Remembrance…

I feel something brushing past me, opening my eyes to see what it is. All I see is water. Water and darkness. I close my eyes briefly, opening them again, just to see the exact same thing as before. I can't see where I'm going, yet I know it isn't up to the surface. The moment I think of drowning, I feel myself slowing, my feet touching something hard. I stand up, surprised to find myself breathing down in this strange, dark place. I look around, only to notice a strange sound that I missed while I was falling. . .

Dum-dum-dum-dum, Dum-dum-dum-dum, Dum-dum-dum-dum

My mind races, trying to interpret where the strange noise is coming from as the black nothingness around me is shattered by white birds, the black ground slowly changing to reveal a platform. I back away from the birds that had been covering the platform, only to hear a disembodied voice speaking to me.

"Don't be alarmed. You will remember soon. For now, you must choose. . ."

I look around aimlessly, searching for the source of the voice, only to see three stone pedestals grow out of the platform. On one stood an orb of some sort, an energy flowing from it that I find to be eerily familiar. On another was a strange metal object, this object looking just as familiar as the energy from the orb had felt, only it looks like something off a messed up science fiction movie. On the third pedestal, however, I see a large sphere of energy made of colors that I know shouldn't even exist. I feel dizzy just by looking at the swirling sphere of energy.

"Okay, and what is this for?"

"Of these three things you must choose one to keep and one to lose. Choose wisely."

I just shrug the voice off, casually walking over to the familiar orb that rests on the pedestal to my right, instantly feeling a surge of familiar power flow through me.

"Are you sure you want to keep this power?"

I nod, only to watch as the orb vanishes into my hand. I look towards the other two pedestals, already certain that the strange metal object was of little significance to me, not wanting to go anywhere near the sphere. I quickly give up the strange contraption, only to watch as the pedestals sink back into the platform. I run to the center of the platform, only to find the whole platform shattering around me, leaving me to fall into the black nothing again. The strange noise suddenly made sense to me as I near a second platform.

"That noise. . . It sounds like. . . . . Drums."

I land on the platform, not knowing what to expect now, only to find myself facing a black, shadowy creature.

"Heartless. . . Shadows. . . Fight to survive, or lose yourself to the Darkness. . . You decide which."

"Whatever you say, Voice That Does Nothing To Help."

"Call your powers into your hand. Rely on your past to help you."

"How do you expect me to do that? . . . Great, now he's ignoring me. . ."

I close my eyes, willing something to happen, only to feel a sudden bolt of energy fly out of my hand at the creature the voice called a Heartless. I open my eyes, shocked to find a blue-white bolt of what looks like lightning connecting the palm of my hand to the Heartless. The moment the energy makes contact, the Heartless falls away from me. I watch it as the creature fades into Darkness, only to be swallowed up by Darkness myself, hearing only one thing before I slip into unconsciousness. . .

"You are not like your friends. . . You have awakened your past."