Birth By Sleep: Prologue

Perhaps it would have been better if we had seen the end coming.

The Three, sworn to protect the keyblades, congregated in the center of the massive maze of weaponry. Intricately designed, crafted by the thousands, some embedded deep in clusters, forming pathways. Dust kicked up from the footsteps of the armored trio as they stared forward, towards an advancing figure. The setting sun in the cloud ridden sky would send shivers down their spines when they gazed upon the epitomy of darkness. An aging man, cloaked in dark attire moved briskly down the path and from his intent stare The Three knew that his prescence was going to test their ability to protect the blades. His arms were behind his back and his maniacal smirk widened as something began to materialize from his body. The Three stood for a moment, tensed, hands tightening on the hilts of their keyblades, eyes narrowed inside their helmets.

What formed from the villain could only be described as pure evil, cloaked in what looked like an exoskeletal, black and red sinewy skinned knight. Inhuman, and they knew it. It held no weapons, but the impending danger was apparent to The Three. Unable to stand by any longer to see what the man and creature were going to attempt, the tallest knight sped towards the pair and brandished his weapon. The man took two steps and stood, bringing one arm from behind his back palm up, and lifted it above his shoulder in front of him. The tall knight leapt, but too late, for the earth moved as if an extension of the evil man's rising hand. He felt his armor slam into his skin as he tumbled across like debris. Without a moment to waste, the pair of knights behind him had begun their sprint towards their enemy as they saw their comrade scrape the ground. He quickly recovered, but their enemy had risen the earth like a cliff, reaching towards the heavens. At that moment the creature drops and bolts of lightning shot towards the tall knight as the other two caught up and rushed towards the thing.

He gritted his teeth in pain, the armor protecting his face cracking and pieces near his jaw dropped away; but he recovered as the flames on his armor extinguished. The Three became distracted by the creature as the man moved his hand once more, this time near a cluster of key blades, and they took flight into the sky into upward spiral.

The two knights rushed the creature as it made its descent towards them and met with one of the knight's blade, tossing it away for a moment as it cast an ice spell towards the two. With a thunderous sound the cluster of keyblades rushed down like a possessed entity as the shadow creature leapt onto it. Using the stance for its advantage, the shadow tossed ice spell after ice spell towards the knights and grabbed a keyblade for itself as it leapt to the ground. As one knight tried his hand at a strike, he was overcome by the keyblades and thrown to the side, while the female knight sped towards the shadow for a successful clash. The blow was blocked, but she quickly responded with her own lightning bolt. It struck, but the wave of keyblades surfaced once more to the aid of the shadow, and she was swept into the destructive stampede, falling down the cliff.

In an act to slow herself, she dug her keyblade into the rocks, but the act only worked for a moment as the structure began to tumble. Her blade came loose and she felt her breath catch in her lungs as she hit the ground hard. A short gasp emitted from her lips when she used her keyblade to prop herself up, and one of her comrades made it to her aid. Her helmet had flown off her, or had been crushed from the drop, but either way, the blue haired maiden pointed her keyblade towards the tallest and shielded him from the keyblades that threatened to crush him. As the spell dissipated in an explosion that drove away the rush of keyblades, the knight tried his attack on the evil man. To no avail, the knight slid on the rocks and noticed his armor begin to take on an icy feel. With only a touch the man had almost frozen the knight's arm completely. Unable to warn the other as he attacked from behind the enemy, the evil man had grasped the young knight by the head with one hand.

He struggled but the man's grip tightened and the agony the knight felt was unfathomable as he was literally frozen. The blue-haired knight, weakened by the spell and the fall, felt the helplessness as she watched from below. Bored by the efforts of the heroes, the man tossed the frozen knight from the cliff, and the figure crashed against the rock face numerous times on its way down. Terrified by the fate her friend seconds from suffering, she mustered her strength, and sprinted towards him. Had she been any later, he would have shattered into millions of pieces.

A small break in a losing battle, she cradled her comrade and stared into his face; frozen into a look of despair. The man lifted his hand towards the heavens and clouds parted through the darkness. A heart-shaped made itself known. The bright light of it bathed the land and the two knights turned their faces upwards. The tallest knight removed his helmet and his eyes changed from a blue to a fiery gold, and the blue haired knight stared on in defeat.

The end to start a new beginning.