Prologue
"Please don't die! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry. . ." he begged.
"I'm sorry too, for everything I made you go through. You were just a child."
"You can't die! You just can't! I. . . I should be the one to die. . . Not you. . . They were after me. Don't worry, I'll. . . I'll get help. . ."
"No. . . It's already too late. . . No one can help me now. . ."
"No. . . if you die. . . where will I go. . . what will I do. . .? I'll be all alone. . ." Tears brimmed in the corners of his eyes.
"No. . . you won't. Don't you see Sora? You have more than this. . . So much more. . ."
"What are you talking about?" The anger in his heart overpowered the sadness for a few seconds. "I can't trust anyone anymore! Riku's dead! The Darkness is right on my tail! What more do I have? You. . . you're all I got left. . ."
"You have friends. . . and more importantly. . . You have a family, Sora."
Day 11
The Mysterious Man
What's happening to me? I feel like I'm slipping away. . .
. . . I'm so tired right now. . .
All I want to do. . . is. . .
Rest.
"You shouldn't go to sleep. The Darkness can easily take the lives of the vulnerable ones."
Who was that. . ? That voice. . . It's so smooth and calming. . .
"Open your eyes. It's the right thing to do."
All right. . . I guess I will. . .
Sora's eyes popped was lying in the middle of a forest, the dark forest in which him and Riku had arrived in days before. He was wearing no shirt and his chest was covered in bloody bandages.
"Where. . . am I?" Sora asked himself. "And. . . what happened to me. . ?" He glanced around the area. "Judging by the looks of this place, I could be any. . . whoa!" The ground suddenly shook. What was that. . ? Well, whatever it is, is getting closer no doubt. I have to get out of here before whatever it is finds me.
Forcing himself onto his feet, Sora grabbed onto a tree to help hold himself up. He limped over to the next tree and then over to the next. He bit his lip and used one of his hands to clutch his chest. Where did all these wounds come from. . ? Why can't I remem~
Wait. . . I know! I went up against Kiari. . . I think. . . I think I lost. . . But what happened after that? I was dragged away and what? Everything after that is just blank. . . My memory is so fuzzy. . . I'm so confused. . . Why am I here in the forest though? I doubt that Kiari beat me, bandaged my wounds and then left me here in the forest to go on my way. . .
Riku. . .
A jolt of pain shot through Sora's body and he collapsed to the ground. The pain that filled his body was excruciating. He cried out in pain, tears in the corners of his eyes. Once again, the earth shook beneath him.
He slowly was able to lift himself from the ground using his hands. He looked over his shoulder and with wide eyes, looked at the huge Heartless that was towering over him. It was a Darkside, one of the largest Heartless there were.
What the hell!? When did that get there!? It's gonna kill me if I don't move! Sora struggled with all of his might to get onto his feet, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't do it. He large Darkside began to bend over, reaching it's inhuman hand towards Sora.
Sora closed his eyes, knowing that there was nothing that he could do.
"Why do you close your eyes? They have to be open in order to see what's coming. Open them. . . There's no need to fear, for it's not your time yet."
There's that strange voice again. . . I wonder who it is. . . Whatever she was saying. . . I guess that she's right. . . My eyes have to be open to see what's coming. . . Sora peeked an eye open hesitantly. The first thing he saw was a man, hacking his way through the Darkside in one blow. He watched as the now two pieces of the Heartless faded away as they fell towards the ground.
The man advanced over to Sora. "There you are."
Sora blinked. He had never saw this man before. He had blonde spiky hair and bright green eyes.
"You okay?"
The sixteen-year-old didn't answer.
"I honestly didn't expect you to wake up for a few more days. I thought you were dead when I found you," the man said.
Sora finally found something to say. "Who are you? What are you doing here? And why are you with me?" He summoned his Keyblade and weakly pointed it at the man.
"Well look who's being tough. Pretty brave, considering what condition you're in. But it's never bad to be cautious." The man smiled. "Where are my manners? My name is Sota Dave. . ."
Sora raised an eyebrow. "Sota Dave?"
The man coughed and then cleared his throat. "Sota Davis. I was at Kiari's Kavern when I found you. You were hurt pretty badly. When I saw that you were alive, I got you out of there and bandaged your wounds."
"Wait, so you saved me?"
Sota nodded.
"Thanks. . . But did you say that I was in the castle?" Sora asked.
"Yeah, you were lying in a destroyed hallway."
"I wasn't on the roof?"
Sota shook his head.
Sora bit his lip. How did I get there. . ? If I recall, I was on the roof fighting Kiari. . . Wait a second. . . Looking up at Sota, he asked, "How do you know about Kiari?"
"I've been around here for a long time. And when I say long, I mean long. I know a lot of stuff that goes on around here," Sota replied. "I took the liberty of washing off your bloody shirt and jacket in the lake. Here you go." He tossed Sora his jacket and shirt.
Sora took his clothes and slipped them over his bandages. "Thanks."
"They were covered in blood. You see, the scent of blood attracts Heartless and other predators. It's safer if you didn't have the scent on you." Sota told him. "And here's your necklace."
Sora smiled as he placed the crown charm around his neck. "Thanks again. I'm grateful. Without you, I would have probably died."
"It was nothing. . . I was just helping out. . . The Keyblade Master," Sota replied.
"How do you know that I wield a Keyblade?"
"Everyone knows. You're the legendary boy who will open the Door to Light, right?"
Sora grinned. "Well, not to brag, but it's true." Running a hand through his hair, he realized, "Oops. . . Where are my manners, I didn't even introduce myself yet. Sorry about that, I'm~"
"Sora Davidson."
"Huh? How did you know?"
"Don't think I don't know the legendary Keyblade Wielder's name."
"I guess that you're right. So I'm that popular, huh?"
"Well, everyone here seems to know about you. I don't know why, but it seems that Kiari wants you for something. . . This place has been going crazy. There are more Heartless and it's harder to sneak around without getting caught."
"What do you mean?" Sora questioned.
"After you came here, it's been more dangerous. More Heartless, more of Kiari's lackeys. . . I wonder what they want with you. . ."
Sora lowered his head. "Well. . . I. . . I fought Kiari. . . That's how I got all of these injuries. She told me that. . . that she wanted me. . . She wanted me to serve her. She wants me by her side. . . Why am I so special?"
"It could be because you're heart is so strong. If Darkness were to get into your heart, then it could just cause the end of everything. Hmm. . . Kiari wanting you. . . That's sounds so familiar. . ."
"Huh? Familiar, how?" Sora asked.
"It's nothing." Sota waved off Sora's question. "So you fought Kiari, huh? She's tough, isn't she?"
Sora nodded. "I've never lost that badly before. . . I seriously thought that I could beat her, but I guess I was wrong. . ." Clenching his fists, he continued, "She used me to kill my best friend. . . She used me to kill Riku. . . I never thought that Riku would actually be killed. . . I always thought he'd be there for me. . ." Sora slammed his fist into the ground. "Damn it! I killed my best friend! I don't deserve to live for that!" Tears rolled down Sora's face.
Sota knelt down next to the crying boy. "You didn't mean to kill him, did you?"
Sora shook his head. "No. . . I never wanted to kill anybody. . . I was just trying to protect my friends. . . You see, Kiari told me that Riku had tried to kill her. But it was a lie, and I fell for it. I'm so stupid! I didn't trust Riku. . . I didn't trust him at all. . . And now he's dead because of me. I killed him. It's just. . . I never imagined that Kiari would be evil. . . I thought that Riku was lying to me. . . I figured that the Darkness in his heart was just messing with his mind. I should have listened to him when I had the chance. . . Now look what I've done!"
"It's all right. It's not like you did it intentionally. Look, sometimes bad things happen and there's nothing that you can about it. You didn't kill Riku," Sota told him. "It was the Darkness in your heart."
Sora wiped the tears from his eyes. "You see, for some reason, I never thought that my heart held Darkness. . . I always thought that I was full of Light. . . I guess I was wrong about that too. I never imagined that I would use the Darkness. . ."
"There's Darkness within every heart. It may sound hard to believe, but even in the nicest people, there is Darkness. It's just buried deep inside their hearts, shrouded by the Light," Sota explained.
"I know. . ." Sora slowly got onto his feet. He only stood for a few moments before he flinched and almost collapsed. Sota grabbed a hold of him before he hit the ground. Sora grasped his body where the wounds were. He slowly rolled up his shirt until he saw how blood-soaked the bandages had become.
Sota slowly helped Sora sit onto the ground and leaned him against a tree. "Stop moving around, all right? You're bandages need replaced. Just relax and keep still."
Sora managed a slight nod as Sota did his work. For as kind as it was for Sota to help and save him from certain death, he had to wonder; where did Sota come from? Why would he save him? What if he was a spy for Kiari?
Sora bit his lip. If that's true, then I'm in serious trouble with this guy. . . But still, why would someone like him work for Kiari? If he was in league with her, then why would he be helping me?
"You should try to get some rest. This is only the starting of your adventure, a mere introduction to what your true destiny is."
Sora blinked a few times before he closed his eyes. I guess I should relax. . . I haven't fully recovered from that battle. . . But tomorrow, I'll have to keep moving.
