Not everyone is afraid of the darkness; to the common eye, it is merely the absence of light. Your senses are still yours, your will is strong, and there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Darkness used to be nothing more than the eyes perceiving the absence of light.

But when the darkness comes to life, what are you supposed to do. When you feel sharp, horrendous claws slide against your very being, when you finally believe that a being of the dark has snatched your vision, when you truly believe the light was snatched and destroyed by the one thing that all people fear, what is one supposed to do? How do you fight something that you once thought was never alive? Your senses are gone; you can't trust what you see or feel. Nothing but darkness is surrounding you, and it is alive; its essence curdles and sways alongside your very being, bathing you in its cooling vapors as it drains the will from your bones. You cannot fight a being you can't understand.

You can only run, as fast as you can, and hope that somewhere, anywhere, that there is a speck of light.

This creature encountered the feeling for the very first time. In one moment, she was residing along the abandoned countryside. No one would dare approach the beast that she was. Rumors had spread of her ferocity and, for once in her life, she felt that no one could be her predator; she thought that there would be nothing to disturb her as the beast finally went to rest. However, in another moment, the skies darkened with a mordant violet. Her eyes could not be trusted, for such darkness was one that even she could not hope to navigate. The sound of a godly groan struck strongly into her feline eyes, and the unwelcoming, cold air swelled along her sides.

As she felt the sudden rush of sensations blinding her, she was too distracted to see the creature crawling toward her. A rough claw struck her hind leg, and it wasn't until the creature felt the pain that she knew she had to leave. On all fours, with strength unparalleled to any animal or human, she bolted. Her hands were like paws as they dug into the earth beneath her with each propelled step, shooting her forward with remarkable speeds. She could finally notice something, but it was faint; all she could see were the small, lifeless eyes of creatures born from the darkness.

But her speed meant nothing. She could feel the darkness dragging at her from her sides. In a vain attempt to ward off the seemingly unseen enemies, she let out a tremendous roar. To a normal human, one would hear such a noise and run for the hills, hoping to escape whatever predator may lay before them.

But nothing happened.

Her heart trembled as the living darkness refused to run. It was only now that she truly realized that what she had been facing was something that she truly could not best. Her only hope was to keep running. The darkness continued their hold on her. She felt the cold, unforgiving sensation touching her with a deadly caress. With each monster she passed, the more she exhausted she became. The will to live was being seeped away from her as she tried her hardest to run. However, as she forged on, as she desperately tried to continue, she soon realized that her arms and legs groaned with horrendous pain. Ghastly winds filled her ears. Her hands and legs were exhausted beyond belief, and she felt her heart rush with panic.

She gave in, falling onto her side as she felt the darkness consume her.

What was odd was that it was no longer hurting her; it was like the entities welcomed the fact that their prey was given in. The darkness was pulling the life out of her. Her vision began to fade as she saw a pair of yellow, horrible eyes stare back at her. In a surge of panic, she veiled her vision. With her body too tired to move, all she could do was whimper and wish for better days.

She looked back, before the time when she was forced to live in this land, away from anyone. No animal or human wanted to be around her. Who she was… WHAT she was… was something that horrified all that dared to go near her. Such fear brought humanity to want to end her very life. She couldn't help but shed a tear, however, as she remembered the one human that actually cared for her. It was almost a faint memory to her… she had almost forgotten the face of the boy that became a man, the one that once loved a beast like her. Weakly, she sighed out his name. "Ryo…."

It was comforting to hear that name again. It had been ages since she finally said it allowed. Now, finally letting the memories of him return to her, she could rest easy and accept that she had lost.

…

…

Something dwelled within her. As the darkness continued to sap the life away, her mind began to fade. Her worst fears manifested as the image of the man she adored was starting to leave her mind. She jolted as she frantically tried to dig deep into her memories, feeling the image of Ryo leave her. The creature had finally remembered him, and the joy and happiness of those memories were leaving her too.

The darkness was trying to feed off of any positive emotion it could sense, her memories along with them.

She could not understand that; all she knew was that deciding to accept her fate was causing her mind to drift away. The remnants of a will that dwelled within her began to stir. She didn't want to forget him; she couldn't bear the thought of forgetting him. "Ryosuke… Ryo…." Her eyelids tightened as she frantically growled at her body to move. Through the remains of her strength, the rose-colored beast called out into the darkness. "Ryo!" Her heart glimmered with an unfaltering will to survive.

Suddenly, her eyes were blinded with pure light. She shut her eyes to try and veil her vision, but it was like the unknown glare attempted to peer through her own eyelids. Fortunately, in a moment, the light faded away and her vision returned to her.

She was out. She couldn't understand any of it, but she could see the violet sky once again. It warned her of the threats she may continue to face. She looked around and saw the purple glare carve along the shapes of the mountains and forestry, but despite the odd coloration she still welcomed the familiarity. The beast glanced behind her as she got up on her hind legs. The humanoid creature gasped as she finally made out the figures of the monsters that tried to consume her.

Hundreds of small, shadow-like creatures were crowding where she came from. It was like a typhoon made manifest and living, with the creatures watching her with the intent to regain their lost meal. She wanted to run; she knew she had to escape the creatures before they could consume her once again. However, as she looked forward, her eyes notice the glare of a foreign, silver object lying on the ground. As she stared at it, a voiceless tone echoed in her head.

"Now, sleeping lion, take hold of the keyblade."

Before her eyes was a weapon of sorts. She identified it as something that looked like a key, but it was far too large. In her eyes, it resembled something more of a sword. A handguard was lined around the hilt. At the side of the blade's tip was an object resembling a lion's head, roaring at its prey. The voice in her head compelled her to take it, grasping it with her pink-furred hands.

The weapon seemingly came to life in her hand. It shook around, spooking the creature until the keyblade was directed forward. Light manifested at its tip before shooting outward. It struck the ground in front of her, releasing a panel of light. At the height it was raised, it resembled something like a gate or a portal. She felt something drive her forward as the voiceless tone echoed in her head.

"Run."

Without thinking, she leaped into the gate. Before the heartless could chase after her, the portal vanished from sight.