Welcome back everyone! Another chapter is here. A quick note: I will be using terms from some Final Fantasy games (and possibly other games) that are specific to said game. I will mark them and explain them at the end of the chapter, so don't worry if you don't know the reference.
This is a non-profit story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would be out by now. I'm serious!
The most important thing to remember about secrets is that they're secrets. Things that are hidden are meant to be hidden. In this case, darkness triumphs over light to appease this need. Perhaps that's why many have chosen darkness. It's like a cloak to conceal oneself, to hide from the world, to reject the world. Maybe that's why Kingdom Hearts is now in the Realm of Darkness, to reject us, the descendants of those who destroyed the world.
Chapter 2: Start of the Butterfly Effect
"Remind me again why we're riding this…thing?" Astraeus said, sitting back in the lofty chair as the beast below him swam through the water.
Zephyr just laughed. "I can't believe you've never seen a shoopuf before (1)! You, the man probably most curious about the world, have never seen a common animal used for water transport." As if in agreement, the shoopuf made a sound as it continued swimming across the water with its two passengers perched on its back.
"I can't believe we didn't choose something else as a mode of transportation." Astraeus grumbled. He didn't have a problem with the shoopuf itself. No, the ride is very enjoyable, but taking forever! To get to the location of the ruins, Astraeus and Zephyr had to cross the river. Unfortunately, they only bought five-hour long pixie dust (a downside to manmade pixie dust is that it has time-limited usage) and wouldn't be able to make it in time, so the two opted for landing at a trading post along the Starfall River, the longest river in Elysia. Astraeus wanted to rent a flying carpet or buy more pixie dust, but Zephyr suggested getting a cheaper mode of transportation that will save them munny: a shoopuf. Not knowing what a shoopuf is, Astraeus was quickly interested. So far, an hour has passed and the two were only halfway to the end.
"Relax, enjoy the sites." Zephyr said, leaning back in same of the pillows, enjoying the shade the cover above is providing. "The ruins aren't going anywhere."
"But the locals are." Astraeus protested.
Zephyr sighed, fully understanding his friend's concern. "There's not much we can do. If we attack the locals or defend ourselves, that will cause a national crisis of your country and Elysia. Your father is currently in the middle of smoothing things over with the king of Elysia. The negotiations have only recently gotten underway."
"I know this already, but still." Astraueus rubbed his temples, trying to soothe his anxiety, but his friend is right about what's going on politically. Elysia is the second largest country in the world, and the most anarchic.
A little over two decades ago, this land mostly of jungle was known as the Continent of Elysia, possessing dozens of small countries, hundreds of city-states, and countless villages. Many of them constantly fought others in a grab for power, and this remained the norm for Elysia until twenty years ago, when a monarchy kingdom calling itself the 'true rulers of Elysia' suddenly absorbed many city-states and villages into itself. Many of the minor countries united to face this suddenly growing enemy, but they were all defeated in the end. Eventually, the Kingdom of Elysia encompassed all of Elysia, starting with the reign of King Elysia I. However, while technically stable, there are many minor uprisings going on, calling the reign a dictatorship. Elysia I did not do much in the face of the opposition, but his son and current ruler, King Elysia II, did; massacring the rebels. It proved to be effective, but this only caused many to rebel in secret by leaving villages and cities and living in the wilderness of the jungle. These people literally living in the jungle are what's causing the current issue with uncovering the ruins.
"I honestly don't see any point in diplomacy." Zephyr began. "Can't people just agree not to fight each other?"
"Not that simple." Astraeus said, staring into the water below them. "People can go back on their word. Diplomacy consists of agreements and threats to uphold those agreements. My father's probably threatening to burn down all of Elysia's jungle."
"Would he really do that?" Despite knowing Astraeus for so long, Zephyr has rarely seen his father and only once talked to him, giving a simple 'hello'.
"Maybe, maybe not, but the point is he can. A lot of agreements have empty threats." Astraeus rolled onto his back and stared upward, his view of the sky blocked by the covering. "Ahhh, I get so depressed when I talk about politics."
"You also act like a completely different person." Zephyr pointed out. "I almost didn't recognize you." Suddenly the shoopuf stopped moving. "Oh, looks like we're here." The moment he said that, Astraeus jumped off the shoopuf, not even bothering to wait for the platform to extend to them.
"Next time, we're renting a carpet." Astraeus said as Zephyr got off the shoopuf the normal way via the platform and onto the dock.
It was roughly a ten minute trek from the docks to the site of the ruins. Thankfully the path has been mostly cleaned up during the movement of the equipment.
"So, you sure you'll find what you're looking for?" Zephyr asked, pushing some leaves away.
"I told you, I'm almost never wrong." Astraeus replied, stepping over a patch of mud.
"Well, if you say so." Zephyr said quietly as a clearing became visible. "Here we are."
Astraeus immediately went to observe the ruins, but was stopped by some armed people.
"Sir, we need permission to let you enter." One of them said. He was wearing a completely blue uniform that had leather straps going over his shoulders and metal armor on his shoulders and knees. Covering part of his mouth and chin was what looked like a red scarf and the man wore a helmet. The two other armed people looked exactly the same except they had green scarfs instead of red. (2)
"Well, first time someone stopped me from going somewhere." Astraeus said surprised. He figured these guys were mercenaries hired to protect the ruins and they were either unaware of who Astraeus was or they were fully aware, but loyal to their orders.
"Hey, he has full permission. You're speaking to royalty." Zephyr said, coming to stand next to Astraeus.
"Understood." The soldier with the red scarf said as all three of them put their weapons away and resumed patrol.
"Who were they?" Astraeus asked, the soldiers clear out of sight.
Zephyr sighed. "An up-and-coming mercenary group that goes by the name of Shinra. They're still small, but are growing rapidly and work for a good price."
"Certainly good with orders too." Astraeus noted.
"Come on, we're not here to stare at soldiers." Zephyr said, reminding Astraeus of why they're here. Astraeus quickly nodded and followed after Zephyr. Astraeus noted some burnt machinery littering nearby.
"That's the remains of your equipment?" Astraeus asked.
"Not all of it, just the important ones." Zephry sighed as they proceeded.
The two came to the entrance of the ruins. Remains of stone pillars littered the sides of the passageway deeper into what was once apparently a temple. The inside had wires and lighting from the equipment that was currently inside, but the walk was short because it ended in a medium-sized chamber.
"Dead end?" Astraeus questioned out loud. The ruins looked far larger outside, so there must be more.
"We thought so at first, but look." Zephyr said and raised his hand. The familiar bright ball of fire formed in his hand, which turned into a fira spell he sent it flying to the wall opposite of the pathway. A ping was heard as the fire spell was somehow negated.
"A magic seal?" Astraeus asked.
"Yes. Apparently there's a pathway beyond this wall. Why else would they erect a magic seal to repel magical and physical strikes? Unfortunately, we can't use the equipment to analyze and deactivate the seal since the locals are constantly interfering. So we needed an expert in magic instead.
"So that's why you wanted me to come along." Astraeus stated.
Zephyr nodded. "You're the only person I know who can decipher magical constructs and is also capable of casting at least Level 2 magic of every type. I guess it's since you had a master mage teach you. But I wasn't lying when I said this had a connection to what you're looking for." Zephyr then pointed to some markings on the magically sealed wall. "We translated this symbol to 'heart' and that one to 'unlock'. We believe that whatever you're looking for might be here."
"I see. Well, I like how you killed two birds with one stone and brought me along. Alright, I'll give it a look." Astraeus walked towards the wall and placed his hand on the wall. Energy formed, as if stopping Astraeus from touching the wall.
"So, did you figure it out?" Zephyr asked.
Astraeus removed his hand from the wall. "Well, I must say, this is the most complex seal I've ever seen. I don't think even my strongest spells will break through."
Zephyr sighed. "Then we'll never get in there."
"But I think I know how to though." Astraeus said.
"Huh? I thought you said your strongest spells won't break it." Zephyr said.
"That's why I have to play it smart. Magic seals and barriers consist of two parts: durability and diversity. The common magic shields used today by average mages are very diverse, capable of blocking nearly every single type of magic out there. However, they tend to be weak unless the mage pours a lot of energy into the shield, we mainly know them as Protect and Shell. The other type of shields are only used by White Mages, they're known as the Nul-spells, such as NulBlaze (3), which can offer perfect protection against a limited variety and number of attacks. However, this one right here…" Astraeus gestured to the invisible barrier in front of them. "It's far more advanced than either of those types, excelling in both diversity and durability, functioning as a seal that can withstand not just magic spells but magic in its entirety."
"How's that supposed to help us?" Zephyr asked, crossing his arms.
"The way this shield is designed is to take the damage of a magic spell and also absorb the magic that inflicted the damage to heal itself at nearly the same moment the spell hits. It sounds convoluted, but that is essentially what this shield does. If I can inflict damage to the shield at a rate faster than it can repair itself, then it should break."
"But you said it heals itself at the same moment it's attacked. This ruin and us with it will turn to dust before then!" Zephyr cried out.
"That's why we have to make it not instantaneous. You're proficient in Time Magic Zephyr, you can figure it out."
Zephyr narrowed his eyes in thought before widening them. "Ok, I got it!" Zephyr put both hands out. "Get ready!" Zephyr said and cast Slow on the shield and Haste on Astraeus, accelerating movements and slowing down the shield's response to attacks. Almost immediately, Astraeus began bombarding the seal with magic of all sorts. Fire, Thunder, Gravity, Wind, and all other sorts went at the magical barrier. At first, it seemed like the seal was holding, negating all spells that came at it. However, cracks began to form.
Astraeus' idea was working!
However, Astraeus cast a Blizzard spell at the seal and the cracks vanished.
"Crap!" Zephyr said and immediately reapplied the Slow Spell to the magic shield and, for good measure, reapplied Haste onto Astraeus. In almost no time at all, the cracks started to reappear, this time getting them even bigger. Astraeus caste a Fire spell at the seal and it shattered away. Astraeus dropped to one knee in exhaustion. Zephyr quickly dispelled the time spells and poured an Ether on Astraeus, resupplying him with energy.
"Thanks." Astraeus said, looking up and smiling at his friend.
"I should be thanking you. You unlocked the door, but I really should be saying that you simply used brute force in a smart manner." Zephyr said, putting out a hand Astraeus gladly accepted and pulled him up. "Now let's see if what you're looking for is really here."
"I honestly don't care anymore if what I'm looking for is here." Astraeus said. "I just want to see what was so important to be guarded by what I'm dubbing a Tier-5 barrier."
Zephyr only smiled as he placed his hand on the wall at last. The symbols on the wall glowed and a shaking was heard as the wall slid into the ground, revealing a pathway.
"Well, let's continue." Astraeus said, pulling a burnt out torch from its stand and casting Fire on it to light the way. The two friends continued down the pathway, Astraeus lighting any torches he saw to bring some light to this hallway. At the end of the passageway they came to single pair of double-doors. Putting one hand on each door, Zephyr pushed them open, revealing a completely dark chamber inside. Astraeus could make out what seemed to be a torch stand in the center of the chamber and threw his torch in it. The stand ignited with flames, somehow illuminating the entire chamber.
"Wow." Zephyr said, staring at the walls of the chamber.
"Well, would you look at that?" Astraeus said, partially amused. Covering two walls were piles and piles of Heartinite.
Heartinite, the rarest material found on the planet. It appears randomly across the world in random amounts and at random depths. The stuff supposedly has magical properties, but it can't be used as a catalyst in any spell, enchantment, or alchemical recipe. Many people called Heartinite a solid form of the soul while scientists say it is material that came from meteors, explaining its random locations. The question though, is where? The answer was decided to be Kingdom Hearts itself. This caused a huge uproar, yet made sense for the color of Heartinite and Kingdom Hearts are exactly the same and no other recorded meteor has possessed Heartinite. It really is a theory, a vague one at that, but it stuck and Heartinite was named after the supposed source of it.
As stated, Heartinite is incredibly rare. While it has no value as a commodity, just having some proves you're worth something. The royal family, of course, possesses the most Heartinite, but the amount in this room easily doubles or maybe triples that.
"Why would an ancient civilization store all this Heartinite?" Zephyr asked, inspecting the aforementioned material. Indeed, it was pure Heartinite.
"From how it's placed, they were using it as a resource material, but for what?" Astraeus questioned, looking at the only wall not having Heartinite stacked against it and instead had markings etched across it with a container of some sort. "What's this?" Astraeus placed his hands on the wall and noticed the markings inscribed and the drawings that went with them.
"Did you find something?" Zephyr asked, walking over to his friend.
"Not sure. Look." Astraeus pointed at the inscriptions. "From what I can tell, they were using the Heartinite to make something."
"Really? But no one's found any use for the stuff besides being rare." Zephyr pointed out.
"True, but I think the only reason it's rare is because the ancients hoarded a majority of it and it's been left here since. From what I can tell, they were trying to create a weapon." Astraeus placed his hand over one of the symbols. "A sword? Blade perhaps. There's also the word key among the name of the weapon."
"A key…sword?" Zephyr asked. "What's the point of that? Sounds useless."
"It does sound useless, but remember, Heartinite has unknown magical properties. Maybe these guys found out what those properties were and planned to weaponize them."
"Ok, that might explain the sword part, but what about key? Do you think the properties of Heartinite are like that of a key? To unlock doors and locks?"
Astraeus placed his hand of the second to last picture, consisting of a line with three short lines at one end. "Maybe, but I feel that those properties are more akin to the concept of a key: lock and unlock. To be able to do such to anything physical or metaphysical would truly make you…" Astraeus placed his hand below the final picture, a circle with many of the key-swords going towards it as if planning to impale it. "…unstoppable."
"Sounds like something an ambitious ruler would want. Let's open this chest now." Zephyr said and Astraeus complied. The two worked together to open the stone lid. Inside was another peculiar thing.
"This must be the finished product…maybe prototype." Astraeus said, pulling out the object. It looked similar to the drawings etched into the wall. It was shaped as a two-handed sword, but the part that should've been the blade was dull. Instead, three spokes shooting out from the end of the blade were sharpened. Giving it a quick look, the weapon was made of solid Heartinite except for the handle which was wrapped in leather, but it's safe to assume that there's Heartinite under the leather as well.
"Check this out." Zephyr said and pulled a small clay box from inside the stone chest. Opening it, he found a leather-bound parchment inside. "What do you think it says?"
"Let's trade." Astraeus said, taking the parchment from Zephyr and giving the key-sword to Zephyr.
Astraeus flipped through the parchment. While the paper hasn't decayed, the writings on the paper have long faded, making it difficult to read. On top of this is that Astraeus can't even read a majority of the language the ancients of Elysia used.
"Argh, can't read it." Astraeus sighed, closing the parchment. "We'll need an expert on this if we want to get anywhere."
"That could be a problem." Zephyr pointed out. "While negotiations are going on, there's still hostility between the natives and your country. Finding a translator will be difficult. Finding a willing translator will be even harder."
Astraeus sighed again. This is probably the most he has ever sighed in a single day. "Well let's just take this stuff out and back to my study for more research and call in some people to transport all this Heartinite." Astraeus gave the parchment to Zephyr who placed it back in the wooden box.
"Agreed." Zephyr said, inspecting the stone chest for anything else. Finding nothing, the two started walking out with their discoveries. Suddenly, the whole temple shook, bits of rock falling down from places.
"What was that?" Astraeus asked, looking around. "Earthquake? Quake spell gone wrong?"
"Let's hope." Zephyr said, and the two decided to run a bit to the exit. Outside, Astraeus was proven wrong in his guesses. The Shinra soldiers were in the middle of a battle with some of the locals. Bullets and spells were flying everywhere.
"Sir!" A soldier, the one with the red scarf, said before gesturing over to him behind some makeshift barricades. Astraeus and Zephyr quickly obliged.
"What happened?!" Zephyr said, peering over the stacked boxes before quickly ducking to narrowly escape being hit with a blizzara spell.
"They suddenly appeared from nowhere and began attacking us, sir! They said something before then, but we didn't understand, but from his actions, it seems he said 'this is the last straw' and they started casting magic!"
Zephyr frowned. They really couldn't do anything. If word got out about what was going on here, all negotiations would break down, regardless of who attacked first.
"If I may input sir." The soldier said.
"What?"
"Since it is evident they're capable of casting magic, we could neutralize them with magic. After disposing of any enemies not taken down by such method, we could effectively remove any evidence of our involvement, sir."
Zephyr and Astraeus both frowned at the soldier's choice in words, but his idea held merit. "So..." Zephyr began.
"Since we're the only people capable of casting magic..." Astraeus filled in.
"We'll have to do all the hard work again." Zephyr sighed. "Reminds me of when I was in the army."
"When we were in the army, and we only fought in one battle and it was more of a skirmish."
"Doesn't mean I like this whole being depended on stuff, but that doesn't mean I won't help." Zephyr placed the wooden box down and turned to the soldier. "Make sure this is not damaged, understood?" The soldier nodded and the grip on his rifle tightened. Zephyr then turned towards Astraeus, noticing he is still holding the key-sword. "You're taking that with you?"
Astraeus shrugged. "Maybe I'll learn more about it if I use it or something."
Zephyr shook his head. "Our lives and country are on the line here. We need to resolve this as peacefully as possible."
A violent explosion shook the ground and the two peered over to see trees on fire from one of the local's Firaga spells. Astraeus turned to look at Zephyr with a raised eyebrow.
"I said 'as possible.' Now, I think we can take them down with-" Before Zephyr could finish Astraeus jumped over the barricade. "Hey!"
Astraeus suddenly raised the key-sword up and the locals immediately stopped, eying either the man or the strange weapon. Some of them were apparently taking steps backing up out of some precaution.
"Are you crazy?!" Zephyr shouted over the barricade.
"Hey it worked. Besides, I had a Plan B." Astraeus said, and Zephyr noticed that Astraeus had a Reflect barrier around him.
"Still crazy." Zephyr muttered as he came from behind the defenses.
"They seem to know what it is." Astraeus said to Zephyr. Turning to the locals, Astraeus began to wish he learned more of the language of the Elysian locals. "Err... Do you" Astraues pointed at the locals. "know" Astraeus tapped his head. "what this is?" Astraeus pointed towards the key-sword.
The locals looked at Astraeus strangely. At least it seems they know Astraeus was communicating, but they also thought Astraeus was an idiot.
"Must say, that's better than the last translator who's come this way, but to answer your question every Elysian knows what you're holding." A voice said. The locals parted and a woman stepped forward. She was clad in silky blue clothing that seemed mostly designed for combat. Like the other locals, she didn't wear long pants, instead she wore what seemed to be a blue skirt but there was evidently some kind of shorts under it. The most interesting detail about her clothing are her sleeves. Unlike the others who even have sleeves, hers are very big and long, completely concealing her arms and hands. She had a piercing pair of green eyes with a stunning color of violet for her hair which went all the way down to her waist except for a few small braids which framed her face.
"And you are?" Zephyr asked, raising an eyebrow. The fact the other locals parted for her means that she's of some importance.
"I'm just a simple Elysian, nothing more." The woman smiled.
"I doubt that." Astraeus said. "The fact you're completely able to speak to us begs to differ. Are you their chief or the chief's wife?"
"Close. I suppose I could be considered the daughter of the chief, but unlike my father, I prefer more peaceful solutions. That's why I came to investigate the fighting since I was near the area."
"We still didn't get your name." Zephyr pointed out.
"Yes, and you said every Elysian knows what this is." Astraeus held up the key-sword. "So, what is it?"
"I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Medea, and that weapon you're holding is a weapon of the Gods." The woman, Medea, pointed out.
"The Gods?" Zephyr questioned. Most countries these days believed in a single God, which was either Kingdom Hearts or that their god's throne was seated in Kingdom Hearts. Some small countries and tribes of Elysia were rumored to still believe in multiple gods.
"Indeed." Medea nodded. "Specifically the God of Death for that is a weapon that harvests and devours souls."
Curiosity is…well a curious thing. Almost like a baby, it starts out as the most innocent thing in the world. Yet, if one delves too deeply, curiosity becomes obsession, and obsession becomes fanaticism. This doesn't make curiosity evil. No, wonderful things are also given birth to by curiosity. However, the ability for this festering feeling to cause great and terrible things is a curious thing in and of itself. One should be cautious when appeasing curiosity;, never know what the result will be once sated.
And that's a wrap! Here's the notes:
(1) Shoopuf are elephant like creatures in Final Fantasy X. They live close to water and are used as transportation and back animals by a race called the Hypello. They're used in-game as a mode of transportation across a river called the Moonflow.
(2)Shinra is a company in Final Fantasy VII primarily known for being an Electric Power company, but has gotten involved in space, engineering, and military affairs. For a majority of FFVII franchise, Shinra is responsible, directly or indirectly, for all the problems across the games, including the creation of Sephiroth. In my story, I'm setting Shinra at the point where it has just gotten involved in military affairs, thus no SOLDIER, no Sephiroth, and no Cloud (not that they'd be born yet).
(3)This isn't so much of a note as a heads up. I'll be using a lot of magic that's not used in Kingdom Hearts, but are used in Final Fantasy. This will include a multitude of spells ranging from the Nul-spells (which, depending on the type, allows for immunity of a specific elemental attack once) to Time magic such as Haste and Slow (speeds and slows target, respectively) and tier-4 magic (which are the same spells seen in Kingdom Hearts, but have -gun attached which is actually seen in Kingdom Hearts with things such as the Firagun Bangle and Firagun reaction command).
In case anyone's wondering, the reason I put in this new thing called Heartinite is because I figured that such powerful tools such as Keyblades couldn't be forged from regular metal, thus I present Heartinite. I'll go more into it later in the story.
Well that's all for this chapter. Again, thank SkyFallenHearts for proofreading, and see you next chapter!