Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.
She walked slowly across the room, observing the sobbing figure to whom she was headed. She could understand his pain, they had all lost so much. They had lost everything really. They all had cried eventually, mourning their past and what they had once knew. He had held out the longest, and he had been the uniting force for them, convincing them to look into their hearts and nurture the innate light within. But now even he cried, even he bemoaned and cursed the darkness for what it had done to them.
As she neared his sobbing form she reached out and gently held his shoulder in her hand, attempting to reassure him that the future would be better, that they just had to hold out long enough for their efforts to bear fruit. He slowly calmed down and stifled his cries, wiping away his tears with one of his arms before turning around. From his face she easily saw how much he had been crying, and it hurt her to see him in such pain. Of course, everything seemed to hurt recently.
"Was our effort really worth it?" he asked, and she pulled away in shock. His voice was full of resentment for all that had happened, hatred for those who had brought this fate onto them. "It will happen again." he continued, stating it as though there wasn't a shadow of a doubt. "There will always be those who are too selfish. They'll argue over the light again, and once more their hearts will collapse unto darkness. So much sacrifice, so much pain, and we shoved it to the side, pretending that nothing happened. We picked up the broken pieces and gathered them together again, forgetting why they were shattered, and what had happened from their shattering. We created this world in which darkness did not reign over all, but how can we be assured that darkness won't claim this world as well?" She paused, unable to answer him, and he turned away again, his face grim and mournful.
"Maybe…we can find a way. A way to seal away the darkness forever." she stated optimistically, trying desperately to give him the gift they all needed so much, hope.
"And what could do that?" he half-answered and half-barked at her. She recoiled in fear, looking on as his sadness turned to anger. He saw her fearful expression and calmed down before turning away once again ashamedly. "I'm sorry. It's just, what if the darkness does come again. It infiltrated a world of pure light, slipping through the cracks and extinguishing the light. And this world is far from pure light. This world also has darkness within it. If nothing else it's more prone to fall into darkness than our world was."
"I know that this world could fall to darkness. I fear such a thing just as much as you do. But just as there is darkness in this world, there is light as well. And as long as there is light within our hearts, this world can draw on our strength and resist the temptation of darkness." She more quoted the words than stated them, for it was one of his sayings, part of one of his many speeches that allowed them to create this new world. He smiled softly upon hearing them, reminded of how much they had accomplished.
"Maybe. And while we may not be able to dispel the shadows that constantly threaten the world, maybe someone else can. Maybe someone can open the door, and bring forth eternal light into this world." His smile grew somewhat broader, and they walked away, planning to make sure that their future savior would have the means to open the door.
1000 years later…
Telum gasped heavily, trying to resist the urge to faint. Sweat ran down his face, dropping to the ground heavily. His hair, dampened by his own sweat, had fallen down onto his forehead and the ends extended just far enough to obscure his vision and get in the way. He lifted his head, which felt very much like lead, and his eyes rested on the figure standing in front of him. The figure held a sword in each hand, and he didn't seem the least bit tired. Telum winced, he had been hoping that his opponent was as exhausted as he was. Then again, how could something that didn't truly exist be tired? His opponent stepped forward from the shadows into the light, preparing to attack again. His light brown hair somehow stayed away from his eyes, so Telum could easily see the bright green orbs, perfectly centered in the eyes. Despite their bright hue, the eyes still seemed so dark. Perhaps it was just the figure's apathetic look upon his face, maybe it was even the black robes that loosely covered his body, but he seemed far darker than he should have. Telum had seen his reflection enough times to know he didn't look like that.
"Do you give up yet?" Telum's shadow figure asked disinterestedly. "If you succumb to the darkness your pain will instantly be eased. Your life will be without these petty emotions, and you will know power that you had never thought could have existed. You could become me." Telum's eyes narrowed and despite his exhaustion he found the strength to talk.
"I'd sooner die. But you cannot kill me. My heart won't give in to the darkness, and as long as there is light within it, I can defeat you." Telum's shadow figure was quick to adopt an expression of rage and he brought his blades back up. Telum brought his own swords up and crossed them with his shadow figure's. He began to feel revitalized, as though in just refusing the darkness he had won. And that was really all that mattered. So long as he did not live a life of darkness, nothing mattered. Yet more energy surged through his body and he began to press the attack on his shadow figure. It could no longer fight against Telum's ever-increasing light and it fell to Telum's blade. It sank to the ground slowly, wavering in and out of tangibility. Soon it disappeared altogether and Telum literally felt the relief coursing through his body. He smiled to himself and walked forward, opening a massive stone door.
Within the room beyond the door there lay a single object, cast into darkness for a thousand years. Yet through the darkness it had continued to radiate light, shining brightly in spite of the darkness. Its brilliant silver blade gleamed amidst its own light, and Telum stared in awe. He had been expecting an object of magnificence, but never had he expected it to be this magnificent. He walked across the chamber and stood in front of the pedestal on which the item sat. He looked at it closely and noticed the finer details of the sword. It didn't look too much like an actual sword. The handle was a brilliantly crafted gold, and it looked somewhat like the handle of an ordinary sword. It was the blade that shocked Telum. A long silver rod was affixed to the handle, and it ended in the shape of a key. It seemed to be anything but a weapon, but its light was undeniably overpowering.
Keyblade… The word resonated within his mind, and he knew he had found what he had been searching for. This blade could save his world from being cast into darkness. Telum joyously plucked the item from its resting place and walked away, a happy gait in his step.
He failed to notice the shadows of the room gathering after he left. He failed to notice them swirling around each other before meeting together and becoming dense enough to take form. And the form they chose was a twisted replica of the weapon of light.
Author's Note- And there you go. Go ahead and tell me what you think. Do I continue onward or slowly kill this story in its sleep, reveling in its muffled screams? I don't really care one way or another (I laugh at the stupidity and broken English of flamers), so just go ahead and review.
