Author's notes I guess
1)I don't like altering canon
2)OC story takes place some time after the Keyblade War and definitely before BBS. Didn't want to use canon characters because writing in character for them is rather dull(except for Aqua, Roxas, and Riku. They have more development as characters in the entire franchise, at least in my opinion). Also insert rant about character and plot related freedom from using keyblade wielders that are supposed to be dead, basically I can write what I want without having to be too accurate to canon. These characters will not have a role in the story by my definition of them being survivors of the keyblade wars and I don't plan on them altering canon in any manner. This is a closed story, meaning no outward consequences affecting Sora and company. Think of this as a supplement to the canon story, not an alteration or modification to it. However, various spells, abilities, and items that aren't in canon are designed to be premium top tier items, abilities , and spells. Only accessible by Masters basically and it is why it would be absent from canon. I follow naming conventions, for spells and abilities, but I do make up keyblade forms and their names with straightforward conventions. Lightning Gauntlets will be gauntlets that shoot lightning.
3)I haven't exactly decided where the story is gonna finish. Will the protag and friends live in the end or are they all going to perish? Who knows? I certainly don't. As of now this is Act 1 of 3(3rd act will probably be post story shenanigans and the real meat of the story comes out in act two.)
One - Remnants
"The Realm of Light was home to every world. Under the protection from the ever vigilant Keyblade masters, peace and order was maintained throughout the realm. In order to keep this order, however, certain rules were enforced. Every guardian knew to uphold these rules lest curiosity and lust for power lead to paths straying away from the light.
The first rule is that knowledge of other worlds and the keyblade must be kept secret from outsiders. The original creators of the keyblade used the keys to separate the worlds and keep each of them safe from the onslaughts of darkness. Through this act, the worlds lost awareness of their once neighbors, but at least they wouldn't fall to darkness. Since that time, many have been exposed to the knowledge of the keyblade and of other worlds. Every time, they searched beyond their world and became one with darkness in their thirst for knowledge.
The second rule is that guardians must never meddle in the affairs of worlds, unless directly threatened by vestiges of darkness. If one must meddle, they should do so discreetly and without attention. As guardians, we possess powers beyond that of any normal person, so praise of our skill will feed our ego. This hubris will lead to the path of darkness.
The last and final rule is in regards to picking a successor. As guardians, we have been trained to detect sources of light and darkness. In our successors, we should find the very same. A strong unwavering source. A guardian of the balance. As a master, we must be absolute in our decision to choose a person as a wielder of the key, for their future will be filled with struggle and pain. When I chose you, my student, you were strong of heart. You faced struggles without the keyblade, so I felt it necessary to grant you the strength to confront these struggles.
These are my last words to you, my student...no...Master Aliaster. May your heart be your guiding key."
The master known as Aliaster shuts off the crystal projection. He walks past the collapsed buildings of what was once Daybreak Town. The market is to his left, now infested with Neoshadows. He takes a left towards the quarters of the guardians. The creatures of darkness pay him no mind because of his cloak of protection, a parting gift from his master. A jetblack cloak using the essences of the very Heartless he and other guardians are meant to destroy. A rare commodity, but a very useful one at that. An additional perk of the cloak is that it maintains and gradually restores the user's stamina and health faster than the dark realm can drain away at the wearer. This way, Aliaster can wander the Realm of Darkness without any worry of being consumed by the darkness and preserve his strength for necessary fights.
He approaches the entrance, noticing Darksides roaming around. Shattered keyblades and keyblade armor pieces litter the grounds, their lights long clock tower's once annoying ticking has gone silent. The once sapphire sky has faded into a sickly grey color. Aliaster advances forward. The halls are littered with Shadows. They tear at the furniture and walls of the building. A single Heartless bumped into him. Before it can call out to his brethren, Aliaster discreetly silenced it, his keyblade fading just as quickly as it was summoned.
"Remember Aliaster, your keyblade must become a part of you. A true master will be able to summon and return their keyblade instantaneously." He recalls his master's lecture. He spent the day summoning his keyblade until he could do it without a flash of light, without drawing the attention of his enemies, especially the Heartless. Two simple commands every keyblade guardian is taught, and does unconsciously, but he had honed the techniques to perfection.
In a poof of black dust, the Heartless fades. The others do not notice the loss of their brother. Aliaster advances to his old room. He may not have the Lady Luck keyblade, but he is hoping to find what he is looking for. Seeing his old home in ruin hurts him. Suffering calls to the darkness, so he shouldn't stay here long.
He enters his room. It is just as he had left it. No Heartless dares enter because of the star shard lying in his drawer. A crystal of pure light that lets you shoot through the darkness of the worlds, but he intends not to use it as a source of travel. Aliaster is going to use it to improve his keyblade. He picks up the shard from his desk. He notices a single photo of him and his old friend, Lucas. They smiled in the photo, not knowing what the future had planned for them.
The eyes of Lucas in the photo glint red. A shroud of darkness envelops the room. Aliaster stabs the shadowy figure in the chest. The black dust falls to the floor. The Shadow Mimic fades.
Shadow Mimics are relatively nasty Heartless. Shapeless beings that respond directly to negative emotions. It tries to whisk off its prey into a shadow world, where it can torment them with the very negative emotions it took the form of. This one in particular took on the form of Lucas by mimicking the photo and it triggered when Aliaster met eyes with the mimic, which was hiding in the photo. The portrait tears in half as the mimic fades. Aliaster returns his keyblade.
He looks outside the window to scan where to head to next. Several chunks of the world had fallen off, so the garden, training grounds, and glider field are all gone. He furls the crystal in his hand. A faint green glow. The crystal is dying from being in the Realm of Darkness for too long. He has to return to his Chirithy before it does. He throws both his keyblade and caution out of the window. He jumps onto his glider, zipping through the air and garnering the attention of every Heartless. Darksides shoot beams from their empty cavity. Wyverns tackle him.
"Keyblade transformations are essential to master your weapon. They should be as natural as breathing air. You should be able to change the form of your key midair, mid run, even mid flip. Each form of your key has a specialization, both in terms of range and elemental affinity." His master's advice stays with him. Most of these flying heartless are weak to lightning magic.
His keyblade changes form into a hoverboard, hitting away the wyverns as it spins. A lightning bolt appears on the bottom of his board. He floats in place. Lightning Gauntlets wrap around his arms. A thundaga crackles from his fingertips, poofing the wyverns. Reinforcements fly in, only to be turned to dust upon contact with the electrical barrier being generated by the spinning hoverboard. He steps on the hoverboard and zips through the air. Swarms of Propellers ride his tailwind. They speed up once they touch his electricity. Lightning Gauntlets change into Flame Cannon, a fire crest appears on the bottom of the board. Flames incinerate the electric immune Heartless and he rockets out of his old home.
The Heartless only give chase beyond a certain point before giving up. As he reaches the edge of the world. He changes his Flame Thrusters into Darkness Requiem, a pitch black broadsword. He points the blade at the empty space. A beam of darkness tears a hole in the black void. Aliaster zips through before it closes.
He flies over a moonlit beach, rippling the peaceful waters as he approaches the beach. He lands on the sand, returning his keyblade. A lone hooded Chirithy stands before him.
"I got the star shard." Aliaster shows it to the chirithy.
"Well done, kupo. Any longer and we would have lost it, kupo." The chirithy floats.
"Follow me, Kupo." He opens a corridor of darkness. They head through. As they walk through the corridor, voices and images Aliaster doesn't recognize flashes through the walls, but they seem rather distressed.
"It pains me to see this, kupo. Your master was a kind man. If he were to see what happened to worlds...I don't know how he would take it, kupo."
"I know, Chirithy. I miss him too." Aliaster mutters.
"The corridors of darkness is a skill my kind have learned as the chaos spreads throughout the worlds. And I unlocked that ability residing within your keyblade, kupo." Chirithy's float falters. Aliaster's hood falls off, revealing a teenage boy with black hair and black eyes.
"Chirithy! Are you okay?" Aliaster carries the moogle.
"I'll be fine once we get to my forge, kupo." Chirithy says.
"Hold on." Aliaster runs through the corridor.
He appears in a moogle forge. He places Chirithy on the table.
"Curaga!" Aliaster casts. A massive green vial drizzles conjured mega potion on the moogle. Darkness radiates from Chirithy. He struggles to stand, waving Aliaster away as the guardian tries to help him up.
"Why didn't you tell me that your condition was worsening?" Aliaster demands.
"I didn't want to worry you. The star shard should be able to cure me, kupo. Your master lectured you on what the star shard is, did he not, kupo?" He asks.
"It's a fragment of pure light, but I don't see how…"Aliaster panics.
"My kind was created by the Master of Masters in a bottle, kupo. Did you ever wonder what materials he used, kupo?" Chirithy reaches for the star shard. Aliaster reluctantly hands him the shard. Chirithy plops it in his mouth, crunching on the shard.
"What are you doing? That was a gift from my mother!" Aliaster shakes Chirithy.
"I told you that I was going to upgrade your keyblade, kupo. This is the fastest way to do it, kupo." He says. Aliaster's keyblade appears in his hand. A green sun shaped shard appears on the hilt. Light radiates from the key before fading. Chirithy holds back his vomit, so that the upgrade won't be wasted.
"What just happened?" Aliaster asks after calming down.
"We Chirithy are linked to the keyblade of our masters, kupo. Because you inherited the Master's key, I am linked to yours, kupo." Chirithy floats and does a backflip mid air.
"Glad you feel better at least." Aliaster can't help but smile.
"With the shard now in your key, you should be able to travel farther than you have traveled up to this point, kupo. Daybreak Town is the midpoint of the Realm of Darkness, kupo. If you want to save your friends, everything you faced until now was merely a warmup, kupo." He says.
"Tell me something new." Aliaster shrugs.
"I'm being serious, kupo. You can leave the Realm of Darkness with the star shard and the moon shard, kupo. You can get reinforcements from the Realm of Light, kupo." Chirithy pleads.
"I'm the last master strong enough to venture this far in the Realm of Darkness. Ava and her students would just hold me back. I trust they will complete their mission, but I have my own to finish. It's to get my friends back." Aliaster says. Chirithy sighs.
"Master always said you were special, kupo. Even now, you impress me, kupo. Anyone can wield light or darkness, but not many can wield both without losing themselves, kupo." He says.
Aliaster pats Chirithy on the head. Memories of Chirithy, Master and him spending their days in the study flood his mind. Back then, he and Chirithy didn't get along, always teasing each other and arguing, but the Master was always there to ensure they got along enough to not hate each other. Now, they both are grateful for the other's company. Aliaster wipes a tear.
"Where to next?" Aliaster asks.