Hello everyone hope you have had a fine week. As for me I've been replaying all my Kingdom Hearts games. Seeing how I have all the remakes and KH3 that's been a lot.
Thank you hnh058513, keybladelight, Perran Onh, ArmantusCumPinnae, and knight7572 for your feedback, thoughts, and questions. I also like to thank the readers along with those that favorited and/or followed the story.
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is the property of Square and Disney, and Overlord is the property of Kugane Maruyama. I own neither.
It happened so fast for the village. One minute everything is fine nothing has happened and in the next, these creatures just popped into existence and began attacking the town. Eri couldn't believe what she was seeing as one of these creatures jumped on a person and then pulled out a glowing ball of light from them.
Their body seemed to disappear before her eyes as the creatures turned their gaze to her. Eri turned to run away but was meet with more of them practically surrounding her. The Soldier jumped at her reaching for her heart before a large key shaped blade pieced through its body as it disappeared in a puff of dark smoke. Floating out of it was the heart contained within. "Need some help?"
The Heartless turned their attention to Sora as they recognized the danger he posed. Two of them tried to jump him to only get meet with a swing by the Keyblade. The rest rushed after him but just like the others Sora quickly dispatched them with just a few swings. Immediately more black mists formed as Heartless appeared in front of them.
'W-what's going on?' The boy in front of her held his weird sword in front of him as they jumped at them.
"Blaze!" Sparks of flames arched at the tip before a large burst of fire shot out and burned much of the Heartless alive. The last two managed to get in close before a semi-transparent barrier sprang to life in front of Sora. "Reflect!" In contact with it, they were seemingly hit with their own attack. "Wind!"
A miniature tornado formed up dragging them along until they disappeared in a flash of black mist. "That has to be the last if them," There wasn't any more sounds for help and already he had clever through them as he raced through the village. Sora turned his head to her. "You alright?"
She gave him a nod as she looked at the mists that had been the only thing to mark that these creatures existed. This wasn't like anything she had ever seen or heard about. It was almost like they were made of shadows. 'W-who is this guy?'
A few minutes later the village chief had thanked Sora for taking care of the creatures. Sora just brushed it off as he saw nothing special about it. "Are you sure there isn't anything we could do for you?" The Keyblade wielder crossed his arms in thought. He was in a new world and had no idea where he was going. "Do you have a map I can look at?"
The chief gave him a nod as he looked for the map of the surrounding areas. Once he laid it down Sora could confirm he was nowhere he had been to before. Reaching into his pocket Sora pulled out his Gummiphone looking to snap a picture of the map. "What is that thing?"
Sora looked up as they were all staring at the Gummiphone that he had within his hands. In the back of his mind, Sora could hear Donald yelling at him about the world order. "It's... a kind of magical object from my homeland." He hoped that there was magic in this world. 'Please let this work.'
"Really?" The village chief looked at the object in amazement. "You'll homeland must be amazing!"
Immediately a picture of the Destiny Islands appeared in Soras's mind. Almost immediately he was reminded of Kairi and wondered if he would ever get back to her. "The thing is I wanted to leave it for so long until recently."
Was he even able to return home? Besides opening a Corridor of Darkness, which was out of the question as he wasn't anywhere near immune to the effects of Darkness as Riku was, and furthermore, he didn't know how to make a Keyblade Glider. As such he was mostly stuck here until he found a way to contact his friends. 'Wait a minute…'
An idea was starting to form in his head when he was brought out of his thoughts by the village chief. "You won't mind me asking but do you think your next stop would be E-Rantel?" Sora looked at him as his attention was pulled out of his thoughts. "I have something to send to the mayor there if you wouldn't mind I'm sure he would reward you."
"Sure I guess," Sora gave him a smile. It wouldn't hurt to do something for them. "What you need to deliver?"
Lea looked at the two others with him as they tried to figure out what had happened to them. Before suddenly waking up in an unfamiliar landscape with a sun that wasn't in a permanent state of twilight the three of them were discussing on how to find the missing girl that both him and Isa had befriended. Then everything when white and he woke up here with two of his three friends.
Speaking of them it seemed that they had all been changed in some ways by the trip. For one he was certain that he had fur growing all around his body, his teeth were sharper and if he had a mirror his eyes would have cat-like pupils. He looked to his right at Roxas who was leaning on a tree. The former Nobody of Sora, who as he learned looked like Ventus due to Sora having his heart when Roxas was created, seemed normal at first glance. It was at his ears that gave away something had happened to him with them being somewhat long and pointed.
To his left was Xion who had managed to return to her usual form as a black-haired copy of Kairi. That was something he never thought he would ever say. According to Isa, originally Xion used to look different depending on who was looking at her. After her heart, which had formed over her life and interactions with him and Roxas, had entered her replica it settled on her looking like a black-haired Kairi. When she awoke however they were greeted with a featureless face which actually terrified her until she by accident took on Sora's appearance and then Roxas and finally his.
After calming down she had returned to the usual form she always had. "Alright, so let's see we are in a completely different world with no idea how we got here and we have each been altered as well," Well, this was something he honestly couldn't believe was happening. That was saying something given all he know was possible. "So, any ideas as to how this happened?"
Both Xion and Roxas looked at each other as they silently both had the same idea. "Sora."
"You think Sora the cause of this?" Why was he pretending, of course, Sora would be a reason for this. When has he ever not been the cause of some sudden change in there lives as of late? "Well, I guess we can at least find Sora."
The three of them knew how devastating the loss of Sora had been to them both. Kairi especially seemed a bit too overzealous in looking to get Sora back. Lea was almost reminded of herself back when he was Axel. Nevermind the feeling that his parents had went through after hearing everything. "Well, that's great and all but do we know where to even look for him?"
Roxas had made a good point. This world was likely large like any other. For all, they know they could be a few miles or whole continents away from him. Xion thought about how they could go about it when she noticed a giant glow coming from one of her coat pockets. A black Wayfinder with what appeared to be in inverted Nobody emblem at its center was pulled out. "Where did you get that?"
"I have no idea," Xion shrugged her shoulders. A glow caught both Lea and Roxas attention as the two of them reached into their floats and pulled out two Wayfinders of their own. A red Wayfinder for Lea and a light yellow for Roxas. "You think they are leading us to Sora?" It was as good a thought as any.
Roxas and Lea looked at each other wondering if they should trust it. They had just randomly change species and been given a Wayfinder. Even if this did have something to do with Sora the both of them felt it was rather convenient. But they had nothing else to work with so they might as well. "Maybe we'll just have to go and see."
Before they could head off in the direction dark mists formed around them as Heartless appeared. Lea groaned at this as Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion while Xion summoned her copy of Kingdom Key. Flame Liberator appeared in Lea's hands as he knew this would happen eventually. "Of course, the Heartless are everywhere."
The increased patrols on the first three floors did not go unnoticed by the other Floor Guardians and by Ainz. Shalltear's reasoning about the traps suddenly being activated did bring up a good reason. Given that they were in a new world there could be all kinds of dangers. After spending two days holed up within the Tomb Ainz was starting to get a little curious about the outside world.
His attempts at calling the other guild hadn't worked at all. In fact, if he didn't know any better it seemed like every time he looked at the screen a glitch happened. This was starting to both get annoying and made him wonder if it had something to do with this new world. Speaking of the world Ainz had decided to make a means to view the world from.
Ainz stopped as he thought he saw something out the corner if his vision. Turning over he saw nothing. 'Am I starting to pretend that things are there?' This seemed like more proof that he was starting to go stir crazy. 'Everything is already crazy, to begin with.'
As he continued to walk away a Shadow moved up from the floor before disappearing. It reappeared in front of its master. The Darkling looked to it as other Shadows appeared. Sitting on the makeshift chair the leader of the invading dark forces was looking over what each of the Shadows have shown it about the world.
Two screens seemed to appear out of the dark puffs one viewing the Tomb of Nazarick and the other split viewing several different people. From the probes, it seems that they would be the most trouble for them while in this world. 'Wait, he looks familiar,' Its eyes narrowed as it glared at Ventus. Memories of a time long since gone when the world was whole or just about flashed through its mind. 'Ventus…'
Darkness arched off the being as memories of what he did cross her mind. Yet, it was likely he didn't remember anything that had happened. The Darkling knew that they didn't and only knew what had happened thanks to its new existence. 'How long ago it was when the Darkness claimed me, with no memory it seemed assured,' For a moment it forms seemed to shift as memories of what it was flashed through the heart within. 'I wonder what happened to the part left behind?'
In the Darkness surrounding its form black-hair could be seen before the face of a young girl around Ventus age poked through. As soon as it formed the Darkness overtook it and returned to the usual hooded face of the Darkling. "We shall see soon enough," The screens twisted and change before showing her the leaders of the nearby nations. "As for right now, we have…"
The sounds of Heartless being destroyed but their essence returning to the Realm of Darkness caught its attention. With a way of its hand, it watched as a figure in armor tore through several of its outlining scouts. Yellow eyes narrowed as it watched the last of them disappear into a puff of dark smoke. "How annoying," Raising its claws as dark energy gathered it speed up the process of regeneration for the Heartless. Immediately they reappeared and with more flashes of Darkness signaling that more of them were appearing. "Take it out."
A Corridor of Darkness sprang to life as Riku walked out with Kairi following behind him. The Princess of Hearts never felt anything when passing through the dark pathway, in fact, she didn't need protection from the corrupting effects, though as if by instinct she knew the Darkness had been circling her. Riku took out the Wayfinder that he had as it glowed forward in front of them.
Pointing at the city that stood right before them. Riku pulled out the map that the village had given him. "It looks like we ended up near E-Rantel."
Kairi remembered what Riku had told her about the area where they had ended up on the world. It was near the board between the Re-Estize kingdom and the Slane Theocracy. The now transformed girl was thankful that they were not traveling in the way to the Theocracy as according to the information Riku was able to get they were big supporters of human supremacy. A flash of dark mist caught their attention as several Heartless appeared in front of them.
Braveheart and Destiny's Embrace flashed into existence as both of them were ready for a fight. No sooner did the Heartless disappear in a black mist disappearing before their eyes. Riku unsummoned Braveheart as the scent of Darkness disappeared. "Weird, I never thought the Heartless would just disappear like that," Being instinct driven the Heartless would have attempted to attack them both thanks to the Keyblades they both had. 'Unless someone is controlling them.'
With Xehanort's defeat, it looked like the Heartless were going to slowly disappear from the Realm of Light. The only other person who Riku could see controlling the Heartless for any length was Maleficent and even then they did abandon her so that was unlikely. "Riku why do you think the Heartless are here?"
"I don't know but that can't be good regardless," The Heartless would endanger everyone here regardless of who was controlling them. Eventually, when the time comes they may choose to abandon whoever summoned them. "Kairi, I'm afraid you may have to stay outside of the city."
"Actually, that wouldn't be a problem," She looked to the piece of the Keyblade armor she had been given as it activated. When it was done covering her Riku took noticed that her wings seemed to have disappeared and the helmet was wide enough to hide her horns. "I tested out my armor earlier today and well hopefully they do have girls in armored plating around here."
The last Neoshadow was slammed into the ground, breaking apart into whips of Darkness. The suit of armor piloted by the Platinum Dragon Lord stood in the middle of the torn landscape that had become a battlefield between it and the Heartless. A Corridor if Darkness sprang up behind it as the Darkling walked out annoyed by the thing in front of it.
Its eyes if they could, would narrow in annoyance at it. "I see an animated suit of armor," It was quite clever actually especially to fight the Heartless. "Who am I speaking to behind the puppet?"
The Dragon Lord looked at the creature in front of him. It looked somewhat like the other and it had the same feel as the others but given it could speak and the power that it seemed to wield. "Are you the leader of these things?"
"Things?" It mockingly had a look of annoyance at being called a mare thing. "We are the Heartless the spawn of the very Darkness that makes up half of creation itself," Pointing a claw at its the Darkling decided to see how far it can go with this. "In fact, right now you have a part of it within your very heart."
"I doubt that," He knew about the organ in question and there was no way something like this was within it.
The Darkling if possible rolled its eyes at this. "Not the physical organ," It summoned a soldier to it only to grab it's head slowly crushing it. "Think of it more as the sum of who you are, emotions, memories, personality, all wrapped up in Light and Darkness."
With that, the Soldier's body broke apart as the heart floated up and was pulled to the Realm of Darkness. The Platinum Dragon Lord was starting to understand what this had to mean. "Are you from YGGDRASIL?"
It took the Darkling a few moments but it realized what it was getting at. The shares of another heart. A heart made of data that rested within the world's heart. A laugh started to leave its mouth. "Are you talking about the data world that partly infested the heart of this world?"
"Data?" He didn't understand what this thing was even talking about. From the Darkness behind it, the Darkling pulled out a strange thing holding it within its talons.
"Yes data as in a simulation, or it doesn't exist," The disk faded away within its hands as if to give him an idea. "The only reason this YGGDRASIL is even real for you is due to a strange property advance digital world and bringing it to reality."
He still didn't fully understand what they were saying but he knew that it was only stalling. The suit got ready to attack it as he knew it was after something. "Enough, why are you here!"
Tendrils of Darkness sprang up around it as a laugh was heard echoing from it. He tried to attack her but it was sadly no use as the Heartless was already gone. Looking around for any signs of more of its irk he was meet with nothing. 'That creature if what it says is true then what am I facing off against?'
Beyond that, the way it talked about the world of the players, how casual it spoke going as far as to call it fake, did that mean that they were not normal? It had said that their world had been partly infested by the "data" within its own heart. He knows so little about both threats that he faced. If only there was someone who could explain to him everything.
A notebook was closed as a sigh escaped her mouth. She knew what had happened very early on. At least as long as she stood here eventually everyone else will come and find her. Namine stood in the room that she had awoken in. Plain white with symbols all around her. Then she noticed the changes to her body.
White feathered wings coming from her lower back, curved horns on her head, and her figure. The blonde former Nobody of Kairi reached out again with her abilities. In the time following her existence as her own person Namine had practically been adopted by Ansem the Wise and spent time studying her abilities to manipulate memories. What surprised her was that now her powers it seems could manipulate anyone's memories with varying degrees of effort on her part.
They theorized it was because of the X Blade and Kingdom Hearts. Sora had been given reforged weapon, the counterpart of the heart of everything, and it seems that she could use its connection to connect to everyone. Right now she was trying to use it to know where everyone was. 'Roxas, Xion, and Lea are closest to me.'
She could reach out and try to use the connections to hopefully speak to them. Looking through the connections she found that the King, Donald, and Goofy were the furthest from her and going in the opposite direction. Waving through the connections she felt the worlds heart. The pain it was in almost cause her to collapse. Namine pulled herself back from this as she rested on a wall.
Something had entered the heart of this world. Poisoning the very nature of this world. There wasn't any type of harmony like with her and Kairi, or Sora and numerous hearts that used to be within him. No, the invading heart was acting like a parasite to the world's heart.
Its screams had caught the attention of the Heartless and like hunters hearing the cries of a sick animal they have come. When she got her bearings again she reached out with her powers and tried to make contact with either Roxas, Xion, or Lea.. 'Xion?'
"Namine is that you?"
Saving the village had proven to be something that had benefited them. As Albedo had to expect from her the greatest of the Supreme Beings. The armor-clad Floor Guardian was told not to reveal herself to the villagers. Much easier to converse with them if they didn't know what they are. "First those strange creatures attacked us and then those fake knights," She was overhearing one of the villagers talking to themselves as they rebuilt the damages that the attack had caused. "It was only three days that I lost my brother-in-law to those things you know."
"Those things that suddenly came into being, out from the black mists?" Albedo's attention peaked at this if only slightly. "I was away when that happened did they say those things didn't leave a body?"
Albedo was slightly intrigued by this when Ainz, under disguise, walked up to her. "Albedo is something wrong?"
"No, Lord Ainz it's nothing." Ainz looked to the villagers as he heard them talking about the strange creatures that had attacked them before. The village chief had informed him about it just a while ago.
Creatures that had been taken care of by someone wielding a key shaped sword. According to the chief, he had a strange device and left a few days ago with a letter to the mayor of the nearby city. Someone who was like him from a faraway land. He was almost certain it was one of the so-called Guardians of Light.
The question about these creatures was another story. They had just appeared and taken at least three victims before the travel dispatched them. The weirdest thing was that there weren't any bodies to bury nor any bodies from them. 'An unknown life forms that leaves no body behind and appears out of nowhere,' It sounded like something of a poorly written horror novel. 'Could they enter into the Tomb without us knowing?'
Suddenly he wondered if something had set off the traps on one of Shalltear's floors.
Brain looked at the Master of Masters as he was laughing at him. The first Keyblade wielder and the maker of them couldn't help himself. "It isn't funny."
"No, the outcome isn't but how you got there is," He held out several cards that seemed to materialize seemingly out of nowhere. First one had a picture of a girl with two pony tales. "First, you decide to kill someone immediately regret your decision but never tell her brother," He then pointed to the glowing sparkles at the far end of their line of sight in the Final World. "By the way, she's right there if you want to apologize."
As soon as he pointed this out Brain turned to the sparkles of a heart lost in the Final World. Unable to rejoin with Kingdom Hearts. It made him feel rather ashamed. "The others didn't get any better," He tossed out a few cards. "Her brother and possibly his girlfriend ended up attacked by Heartless along with a few others who got caught in the ride," The next card to appear was of Ventus wielding a different Keyblade from the one he currently had. "Then there is the one who ended up in the care of a man obsessed with the Keyblade War."
There was only one left and Brain wondered what he was going to tell him this time. "As for Skuld well you messed up so badly with her that I didn't even think it was possible to remove someone's heart mid-transit to the next Worldline."
"Wait, what?!" That wasn't supposed to happen. Brain was in a panic at what could have happened to her.
"Yep, her body landed on some world within the Realm of Light while her heart regrettably got lost in the Realm of Darkness and you know what happens right?" He revealed the card of Skuld with was then covered in a dark flash as in her place was a Darkling.
You can guess just who the Darkling is. As for the timeline of this chapter it kind of spans about three days. Speaking on the timeline I admit I have a lot to do with the Kingdom Hearts side of things because I kind of screwed myself with them being all around. I apologize to my readers for my mistake.
Anyway, cya all next time. May your heart by your guiding key.
