Eraqus felt the weight of the world. And yet his heart weighed heavier.
"What have I done… Master…"
He could see Terra wading forward through the shimmering fog of his fading vision.
"I just… wanted to keep Ven safe."
Breathing was now a struggle for Eraqus. His world became suddenly so small… and yet so deep.
Just his labored breaths. Himself. Terra. His heart. And his dark memories.
Such dark, cruel memories.
"Are you ready, Terra?"
The youth bowed, wooden Keyblade held confidently in both hands, "Yes, Master. A Keyblade-wielder is always ready."
Eraqus tried to withhold a smile at the sight. So young, and yet his newest pupil already showed such gravity for his training. This was a good sign, indeed, for a student.
"Well said, Terra. Your skill has far surpassed my expectations. I want you to know that I'm very proud of you."
A glowing smile twitched uncertainly on the boy's serious face, "Th-thank you, Master. I owe it all to you."
Spreading both legs in an easy, yet prepared, arch, Eraqus locked both elbows tight and held his own Keyblade out in a battle stance, "I believe it is time that you advanced to the next level of Keyblade training—dueling with a living opponent. While targets are an essential part of your daily practice, they do not a Keyblade Master make."
Terra's wrists trembled as a slowly brought the end of his Keyblade up and level with his teacher's, "Fight you, Master…? B-but-!"
Some inner warning flared inside Eraqus' chest, but he paid it little mind, "Terra, listen to me. There comes a time when every pupil must face his own Master. You must not fear losing. Fear leads to obsession with power, and power beckons the Darkness."
Terra's Keyblade actually lowered an inch, "I understand that, Master, but—"
"Raise your Keyblade, Terra!"
The tip shot back up into position again, this time in defense. Eraqus locked his weapon against his student's Keyblade, gratified with his pupil's perfect reflex reaction.
"Good, Terra. Careful, now. Don't let your emotions override your concentration."
With practiced skill, Eraqus allowed Terra to block and evade his precision strikes. Despite his thick build, the boy moved like fluid between the blows, and yet something troubled Eraqus all-the-same.
He frowned deeply, pulling his scarred cheek taunt, "Terra, strike back! A Keyblade Master knows the balance between offense and defense and utilizes it. Show me that you have learned this!"
Terra held up the Keyblade horizontally, nearly cowering behind it, "M-master, please! I-I… I don't want to…!"
With a deft flick of his own weapon, Eraqus sent the wooden Keyblade sailing across the green to land solidly on the grassy training ground. Not bothering to watch it make contact, Eraqus lowered his Keyblade to his side and shook his head, "Why do you cower so, boy? Why do you fear?"
When Terra refused to look him in the eye, the Master knelt to his level and laid a fatherly hand on his broad shoulder, "Look at me, Terra."
He didn't expect to see those young eyes gleaming with unshed tears.
His scarred jaw loosened, "Terra, I am your Master. But more importantly, I am your father, or as close to a father as you will ever have. I took you in as more than just a student. You are like a son to me, and I will not treat you as anything less. I want you to know that."
It was then that Eraqus realized Terra had yet to make eye contact. Right now, he wasn't looking him in the eye, but had instead locked his gaze on the jagged scar along Eraqus' left cheek.
The Master tried another approach, softening his tone, "Being a Keyblade Master is a great privilege. Do you know why I'm training you to be one, Terra?"
With a brave sniffle, the boy shook his head.
Eraqus slowly rose to his feet, "Because I want you to be prepared when it comes time for you to do battle with the Darkness. Darkness is all around us—in every world… and in many hearts. And yet, if the heart is consumed with light—as only a true Keyblade Master's should be—then the Darkness will never find it."
Terra stared at his feet, digesting the words. He still seemed so troubled… but by what, exactly?
As Eraqus turned to retrieve the youth's wooden weapon, he heard a small voice ask:
"…But what if it's not consumed with light? What if the Keyblade Master has Darkness in his heart, too?"
Picking up the practice Keyblade by the handle, Eraqus reversed it, offering the hilt to his student, "Then he is no true Master. Always remember that, Terra. Now, let us try again."
Reaching out with a trembling hand, Terra took his weapon and braced himself half-heartedly, "B-but-!"
Eraqus again took up his stance, "I believe in you. I know that you have the makings of a true Master, Terra."
"Master, I-!"
Eraqus cringed. His facial scars seemed to be inflamed, either by sweat or by something far darker, "No more!"
He charged his student, and Terra and blocked the ensuing blow.
"Strike back, Terra! Strike back!"
Block. Block. Block. Block.
Eraqus struck, hard.
"Why do you refuse to do as I say?!"
Terra's attack came as a complete surprise. The blow struck Eraqus' Keyblade like thunder and left his hand tingling.
Eraqus should have felt satisfaction. Instead, he felt alarm.
As Terra continued to exchange blows with him, his style grew increasingly aggressive. The Master forced his feet into the turf and held his ground, warding off each power-strike.
It was time to end this. Terra had clearly proven himself.
"That's enough, Terra."
The attacks continued.
Something black and purple—something like icy smoke—seemed to be feathering off of his student's body. His eyes flickered golden for an instant. The wooden Keyblade burned with a sinister flame that covered, but did not consume it.
The Darkness!
"Terra! Stop this at once!"
But there was no stopping. The Darkness had a complete hold over him.
With no choice left, Eraqus struck with all the skill of a Master—not as he would against a student, but as he would against an enemy.
Terra hit the ground like a lead statue, wind completely driven out of his body. The smoky aura of Darkness subsided.
Eraqus stamped down firmly on the wooden Keyblade, trapping it against the ground. Sending his own Keyblade dissipating into empty air, the Master glared down, unblinking, at his pupil.
"I am disappointed Terra. You have let fear into your heart, and the Darkness with it. It pains me to say it, but you leave me with no choice but to suspend your training. Until you can master your own heart, you have no right to try and master a Keyblade."
Terra cringed and rolled onto his side, "M-master… I tried-!"
"There is no 'try' when it comes to the Darkness! You either fight it, or succumb to it. Taking the middle ground is the worst of all, for it will seep into your heart and reveal itself when you least expect it… as it has today."
Terra pulled himself upright, teeth clenched in blind frustration, "I… I…"
"What is it that you fear so much? What could possibly drive you to such desperation?"
Lowering his head shamefully, the student fell silent.
Eraqus nudged the wooden Keyblade with his foot, guiding it toward his pupil, "When you are ready to speak honestly with me, I will consider reviving your training. Until then, I suggest you think hard about why you want to be a Master, Terra."
Looking back, Eraqus remembered that day so vividly—like a little ghost of his memory, coming back to replay in his mind's eye. He had turned and walked back to the training hall, leaving behind a shaken Terra. Somehow, he was now able to recall something he'd forgotten. Something that he thought Terra had whispered to himself. Now he knew. The words had been meant for him.
"I tried to tell you, Master. I tried."
Eraqus gritted against the pain, unable to stop the trembling in his voice, "No, you were right. I failed you, Terra. Perhaps I've no one to blame but myself for the Darkness inside you."
Terra drew closer… so close now that Eraqus could almost see the tears in his eyes. His student had grown so much—had grown from an orphaned boy to a strong young man. And yet, he would forever be that small, orphaned boy in the Master's eyes.
"And now, I've done worse," he labored on, struggling to keep his feet, "—raised my Keyblade against you and Ventus."
Terra reached through the death mist in his dying eyes… reached for his hand. But Eraqus kept his own palm locked firmly over his chest. He wasn't worthy to feel his student's touch… not after he'd done him such wrong.
And then it occurred to him.
His own fear had led to an obsession with power—power over Terra and Ventus. He had tried to control them. He had even demanded perfection of his own student. Terra had tried to communicate. His pupil had been afraid of one thing only, and it wasn't losing, as Eraqus had so boldly assumed.
It was he—Eraqus—that Terra had feared all those years.
And why shouldn't his student fear him? He had demanded so much. He had left no room for error or doubt. He hadn't let Terra question himself, and that lack of knowledge had led to ignorance, suffocation, and fear. And the darkness had come as a result.
But now—with agony—Eraqus knew from where the Darkness had originated before it seeped into Terra's soul. It had originated in his own fears—his own sense of unflinching control.
"My own heart is Darkness!"
They were the last words Eraqus remembered. His heart broke in that instant—ending his life even before Xehanort's Keyblade had the chance to enter it.
Terra drifted on a fog of black nothingness, trapped in the dark confines of Xehanort's existence. As though from a distance, a voice entered his mind, seemingly from his heart.
"Terra… Why have you fallen into despair?"
Opening his eyes, Terra laid a palm against his chest, surprised by its warmth, "M-master Eraqus…?"
The voice echoed back in his mind, emphasized by heat waves from his heart, "Yes, Terra. I have never left your side, and though you sleep in Darkness for one thousand years, I will always be with you. I will give you the strength that you need to overcome your fear."
"…Master…"
A dark vortex appeared, allowing Master Xehanort to enter the empty void in front of him. Terra rose to his feet.
Xehanort smiled coldly, mockingly, "Darkness rules your heart. Muscle and sinew that once obeyed you now rebels against you. How you can remain here at all confounds the mind."
Terra met him, eye-to-eye, "It's still my heart. You think you can just come in and take over? I'm
not gonna sit by and let that happen."
"Hmph. Don't even entertain any notions of escaping me, boy. In the end, your heart will be engulfed by mine forever."
"Wrong. You're gonna get shown the door, old man."
Xehanort leaned forward, "As I recall, you couldn't even handle your own darkness. How, then,
will you triumph over mine?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
Terra felt a glow fill his heart, envelop his mind, merge with his soul. Hope fluttered in his chest for the first time in a long while.
Xehanort muttered darkly to himself, "Oh? So that's how it is, is it? Someone else has set foot in your
heart. Eraqus, you sly fox..."
Terra spoke every word with conviction, "I'm not afraid of what the darkness holds now. Even if you do wrest control of my heart from me-even if you cast me into the deepest, darkest abyss-you'll never sway me from the one cause that pushes me to keep on fighting. Whatever the cost, I'm ready to pay it."
Xehanort smiled cajolingly, as though trying to reason with an old friend, "Brave words, to be sure. But I'm a patient man. We can take as much time as we need to settle this little property dispute. However, know this-You are just one of many roads that I might choose to take. Trust me. I made
certain of that."
An oval of Darkness feathered out of the ground, swallowing up the evil Master.
Terra lifted his head and closed his eyes, savoring the silence of this empty ambiance.
"Thank you, Master Eraqus."