashed blue and shifted, showing three inscribed circles. Glancing down at it Axu smirked.
Above Axu a shadowy Darkside rose from his shadow, its chest an open hole in an odd heart-shaped symbol. It gazed down darkly at Axu and he felt the malevolence within it.
"But do not fear, and do not forget..."
Axu dodged as the Darkside suddenly lashed out at him, one fist slamming into the ground where he had been standing mere moments before.
"For you hold the mightiest weapon of them all…"
With a cry of rage Axu leapt up and landed on the Darkside's hand, running up its arm with his sword cocked, ready to deliver a crushing blow.
"The Keyblade."
Axu came to in a dingy alley surrounded by wooden and brick buildings. It was night out and it was raining slightly, dark rainclouds obscuring most of the sky. Slowly he got to his feet and shook his head. Patting himself down he confirmed he was not injured and that he was wearing the same clothes as he had wherever that dark space had been. As he did so he noted that his right hand still bore the strange sleek silver gauntlet, although now a small key dangled from the base of it. Upon closer examination he realized that it was the sword from the dark place only miniaturized, and that there was apparently a slot in the gauntlet into which it could be inserted.
His curiosity was turned aside however when he heard shouting from down the alleyway. Turning he began to run down the alley towards where the sound of swords clashing was echoing from. Unnoticed by him the dangling 'key' upon his gauntlet glimmered with a golden light, the power calling to be released as the rain continued to fall.
To be continued…
In worlds other than our own a war is brewing, one that will either save or end all creation. The long plans that have led to this war are nearly complete, and the players are now in position. The Keyblades rise, called forth by those born with the gift. Salvation and Oblivion: two possibilities separated by the edge of a knife. Worlds fall to darkness and those rare few who survive are cast out as their stars go out. Heartless gather, darkness filling the hearts of men. Nobodies stalk the shadows, shells without feelings to guide them. And through it all the light shines, and the shadow grows ever deeper.
Dive into your Heart. What side are you on?
AN: And here you go folks, the very first chapter of Oblivion/Salvation. Or should I say, the prologue. The first chapter is under construction but will be slow going, mainly because I have not played KH in a long time and I sadly do not have access to the game at the moment. This is why anyone willing to help who has good knowledge of the game is needed. The most I have to go off of at the moment is my own memories, and what clips and data I can find and piece together online.
Anyways, I will endeavor to update this as regularly as I can as I slowly get my life pulled back together and my muse rebooted. I will however be splitting my time with real life and with other writing projects, including my rewrite of Bones of the Devil and perhaps finally finishing the damn invasion arc for Phoenix Rising.
As always, please read and review.
Jaa ne.
-ZI