*DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT OWN THE COPYRIGHT OR CHARACTERS FROM KINGDOM HEARTS OR GENSHIN IMPACT
Darkness...a blanket of nothingness covering all the eye can see.
Darkness...a weight inconceivable it could not be measured.
That was what Sora could see, could feel, and yet the desire to open his eyes was difficult. So much had happened in so little time. The feeling of traveling through all of his friend's hearts yet again to find Kairi's heart and restore her. Or at the very least bring her back.
Experiencing all the guardian's deep feelings within their hearts left him with a bleak impression of having to see all his friends he so deeply cares about suffering from their fears. However, reaching Kairi was his goal and he needed to stay focused without being pulled down once more. Consequently, he accomplished his goal in traveling through many hearts having reunited with Kairi only to find himself once again facing down Master Xehanort, but this time he wasn't alone in this endeavor now that Kairi had found it within herself to take a stand and strike back at the one who hurt her.
And they won.
They did the impossible, together along with the support of the rest of the guardians of light ending this long and overbearing war. Finding themselves in the Final World with a moment to spare for themselves before Sora realized the high price, he made in saving his friends and bringing Kairi back was starting to take effect causing Sora's hand to phase out. Realizing the consequences that the Power of Waking held scared Sora but taking a moment to process what was happening helped calm him down. Not wanting to worry Kairi, Sora then began looking for Chirithy calling out to him and succeeding. After a brief heartfelt moment pleading with Chirithy to come with the two he gladly accepted with a somber yet tearfully happy desire to leave with the two.
Set on making his last moments filled with nothing but happiness, Sora then journeyed with the two in tow exploring various worlds all enjoying the peace and celebrating. Not to mention pushing Chirithy to see his friend again who just so happened to be Ventus was also a moment the two had greatly enjoyed together.
Along the way, Sora had not forgotten his friend who was stuck in the Final World and was set on restoring her heart which Kairi had wholeheartedly agreed on doing for Namine as she did not want to leave her nobody behind.
Sadly..., their little adventure had to come to an end. Not wanting to leave at a moment's notice, Sora decided it would be best to return to Destiny Islands where he figured everyone would be waiting for their return.
Having arrived in Destiny Islands, ...Sora realized... it was time.
Enjoying the peaceful moment with Kairi, Sora wished to cherish this moment. Knowing that his friends would be ok and that the hardships each of them faced were over. He knew everything would be alright. Taking this last chance to tell Kairi...
The night sky.
That was all Sora could see stretching far beyond his eyesight. The stars reflected off the cool water beneath his body lying flat in contrast to his prior form of sitting on the paopu tree. Checking to see if everything was intact, Sora then began calling out for anyone, anything to respond...and yet he got his response.
Running towards the mysterious voice only to be greeted by a boy who looked vaguely familiar until it hit him.
This was Yozora in the flesh garbed in the attire he had been wearing back in the world of Toy Box and yet the first thing he started asking was if he was Sora. Questions about the sudden appearance of Yozora, a videogame character come to life, the girl telling him about someone losing their heart and having everything taken away left Sora wondering and concerned all at once.
Then Yozora stated that his appearance wasn't real and yet asked why Sora was using Sora's name. Confused, Sora was wanting answers only to find Yozora summon a weapon that looked like a crossbow and the ground to become blanketed by a sheet of white light only to dim and become his station of awakening. Then the area surrounding the two wayward travelers in a flash of blue light cooled down only to unveil a city of sorts around them and Sora's station of awakening to disappear and leave a circular building beneath their feet.
Wanting to take a moment to talk things through, Sora screamed for Yozora to wait only for Yozora to confide and briefly mention trials and drop a bombshell that he was tasked to "Save Sora".
Leaving Sora beyond confused and anxious asking what his weapons were for wanting to talk things down. However, Sora's question would go unanswered.
"Let's do this" Yozora called out rapidly.
As soon as Sora heard these words his first reaction was to summon Kingdom Key and block whatever Yozora planned to attack him with only to be sent flying back from multiple red laser shots. Shouting out in pain, Sora recovered with a reprisal and leaped at Yozora only to have to block more laser shots while struggling to make his way towards Yozora.
Seeing his chance, Sora slashed at Yozora getting a three-hit combo with his Ars Arcanum which forced Yozora to teleport away from Sora and come charging at him. This forced Sora to barrel row of the way and immediately block a barrage of waves being immitted from Yozora's crossbow. Leaving Sora an opening to start casting multiple fire spells towards Yozora which gave Sora the chance to rush at Yozora and start fighting back while also landing substantial damage against him. However, Yozora was able to phase out of thin air with a red trail following behind him and reappear behind Sora all within a second leaving no time to process his next movement.
Grunting in pain and annoyance, Sora rolled to his left and regained his footing while raising his keyblade to block whatever Yozora threw at him. Only to be pelted with even more red laser beams that were blocked quite easily, but within a moment's notice, Sora was thrown to the side stunned as a blue laser beam had hit him on his left side throwing him near the edge of the building.
Gaining his footing from the pain on his left side, Sora casted a thunder spell to cover his surrounding area immediately following with a healing spell. At the same time, Yozora moved to the center of the platform raising his sword and summoning a red and black orb that created a dome around the two that lit up and displayed the night sky with constellations moving across the dome. Yozora took this moment to strike at Sora who had finished casting his healing spell and sent multiple red lasers at him. Sora regaining his strength and health immediately blocked the incoming lasers while quickly looking at his surroundings. Grinding his teeth, Sora rolled towards Yozora hoping to stun him with a quick two-way slash but was left speechless as the area around him went white with triangles taking shape. Following the dome changing design, Yozora summoned copies of himself and sent them at Sora knocking him into the air and slamming him back down into the ground.
Sora doing his best to keep calm and focused while taking hit after hit from Yozora managed to get a reprisal and counterattack Yozora knocking him back which led to Sora gob smacked as mecha robots started appearing out of nowhere aiming to attack him. Sora tried rolling to his left and then his right but was drastically hit by another mech in his back sending him flying forwards and yelling out in pain. The area around him started to break apart and triangles appeared everywhere showcasing the city still intact around the two fighters.
Without a second to process his opponent's next move, the red and black orb turned into a red ball forcefully pulling Sora towards the center causing him to rollout outwards dodging the red copies of Yozora trying to strike at him. Repeatedly rolling away from the red orb proved to be wise as the orb then began expanding and suddenly exploded which blinded Sora's vision and forced him to lose his breath for a split second.
Once the light dimmed away Sora regained his footing and parried with Yozora's vertical strike at him allowing Sora to lash out and attack Yozora knocking the wind out of him and forcing him to teleport away.
Sora took this brief moment to regain his footing and take a deep breath while deciding to put his all into ending this confrontation with his next strike. Yozora seemed to acknowledge Sora's battle-stricken face and body composure as he also prepared himself with a silent yet pained deep breath and adjusted his pose to land a finishing strike.
Time seemed to stop immediately right before the two warriors rushed at each other and then time picked up again. But not before a blinding flash of light seemed to appear all around the battlefield. Blocking the view of who landed the finishing blow.
What happened next... no one knows for sure.
However, once the blinding light seemed to disappear, Sora was seen standing for one minute. And in the next, he was struggling to stand.
Sora in a weakened and shocked state limped forward all while processing one thing.
He was scared.
A feeling he had felt countless times and yet this time was different.
Sora knew he had lost.
In a frightful low voice, Sora asked, "How could..." and immediately fell to the ground on one knee trying to pick himself up.
At the same time, Yozora raises his left hand noticing it is slowly fading away. His eyes widened with anxiety rising and yet his eyes slowly returned to normal with a calm yet peaceful look upon his face.
Sora's body then began to glow blue, and crystals started crawling up his body immediately forcing Sora to grimace and close his eyes only for his entire body to be crystalized. Crystal shards surrounded Sora's body which left the once loud exhilarating rooftop into a silent empty space.
Yozora then slowly walks towards Sora's body and puts his right hand on Sora's knee taking a quick deep breath before uttering in a relaxed state, "I guess...that my powers aren't needed yet. But... I will save you". Immediately after Yozora speaks out, the rooftop is blinded by a bright light leaving nothing visible but a blanket of nothingness.
Sora slowly stutters within the darkness having remembered everything that had happened in his journey following Kairi and then Yozora. Without opening his mouth to speak Sora then utters in the confound of his mind, "I've been... I've been having these weird thoughts lately... like...is any of this for real or not...none of this makes sense to me".
Following Sora's confusion, he then begins to feel light slowly surround him. A bright warm light that calms him and provides a sense of relief and security. Sora begins to feel his strength come back to him now that the darkness once covering him is diminished.
Knowing that he has a chance to open his eyes he decides to take this opportunity and slowly open his eyes only to be lying on his back and staring at a bright blue sky. Managing to catch his breath, Sora decides to sit up and take his surroundings into account and realize that he is on a beach with ocean waves hitting his shoes. With a deep breath, Sora decides to stand up and take in his surroundings while finding out where he ended up in this mysterious new world.