Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is the property of Square Enix and Disney. Persona 4 is the property of Atlus.
Being on the Other Side
He is alone in the dark. The sound of his breathing is loud in his ears, deafeningly so. There is a faint throbbing in his skull, amplifying with every movement as he struggles to pull himself up into a sitting position.
He blinks, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. When it doesn't, he realises that there's nothing there for him to see.
No silhouettes, no faint outlines, no floor nor ceiling.
Just empty space.
He spends a long time walking. The muscles in his legs ache constantly, making every step more torturous than the last. Still, he doesn't dare stop-even though he really, really wants to take a break and massage his sore feet, maybe-because he half-knows that if he gives in to that urge now, he won't be able to get up again.
So he's wandering through the darkness, looking for-what? What is he expecting to find?
He doesn't know. He can't even remember what he should be expecting. There's a restless feeling curled up in his chest, pulsing in time with his heartbeat, and it makes him turn his head every now and then, as if there should be-
Something. Something that isn't there.
Eventually, he collapses.
It's probably been hours-days? Minutes? There was no way of telling-since he woke and he's still surrounded by nothing. It's unnerving, and whenever he thinks too deeply about that fact, it raises goose bumps all over his skin.
He is exhausted. His efforts seemed futile from the start but now, splayed out on his stomach without even a trace of energy left in him, everything just feels hopeless. There is nothing he can do to escape-never was anything he could do. Regardless of what he hope(d) he can't do anything.
Is this all there is? A vast empty field of...nothing?
No. He can't give up yet. There's something he has to do. Something important. The reason he started walking at all was because he knew he had to find something.
Something.
He shuts his eyes, desperately trying to remember.
Something.
Some…one…
And for split second, a face flashes by, gone no sooner than it came.
But it's enough.
He gets up, and resumes walking.
He clings to that one fragment of memory, bundling his sanity as close as possible as he continues down the non-existent path.
He walks for an eternity.
Finally, he finds a door. It shimmers, the faint glow pulsing in the dark, like the breath of a sleeping beast.
In his hand, there is a key; the weight of it is familiar, as if it's been there all along and he's simply never noticed.
Slowly, with a deep breath, he raises the key to the door.
The light that comes forth is blinding and warm.
He takes a few steps forward, unseeing, and lets the light swallow him.