My vision swirled into place as I regained consciousness. My head was pounding as I lifted my hand to cover my eyes. The light that shone in from the single window in the room I found myself in was harsh.
I blinked a few times, attempting to clear my blurred vision. The pain of laying on a completely flat surface was suddenly made apparent to me, and I abruptly pushed myself up into a sitting position. The skin on my hand was met by cold metal, which I proceeded to see was what the entire room was made of.
I had been lying on a sheet of cold, hard, steel. The walls were made of the same material. The only break in the room was a small, rectangular window at the top of the wall over my 'bed'. I raised myself up, and attempted to see through it by standing on the surface I had before sat on. I cursed myself as I realized I was too short by a few feet.
What felt like hours passed by. Memories came flooding back to the fateful night back in Destiny Islands. As if my mind was hit by a speeding bullet, a sudden pain shot into my head as soon as I tried to remember what happened after I sank into darkness.
Slight flashbacks, whether they be recollections or fabrications, started to burst into my head with an almost staccato motion. I saw their outlines, the outlines of so many people standing around me. There was a bright light above me, which, in turn, blocked their faces with its blinding glare.
They had such strong voices. They all sounded so strong. They towered over me, discussing something they called the "keyblade", discussing Sora, discussing the path to destruction, the path to redemption, and the path to the princesses.
The one who seemed to be in charge saw that my eyes were fluttering open, and each time, she would put her hand over my eyes, and I would begin to lose consciousness again. As I would fade back into the world of darkness, I could distinctly hear her voice booming, "Not yet, dear child, the operation is not yet complete". Every word had precise pronunciation, and every sound vibrated my very being.
My head ached with every thought of trying to recall anything of these memories. I begged for it to stop, I prayed to every deity I had ever heard of, I prayed for redemption, for release from this pain. The pain shot through my limbs, and my vision began to swirl again as dizziness took its toll. I fell backwards, and the only thing to break my fall was the cold steel, knocking me out.
When I woke up, I found a tall woman leaning in the corner opposite my 'bed'. She stepped out of the shadow, allowing the light from the tiny window to hit her face. This was the woman who seemed to have so much power over the others. Everything from the way she stood to her garments gave her an air of elegance, mystery, and malice.
Her skin had a tint of green, though it would be improper to attribute her skin color as such. Her eyes were pure black, her lips were thin enough to slice time itself in half, and atop her head she wore a hood with two contraptions that can only be described as horns. Her hood covered her entire head, aside from her face, and morphed down into her robe. Her robe was black, with a purple collar, and purple around the center of the garment where it fastened. Her right hand came to rest upon a yellow orb held up by a wooden staff. Even I, who at the time knew nothing of magic or power, could feel the radiating essence of the grand leader herself.
"You finally awaken" her soft, velvety voice almost cooed. Could this indeed be the same woman from my flashbacks? She set her left hand upon my shoulder, and I could feel the ease of my pain stifling through my body, beginning at her touch and reaching down to my toes. I closed my eyes and submitted myself to her touch.
Suddenly, I felt rejuvenated. My entire body became completely aware of every molecule of oxygen that existed in the room.I could do anything. More importantly, I was alive. I was alive in every since of the word. Life was moving slower, I could see everything that was happening clearly.
I was invincible.
She lifted her hand from my shoulder, and almost immediately I felt like collapsing. There was a sudden feeling of emptiness, the ache of loss, and the shadow of inadequacy.
"You have been asleep for many days, young Riku"
"How do you know my name?"
"I know many things, however, do not let that worry you just now."
"Who are you?"
"My name is Maleficent. I brought you here after I found you floating in the abyss of space. Your world, Destiny Islands, was destroyed."
"Destroyed! But…but how!"
"The power was too intense for the weakened heart of the world. It folded in on itself. It imploded, if you will."
"What about my friends…?"
"Oh, dearest, don't worry about them. Their souls have been scattered among the many other worlds in this universe. They are not looking for you."
"No…they have to be…they wouldn't abandon me."
"They have. You have to accept that. There will be consequences if you continue on with this improper thought process."
With this, she swept out of the room.
That night, as I attempted to sleep, I realized just how cold a sheet of metal can be. It would be inappropriate to say that I tossed and turned, due to the fact that every time I turned I was met with yet another section of steel. Lying on my side killed my hips, lying on my back murdered my spine, and lying on my stomach assassinated my ribs. Needless to say, I didn't sleep at all. Had Destiny Islands really been destroyed? Everything I know? Was I truly an outcast from a planet?
I was completely prepared to not see my parents again, to not come back to the dreadful, overrated paradise. But, what I didn't expect was to be met with this sense of homeless. I had nothing but the clothes on my back. All I knew of the outside world outside of Destiny Islands was this cell I now found myself confined it.
I decided to stop trying to sleep. I instead busied myself with walking the perimeter of the tiny room. With moonlight as my only company, I cried. I cried for the loneliness, I cried for the fear the tall woman struck in me, I cried for the homelessness, but mostly…I cried for my friends. Where were they? Were they even alive?
They had to be. I could feel it in my heart that they were alive somewhere. And somewhere…they were looking for me. I just knew.
Sinking down in the corner, I sat on the floor. I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to hold on to any sense of warmth I could fathom. I thought about Kairi and Sora. The mere thought of them was enough to make me feel stable until the sun rose.
Almost as if she had been waiting, Maleficent swept into the room with her robes bellowing behind her the moment I stood up. She looked down at me, her fingers drumming on the top of her staff.
"I realize I may have come off as harsh yesterday, forgive me. This entire business of worlds being demolished absolutely upsets me," She bellowed, "perhaps we can start anew? Riku, you are a very strong individual. There are many things you need to know about the way the universe works, as well as about the heart works.
"You see, each world in the universe has its own heart. A world's heart is where all things are born in that world. In every land there is a door to the heart of a world… the door leads down to the deepest part of the heart, itself… that, however, shall not be touched on right now. There is still much for you to learn, Riku, and this is only the beginning."
My throat clenched. This information seemed familiar as though I had known it forever, but the startling revelation of it carried a strong impact.
"I will help you find your friends. However, when we find them, I can not promise that you will want to stay with them."
"Oh, I know I will," I replied a little too quickly, "You see, Sora and Kairi are my best friends…"
"But, my dear boy, you have yet to learn of the changes they may have faced."
"I'm sure everything will be fine. The three of us are too close to let something come between us. We were going to explore other worlds together!"
"I'm sure that was the original plan, yes. Never mind all of this, I want you to come with me."
I stood and followed Maleficent out of the room, relieved to be finally escaping the cell. We walked down many halls, and as we got further from the room, the walls along the hallways became cooler shades of green and purple. Colors grew darker with every step, and a regal sense of comfort filled me. I began to feel traces of the feeling that had spread through me the previous night when Maleficent only touched me. The moments slipped by slower as we got to the source of what I was feeling. I wanted to run, I wanted to pass her by and get to whatever it was that was radiating the power.
The seconds and steps continued to drag at a snail's pace, until finally we entered at the top level of a huge room, in which a large, glowing doorway stood. There were multiple glass cases surrounding the room. Electricity was flowing from many different apparatuses around the room.
I walked down the staircase at my left, and noticed that the huge platform which was in front of the door had two staircases leading down from it. I finally made my way to the bottom level of the room and led myself down an oak hallway, Maleficent in tow behind me. In the hall, I noticed six glass coffins standing upright against the two walls, three on each. One of these cases already had an inhabitant.
She was a short girl with flowing blonde hair. She wore a light blue dress, along with a white apron. I walked to the glass and placed my hand against it. The same power radiating from the door was flowing into me from here. This power, however, felt incomplete. I looked to the other cases. The fact that they were empty caused me great duress, though I didn't know why at the time. Something began to happen inside me. I felt driven to complete the task of filling up the cases. But, before I could learn how to fill them, Maleficent told me I needed practice with a real sword. "Forget the wooden plank," she said, "this is real."
Out of nowhere, a sword fabricated into her hands, and she tossed it to me. I caught it by the handle, given my training with my 'wooden plank', and I swung it around, almost effortlessly. She chuckled in a deep tone, and almost whispered, "See? You're a natural…such a powerful boy…"
The sword itself resembled a dragon's wing. It was black along the blade, with purple metal to represent the skin coming off of it. The handle seemed made to fit into my hand, and I felt that familiar feeling of power as I held it. The unexplainable warmth traveled up my arm, and my mind went into invincible-mode.
"In order to get stronger, allow me to introduce you to the shadows that walked along side you that fateful night."
The familiar beings came up from the ground and surrounded me.
"Do not be afraid to harm them, Riku, they do not feel. They do not have hearts. They are what we call The Heartless. They are born of darkness, and therefore are completely inaccurate voids born from the heart of the world." She barely breathed the words when The Heartless came towards me.
Just as I had felt, the swings were, indeed, effortless. I cut the creatures down, individuals turned into pairs, pairs turned into groups of three, and each swing I took made me become stronger. Each swing made me want to work harder, I wanted to taste the power that teased my body, I needed to.
The swarm of Heartless stopped, and I collapsed to the ground, panting.
"The power you feel can be amplified, Riku…" Maleficent said with a smile.
"Please…please tell me how…" I choked out between short, staggered breath.
"You will learn in time. But, for now, this will be enough." She placed her hand on my shoulder, healing my exhaustion, before continuing, "Tomorrow, we will travel to a new world in attempt to find your missing friends. You will need the sword skills in order to stay alive in your travels. While I have the power to protect both of us, I need you to understand that you can only advance yourself by not accepting charity. You must work for everything, Riku. You must learn everything you can. In order to understand all of this new information, you must learn your own self, you must learn what you are capable of, and you must also learn what worlds are capable of. After all, one who knows nothing can understand nothing."
There were a few moments of silence in which I reflected on what she had just said. All of it made sense. I was more than prepared to begin my new education. I would become a man of the universe; I would grow from the boy on Destiny Islands that I once was.
Through a series of lifts, Maleficent led me to a more furnished room atop the castle we were in. Along the way, she explained to me that we were in a world called Hollow Bastion. This was where the great leader Ansem researched The Heartless, the heart of worlds, and a place called Kingdom Hearts…the birthplace of all hearts. I inquired about his research, but Maleficent explained that all of that will be revealed in due time.
This man must have been a scholar. He must have been incredible. To be able to research the origin of everything that exists…
He must have held the knowledge of a God.
Tomorrow, my education would begin. I would step foot onto a ship that could travel the universe, in search of knowledge. But more importantly, in search of my friends.