Kingdom Hearts:
Hurt No More
Chapter 1
Reconnect
His room was comfortable and messy, just how he liked it. The cool air of the tropical night swept through the open window and across his body. His blankets were bunched up around him as he slept soundly. As he breathed slowly and without hindrance, he lied still on his side in a dreamless rest. His brow, however, was furled; the thoughts that ran through his mind game him no relief. They were there just as they had been for weeks but he didn't really know what they were or where they stemmed. The starry sky blazed outside of his window and the soft light rained down upon him and a book on his bedside. The old binding was starting to wear but the pages inside were white and pristine in the dark. The book was open, sprawled similar to the boy on the bed, with words in bold black letters on the almost empty pages.
"We must return to free them from their torment."
They were words that he had read over and over again until they seemed to lose their meaning. The author of the journal hadn't written them. The meaning behind them had never been told, only that they were of the utmost importance. When he had been given the replica of the real book that it represented he was told that everything was connected. As a result, he had withdrawn to parts of the islands or his room for days on end. He had read the entirety of the book multiple times but each time he came to that particular passage he was forced to stop. Like a splinter or a shard, the words had instantly clung to him. He found himself musing the words to himself aloud in a tone that was not his own. He would stare out to the sea or the sky and whisper them. Each time he did he felt that he was getting further and further away from something important.
There was a reason to the message that he had to find. He didn't ask the friend who had given him the journal. He knew that the answer had to be found from within himself, he just didn't know how to get to it. At first it had been a puzzle he could not solve, so he decided to be patient and take solace in his friends and surroundings until he could return with a clearer mind. When he did come back, though, nothing had changed. The riddle vexed him so that his irritation had caused him to throw the book down on occasion, as if he could wound the physical words then they would divulge their secrets in defense. They hadn't. Now, he was playing a different game. He had shut himself up with the tome and refused all contact and distraction until he found the truth.
And in the night, his summons were heard. Three stars burned brighter in the sky than the others, static and twinkling in the blue and purple sky. Two more fell from the heavens across the sky, one chasing the other. The words drifted softly in the wind, more fitting than he knew.
"Sora."
Then he felt the ground crumble from under him. And he fell forever.
