Chapter 1: Where There's Light…

Darkness everywhere, surrounding me, surging through me, inviting me deeper into its depths… This evokes a sensation of falling, but it is more soothing than startling. Yet to my horror I can feel my heart straining to heed the darkness' call. Part of me just wants to sink into its depths and disappear, to give up my search and stop fighting against the inevitable; to become one with the darkness… Maybe I'd be better off if my story ended here. I can't go back and I don't know where forward is. All I can see in every direction is darkness…

Everything I can feel is darkness… I can hear it, taste it, and even smell the darkness all around me. I feel as if my heart is completely unguarded against it, yet somehow it has not yet overtaken me… But why, when everything my Master ever told me warned of the corrupting power of darkness? I have used the power of darkness- taken the step away from the light. The light, which I reached for but could never grasp… Yet the darkness welcomed me with open arms… What does that make me? I can sense the darkness as if it is waiting for that final admission of defeat, for my last reserves to give out before it devours my heart and I disappear completely.

I was always the shadow… The brighter their lights shined the more apparent it became that mine didn't. Sometimes they shined so brightly it was hard for me to look at… No matter what the masters said I always felt in my heart that I couldn't shine like they did… Those thoughts didn't bring out anger in me, or even jealousy… There was no bitterness, just a numb feeling… I didn't want what they had… But I wanted my own light to shine, so I could proudly stand next to my friends and see pride in my Master's eyes…

When my heart finally did unleash its power I knew I had to leave. I was, am, a danger to all of them… It was finally time for me to find out why I am the way I am and why I got two keyblades. What is it about the nature of my heart the masters wouldn't tell me? Thinking back on it now, I wonder if they were just trying to protect me from the darkness. Not that it really matters anymore…

At least if I give up it will be my own choice, here I'm beyond anyone else's reach. Before I left I was always bound by their rules or swept up in the currents of fate. I knew why I was learning to use my keyblades, who my allies were, where I belonged, what my responsibilities were, who I was, I knew I had to leave, that the darkness was a taint, that I was tainted by it… Now things aren't so black-and-white; now the ability to choose is mine alone…

But why would I choose oblivion? If I have the power of choice here then why would I throw it away? The thought seems to clear the haze that had been forming in my head. The more I think about it, the weaker the darkness' hold on my heart grows. The darkness can't have me, not yet. If it is the only strength I have I will use it, sparingly at least. But I won't let it consume me, not until find what I'm looking for… I remember the questions I still need answers for- the reason I left in the first place. If no one out there has my answers I'll just have to discover them myself. Giving up is out of the question for me.

I feel my body separate from the mass of darkness. I look and am able to see my hands so I mentally count all my fingers, like I'm not sure they'll all actually be there. Needless to say they are, I look down and am able to see the rest of my body as well. The very essence of the darkness seems to change, I'm able to discern different layers and textures in the darkness, the smells become subtler- more subdued yet more distinct. The sensation of falling stops and is replaced by what feels like a solid surface beneath my feet.

Well, my first choice was not to disappear and it's looking like my second decision will be to pick a direction and start walking. I squint into the darkness and am able to make out that I am in a corridor-like structure walled by darkness… That narrows my decision down pretty effectively: left or right?

I think for a moment, at this point it would probably be best to just go with my instinct. I turn left and start walking, it will probably be better for me in the long run to spend as little time this close to the darkness as possible- at least until I learn to control it. My footsteps make no sound in the darkness, it's a rather uncanny feeling and hard to describe. It isn't like the sounds are muffled as if from a dusty floor, they're just missing altogether. Yet with every footfall I expect to hear a sound accompany it, and in the absence of that sound is just an eerie silence.

Maybe it's just the silence playing tricks on me, because my throat feels too choked to make a sound that will break it and the rhythmic swish of fabric from my clothes is not enough, but I swear I can feel a strange thrumming. It's an almost tangible energy, like the darkness is coming in proximity with something… The thrumming gets louder and more powerful, seeming to agitate the darkness until the very air shivers along with it. Strangely, I'm not afraid and I feel my heart pulled towards the source of the vibration, whatever that source may be…

The darkness unfolds in front of me, allowing light to pour in. I cover my eyes- sensitive from being in the dark so long- and take a step forward. Behind me the dark door I came from closes, leaving me squinting, dazzle-blinded, at an unfamiliar world…

The rhythmic sound of footsteps on marble floors echoes through the hall. The source of the sound is a girl of about 16. She hurries down the hall and into a large open room, decorated by marble columns and large, arched windows. Although it doesn't look that way at first, the room actually has a very relaxing air to it. It makes one feel warm and secure, as if in this room nothing can go wrong. The Land of Awakening: one of the seven worldlets guarded by the Keybearers of Light. The worldlets serve as a safe place the Keybearers can watch over the worlds without interfering with them…

Three figures stand on the opposite side of the room. The girl recognizes all three but seems surprised to see two of them. She approaches the steps that lead to three high-backed chairs. Two of the figures, older men, appear to be conversing with the third, a boy about her age with snowy-white hair. She looked again to the middle figure, her Master. "Did you find him?" She asked, her gaze going from her master to the snowy-haired boy. The master's eye became sad. After a moment the white haired boy spoke.

"He's… Not coming back…"

Her eyes widened. "You didn't!"

The white-haired youth took a step back. "The boy has chosen the path of Darkness." The heads of the two teens turned to the final figure. "Isn't that so Zeke?" Zeke looked relieved as he responded. "Yes Master Veritas, it would seem so..."

Pain was reflected on the girl's face. "No, he wouldn't… Master Shin you know Xane, he wouldn't betray us like this! He would fight the Darkness! "