Submerge…

It was gone.

Just like that.

The only way back to his friends. Back to Sora, Back to –

No, he shook his head angrily. Thinking like that wasn't going to get him anywhere. He would find a way. He had to find a way.

Riku turned away from the spot where moments ago a door had stood, a door back to the World of Dark. He had helped Sora and the others shut it, it was the only chance to reemerge from his prison. He still couldn't believe he was Heartless. "I don't feel like a Heartless," he thought. At least his spirit retained the image of his former self.

The ocean that was the source of all Heartless had quieted. There was no reason for them to stir now, now that their only way out, once opened by the evil Ansem, was closed once again. Here in the Kingdom Hearts, all they could do was stay, and wait…

A figure appeared out of the darkness beside him and he turned to see King Mickey dematerialize his keyblade, disappearing into the folds of his cloak once more.

"We succeeded," Mickey said softly, "Yet there is so much left to do…"

"I know, the door to the Light must be found, but, well," Riku shrugged. "What am I supposed to do without my body?" The King frowned.

"Well, we should try to find it, but I for one just don't have a clue where to look. Ansem was so consumed by darkness, he somehow stole it away, but I can't see what he would have done with it after, well…"

Impure heart, turned to pure, the soul seeks the body, submerged in darkness…

"What was that?" Riku gasped, turning to face the King. He stopped, eyes widening. The King was no longer there. He looked around warily. "Who said that?"

What I am… I am… I am the Kingdom Hearts…

"What are you talking about?"

I am the Heart of hearts, Bearer of the burden, Liver of the life…

"Why are you creating the Heartless? Why are they here inside you?"

The Heartless? I have not created them, they are of the other world, the World of Light… They are a parasite, feeding on the heart, so they seek the Heart… I am… Growing weaker…

"What will… What will happen if you… Die?"

I am the Heart of Hearts… All hearts flow from the Heart… They would cease to exist…

Riku's breath caught in his throat. "All life… All hearts… They would all turn to nothing?"

They would… All would perish… Unless the Heartless leave the Heart of hearts…

"Is there any that can stop them? Is there anything that can make them leave?"

The doors must be sealed… All three doors…

"Three?"

The Door to the Light… The Door to the Darkness… And the Door Between…

"I have to tell Sora… I have to them all! We have to hurry! How can I leave this place… How can I leave your being?"

Those of the ethereal cannot leave the Kingdom Hearts…

"So I need my body… Or I'm stuck here, forever."

Your body is here…

"What? My body? Where? How can I get it back?"

The Master of the Darkness… The one called Ansem… Deep in the Darkness… The Heart of Kingdom Hearts, corrupted by the Heartless… There he holds it, for now he fears it… Finally he sees the darkness cannot be controlled…

"How can I reach him?"

He is but a step away, you must shine bright, and walk forward bravely into the Darkness…

Riku looked down in front of him, at the vast ocean of Heartless essence. He took a deep breath, and stepped down into the darkness…