PLOP!
I feel a sudden pressure on my chest. I slowly open my eyes and see Chirithy sitting on my stomach. It takes a second, but I recall that I had chosen to take a nap on one of the many tiled roofs throughout Daybreak Town. Chirithy is staring at me with what I assume is supposed to be a harsh glare of disapproval, but that round face and those eyes kinda makes that impossible.
"Gumornin." My pitiful attempt at a greeting barely escapes my mouth.
"You mean 'good afternoon', lazy bones!" replies the angry plush toy. "You've been sleeping for almost two hours! C'mon, there are Heartless to fight and Lux to collect!"
He jumps off my chest as I sit upright with a yawn. As I stand up and start stretching, my partner continues to berate me.
"Honestly, Oath, we need to find you a party. Maybe they'll be able to hold you accountable."
I lean over and playfully pick up the Spirit, holding him up to face. "It's fine! I mean, it's not like I'm falling behind or anything. There isn't a set quota, and Master Gula can't possibly keep track of everyone in Leopardus. Anyway, I'm raring to go now!"
Chirithy looks a little more satisfied now, and he hops onto my shoulder. "Hehe, sorry, just giving you a hard time. Well, let's go!"
"But first I need a drink!"
The loudest sigh ever sighed rings through the air and Chirithy poofs into his intangible form. With that, I leap off the two story building and land on the street. Luckily I was already in the commercial district, so finding my favorite Moogle vendor didn't take very long. I bought one of my choice sugary beverages and was sent off with a friendly "See you later, kupo!" I continued walking down the streets, sipping on a straw and waving to other wielders on the way. I eventually wandered across the long path to the lighthouse. I reached the end and gazed out at the beautiful view for a moment before throwing away my now empty drink. I turned around and started walking back.
"There aren't a lot of people around this area," I thought to myself. "So if I'm lucky…"
Right on cue, two Soldier Heartless appeared in front of me. Just like I thought, they saw my solitude as a vulnerability. Starlight appeared in my hand in a flash of light as if it were a reflex. I held it in front of me and bent my knees slightly. I hear Chirithy's voice in my head.
"Only two of them. Pfft, you've got this, kid."
I nod with a smirk as they start running after me. This species isn't very fast, so it'll still be a few seconds before they reach me. Seeing as I have the time, I cast Thunder magic through my arms and into my Keyblade. Now that I've reinforced my weapon with magic, I should be able to defeat them in one blow.
The first Soldier reaches me and swipes with its claws, but I leap backward. Before it can regain its balance, I take a step forward so I'm back into its range. I slash from left to right, and the enemy is cut clean in two. It disintegrates into a dark puff of smoke before it hits the ground.
The next Soldier is just moments away from getting a hit on me, but I'm faster than that. Before it can reach me, I shift my stance just slightly. My Keyblade is already on my right side, so all I need to do pull it closer to my body. I take one more step forward and thrust Starlight in front of me. The lightning that had been applied to the weapon now flies off of it. A bolt of electricity is launched from the tip and pierces straight through the Soldier's center of mass. Just like the first, it disappears with a satisfying poof.
I take a deep breath and check my surroundings just in case. Chirithy appears on the nearby railing as I unsummon my Keyblade and lean against it as well.
"That was pretty good. Put an end to them really quick, too. But wasn't the use of magic a little overkill? I thought you could finish them off pretty easily with simple attacks."
"You're probably right," I replied. "It's just that I want to practice more advanced stuff. When someone uses magic it takes a lot out of them, but the only way for me to get better at it is to do it more, ya know?"
Chirity nods. "Gotcha. You certainly have made a lot of progress! You should be proud of yourself."
Hearing such nice words warms my heart, and reminds me that it's okay to pat myself on the back every once and a while. Unfortunately, I don't have much time to do that.
"Oath, watch out!"
As I push away from the railing, I have just enough time to catch a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. I leap headfirst away from the blur moving toward me and brace against the ground with my arms, rolling out of the dive. I turn around to see what attacked me.
"Neoshadows!" I stand up and summon Starlight again, analyzing the situation. There are three of them, one of them being just a few feet away. These things are fast, and there's only one of me. But if I play my cards right, I can make this work.
The nearest Neoshadow shifts its body and glares at me, preparing to strike again. "No you don't!" I shout, and I point my Keyblade at it. I cast a Fire spell through the Keyblade, and a cluster of small fireballs are shot at the Heartless. Because the area of effect of my attack is so large, the Neoshadow is forced to jump back, creating a sizeable distance between us.
My mind races trying to come up with a way to ensure victory as the Neoshadows begin to sprint toward me. I think about trying to pick one of them off with a spell, but before I know it, the first one has leapt at me. Its body becomes like a spinning top. With a quick defensive motion, I manage to bat away the claw that it extended to strike me and counter with another swing. It jumps back as the next one approaches. I don't have time to bring my Keyblade back in front of me, so I try to back out of the way of its attack. One of its claws catches me on my right shoulder.
Wincing from the injury, I leap backward again to create more distance. With a glance, I can see the black line that cut my clothing and damaged my skin. Black tendrils of smoke rise from the cut, but I can see that they are slowly fading away. If these things break through the shell of my body, they'll be able to reach my heart and…
With a gulp, I look back up at the third Neoshadow as it approaches me. This isn't good, I think to myself. I need more space! I wave Starlight in front of my and produce a powerful gust of Aero magic. The three enemies fight against it, but are ultimately thrown back several meters. I've given myself a few more seconds before they are on me again.
As they struggle back to their feet, my mind races. There has to be a way I can beat them. The problem is that they are too coordinated, which is odd for Heartless. Additionally, I haven't been a wielder for very long, so my experience in combat is lacking. If I were faster and had better form, I could take them out one by one. Taking them all out at once is also an option. How do I do that? Am I capable of it? As the Neoshadows begin running at me again, I look down at my Keyblade as if searching for answers.
Suddenly –
Time. Stop. Slice.
The thoughts drill themselves into my brain in an instant. They arrange themselves in my mind's eye and take form. What is this? It almost feels like a memory. Or maybe it is something that has yet to exist.
My mind darts back into the moment. The enemies are closing in, but I have an idea of what to do. I clasp my offhand over my heart and begin to draw out the necessary magical energy from it. My Keyblade at my side, I channel the energy into the weapon and stack the charges.
One, two, three.
The Neoshadows have closed half the distance, but they won't make it to me. I remove my hand from my chest and hold it in front of me, my palm facing toward the enemies. The magic is stored in the tip of Starlight now, ready to be released. I take a breath…
"Sleight of hand…"
And cast the spell.
"Lethal Frame!"
In that instant, the three Heartless are frozen mid-dash. I push off with my feet and fly forward, closing the distance in a second. When I reach the first Neoshadow, I slash at its neck, and then follow up with a diagonal cut across the chest. The next one is a few steps away, and I thrust the Keyblade into it, pull away, and slash at its two arms. I turn to the third one and slip around to its back. I apply two attacks to its torso and back away. My flurry of strikes finished, the three are released from the frozen time. I can't help but smile through my labored breathing as the three fall to pieces and disappear into smoke.
Chirithy appears beside me as I start walking down to the residential district. "That was incredible! Wasn't that your first time using time magic?"
"Yup!" I reply, trying not to get too full of myself.
"That was a fairly advanced application of it, too! How did you know to do that?"
I explain my experience as we reach my house and settle in for the day. Even though I had just taken a nap that afternoon, I'm absolutely pooped. I still have a lot to learn, but I can definitely say that I made substantial progress. I guess all that's left to do is get some rest and see what I'll get myself into tomorrow.