Chapter 6
SORA!
Sora's eyes shot open and immediately shut, the light was intense. Opening them more cautiously, he realized it wouldn't have mattered whether his eyes were open or closed. There was nothing to see but white in every direction. He couldn't even discern the ground from the sky. It reminded Sora of being in the Realm of Darkness while fighting Xehanort's Heartless, only instead of endless black, he was looking at endless white.
Sora stood up and, not knowing what else to do, he started walking. His foot steps echoed as if he were in an empty hallway. There was nothing in this place of endless white. He was completely alone.
Am I dead? He thought.
The instant he thought that, he heard something behind him. He turned and saw someone standing behind him. From the slenderness of the person's figure, Sora could tell the person was a woman. She wore a fitted white coat that fell to her ankles, showing her white shoes underneath. The design of the coat looked like those of Organization XIII's black ones. It even had the metal clasp and hood pulls, only these ones seemed to be made of platinum, as the metal looked white.
The hood on the woman's head did nothing to hide her kind, smiling face, for Sora had quickly learned that this place had no shadows of any kind. Her brown hair fell to the sides of her face as if it was trying to frame it. Her captivatingly green eyes held nothing but kindness and care.
Despite her harmless demeanor, her sudden appearance had startled Sora into trying to summon the Keyblade, only to find that it wouldn't come. He tried again with the same results, but also found that he couldn't detect the Keyblade within him at all.
The woman's expression turned to one of concern as she came closer. When she was a few feet away, she stopped and spoke.
"You are Sora?" Her voice was sweet and delicate.
"Yes, I am," Sora replied, surprised to find that his voice held a tinge of fear.
"Do not worry, Chosen Wielder of the Keyblade, you are safe here."
"Where exactly is here? And who are you?"
"This is the Realm of Light."
"W-w-wait… wait… Realm of Light? I thought that's where I was before I came here!"
"A common misunderstanding. There are, in fact, three Realms. The Realm of Darkness, which your friend Riku is familiar with, is the home, of course, to all beings of the dark, including the Heartless and Nobodies. To them, the Realm of Darkness is paradise. Second is the Realm you are familiar with, the Realm of Life, where all the many worlds reside. I need not describe it to you.
"And finally, this Realm, the Realm of Light is, by far, the most disbelieved in Realm. That's where the confusion comes in. The only people who can access the Realm of Light and thereby know it's here are those whose hearts possess no darkness at all, namely the seven Princesses of Heart."
By now, they had both taken a seat while the explanation was being given. Sora nodded his head in understanding.
"That all makes sense, but you still haven't told me who you are," Sora said, putting his chin in his hand. He saw the woman's face sadden.
"To be honest with you Sora," she started, "I don't really know who I am. I can remember nothing from the time I entered the Realm of Light, which was around the same time you acquired the Keyblade."
"Wow, must be kind of hard not knowing where you came from or who you are."
"It was at first, but now it no longer concerns me. Tell me Sora, what do you see around you?"
Sora thought this was an odd question. He took a quick look around as if expecting to see something other than them and the endless white, but saw nothing.
"Um… I don't see anything but us and a lot of white," came Sora's reply. The woman looked puzzled.
"Really? That's strange," she said, standing up. "Please stand, there is something I must check."
Sora complied, standing in front of the woman. She closed her eyes and placed a hand near Sora's heart, about two inches of air separated the hand from his chest. Her hand started to glow with a blue light and this passed to Sora, remaining connected with its source all the while. Sora felt as if something were poking and prodding his heart like in an examination. Finally, the glow faded and the woman opened her eyes.
"Seems your heart had an unexpected reaction to having all the Darkness sucked out of it in a matter of seconds…" she said.
"Wha… what do you mean?" Sora asked, looking concerned.
"Nothing that should cause any problems. The reason you were able to come here was because after your Dark self stole what was left of the Darkness in your heart, there was nothing left but the light that remains in all things. Your heart became pure, allowing access to this Realm. However, the process seems to have weakened your heart into sealing it from outside influence. That is why you can see nothing at the moment, your heart isn't letting you."
"What do I have to do to be able to see again?" Sora asked eagerly. The fact that this woman knew what happened on the Gummi Ship didn't even register with the Keyblade Master.
"We need to unseal your heart, but for that we require the use of your Keyblade."
Sora's face fell. Typical, Sora thought. We need to use something I can't even call upon anymore.
The woman seemed to know what he was thinking. "There is another way to use the Keyblade."
Sora's face shot up, an eager expression on his face.
"The Keyblade has been with you for so long that it has become a part of you completely. To call upon it once more, you must search deep within your self, calling to it all the while."
"How do you know all this?" Sora asked while preparing to summon the Keyblade once more.
"In this Realm, I am known as Teacher. I gather information on many things simply by using the connecting paths between the Realms. Now, try to summon the Keyblade."
Sora stood stock still with his eyes closed. Teacher watched as the expression on his face went from one of calm to one of determination to one of frustration and back to an expression of determination. His outstretched hand began to glow and with a signature flash and magical sound, the Keyblade appeared once again. It was in the form of the Fenrir, the wolf medallion dangling from the keychain reminding Sora of his friend Cloud Strife.
Teacher was clapping at Sora's successful attempt. "You truly are the Keyblade Master young one."
Sora grinned slightly. Gazing at the Fenrir Keyblade, he pondered why it had not appeared in the form of the Kingdom Key. It had been in its Fenrir form on the Gummi Ship before being forced back into the Kingdom Key. He pushed it out of his mind.
"Now comes the uncomfortable part. May I see the Keyblade?" Teacher was saying. Sora, looking doubtful as to whether or not she could use it, turned the blade around and offered the handle to her. She gripped the handle and immediately pointed the tip of the blade at Sora's heart. She closed her eyes and light formed at the tip of the Keyblade, shooting straight into its true wielder's heart.
Sora once again felt as if he was being examined again but now he felt something else, something longing to escape. The Keyblade's magic found what it was searching for and the sudden burst of energy forced Sora's back to arch, throwing his head backward to stare straight up. He let out a slightly pained yell as the energy flowed through him, strengthening him and sharpening his senses. When the moment was over, Sora was able to stand straight up again, but he kept his held tilted back, gazing in wonder at the ceiling he now saw.
The ceiling was a polished marble carved to such perfection that no fault could be found on its smooth surface. The Keyblade Master lowered his head and gazed at the window that had appeared in a similar marble wall. Outside, the cobalt blue sky held not one single cloud, nor was there any sun to be seen. A beautiful set of hills rolled away from Sora, covered in grass so green, Sora thought it was magical. He looked back to where he was and found himself in a long hallway, the walls and ceiling made of marble, and the floor of a highly polished white oak wood.
He turned back to Teacher, a look of awe on his face. He didn't even register that she was still holding the Fenrir, while one of the Ultima Keyblades was now revolving slowly about a foot from Sora's left hand. Nor did he notice that he was now a little taller than she was.
Teacher smiled when she saw Sora's new appearance and stunned look. "The Realm of Light is a paradise. Many people who still believe it exists call it heaven. That's not true though, Heaven is elsewhere. But that is beside the point now Sora. You haven't even noticed what happened to yourself!"
Teacher released the Fenrir and Sora watched as it began to revolve and come to a slow, spinning rest near his right hand, floating a foot away. He reached out to grab it and noticed something different about his glove. It was now white with black straps and knuckle guard. Realizing he had indeed undergone a transformation, he looked himself over.
His entire outfit had become a mix of white, black, and silver. Tribal designs decorated the sleeves of his white jacket and the silvery hem of his white pants. He noticed that his crown necklace was missing, but also that he was currently hovering almost six inches off the floor. The Fenrir and the Ultima Keyblade (this one seemed to follow the design of the one the Moogles had made for him in Traverse town when he was fourteen) slowly revolved next to him. Sora had seemingly just been permanently transformed into his Final Drive Form. Teacher was smiling with a look of pride.
"Now that we have unsealed the light that was trapped within your heart, I will teach you how to wield it. It will be a long and hard road, and you will learn things that no one else has ever been able to do before, but in the end, I foresee that the knowledge I can help you achieve will aid you in defeating your Dark form. Do you wish to accept my training?"
Sora thought for a moment. He had no idea how to get out of this Realm so he could go back to Kairi and the others. Plus, learning anything that could help him defeat that monstrosity would definitely help. He felt he could trust Teacher, especially after what she just helped him achieve. So he made up his mind and slowly nodded his head.
"Very well," she said. "Follow me."
And so, Teacher led the new and improved Sora off down the hall and towards one of the hardest times of his life.