"Sora, wait! Don't leave me alone!" A voice reached out in the darkness amongst the spiralling marble staircases. The clear echo of the feminine voice bounced against the endless darkness, but it seem to pass through the young man's ear unhindered.
"Sora! Wait!" Kairi's tone began to lace with desperation. Her lithe feet tapped the staircase step by step, trying to match up Sora's pace. But the distance between them seemed to grow steadily. The staircases elongated like stretched elastic, pulling Kairi and Sora further apart. Kairi called out his name again and again but the young man still stood at the top of the pillar in his rigid state.
"Sora, please! Don't leave me alone again! …Sora!" Her outstretched hand never met anything but darkness. The last thing she remembered before the winding paths engulfed her was his mouth moving, as if saying something. She cried out one last time before she lost her footing and welcomed the endless abyss.
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Dream Sequence
Chapter 1
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How long has it been…? A month? A year? Kairi mused to herself as the sun rises outside her window. The same dream, same scene, same ending, the same longing for him. Sora, Sora, Sora. The name engraved itself so deeply in her mind that nothing can erase it. Even the streaks of dawn cannot be compared to his brilliance.
She smiled at her thoughts and climbed out of bed. At the age of fifteen, she still looked small. But her face features had sharpened, her body curved in places, and her hair longer than she'd ever kept it. Her friends joked that all the guys in town would jump off the cliff of Destiny Islands if she say the word. She could only chuckle and smiled at them, her eyes twinkling with happiness.
But who was she to fool? The person whom she sees every morning in her mirror told a different story. She didn't feel at all beautiful. Her eyes lost its shine when she was alone. Sora had taken it when they parted. Running a comb through her hair, she recounted again her dream.
"Sora, please! Don't leave me alone again! …Sora!" Her outstretched hand never met anything but darkness. The last thing she remembered before the winding paths engulfed her was his mouth moving, as if saying something. She cried out one last time before she lost her footing and welcomed the endless abyss.
His mouth was moving… What were you trying to say? Were you saying goodbye? She tightened her grip on the comb. Why couldn't I hear you? Why?
crack!
"Ah!" She was startled out of her reverie by a slight sting on her palm. The shell comb - her 12th birthday present from Sora - was nothing more than glittering splinters in her hand. She stared at it for a long time, a thousand thoughts flying in her head. Suddenly she shuddered as her mind recalled the words of a local fortune-teller.
"The one you seek… The one whom he seeks… The unknown story… The endless search… Will begin with you."
What does that have to do with anything? She chided herself. But I hope Sora is okay. Please don't let that be bad omen. She glanced up at her clock – a gift from Riku. The hands ticked away slowly, as if mocking her dread.
"Riku, wherever you are, you must help me find him. We'll find Sora together." Somehow she knew that he won't be able to hear her – but perhaps, just this one time, her old friend would nod his head and grin back at her.
The long hallway dwindled around and around, without a map a visitor would likely be lost. But he's no visitor. With his black coat, hood, gloves and boots he looked nothing like a visitor. Turning round a corner the unknown infiltrator made sure no one was around before he leapt out an arched window. The rough surface of the rock felt like velvet under his glove, and he pulled himself up to peek through a finely decorated tinted glass. Not finding what he seek he hoisted himself again upwards, limbs nimble and agile. A few floors up, a similar window greeted him. Looking inside he saw quite a large room, ornately furnished with what looked like a golden Highchair on one side of the room.
Red carpet? Never knew they have a taste for royalties. The figure chuckled to himself before proceeding to enter the room through one of the many ventilations. He swiftly ran up to one of the walls and used his grip on the stone slits to suspend against gravity. A second later he fell down and landed gracefully on the stone floor, only to come out again the way he came.
He climbed again a couple of floors and did the same manoeuvre. This time it was a simple room with stone walls. It looks more like a jail due to its state of abandon. A pair of chandelier rings lay on the dusty tabletop. No other furniture graced the room except for a high-backed chair, but even that looked so old and worn. Again he mused on how anyone could actually live here. Done with his work he leapt again out of the window to fall from the sixth floor. Like a demon with wings he slowed down before crashing to the ground. Making sure no one was around he slipped back into the long corridor and disappeared.
"Thanks for setting them up, I hope they work properly…" A voice leaked out inside the inn room. "You should rest now, how is your head?"
"A bit dizzy… I can't believe it's been a year already, and the pain still lingers." The addressed man took off his boots to lie down on the downy mattress. He closed his eyes for a while before opening them up again. "I've always felt like a parasite here. Is this what the Heartless felt as well?"
"We can only speculate… But I suppose it connects. Just as they feed on the Light and the Heart, we feed on Darkness… At least until we are strong enough to stay in this world unsupported."
"I hope so… I just hope so…" Before I lose the Light inside me… A shadow of red passed in front of his eyes before he fell into a deep slumber, not bothering to take off his cloak and gloves. The owner of the other voice just smiled and returned to the task at hand. Pristine white sheet lay on the table, ready to be written on. With a dip of the quill he set off to write another letter. This time it was addressed to a particular trio.
"Dear Sora, Donald and Goofy…"
To be continued...
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is a property of Square-Enix. I own none.