Riku stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom, gazing into the emptiness while his mind wandered. His hands were folded on his chest, rising and falling in rhythm with his breathing. Despite being nighttime, he felt wide awake. He found it difficult to sleep due to the excitement that had engulfed him all throughout the day, the excitement that had been welling up to the brink of sleeplessness.

As much as he wanted to rest for the night, he was eager to for what tomorrow would bring. It was the big day for him, the day he, Sora, and Kairi set sail in search of new worlds. He knew not getting a lick of sleep would result in being tired the next morning. Kairi had already hammered it into him and Sora that getting a good night's rest was critical, but even with that fact clear in his mind he still could not manage to close his eyes and rest. His eagerness was too much to contain.

After what seemed like an eternity, he sat up in his bed and ran a hand through his hair. A sigh escaped his lips as well, almost as though he was frustrated, as he looked out the window nearby. He looked out toward the island in the distance for a moment, listening to the crashing waves, before looking down at his own feet.

It was at that moment that his mind wandered to the events of last night when he thought someone had followed him home. The memory of the glowing yellow eyes failed to escape his mind despite every attempt at trying to push it away. Who - or what - was it that followed him home? One would have made the assumption that it was just an evil presence, a dark spirit that may have latched on and followed him back, but not did he find the idea silly but it certainly did not feel like one. It felt dark, yes, but not in a way that would bring him harm. As crazy as it may have sounded, that was how he felt. Even the yellow eyes he caught sight of did not seem as menacing as he initially thought. They just appeared to be watching him, waiting for him to do something.

But the question remained: What was it and why was it following him?

When no clear answers came to mind, Riku closed his eyes, once again pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind, and reminded himself of what tomorrow would bring.

"To think it's almost time..." He said out loud. Then, he smiled. "Tomorrow, we set sail. Tomorrow, we seek out new worlds."

"Why wait until tomorrow when you can go today?"

His body froze upon hearing the unfamiliar voice in his ears, eyes opening instantly. A chill ran down his spine as the room suddenly became colder. The voice heard sounded feminine, but the tone sounded much more dark and sinister.

Hesitating, Riku glanced over in the direction of the sound, only to find himself staring at a familiar pair of yellow eyes, the very same ones from last night. They glowed brightly in the darkness, but he soon came to realize that those eyes were, in fact, attached to what appeared to be a body, a female perhaps. She was completely dark from head to toe, but the facial features were still very present. He noted the razor sharp teeth in her devious looking grin, surprised by how brightly colored they were compared to the rest of the body. Her hair looked as if it were floating in water, moving as though it had a mind of its own, and consistently remained in an upward position. Her torso was small but defined enough for him to realize she may have been female, and her arms had crossed over her chest in a casual manner. Her long black fingers curled to grasp her elbows, appearing long claws more so than normal fingers. The legs were practically non-existent, replaced with a sort of black smoke that did not fill the room around them. Despite that, he could still see that she was standing completely still.

Riku stared at the being in shock, unsure of what to make of it and how to react. It was not long before she started giggling.

"What's wrong, boy?" She questioned, the grin never leaving her face. "Are you afraid of me?"

"Who are you?" He found the words to speak, his gaze hardening.

Her hand moved so that it was now cupping her face, her gaze appearing to soften as she looked at him.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She responded. Riku did not know what to say at that point, allowing her to continue. "Think of me as...a friend, if you will."

Riku sneered at the thought.

"I don't even know who you are." He retorted, moving so that he could stand up. The motion caused the woman - if he could call her that - to get back. Her hair began to follow suit and almost covered her face while the smoke moved and disappeared from where she once stood. "Why should I bother calling you a friend?"

She giggled again while her hands moved, so they hid behind her back.

"Well, from where I come from, creatures like me would have wasted no time in killing you." She explained nonchalantly, taking note to Riku tensing at her words. "As for me, I'm a more...sentient being."

"That doesn't answer my question," Riku stated, his face unchanging. She only looked at him as he continued, "Why should I consider you a friend if I don't know you at all?"

She closed her eyes at that as she said, "Well, for one, because I haven't killed you yet. And the other..." She opened her eyes again and stared deep into his eyes. "I can help you and friends go to other worlds..."

His breathing hitched at those words, eyes widening ever so slightly in surprise. What was she talking about? How could she help him go to other worlds? Unless...

"You're...from another world?" He slowly asked.

She began to laugh heartily, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was indoors and could have easily woke up his parents but quickly silenced herself.

"I'm glad you caught on, sweetie!" She exclaimed. Suddenly, just as he blinked, she was right in front of him, causing him to take a small step back and hit the edge of his bed. "I'm glad you're not as dumb as I initially believed when I set my eyes on you. That makes my job a whole lot easier."

He narrowed his eyes again, keeping a cool front, as he questioned, "Why did you come after me? What do you want from me?"

She turned away from him and began floating to a different part of the room.

"I don't want anything from you." She told him, glancing over his room and observing every detail. "I only want to help you." She stopped moving, her hair floating past her briefly before returning to normal. "I've been watching you for quite some time now, and I've seen the things you've seen."

"What do you mean?" He inquired.

She looked at him, a smile grazing her dark lips.

"So many questions from you. So curious."

"I'd like to see if you're actually who you claim to be," he responded, earning a giggle from her.

"Fair enough." She continued to look over his room. "But to answer your question, I've been by your side for many years, waiting for this opportunity to arise. And now," She turned around quickly, arms open as if she were looking to hug him, "here we are. After all this time, I'm finally able to help you get what you want!" Riku simply stared at her, his expression unchanged. After a moment, her arms lowered just a bit. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"I already have plans to do that," he told her. "Thanks, but no thanks. I think we can manage on our own."

Suddenly, her smiling demeanor changed to a look of annoyance, arms falling to her sides.

"Oh, please. That rickety little ship of yours wouldn't last a day let alone an entire journey." She mocked. He glared at her as she went on, "In fact, that thing will get you nowhere but lost at sea. You, of all people, should know that."

"If it doesn't work, then we'll think of something else." He explained calmly despite being angered by her words. "We have all the time in the world."

She shook her head at that and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Actually, you don't..."

His expression changed to confusion.

"What?"

Her smile slowly returned to her lips before she answered, "The door is opening...Riku..."

His brows furrowed at that while she began making her way toward him again, his gaze falling to the floor in confusion. The door? What did she mean by that? The only door he had ever seen was the one in the cave, but everyone knew there was no way for it to open. There was no way she was referencing that thing. It had no handle to it, not even a keyhole, to open it and reveal what was inside. It was like it was painted on the wall by a previous resident, created without so much as a message or a reason for existing. It baffled everyone, but they paid no mind to it.

Everyone, except for Riku, at least.

After a long moment, he looked back at her, coming face to face with the being before saying, "I don't understand what you mean..."

"The door is opening, giving you a way to travel to outside worlds." She started to explain. "Your plans for sailing tomorrow will not come. The darkness has arrived in this world, and unfortunately," Her smile slowly faded, "your world is about to disappear."

A look of shock appeared on his face.

"W-what?!"

"But not to worry, my dear! I can help you and your friends escape an unfortunate fate!" She exclaimed happily as if she had planned this all along, as she floated toward the window and looked out toward the island. It was at this moment that he turned around as well, only to notice the sky suddenly becoming darker and more eerie than usual. As if a storm was coming. "If you go with me, you and your friends will be saved. And not only that but you will be able to see these worlds you've only dreamt about."

"But...what about the island?"

"The heart of this world will be consumed by darkness, and your island - your world - will be gone." She explained, her voice monotone and unfeeling. It sounded like she did not seem to care about the fate of his world. "There is nothing that can be done to save it, but as I said, I can help you and your friends leave this world." She turned to him slightly. "But I only have one question..." Then, she turned to fully look at him, "Are you afraid?"

After that, she slowly raised her hand in his direction. He simply watched her for the longest time before looking out at his island once again, the sound of rolling thunder filling his ears.

If what she was saying was true, that his world was about to be destroyed by darkness, he would have been more willing to listen. However, even now that he knows this, he still found it difficult to fully trust her. She was a complete stranger, one that had entered his room without permission and spoke about how she had been watching everything he's done. It sounded an awful lot like some creepy stalker coming up with an unusual story, and it would have been had it not been for her strange appearance. She was not human by any means; she was something else entirely. What it was he did not know, but that was what bothered him the most about her. He would have been more than happy to trust her were it not for the fact that she was from another world. He may have always dreamed of leaving the island for years, but it did not change the fact that he had no idea what people outside of his world were like. Could he really put his trust in a stranger?

He looked away at that point. Even if he found it hard to believe her, she vehemently promised that she would help his friends. A total stranger, whom he knew nothing about, was willing to go out of her way to help his friends as well. She wanted him to see the other worlds. She wanted him to leave the island and explore. Granted, it was at the expense of allowing his world to disappear, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. That said, she was offering an opportunity to be saved and see other worlds, an opportunity of a lifetime. It was his one-way ticket, a one-way ticket out of there and be free from his confinement.

After a long moment of silence, Riku slowly looked back at the woman, his eyes blank and void of emotion. Raising his hand, he took hold of the woman's outstretched hand, grasping it tightly. It was cold to the touch, just as he was expecting it to be. With an offer like that, there was no way he would refuse.

"No...I'm not afraid..." He finally spoke.

Her grin grew at those words moments before she giggled.

"Good boy..."

Sora found it difficult to fall asleep as he stared up at his ceiling, the cold air from his open window seeping in and brushing against him. Even though he was waiting for dinner to be ready downstairs, he would have liked to, at least, take a nap. His hands were behind his head, and his breathing was rather calm. As for his mind, however, it was racing so quickly there was no doubt he would not be able to get any rest before the big day tomorrow.

He felt excited for what was to come, wondering just what kind of worlds they would see once they began their journey. How long it would take was still a mystery to all of them, but for Sora, that stuff did not matter. As long as he was with his friends, he would not mind spending all the time in the world searching, even if they came back empty handed and nothing to show for their long adventure. Nevertheless, the thoughts still excited him, kept him awake long after his body fell against his bed in the hopes of getting any sort of rest for the night.

Though, that was not the only thing he thought that night. While he reminisced about tomorrow's big adventure, he also thought about his conversation with Kairi, who had stayed behind on the island for a while long while Riku went home. It was odd for her to see her sitting at the edge of the dock by herself, as she frequently sat up at the tree with them, but today was a bit different. Not wanting to leave her behind, he decided to sit with her and see what was up. The silence was met between the two for a moment, but it was not long before Kairi spoke.

"You know, Riku has changed." It was an out of the blue statement about their friend, enough for Sora to give a confused look in her direction.

"What do you mean?" He inquired.

"Well..." Kairi started, but her mind seemed to drift as a simple, "Hmm..." sound was made. It was as if she was unsure about her comment. Or at the very least she was unsure of how to word it correctly.

"You okay?" Sora asked, his voice hinting at the fact that he was becoming a bit worried.

Despite her comment, Kairi looked over at him, a sudden burst of happiness on her face.

"Sora, let's take the raft and go," she proclaimed, "just the two of us!"

Sora turned his head to look at her completely, eyes wide and a faint flush of red on his cheeks. His heart began beating a bit faster as well.

"Huh?"

Without missing a beat, Kairi looked back at the sunset, giggling, and said, "Just kidding!"

In moments, Sora could not help but laugh as well, looking back at the ocean, as he said, "What's gotten into you? You're the one that's changed, Kairi."

Kairi's smile fell a bit, but still remained on her face, as she continued to look out at the sunset.

"Maybe..." she mumbled. There was a brief moment of silence before she continued. "You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready!" Her smile grew a bit. "No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here." She looked at Sora, who looked at her as well. "Right?"

Without hesitation, Sora nodded and replied, "Yeah, of course!"

"That's good." They both looked back out at the ocean once again moments before Kairi suddenly said, "Sora, don't ever change."

He looked back at her, mumbling a small, "Huh?" as she got to her feet, standing with her arms behind her back.

"I just can't wait." She said, her mind seemingly expressing how she felt on the inside and disregarding the comment she made once again. Unable to find out what she meant, Sora looked out again as she went on. "Once we set sail, it'll be great."

It was after recalling those memories that Sora found himself glancing up at one of the many hanging objects on his ceiling. They fell upon a ship with two dolls - one boy, one girl - each with their own sewn in smiles on their faces. Looking at it reminded him of the conversation he had with Kairi, most importantly the last thing she had said to him before they went back home.

"I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great."

Yes, it would be great to set sail, but he could not help but wonder what it would have been like if it really was just the two of them.

As he thought this, he turned his head back toward the open window, looking out at the island. However, instead of seeing a calm, cloudless night, he realized that all the stars in the sky had disappeared, replaced by dark clouds. Thunder and lightening struck the island, giving away as to what was about to come.

Sora's brows furrowed.

"A storm?" He mumbled under his breath. After a moment, it clicked in his mind moments before he shot up in his bed, a look of horror on his face. "Oh, no, the raft!"

"Great. No luck once again," Zaria mumbled, feeling defeated as she walked along the edge of the beach. Her head was hanging low as she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jacket. "Why did I even think they would be here?"

Once everyone had left the island and not a soul was present, Zaria and Dimitri wasted no time in traveling to the other half of the island, making sure to look through every nook and cranny that they could find in the hopes of finding any clues. She was still upset that she missed the small cave yesterday, which lead to her being extra cautious in making sure she did not miss a single thing the second time around. She was determined to do better, and she wasted little time in beginning the search. Unfortunately, however, despite feeling determination running through her, there did not seem to be any clues as to where her friends could have been nor were there any signs that lead in their direction. The only thing they found was a raft, crafted from logs and appearing to be sturdy enough to set sail, but that was about it. After coming to this realization, Zaria started to feel sorry for the kids that came to the island, sad to see all the work they put into building it was all for nothing. With a raft like that, she knew there was no way they would make it out without ending up back here again. It was a fruitless endeavor, one that those kids did not realize. Nevertheless, instead of focusing on them, Zaria went about her business, keeping her mind preoccupied on what she was there for in the first place.

Unluckily, it would not be long before she realized that the people she was looking for were nowhere in sight. She could not find a single clue to figure out where they could have been, leaving Zaria defeated once more.

Her bag had ruffled moments before Dimitri popped out, using her shoulder for leverage.

"I'm sorry, Miss Zaria, but you can't lose hope just yet," he stated, a look of sorrow on his face before he looked out toward the sea.

She glanced up at him as she stopped walking.

"We've been at this for who knows how long, Dimitri." She explained to him, the look of defeat still evident in her eyes. "It's not that I'm losing hope altogether. It's just..." She looked at the sand beneath her feet. "It's just...I'm sick of being wrong about my suspicions. I'm tired of being wrong about the clues we find. I've had enough of being wrong about the possibility of finding them in this new and unfamiliar world just like every other one we've been to in the past." She sighed, sulking her shoulders. "I'm just sick of getting my hopes up for nothing, especially since this place is no different from anywhere else thus far."

"I get the feeling that this place may be a bit different from all the others," Dimitri spoke, looking back at her as she looked at him curiously.

"What do you mean?" She inquired.

"Do you remember the dream you had the other day?" Dimitri asked. "About that mysterious woman?"

Zaria's brows furrowed in confusion as she questioned, "What about it?"

He placed a hand on his chin, thinking briefly, before he said, "Well, what she said has got me thinking. From she said, she claims that 'fate has brought you to this island,' but she never actually gave an explanation as to what she meant." He looked at her again. "Right?"

Zaria's eyes narrowed at that. It was more in thought than anger or annoyance.

"Yeah, you're right," she agreed. "But...are you trying to say that the woman in the dream wasn't telling me I'd find my friends here?"

"It's entirely possible," he answered with a small shrug. "Maybe the light your Keyblade was drawn to wasn't the light of your friends, but the light of something else on the island. Or rather someone."

"Any thoughts as to who or what it could be?" Zaria pressed, glancing around the island for a moment before looking back at him. She thought someone was watching her, but when she saw nothing she simply looked back at Dimitri. Still, the feeling did not go away. "As far as I know, I don't know anyone on this island, so I can't put my finger on who it could be."

Dimitri sighed as he lowered himself so that his head was on her shoulder.

"Unfortunately, I don't know either." He mumbled. Then, his ears perked. "But something tells me that, if that woman was correct, then maybe it's best to stay and find out who or what it may be. Maybe we missed something just as we missed that cave."

Without hesitating, Zaria immediately shook her head as she looked up.

"Thanks, but no thanks." She rejected, her eyes closed and her nose turned upward. It looked as though she had giving an attitude, but in reality, she felt her body go stiff as a chill ran down her spine. The feeling of being watched vanished altogether, but it was soon replaced by a rather strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She said nothing to Dimitri about just yet in the hopes that it was just the wind as she continued, "As much as I'd love to go on a hunt for someone or something I don't know, we have more important things to worry about right now. I'd rather not stay here longer than I have to." She stood there and waited for him to respond to her words, but she was only met with the sound of the breeze slowly picking up with every second that passed. Instead of waiting for a response, she slowly said, "You feel it, too...don't you?"

"I-I-I don't just feel it..." He stammered on his words. "I-I see it...right above us...!"

Confused by his words, her eyes shot open and looked at the sky, her hands slipping out of her pockets within seconds. What she saw made her freeze like a statue and turn pale in a matter of moments. In the sky, there was a massive orb, flashes of lightning and gusts of wind surrounding it, and a red center. The clouds nearby had begun circling the strange shape in the sky slowly but surely, and they appeared as if they were being pulled in by an unknown force that surrounded it. The wind around the two continued to pick up speed, rustling Zaria's clothing and the trees nearby just a bit, as if it were preparing for the anything and everything in its path to be swept away in a moment's time.

It was upon seeing it that Zaria suddenly began having vivid flashbacks. She remembered this; she knew what was happening. This world was about to be consumed.

The distant yet noticeable sounds of screaming civilians found its way into her ears, causing her to grow stiffer as she stood there staring at the massive dark ball in the sky. The memories of people falling and their lives lost abruptly returned to her in a matter of seconds. They were memories that she had desperately tried to push into the back of her mind in the hopes of forgetting the tragedy. At the same time, however, she wanted to keep in touch with them so she would never forget what happened, or rather what could happen. It was a sort of reminder for her to remember what would happen if she did not find what kept the worlds alive: the Keyhole. Even if she was still looking for her friends, she made sure to search for the Keyholes of every world and seal them to keep the darkness from taking over. Unfortunately, this world's time had come too soon, and she had spent way too much time searching for them instead of keeping a look out for the Keyhole.

In other words, Zaria screwed up.

"Miss Zaria? Miss Zaria, snap out of it!" She suddenly heard Dimitri's voice through the waves of madness that flooded in her mind. Upon hearing his voice, she quickly snapped herself back to reality and looked at him, a panicked look in her eyes. "You were starting to worry me. You started breathing fast and panicking!" His face was filled entirely with worry. "Are you okay?"

She stared at him with wide eyes for a moment, trying to find the right words to reassure him, before she felt her Keyblade appear in her gloved hand. Before she even had a chance to look at it and ask any questions, it suddenly lurched in the opposite direction of the ocean. It started to glow a faint white as small white particles began hovering around it. The white specks began to circle the blade as well, slowly orbiting as if they were planets around the sun. Zaria stared at the blade in confusion, several questions floating into her mind, before looking in the direction it was pointing. When she did, she spotted a figure slowly making their way toward what appeared to be the cave entrance. Despite the darkness surrounding them, Zaria was able to distinguish the red locks of the girl who sat on the tree with her two friends. She appeared to be moving toward the cave in a slow, yet fluid motion, as though the world around her ceased to exist. Zaria was surprised that the girl did not see her standing on the island since the docks were not that far in front of her. As she thought that, she watched as the girl disappeared from Zaria's sight. Just as soon as she did, the Keyblade slowly stopped glowing and allowed itself to fall at her side once more. Zaria was left speechless as she stared at her weapon for a moment longer before looking back in the direction of the cave where the girl entered.

"Did...did it just..." Dimitri murmured, his voice utterly shocked at the sight he witnessed alongside Zaria.

That was when it clicked in her head, and she remembered the words the mysterious woman spoke to her about:

"To put it simply, that Keyblade was drawn to the light that resides on the island. It is attracted to the light that lives in all worlds. The island, however, has someone whose light has enough strength to be noticed from far away."

It did not take long for her to piece two and two together, coming up with the solution.

"Dimitri..." She suddenly spoke. Before he could respond, she continued. "It's that girl! That girl has a light that my Keyblade is drawn to!"

"I can't believe the woman was right..." Dimitri slowly spoke. "To be honest, I was beginning to second guess myself because it was just a dream, but..."

With a newfound sense of determination, Zaria turned in the direction of the cave, pulling her hood forward just a bit.

"Well, I guess there's only one thing to do," she stated as her weapon disappeared. "We go after her and get answers."

Without waiting for Dimitri to say another word to her, Zaria began sprinting in the direction the girl had disappeared into, nearly tripping over herself in the sand in the process. Dimitri, realizing that she was hellbent on getting answers, had hidden away in her bag once more, possibly to keep himself from view. Regardless, she wasted no time climbing the wooden boards leading up to the secret entrance, hoping that the answers would lead her into the right direction.

She had a gut feeling that there was something mysterious about the door in that cave, but it was something she could not put her finger on entirely. She would have liked to go back into that cave during the day, but she chose to avoid going there due to the near encounter with that boy. She was worried that she would have a lot of explaining to do as well as being afraid someone would return - which did happen later on not to her surprise. She was fortunate to have become agile over the years since she had begun her search, using the base of the tree to give her leverage to leap onto the platform above and hide from the boys. That was mere moments before she was caught and laid there until she was sure she was out of sight. Her only regret was not being able to explore out of fear...as well as nearly crushing poor Dimitri during her escape.

Moments before she reached the entrance of the cave, Zaria suddenly slid to a halt. Panting, she stared at what she knew was the entrance, only instead of an opening just like before, she found herself staring at a mysterious door. It was completely white and looked as if it belonged on the front entrance to an extremely fancy home. She was certain that it was not here before, and she had no idea as to where it could have come from. Baffled, she tried to open it, but it would not budge.

"What the heck is this?" She questioned in a frustrated tone, stepping back a bit and glaring at it. "Why is this door here, and why is it locked?"

Dimitri poked his head out of the back and looked at the door curiously.

"How out of place..." He marveled before looking up at her. "But if it's locked, do you think you're Keyblade will open it?"

After a moment of silence and contemplating, she summoned her weapon once more, holding it in front of her.

"There's only one way to find out," she responded as she slowly pointed it toward the door. As she did that, the blade began glowing just as it did before. When she was about to tell herself it was working, it suddenly jerked her around and pointed in the opposite direction. "Gah!" She shouted as it nearly threw her off balance. When it remained stagnant, she composed herself and glared at the weapon. "Are you trying to tear my arm off or something? Make up your mind!"

"Miss Zaria, look!" Dimitri exclaimed, climbing onto her shoulder and pointing forward. "On the beach!"

She followed the blade and looked in its direction. Upon seeing where the blade was pointing, her jaw immediately dropped, and her eyes widen in astonishment. In the near distance, her eyes caught sight of the same brown haired boy she nearly encountered that morning, running toward the shack with nothing but a wooden sword in hand. As he was running, Zaria's Keyblade slowly moved along with him, following him until he disappeared from their sight. That, in turn, caused the blade to stop glowing and fall back to Zaria's side once again. She was utterly confused at what she had just witnessed and stared at where she last saw him before looking over her shoulder to look at the door.

"But...I thought it was..." She attempted to form a coherent sentence as she looked between the door and the shack, but she was too baffled by what had happened to do just that. "It was...pointing this way...but...why is it..."

"I-I wouldn't question it now," Dimitri started, his voice shaking with fear, just as Zaria looked at the door once again. "Look!"

She looked at him and realized he was still looking toward the beach. Wasting little time, she quickly turned back around to see where he was looking. To her horror, she spotted three small, dark looking creatures running along the beach in the same direction that the boy had run toward, their little yellow eyes glowing amidst the darkness around them. A glare soon formed in her eyes as the grip on her blade tightened.

"Heartless...Shadows, no less..." She growled. "I knew it wouldn't be long before they got here." She looked at Dimitri. "Hide. This is gonna get ugly."

He was already halfway inside the back as he uttered, "I'm already ahead of you."

When he was out of sight, Zaria looked ahead once more and sprinted toward the beach, her Keyblade at her side and ready to fight. Instead of using the boards to run down, she simply leaped off each edge so that she could reach them faster. The moment her feet hit the sand, the Shadows suddenly looked in her direction, their attention averted from the boy, before running toward her. Without missing a beat, Zaria swung her blade forward and cut through the closest one, destroying it with ease as the others sank into the ground. She waited for them to surface again, watching as they scurried under her feet, before turning around and swinging her weapon again just as they appeared from the ground. Before they had a chance to move, the blade cut through them with ease, killing them instantly.

Instead of taking a break to catch her breath, she looked toward the shack. In moments, she caught sight of the boy out of the corner of her eye running along the bridge toward the smaller island. When she noticed him, she looked ahead to see where he could have been going, only to spot his silver haired friend standing in the center. Only he was not alone as she was expecting. A look of horror crossed her face as she spotted the very same dark figure from yesterday standing in front of him just moments before disappearing into nothing.

"You've gotta be kidding me..." She grimaced as more Shadows appeared from the ground and moved in to attack her. She quickly destroyed them with ease before looking toward the shack. "They're gonna get themselves killed like this." She shouted to herself as she began sprinting toward the shack, ignoring the enemies that continued to appear from the ground and chase after her.

There was no way she was going to allow anyone else to lose their lives to the darkness. Not again.