Far away, in the Mysterious Tower, sitting on his tall chair behind his wooden desk, the elderly Yen Sid closed his eyes and began to scratch his beard.
Not too far away from the old wizard, clad in a black leather coat with a hood that concealed most of his face, stood the small but mighty King Mickey. He'd arrived at his old master's home not too long ago and had just begun to report on the quest he was currently undertaking when, out of the blue, he and the elderly wizard found themselves caught off-guard by the most untimely interruption.
A mysterious visitor had arrived, appearing from out of a burst of dark mist. He was clothed from bottom to top in red and black, and his head and face was completely covered in red bandages, save for where a right scarlet eye and his mouth were located.
The King jumped back in surprise. Perhaps this man was also an agent of the darkness, thought he. The King frowned. Without any hesitation, he summoned his Keyblade, readying himself to defend his former master. But Yen Sid held out his hand before the King, telling him to lower his weapon.
"I have encountered this man before," Yen Sid explained. "Rest assured, this man is not an enemy of ours."
Mickey put his Keyblade aside, his eyes still cautiously glued onto Yen Sid's visitor. His heart's suspicions still had not been set to ease. Until he found that this man could be trusted, he would keep a close watch on him.
"Master Yen Sid," the man began.
Mickey's shifty gaze at the man faded as his eyes soon grew wide with shock.
"That voice," the King muttered quietly to himself. "I feel like I've heard it before!"
Unaware of the astonishment that was grappling Mickey, Yen Sid nodded at the man in red. "It's been a while since we last crossed paths," said Yen Sid. "Tell me, what do come here for? What is it that you seek this time?"
"I seek nothing more important right now than the success of the Keyblade Master's struggle against the villainous minds of Organization XIII," said the man.
Yen Sid crossed his arms. "By your words, O Mysterious One, I surmise that you wish to offer aid to the Keyblade Master, Sora."
The man nodded. "Yes," he answered, "if you consider what I'm about to tell you to be of help to him in any way, if he encounters it."
"What is it that you wish to tell me?" asked Yen Sid
"Nothing but a mere warning that will surely save young Sora from getting himself into more trouble than he can handle at the present time. I bring you grave news, Master Yen Sid. I have spent countless years traversing the paths of darkness and nothingness long enough to become familiar with its nature. I too know that you as well are familiar with the ways of the Corridors of Darkness and Betwixt and Between.
But hear this, I have walked along those paths recently and have been most seriously concerned and troubled by what I have seen. It is a most worrisome sight: there are rifts of space composed neither of darkness, nothingness, or light that are opening up from within the paths of Betwixt and Between, appearing like rips within the air. These I rifts of pure space I tell you about. And more than once I have seen a Nobody or Heartless dare to approach those dark rifts and disappear into them, only to be reduced to be destroyed in the attempt."
Yen Sid's eyes grew wide with awe. "This is grave news that you bring me," said Yen Sid slowly. "Rifts of pure space within Betwixt and Between…" he shook his head.
"What?" asked the King, eyes brimming with worry. "What are you and this man talking about, Master Yen Sid? What's the meaning of these rifts of space you talk about?"
The man turned to face the King. "It appears, King Mickey, that you are not familiar with this anomaly we speak of."
The King jumped in surprise. "How do you know my name?" he asked. "Who are you?"
The man ignored him. "What Master Yen Sid and I speak of," he said, "is a phenomenon unique to Betwixt and Between. The paths of Betwixt and Between are paths of darkness, and are thus constructed by the darkness. However, what I have seen are rips within the space of Betwixt and Between. Such sightings are indications that someone or something is excessively using the paths of space, not the paths of light or darkness, as a means of travel."
"Gosh," said Mickey. "This is unheard of, this traveling through the paths of pure space."
"Indeed, Mickey," said Yen Sid. "Such a means of travel is not something you would hear of because it has become the norm that it is foolish to travel through pure space because of the dangers it entails and the consequences that come from traversing through pure space. The rifts of space that our visitor here has seen are the effects of an excessive use of the paths of pure space as a means of travel."
"My knowledge of this phenomenon spurned me to come to you and warn you about them, especially if Sora encounters one crossing his path. A weak Nobodies or Heartless can never survive an attempt to step into that tear in space, but a person with a strong will is more likely to succeed in stepping into those tears of space, though the consequences of doing so are unimaginable."
"But, why?" asked the King in a small voice. "What happens if you step into a rift of space?"
The mysterious man ignored him. "I must go, Master Yen Sid. I must find a way to warn Sora of these rifts of space. He must not enter one of them."
A surge of darkness appeared around the man, engulfing him. Within seconds, the darkness faded away, and the man was gone without another word.
"Master Yen Sid!" said Mickey, his voice desperate, "What happens if one enters a rift of pure space? I have to know!"
Yen Sid closed his eyes. "Simply speaking, my friend, should you enter the uncharted paths of pure space and traverse through them, what you will find is that your present will become your past or future, and your past or future will become your present."