Kingdom Hearts: Paths of Destiny

by xKeybladeWielderx

To prepare for the ultimate battle of Light vs. Darkness, Devon, Sora, and Riku partake in the Mark of Mastery Exam, traveling to the sleeping worlds to become full-fledged Keyblade Masters. However, the evil shadows are not far behind. What challenges await our heroes on this new adventure? Will they pass the trials? Darkness becomes light, and light becomes darkness.

87. Trapped in Eternal Darkness

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, the Characters, or any Game, Movie, or TV Show content that are mentioned in this FanFiction story. They belong to their respective owners and I honor respect their great works.

---

(The World That Never Was)

After traveling to many worlds and unlocking the Sleeping Keyholes, Devon had completed his Mark of Mastery Exam. He expected to arrive back at the Celestial Temple, where the Inheritor, Master Yen Sid, and his friends were waiting for him. But instead, he had arrived somewhere else. The Keyblade Wielder opens his eyes and found himself standing infront of Memory's Skyscraper in the Dark City. Right away, Devon knew where he has.

"Wait a minute... This is... The Organization's world? Why am I here? Is it sleeping too? I know I unlocked the Sleeping Keyholes. So I should be awake in the real world." Devon says

Immediately, Devon narrowed his eyes and began to feel wary, sensing foul play. He was close to summoning his Keyblade.

"I don't like this. Something's off." Devon says

Before he could ponder his predicament any further, a male voice speaks to the young teen out of nowhere.

"Aw, what's the matter, sleepyhead?" The voice says

Devon's eyes widened and a gasp escapes his breath as he was startled by the voice. Someone was here and he was being watched. The Keyblade Wielder looks around the plaza, searching for the source of the voice.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Devon says

Unaware to the young teen, he had a target on his head with an Arrowgun aiming down at him.

"We jumped through a lot of hoops to get you here." The voice says

The Arrowgun began charging up a shot with a magenta orb appearing on its tip, growing in strength as its wielder prepared to fire.

"But it looks as if it's gonna finally pay off." The voice says

Within moments, a pink shard is fired, heading straight down toward its human target. Devon heard the shot as his eyes darted to to right. He turns around and jumps away with a backflip, dodging the shard and landing in a crouched position. Rising up onto his feet, Devon looks up where the shot came from and saw someone jumping down to meet him. It was Xigbar. The one-eyed man slows his descent and lands on his feet, separating his connected Arrowguns and dismissing them with a sinister grin on his face.

"Heh." Xigbar chuckles

"Xigbar? You're a part of this?" Devon asks baffled

"Hey. Let's hit these plot points in order, Devon... Draxon. First, you must be wondering about your revised itinerary. 'Why am I here, not back home?' The answer's simple. We brought you to this place! Hijacked your little slumber party before it started. And ever since, we've been both your companions and your constant guides." Xigbar says

"Before it started?" Devon says confused

Devon glanced down at the ground, pondering what Xigbar meant, but his head soon snapped up as the realization hit him.

"The cloaked man!" Devon exclaims

A vision of the brown hooded figure appeared in Devon's mind as he remembered seeing him before Destiny Islands fell to darkness, and again prior to the start of his Mark of Mastery Exam after he, Sora, and Riku defeated Ursula. Then, he remembered his encounters with Young Xehanort, Xemnas, Ansem, Lord Thanatos, Lord Drazor, and the Dark Echo all throughout his journey through the Sleeping Worlds.

"And Xehanort! Ansem! Xemnas! Lord Thanatos! Lord Drazor! And the Dark Echo!" Devon exclaims

Xigbar points his right-hand at Devon.

"Bingo. You were able to go back in time just before your home became a Sleeping World..." Xigbar says

The one-eyed man walks up to the young teen and points his right-index finger at him.

"...only because a past version of yourself already existed there." Xigbar says tapping his chest five times on emphasis

Xigbar walks past Devon as he continues on.

"And I can see, in the past, you already met Mr. Robe Guy. Yup, he was there then to make sure you ended up here now." Xigbar says

"That's absurd!" Devon yells

"It sure is. It's too perfect. Who'd ever believe it? Which is why you idiots never saw it coming. You thought you were off doing some kind of test, right? Well, test this: how come you're still wearing the same clothes if you're already back home? You're not gonna wake up, okay? There's no real versus dreams anymore. There's just you, us, and this." Xigbar says

"Alright. Fair enough." Devon says closing his eyes

Devon summons his Keyblade: Soul Calibur into his right-hand, then his eyes snap open as he holds it infront of him with both hands, getting into his stance.

"But at least I know who to blame for it!" Devon says narrowing his eyes

Xigbar glances back over his left-shoulder at Devon and saw the anger on his face.

"Ooh, I see you've still got that angry look down." Xigbar says

The one-eyed man looks away and places his right-hand behind his head.

"But, here is where I tag out. I got just a few more hoops to jump through." Xigbar says

Suddenly, Xigbar disappears out of thin air, catching Devon by surprise as he looks around frantically. Then, the young teen looks up and saw Xigbar hanging upside-down above him with his Arrowguns drawn.

"Heh heh heh." Xigbar chuckles

Xigbar shoots twelve shards at Devon, who raised his right-arm up to shield himself, but none of the shots hit him. Instead, the shards surrounded the young teen in a tightly closed circle and manifest counterclockwise into twelve hooded figures, each one wearing the black coats of Organization XIII. Young Xehanort appears infront of Devon last and extends his right-hand out to him.

"Come with me." Young Xehanort says

As he stared at the silver-haired teen, Devon saw a vision of Riku making the same gesture that day when Destiny Islands fell to darkness at the start of his journey. Suddenly, Devon's body began to feel heavy and his vision became fuzzy and blurry.

"Wha...?" Devon says baffled

Devon held his head with his right-hand, trying to shake off the sudden sleepiness.

"Gnh... Ngh..." Devon groans

His gaze turned right towards Xigbar, who grinned.

"Pleasant dreams, kiddo." Xigbar says

Eventually, Devon falls over and his vision fades as his eyes closed and everything turned black.

---

Awakening from his sleepy spell, Devon opened his eyes and his vision was blinded by the bright sunlight overhead. He blocked the sun with his right-hand for his vision to adjust, then sat up and looked around at his new surroundings. The Keyblade Wielder was sitting on a beach. But not just any beach. It was Destiny Islands. Devon looked ahead and saw a man standing further out on the shore. It was Xehanort in his younger years as a young man. As the silver-haired man stood gazing out at the ocean, two more figures appeared and approached him on his left. It was the cloaked man in the robe that he and Sora had seen before, and the Dark Echo, who hovered behind him.

"Yes. This is where it started." A voice says

Devon looked to his left and saw Young Xehanort sitting alongside him with his right-arm resting on his bent leg.

"At this point, I had no idea that I was talking to myself, or the Dark Lord. They cast away their bodily forms just to set me on the appointed path." Young Xehanort says

"What do you mean?" Devon asks

"That is Xehanort reduced to just a heart. The being you and your friends called 'Ansem'. The one behind him is Teridax, the Dark Lord of the Shadows in his spirit form." Young Xehanort says

Devon turned his gaze back infront of him and nearly jumped when he saw the robed figure and the shadowy wraith standing and hovering before him. His head became foggy and everything went black again.

---

Again, Devon opened his eyes and looked around him. He was still on Destiny Islands, though in a different spot. He looked and saw the robed man entering the secret cave.

"Him..." Devon says

Suddenly, the Keyblade Wielder saw Sora and himself running inside after the cloaked Ansem.

"Is that..." Devon says

"Yes. The point in time that Xigbar mentioned." Young Xehanort says

Devon looks over to his left and saw Young Xehanort standing next to him.

"Me and Sora, right before our world was swallowed by darkness." Devon says

"To move through time, you must leave your body behind. Ansem and Teridax first sent me on my way, and then placed themselves here when the time was right. That is what set all of these events in motion." Young Xehanort says

"What are you saying? That they knew everything would happen?" Devon asks

"No, not everything. But remember, Ansem possessed Riku and saw his experiences in real time." Young Xehanort says

"But what does that matter? That could only tell him so much. How did he know I would be here today?" Devon says

"Simple." Young Xehanort says

Suddenly, the ground shook, startling Devon. The Keyblade Wielder looked toward the cave entrance and saw Kairi flying out, heading straight for him.

"Kairi!" Devon exclaims

Devon opens his arms to catch her, but she disappeared, leaving him empty handed.

"Gaah!" Devon yells

Once more, the young teen's vision blurred and he collapsed again.

---

Devon's eyes opened again as he regained consciousness. This time, he was floating downwards toward the ground below.

"What is..." Devon says

The young teen looked all around and he saw clones of himself falling as well, each leaving a trail of light in their descent. His gaze shifted down toward the ground as he landed slowly and softly. Devon looked up to examine his new surroundings. He was in Traverse Town, though he did not recognize being here.

"Where am I?" Devon asks

The Keyblade Wielder soon saw Mickey running down the steps to the upper district with his Kingdom Key D in his right-hand.

"Mickey?" Devon says baffled

The mouse king runs toward the large wooden double doors on Devon's right and disappears as he went right through them. Then, Donald and Goofy appeared at his sides, walking past and stopping infront of him, causing the young teen to gasp and jump in surprise. Goofy glanced up and pointed up to the sky with his right-hand, causing Donald to look up as well. Following their gaze, Devon watched as a star flashed and disappeared in the night sky. He figured that was Destiny Islands when it was destroyed. But when he looks back down, Donald and Goofy were gone. Turning to his left, he saw them walking up the stairs with Pluto.

"Donald! Goofy!" Devon calls

The Keyblade Wielder runs across the plaza and quickly ascends the stairs, chasing after the dog knight and duck mage. He reaches the top and looks over to the right, only to see that they were gone. Shifting his gaze to the left, Pluto comes in from the alley around the corner and runs past him, heading back down the stairs.

"Pluto!" Devon calls

Devon chases after the dog and follows him toward the gate where he disappears. As he reaches the gate, a muffled voice calls out to the Keyblade Wielder.

"Devon!" The voice calls

The Keyblade Wielder barely heard the voice as it called his name. It sounded familiar, almost like it was Sora. Before he could ponder over it anymore, Devon's vision became blurry again and everything went black.

---

Once more, Devon awoke and found himself back in The World That Never Was in a large urban area inside the Dark City. Everything waved back and forth slowly like a flag, but soon straightened out normally as his vision adjusted.

"Wha? Am I back?" Devon asks

Suddenly, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy run past the young teen into the city, followed by his female Night Fury Luna, Spyro and Cynder, and Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who rode on their dragons.

"Wait! Luna! Hiccup! Astrid! Guys!" Devon exclaims stretching his right-hand out

None of them stopped and they only kept running. Devon tilted his head right in confusion, then proceeds to follow his friends, running full speed after them. Turning left around the corner, he expected to see the mouse king, dog knight, duck mage, the viking teens, and the eight dragons, but instead saw someone else. Infront of him was a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a white dress. It was someone who he recognized from before during his journey.

"Naminé?" Devon says surprised

Naminé turns her head left and looks back at Devon with a sad expression on her face. Without a word, she turned and ran up the stairs.

"Naminé! Wait!" Devon exclaims

Devon ran up the stairs to Naminé and grabbed her left-and.

"I've got something to tell you. Something that Sora wanted to say." Devon says

Naminé slowly turned to face Devon and she turned into someone else. A girl with black hair and blue eyes who looked just like Kairi, wearing the black coat of Organization XIII. It was Xion. Devon stared at her, completely baffled.

"Huh? Who are... you?" Devon asks

Suddenly, Devon felt a tear rolling down his left-cheek. He lifted his left-hand and felt it.

"Why... Why am I...?" Devon asks confused

Xion lifted up her hood and yanked her hand loose, then turned and continued up the stairs, running away from the Keyblade Wielder.

"Hey, wait!" Devon says stretching his right-hand out

As Xion ran away, Devon heard the same muffled voice from before along with a new one.

"Devon! Open your eyes!" Voice #1 says

"You've gotta wake up! Devon!" Voice #2 says

Soon, Xion vanished, disappearing into thin air. Devon placed his right-hand on his head and groaned as he felt a sharp pain in his mind, stumbling around a bit.

"Gnh... Ngh... Ugh..." Devon groans

And as quickly as it had appeared, the pain in his head went away, allowing the Keyblade Wielder a moment to recover. Devon lifted his head and looked up at the flight of stairs, knowing he had to keep going.

Pushing onwards, the Keyblade Wielder enters the Avenue of Dreams, an area of twisting alleys surrounded by skyscrapers, several of them adorned with blue stripes in a geometric pattern. A stream of blue-green mist falls from the roof of a massive tower and flows through the streets. Devon explores the alleys, but each of them stop at a dead end. Returning to the center of the area, he looked up at the skyscraper on his left that had the blue geometric patterns, where the mist seemed to originate, feeling that his path onwards was over the top. Devon backs away a couple feet for a running start, then closes his eyes in concentration. After six seconds, he taps into his Flowmotion ability, which causes his body to glow brightly with a blue aura. Opening his eyes, Devon dashes forward and leaps up to the building. He jumps off the side and flies higher to a building behind him on his right, then another, and another, until he flies back to the skyscraper, leaping over the top with a somersault and landing on the roof in a crouched position, standing on his left-knee and using his left-hand to catch himself.

Rising up, Devon got a good look at the world from his vantage point. Around him, he saw the rest of the city, though he stood in a large section split off by ethereal blue-green walls of light. Beyond the tower, the pavement was broken, floating in pieces away from the city, but there was a path that leads out into another urban area. Devon jumps down off the tower and falls several feet through the air, descending towards the ground at fast speed, but lands safely without a problem. He continues forward through the street and enters another urban area, where he encounters a cloaked figure, who had his back turned to him.

"Please. Who are you?" Devon asks

Silently, the figure pulled back the hood of the coat and revealed himself. Devon expected it to be Xion, but instead it was another person he knew. It was Draxon, who turned left to greet his original persona with a welcoming smile on his face.

"Draxon... But how can you be here? Am I still dreaming?" Devon says

Draxon shook his head, remaining silent.

"C'mon. Say something." Devon says

"This could have been the other way around." Draxon says

"What?" Devon says confused

"But it really has to be you." Draxon says

"What do you mean?" Devon asks

"There are so many hearts that are connected to yours. You're me, so I can feel what I felt." Draxon says

Devon felt sadness coming over him. He sighed then shook his head.

"No, Draxon. You're you. We're not the same. I wanted to tell you that. You and Roxas, both of you deserve as much to be your own selves. To live your own life." Devon says

Draxon was surprised by his Devon's words, but he smiled nonetheless.

"You see? That's why it has to be you." Draxon says

Draxon walked closer to Devon and took hold of his hands. As soon as their hands made contact, several bubbly images flooded Devon's mind. They were Draxon's memories. His life during his time in Organization XIII, his days in the simulated Twilight Town with data versions of Hayner, Pence, and Olette, and he and Devon joining together. As the last image faded, Devon was left standing completely paralyzed, unable to comprehend what he had just seen. He tried to hold back the sadness, the anger, the confusion, but was overwhelmed by these emotions. Devon looked infront of him and saw that Draxon was no longer there. Then, he looked down at his right-hand, staring into his open palm.

"This pain... Did they cause all of it?" Devon asks

Devon places his hand over his chest, right where his heart was, still overwhelmed by the mixture of emotions.

"But why? Why am I feeling it?" Devon asks

The young teen closed his eyes and grinds down on his teeth, then lifted his head up as he yelled into the sky.

"What am I supposed to see?!" Devon yells

Same as before, the muffled voices echoed in the sky again, but it wasn't loud enough for the Keyblade Wielder to hear.

"Devon! C'mon! Wake up!" Voice #1 says

"Devon, don't chase the dreams. They'll lead you nowhere, just to an endless abyss you'll never be able to wake up from." Voice #2 says

Devon sighed as he hung his head low, feeling lost and confused than before. Then, he lifts his head up and puts on a determined expression, looking ahead at the curvy path that laid before him.

Continuing further into the strange, ethereal world, the Keyblade Wielder walks along the street and comes into a canyon of blue-green rock. Here, many buildings floated on their own accord, attached to chunks of rock separate from the road, most coated with the blue-green mist. One of these buildings with blue markings stood before Devon in pieces. The young teen steps onto a large square piece and the whole section starts to shake, threatening to throw him off balance. Suddenly, the square that Devon stood on rapidly ascends and launches the Keyblade Wielder skyward.

"Whoa!" Devon exclaims

Devon flies high up into the air, soaring several feet in the canyon with four seconds of airtime, before descending down and landing on a path of broken pavement.

"Uh!" Devon grunts

The Keyblade Wielder rises back up to his feet and proceeds to walk forward on the path. But before he could proceed any further, a large building with white stripes shoots up from the ground infront of him, while others that were overturned on the sides rose up and joined together, forming a huge wall. Devon stared up at the white buildings as they blocked his path. As he did, the transparent forms of Sora and Riku appeared at his sides with Sora standing on Devon's left, and Riku on his right as they meet from across separate worlds. Each of them held determined expressions. Facing the tall buildings, Sora stretched his right-hand out while Riku stretched his left-hand, both of them joining Devon's right-hand, which caused a bright light to emit from their palms, summoning two enormous halves of filigreed Keyblades above them. These Keyblades were Nightmare's End and Mirage Split.

Nightmare's End had a gold color scheme with an incomplete end and the guard, which had an initially teal scheme that gradually turned green. The blade forms half a heart at the tip, and the teeth consists of a stained-glass window pattern, bearing blue, teal, yellow, magenta, and orange colors.

Mirage Split was similarly designed, but it had a teal color scheme that merged into black with a periwinkle color for the incomplete side of the guard. The teeth had a stained-glass window pattern also, but the colors were blue, teal, and violet.

Both Keyblades spun around each other five times in a clockwise rotation before combing together to form one huge Keyblade. Devon, Sora, and Riku swinged the Combined Keyblade together, performing three spinning slashes to the left and right, then finish with a downward slash, slicing the white buildings to pieces, which fall apart and float about in the air. With the path now clear, Sora and Riku disappear from Devon's sides while he proceeds onward.

The young teen ascends up an upward spiral, moving and jumping across broken pavement and destroyed buildings, when dozens of Nightmare Dream Eaters appeared ahead of him, forcing Devon to stop. These Dream Eaters were Keeba Tigers, Skelterwilds, Eagliders, Majik Lapins, and Cera Terrors.

Cera Terrors were stocky armored Dream Eaters that greatly resembled the Triceratops. They had a large, wide crest on its head with two long, elegantly curved horns above its two eyes, as well as a third, shorter horn on its nose, a short tail, four legs with three short claws on each foot, and a beak-like mouth. The forelimbs are covered by two pauldrons and their hindquarters were also protected by armor. The Cera Terrors had a number of spikes covering their bodies. Six lined their head crests, four along the top of their tails, one on each shoulder pauldron, and one on each cheek.

The Keyblade Wielder narrowed his eyes and clenched his hands into fists as stared at the huge group of Dream Eaters in his path. He had to escape this trap and get back to his friends and he wasn't gonna let a horde of Nightmares stop him.

"Out of my way!" Devon yells

Stretching his right-hand out infront of him, Devon summons Soul Calibur into his grip and swings it over to his side, then rushes forward at the dark creatures, while they charged at him.

Running ahead at full speed, Devon cuts his way through the Nightmares, slicing through two Majik Lapins with two side swipes of his crystal Keyblade, then leaps up at an Eaglider with a right downward slash. A Keeba Tiger leaps forward at Devon with its claws extended, but he slides underneath and slices it underbelly with a right slash, causing the sabertoothed creature to flip over onto it back. A Skelterwild lunges at the Keyblade Wielder with its bony jaws, but misses as Devon leaps up with an inverted flip, striking its neck and chopping its head off with a quick slash. The bony dinosaur collapses into pieces while the young teen jumps off its back and goes through another Keeba Tiger with a thrusting strike. Three Cera Terrors roll up to Devon, curled up in spiked balls and uncurl, blocking his path. Using his telekinetic powers, the young teen lifts up the Cera Terrors and sent them flying with a thrust of his left-hand, then continues running.

Eventually, Devon reaches the end of the broken pavement and slides to a stop close to the edge. He looked down over the side at a bottomless abyss, then glances back over his right-shoulder at the approaching Dream Eaters. Devon turned to the right and saw his way forward: a blue-green neon strip on the side of a floating overturned building. He takes a couple steps back, then dashes toward the edge. The Keyblade Wielder jumps and grinds across the long length of the neon rail at high speed with Flowmotion, ascending upwards on the spiral. Reaching the end of the railing, Devon jumps off with a somersault, spinning six times in the air, and lands crouched down on another floating skyscraper. Rising up onto his feet, the young teen turned to his left and was met by more Dream Eaters like Keeba Tigers and Majik Lapins, but also Ryu Dragons, Halbirds, and Drak Quacks.

The Keyblade Wielder dashes forward and goes through five Majik Lapins with a charging strike, gliding across the ground with his body surrounded by two rotating diagonal rings of flames. Next, he takes out four Keeba Tigers still in his rush, this time with two similar rings of ice that freezes the Nightmares and shatters them. Then, still gliding, he raises Soul Calibur above his head and spins around counterclockwise, summoning dozens of lightning bolts that strike down on five Halbirds, vaporizing them. Three Ryu Dragons shoot fireballs at Devon, but he surrounds himself inside a blue-white spherical barrier, deflecting the fiery projectiles, and smashes through the Nightmares. Pushing forward, Devon cuts his way through the Dream Eaters with a right slash, a thrusting strike, a downward slash, a left uppercut slash, three right spinning slashes, destroying four Drak Quacks and three Ryu Dragons, and finishes with a strong overhead strike, which creates a wide, bright blue shockwave of light that destroys two Keeba Tigers and two more Ryu Dragons.

Soon, after fighting past dozens of Dream Eaters, the Keyblade Wielder makes it to the top of the spiral. Ahead of him was a road path that led out of the canyon. But before he could proceed, a huge group of Tyranto Rex, Cera Terrors, Keeba Tigers, Hebby Repps, Kooma Pandas, Fin Fatales, Staggerceps, Electricorns, Yoggy Rams, and Halbirds appeared infront of him, blocking the way out. Another large group of Skelterwilds, Aura Lions, Toximanders, Drak Quacks, KO Kabutos, Majik Lapins, Fishbonés, Cyber Yogs, and Eagliders appeared behind Devon, causing him to look back over his right-shoulder. Then, a group of Ryu Dragons, Komory Bats, and Peepsta Hoos appeared on Devon's left and right, flapping their wings and hovering in the air. The Keyblade Wielder was trapped, completely surrounded by an army of Dream Eaters. Devon glanced around at all the dark creatures as they growled and snarled, but he wasn't concerned whatsoever. He had faced vast numbers before, and this was no different. Standing strong and relaxed, the young teen closed his eyes and took some calm, deep breaths in concentration. His grip on Soul Calibur tightened as he held the crystal Keyblade in his right-hand, and he clenched his left-hand into a fist, bringing it to his other side. Devon's body soon began to glow with a bright blue flame-like aura as he draws pure, powerful energy from the light inside him. Slowly, he started to levitate and rise above the ground until he was hovering eight feet in mid-air. Suddenly, the Dream Eaters found themselves being sucked in toward Devon. The smaller creatures like the Ryu Dragons, Komory Bats, Hebby Repps, Drak Quacks, and Majik Lapins were quickly pulled closer to him, followed shortly by the Tyranto Rex, Skelterwilds, Cera Terrors, and the others, who were pulled in slowly, despite desperate attempts to resist. Discharges of blue electric sparks and light particles began to surround Devon's body, and the aura enveloping him grew stronger and glowed brighter by the second, pulsing at a high frequency as he charged himself up with more and more energy. After nearly two minutes, the Keyblade Wielder was fully charged, and his eyes snapped open with a blue flash.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Devon yells

Devon crosses his arms and thrusts his body outwards, unleashing a gigantic, extremely powerful, spherical telekinetic explosion that created rapidly expanding blue ripples in space with a loud, deafening boom, which completely disintegrated every single Dream Eater and destroyed everything else in the entire area into oblivion. Devon descends down on the edge of the broken road path, landing on his feet, and panted for breath having exerted so much energy. Once he had regained his breathing, the Keyblade Wielder turned around on his right and gazed out at the canyon, seeing nothing but a big, wide, empty space and the blue-green bottomless abyss. He stared at the canyon for a good long while, at least a minute, before he turns back to the path and continues onward, determined to keep going.

Minutes later in the walk, Devon arrives in a large open plaza surrounded by skyscrapers on three sides with a crashed truck blocking off a side street to the left. Before him the plaza drops off into an abyss spanned by floating skyscrapers laying on their sides, forming a mostly straight path between two cliff faces, leading towards what seemed to be Memory's Skyscraper and the Castle That Never Was. Devon moves across the plaza and proceeds forward into the abyss, running and jumping from one floating skyscraper to the other. The Keyblade Wielder lands crouched down on his left-knee upon reaching the third building and rises up, wearing his original clothes from his first and second adventure. Looking ahead, he saw three familiar figures further away from him. Right away, Devon knew who they were.

"Sora, Riku, Kairi!" Devon exclaims

Devon runs fast across the floating skyscraper, reaching the Destiny Islands Trio in ten seconds. He stopped and rested his hands on his knees, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath. The Destiny Islands Trio slowly turned around and faced the Keyblade Wielder with Sora and Riku turning to their left, and Kairi on her right. Each of them were wearing clothes from their second adventure with happy smiles, yet none of them said a word. Suddenly, the forms of Sora, Riku and Kairi became blurry and fuzzy, catching Devon by surprise. Eventually, they faded away, and, in their place, stood Ventus, Terra, and Aqua, who also had smiles on their faces, surprising the young teen once more.

"What?" Devon says baffled

"Devon." Ventus says

"Devon." Terra says

"Devon." Aqua says

Ventus, Terra, and Aqua held their hands out to Devon, who backed away at first, but soon found himself reaching out to them with his right-hand. Then, the three Keyblade Wielders disappeared, causing Devon to pull his hand away, and in their place stood his mother and father, Shara and Ducar, again sharing happy smiles on their faces. The Keyblade Wielder let out a sharp gasp and he gazed upon his deceased parents with widened eyes.

"Mom... Dad..." Devon gasps

"Sweetheart." Shara says

"Son." Ducar says

Devon stared with disbelief clear on his face. He felt an aching pain in his heart, and he choked under his breath.

"This isn't real. It can't be..." Devon says

Shara reaches out for her beloved son with her right-hand and caresses the left-cheek of his face. Devon closed his eyes as he felt his mother's gentle touch. It was so warm, so soothing.

"Look at you, Devon. So brave. So grown up." Shara says

"You've come a long way, son. I always knew you'd turn out strong." Ducar says

"We always believed in you, sweetheart. We are so proud." Shara says

Ducar steps up to his son and places his left-hand on his right-shoulder.

"Not much further now, Devon. You're nearly there." Ducar says

Soon, Shara and Ducar moved their hands away and began to walk away. Devon's eyes snapped open, and he watched as his parents turned back into Terra and Aqua, then back into Riku and Kairi with Sora reappearing between them. Devon ran to catch up, but his movements became slow and sluggish. He grunted with every running step he took as he tried desperately to reach his friends.

"What's... going on?" Devon asks

"Devon! Don't!" Voice #1 says

"You gotta wake up! Devon!" Voice #2 says

Devon thought he heard Sora and Riku's voices, but they were right infront of them with Kairi. Soon, the Destiny Island Trio faded away and the world around Devon became blurry and waved until he was back at Memory's Skyscraper. The Keyblade Wielder panicked and stretches his right-hand out.

"Wait!" Devon yells

Suddenly, a small light appeared infront of Devon, growing larger and brighter until it completely engulfed him.

---

Eventually, the light diminished and the Keyblade Wielder saw glimpses of the past through visions in his mind.

The first vision showed a young 5-year-old Devon in the Land of Departure, playing outside on bright sunny day in the castle courtyard with Ventus, then later his father Ducar, as they sparred with wooden swords.

A second vision showed young Devon sitting on the ledge of the courtyard on a starry night with Shara, Ducar, Ventus, Terra, and Aqua, enjoying the view of a spectacular meteor shower and the many countless stars that glittered in the sky like shiny diamonds. Devon sat on Ducar's lap until he fell asleep leaning back against his father's body. Another vision showed Shara and Ducar bringing Devon to his room inside the castle later that night. Ducar carried his son in his arms and gently placed him down in his bed while Shara pulled the blankets over his body, covering him up to his neck. Once that was finished, Shara bent down and kissed her Devon's head, and Ducar gently ruffled his son's short hair, then the loving couple turned to leave the room. Shara was the first out the door. Ducar grabbed the doorknob with his right-hand and was about to follow, but he lingered for a while longer and gazed back over his right-shoulder at Devon, wishing him a good night's rest.

"Goodnight, champ." Ducar says

After saying that, Ducar closes the door to Devon's room behind him, leaving his son to sleep in peaceful slumber while a bright blue-white comet streaks across the night sky and the blue light from the moon shines down on him.

A third vision revealed Terra and Ducar standing on the beaches of Destiny Islands during sunset. They were crossing the wooden bridge to the small islet when a young 4-year-old Sora and a 5-year-old Riku ran past them. A white flash blinds the vision for two seconds, but immediately clears, revealing the two Keyblade Wielders kneeling down infront of Riku and Terra bequeathing his Keyblade to the small boy, who held the handle in awe.

A fourth vision revealed Shara and Aqua as they arrived on Destiny Islands, walking along the wooden bridge. They jump down to Riku, who stood perfectly calm, and Sora, who jumped in surprise, then smiled, scratching the back of his head with his right-hand out of slight embarrassment. Shara and Aqua smiled themselves and petted the heads of the two little boys.

A fifth vision showed Devon in his first living days on Destiny Islands after his homeworld, the Celestial Realm was destroyed. He stood on the beaches of the mainland in the morning hours of the day, meeting Sora, Riku and Kairi for the very first time, where they immediately became best friends. From Devon's point of view, Sora stood infront of him with Kairi on his left and Riku on his right, each with smiles on their faces. Sora's held the biggest smile. Suddenly, the Destiny Islands Trio disappeared into thin air, surprising Devon.

"What?" Devon says

Then, Lord Thanatos appeared infront of him. His demonic eyes were closed, but a second later, they instantly shot open, and Devon was hurled back with full force by a powerful telekinetic wave.

"Ahhh!" Devon exclaims

The Keyblade Wielder was sent flying off the beach and far out into the open waters of the sea in less than a split second. Destiny Islands quickly disappeared into the distance and Devon's world immediately turned white as his vision was blinded.

---

Returning to the World That Never Was, Devon fell from the sky, enveloped in blue-white light, and crashes back into the Nightmarish Abyss, landing on a large floating skyscraper right infront of Xigbar in a bright flash.

"Oopsy-daisy. Wasn't easy putting you into a second sleep, and they almost woke you up." Xigbar says

Devon was down on his left-knee when the light enveloping him diminished, and he pushes himself up onto his feet.

"All those things I saw. Did you put all that in my head?" Devon asks

"No. That was a dream. The falling asleep part was definitely our bad. We can't put stuff inside your head. But hey, I got an idea. Ask your heart. See if it's got a clue." Xigbar says

"Well... my heart was aching. That's why I kept going." Devon says placing his right-hand over his chest

"Oh... Thank you, Devon's heart, for pushing him right into our clutches. Aren't hearts great? Steer us wrong everytime." Xigbar says

"You know, you're right, because you all have hearts! Axel, Roxas, Draxon, Naminé, and that other girl. I felt what they felt. They laughed, argued, and cried together. It takes a heart to feel those kinds of emotions." Devon says

Xigbar laughs.

"Heh heh. It's about time you noticed." Xigbar says

"Indeed." A male voice says

A dark corridor opens up behind Devon, causing him to turn around on his left. And from it appeared the leader of Organization XIII.

"Xemnas..." Devon growls

"A heart is never lost for good. There may have been variances in our dispositions, but a number of us unquestionably showed signs of a burgeoning replacement. Once born, the heart can also be nurtured. Our experiments creating Heartless were attempts to control the mind, and convince it to renounce its sense of self. But understand, one can banish the heart from the body, but the body will try to replace it the first chance it gets, for as many times as it takes. And so I knew, even after we were divided into Heartless and Nobody, it was just a temporary separation." Xemnas says

"Why then? Why did you lie to them and tell them they had no hearts?" Devon asks

Devon turns back to Xigbar as he spoke next.

"Xemnas, Xehanort, Lord Thanatos, and Teridax all formed the Organization for one specific reason: round up a bunch of empty husks, hook them up to Kingdom Hearts, then fill them all with the exact same heart and mind. Translation: They were gonna turn all the members into Teridax." Xigbar says

Devon gasps in shock.

"Turn them all into Teridax?! You tricked them. But... aren't you afraid of turning into someone else?" Devon says

Xigbar grinned maliciously.

"Me?" Xigbar says

Xigbar turned his head slightly to the right and showed his golden left-eye.

"I'm already half of Teridax." Xigbar says

Devon stared into Xigbar's eye with widened eyes and a horrified gasp escaped his breath.

"That's insane..." Devon gasps

The Keyblade Wielder turned back to Xemnas as he spoke again.

"However, through weakness of body... weakness of will... or weakness of trust... most of the original members we had chosen for the Organization were inadequate. Thus, naturally, they never had the chance to attain their goal. Yet, even this was to be expected." Xemnas says

Devon narrowed his eyes at Xemnas and his hands clenched into fists as the Nobody continued.

"We have learned of the heart's folly, and we have achieved our other goals. This last excursion has proven to be a worthy closing assignment for the Organization." Xemnas says

"That's enough! You treat people's hearts like bottles on a shelf, but they're not!" Devon yells

Devon stretches his right-hand out infront of him and swings it over to his side, summoning Soul Calibur into his grip.

"Hearts are made of the people we meet, the bonds we form, the experiences we share, and the way we feel about each other! They're what ties us together, even when we're apart! They're... what makes me strong!" Devon yells

Xigbar smiles and points both his hands at Devon.

"Duh! You're strong because of the ties you have with other people. As if the Keyblade would choose a wimp like you. But no pouting. We see much bigger and better things in your future... once you side with us." Xigbar says

The young teen turns back to Xigbar and faces him.

"You're wrong." Devon says

Devon glances down at his trusted crystal Keyblade in his right-hand as he held it up infront of him.

"I know I was chosen by the Keyblade to do great things. It chose me because it knew of the good in my heart, and where it came from." Devon says

The young teen places his left-hand over his chest as he continued.

"I'm honored to be its wielder, and I'm proud of who I am. And if ever the Keyblade wouldn't have chosen me, I wouldn't care because I'm proud to be a part of something much bigger..." Devon says

Devon closes his eyes for a moment, then opens them up again, casting a calm, determined glare at Xigbar.

"...the people it did choose." Devon says

Xigbar gasps in shock and stares at the Keyblade Wielder with his widened eye. All of Devon's friends appeared and stood alongside him. Luna, his beloved female Night Fury was closest to her rider, standing on his left-side. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Draxon, Roxas, Xion, and Axel stood behind Devon on his left while Shara, Ducar, Ventus, Terra, and Aqua stood on his right, along with the rest of his friends: Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Spyro, Cynder, Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Snotlout, Hookfang, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Barf and Belch all stood behind him.

"My friends, my family! They are my power!" Devon yells

Xemnas stood calmly and narrowed his eyes, while Xigbar took two steps backwards away from the Keyblade Wielder.

"Those are just words. Y-You've lost." Xigbar says

"Have I? You sound a little scared, Xigbar." Devon says raising his right-eyebrow

Xigbar narrows his eye and growls.

"Fine. See where your power gets you here. Xemnas! He's all yours!" Xigbar says

Xigbar disappears into a dark corridor, leaving his superior to deal with Devon. Xemnas slowly raises his hands and the ground beneath them began to shake. The two skyscraper towers behind Devon were lifted away, cutting off the way back. Two other large buildings, both with red markings on their sides, floated behind Xemnas, while Devon stood his ground with Soul Calibur held at his side, ready to fight.

"As your flesh bears the sigil, so your name shall be known as that... of a recusant." Xemnas says

Xemnas teleports away to the far end of the abyss and hurls the large buildings at Devon. The two buildings crash down vertically infront of the young teen and proceeds to fall towards him, but he immediately jumps over to the right, dodging them as they smash onto the floating skyscraper. Three more buildings appear from the abyss behind Xemnas and he hurls them at the Keyblade Wielder. The buildings roll horizontally on their sides, skipping across the skyscraper. Devon dashes and slides underneath the first rolling building, leaps high over the next one with a somersault, then jumps and hand flips over the third one. Using Flowmotion, Devon dashes toward the silver-haired Nobody at incredibly fast speed and attacks him with three somersault slashes, only to miss as Xemnas teleports away in a sphere of darkness. He reappears behind the Keyblade Wielder and swings his Ethereal Blades with three left spinning slashes. Devon dodges the first two strikes, jumping away with a small leap, then blocks the third blow with Soul Calibur, Xemnas follows up with a roundhouse kick using his right-foot, but Devon ducks down and counters with a backflip kick, a diving kick with his extended left-foot, and a roundhouse slash, all to the Nobody's chest.

Seizing his chance, Devon attacks Xemnas with a right slash, an left uppercut strike, a leaping right spiral strike that hits four times, an overhead strike, a thrusting strike, a reverse roundhouse slash followed by a right-kick through the left-foot, and a spinning right slash that strikes Xemnas in the chest and knocks him several feet away. Xemnas teleports away inside his sphere of darkness and disappears, leaving the young teen to wonder in which direction he would strike. The silver-haired Nobody reappears behind him and shoots multiple red lasers through his right-hand at a rapid rate. Sensing the attack, Devon quickly turned around and deflects the lasers away with Soul Calibur, spinning the crystal Keyblade left, right, up, and down, matching the speed of the lasers. Then, Xemnas warps and flies counterclockwise around Devon, surrounding him with dozens of lasers.

"Fire!" Xemnas yells

The lasers shoot inwards at Devon, but he leaps straight up into the air with lightning speed, dodging the attack. Xemnas warps infront of the young teen and flies toward him with a somersault slash, spinning four times in the air. Devon holds his Keyblade infront of him horizontally to the left and blocks the surprise attack.

"Away with you!" Xemnas yells

Thrusting his right-hand at Devon, Xemnas fires white thorn-like beams through his open palm, catching the Keyblade Wielder off guard and launching him down toward the floating skyscraper.

"Gyaaah!" Devon exclaims

Devon crashes hard onto the skyscraper, landing on his back. He pushes himself up and saw Xemnas rapidly descending towards him with a diving kick, both legs extended. Reacting quickly, Devon rolls backwards and hand flips away just as the silver-haired Nobody smashes down where he once was, missing him by nearly a second. Devon aims Soul Calibur at Xemnas and charges up with pure energy for five seconds, forming a bright sphere of light at the tip of the crystal Keyblade. Once fully charged, he shoots a salvo of fifteen light projectiles, which home in on Xemnas. But before they could reach him, the silver-haired Nobody thrusts his right-hand out with a defensive spell.

"Shield!" Xemnas yells

A blue vertical rectangular barrier appears infront of Xemnas, shielding him from the light projectiles. After that, he teleports in his dark sphere again, heading straight for Devon. Xemnas emerges out of the darkness and attacks with a thrusting strike, a right slash. Devon leans his body to the right and back, dodging the blows, and retaliates with a downward and upward slash, hitting the Nobody both times. The young teen presses on the offensive with three left downward spinning slashes, his Keyblade enveloped in black, violet darkness, and three upward spinning slashes with Soul Calibur enveloped in light, then follows up with six right spinning slashes, and finishes with a strong overhead strike that knocks Xemnas away.

Xemnas warps away and reappears behind Devon. But before the young teen could react, the silver-haired Nobody thrusts both his hands at him, conjuring up five blue barriers around Devon, trapping inside a box of sparking energy walls. Then, he warps away above the cage and surrounds it with hundreds of red lasers. Devon looks around at the lasers, then turns his gaze toward Xemnas as he hovered in the air with a sinister smile on his face.

"Disappear!" Xemnas yells

Swinging his hands inwards, Xemnas fires all the lasers, sending them all down at once. Devon spreads his hands out to his sides and stops the lasers with his telekinetic powers.

"Gnh... Ngh..." Devon grunts

Devon holds off the lasers for at least ten seconds until he crosses his arms and thrusts his body outward.

"Haaaaaaaaa!" Devon yells

The Keyblade Wielder unleashes a powerful telekinetic repulse, which rapidly expands from his body, shattering the barriers that caged him and destroying all the surrounding lasers. The explosive wave even sent Xemnas flying back a bit, causing him to flip backwards four times in the air. Before Xemnas could react, Devon teleports up to him and strikes him with a left uppercut slash, right-kick and a right slash to the chest, a roundhouse slash, and finishes with a strong left strike, holding his crystal Keyblade with both hands and slamming it down on Xemnas' chest, knocking him back several feet away. Then, Devon warps up to the silver-haired Nobody a split second later with his left-hand pulled back, clenched into a fist. His eyes were narrowed as he glared at Xemnas with a serious expression.

"My turn now!" Devon yells

Thrusting his hand forward and aiming his open palm at Xemnas' chest, Devon's eyes widened and he unleashes his attack with a mighty yell.

"Haaaaa!" Devon yells

Devon fires a blue-white energy blast through his open palm, hitting Xemnas at point-blank range. The blast was huge, larger than Devon's entire body, and incredibly powerful, blasting Xemnas away even further, nearly across half the length of the floating skyscraper. The silver-haired Nobody narrowed his eyes and deeply growled at the Keyblade Wielder, then teleports away to the opposite end of the abyss. He brings his hands together and raises them up with a red light emitting from them, lifting a huge skyscraper building behind him.

"Despair shall be yours!" Xemnas yells

With a thrust of his hands, Xemnas hurls the building at the floating skyscraper, crashing into its side and sending Devon flying. Xemnas raises up three more buildings and hurls them toward the young teen. Devon glides through the air and flies left and right, evading the incoming buildings as he made his way towards the silver-haired Nobody. Xemnas throws an even larger building at the Keyblade Wielder, but he was ready for it. Sora and Riku appear at Devon's side and the three boys stretch their hands out, summoning Nightmare's End and Mirage Split and merging them together to create the Combined Keyblade. Together, they swing the large weapon downward and slice the building in half, then they rush forward at Xemnas and smash into him with a strong thrusting strike using the Combined Keyblade. The silver-haired Nobody was sent flying backwards far across the abyss, but he quickly recovers. Glaring at Devon and the transparent forms of Sora and Riku, Xemnas encases himself in a black and dark blue barrier of darkness and spreads his hands out, charging up with dark energy.

"You're an eyesore! Begone!" Xemnas yells

Once fully charged after fifteen seconds of powering up, Xemnas brings his hands together and thrusts them forward, firing a gigantic dark blue beam of darkness. Devon brings his hands together and fires a bright blue beam of light. Both energy beams clash in an epic power struggle with neither side gaining an advantage. That was until Xemnas puts more power into his beam, slightly pushing towards Devon.

"Hng...! Ngh...! Ahh...!" Devon grunts

The young teen struggled to maintain control of his beam, pouring nearly every ounce of his strength into his attack. His face trailed with beads of sweat and his muscles bulged and burned from the immense power. Then, Devon felt Sora and Riku's hands on his shoulders. He looks over at Sora on his right, and Riku on his left, smiling at both at them. Turning back toward Xemnas with a determined expression, Devon regains his strength and gives it everything he had as he and his best friends yell with all their might.

"Haaaaaaaaaaah!" Devon, Sora, and Riku yell in unison

The blue beam of light instantly overpowers Xemnas and he is struck by the full force of the powerful attack. And with that, the fight was finished as the abyss filled with light.

In the aftermath of the epic battle, the Nightmarish Abyss resets back to normal with Devon standing on the floating skyscraper, while Xemnas floated backwards in the air with darkness enveloping his body until he soon fades away, disappearing into thin air. Devon was down on the ground on his right-knee, panting for breath after the intense fight, but he soon pushes himself up and was standing on his feet. However, his troubles were far from over.

Suddenly, the sound of eclectic breathing fills the air, causing Devon's panting stop and him to freeze. There was only one person he knew that had that kind of breathing. Devon's eyes glanced off to the left as he heard the sound behind him. Slowly, he turned around to his left and the young teen saw Lord Drazor, the Dark Knight standing across from him near the other side of the floating skyscraper.

"Drazor..." Devon growls

"I have come to claim you, Keyblade Wielder. You have come far on your journey, yet there is still much for you to learn. The light in your heart is strong, but I can sense the growing darkness within you. I can teach you to channel its power, to harness it, control it, just as my masters have taught me. Join us. Surrender to the darkness. It is the only way." Lord Drazor says

"You and the masters can take your offers and shove it! You may blindly follow Teridax and Lord Thanatos in their evil ways, Drazor, but I walk the path I deem to be right! The path to the light!" Devon yells pointing Soul Calibur at the Dark Keyblade Wielder

Devon swings his crystal Keyblade over to his side and clenches his left-hand into a fist as he spreads his legs apart into his stance, while his grip on Soul Calibur tightened.

"You presume to defeat me? Your battle with Xemnas has all but drained you of your strength." Lord Drazor says

"Don't rub me off just yet. I still got some fight in me." Devon says

"Your destiny lies with us, Devon. Soon, you will realize it to be true, and you will learn to embrace it." Lord Drazor says

"No." Devon says

Lord Drazor stood straight and calm, and summoned his Dark Keyblade: Fear's Shadow into his right-hand, which appears in a black light and a black, blood-red cloud of darkness, while Devon held Soul Calibur infront of him with both hands. The two sides engaged in an intense staredown, the Keyblade Wielder narrowing his eyes, while the Dark Knight's gaze was hidden underneath his mask.

Eventually, after a good long thirty seconds, Devon and Lord Drazor rushed toward each other at high speeds with their bodies cloaked in light and darkness. Devon held Soul Calibur over his right-shoulder wrapped in a blue corona of light, while Lord Drazor held Fear's Shadow over his shoulder wrapped in a dark blue-violet corona of darkness. Within moments, the two Keyblade Wielders meet in the center of the floating skyscraper and they strike, swinging their Keyblades at each other. From the moment of impact, the clash created a huge bang and a massive shockwave that expanded above the Nightmarish Abyss and beyond the Dark City. Devon and Lord Drazor both attacked with lightning fast speed and incredible strength, their Keyblades clanging loudly as they exchanged blows, creating small shockwaves with each strike. This went on for a whole minute before they break away at their separate sides.

Lord Drazor aimed his Dark Keyblade at Devon and launches a volley of thirty dark blasts at him, firing them in rapid succession. Devon deflects the black projectiles with Soul Calibur, twisting and turning the crystal Keyblade over and under and moving it from side-to-side, matching the speed. Then, the Dark Knight charges up a large dark orb on the tip of Fear's Shadow and pulls it back to his right-side before thrusting his Dark Keyblade forward and hurling the dark orb down at the Keyblade Wielder. Devon quickly leaps up high into the air, dodging the black projectile as it hit the floating skyscraper and unleashes a large explosion. Lord Drazor warps up to Devon, appearing infront of him in the blink of an eye with his Dark Keyblade raised over his head with both hands, catching the young teen by surprise, and swings down on him. Devon immediately brings Soul Calibur up infront of his face and blocks the strike with only a second to react. Next, the Dark Knight lashes out with a ferocious string of attacks, swinging Fear's Shadow left, right, up, and down with unbelievable speed, with forty strikes, to be precise, while Devon parries against the attack as best he could. Lord Drazor swings his Dark Keyblade down over his right-shoulder at Devon, who holds his crystal Keyblade opposite down to the left, blocking the strike in a brief four-second blade lock, then thrusts his left-hand forward at Devon's face, sending him down with a black-violet blast of dark energy shot through his open palm.

"Gyaaaah!" Devon exclaims

The Keyblade Wielder descends rapidly onto the floating skyscraper and crashes on his back. He rolls over backwards, then continues rolling on his right-side four times before stopping flat on his stomach. Devon pushes himself up onto his right-knee and looks up and gasped when he saw Lord Drazor descending rapidly toward him with Fear's Shadow pulled across his body to his left-side. The young teen quickly jumps up to his feet and leaps away just as he swings his Dark Keyblade. Lord Drazor rushes at Devon again with even more strikes, attacking him with an uppercut slash, a downward slash, six left and right slashes, two spinning slashes, and a strong overhead strike. Devon leans his body to the left and back, dodging the first two strikes, parries the next set with Soul Calibur, leans back twice to dodge the spinning slashes, and holds his crystal Keyblade above his head to block the final strike, which nearly knocked him down to his knees. The two warriors clashed in a blade lock for seven seconds until Devon shoves Lord Drazor back and goes on the offensive.

Devon pulls Soul Calibur back to his right-side and attacks Lord Drazor with a thrusting strike, but the evil Dark Knight diverts the crystal Keyblade away from him with a wave of his left-hand, sending it off to right of Devon's left. The young teen follows up with a right slash, an uppercut slash, an overhead strike, a left slash, a reverse roundhouse strike, yet each of his blows are parried. Next, he tries to deliver a roundhouse kick and two reverse roundhouse kicks with his right-foot, only to miss as Lord Drazor leans his head back. Then, Devon goes for a wide left slash, raising his Keyblade over his right-shoulder and swinging it with both hands, but the crystal blade was caught by Fear's Shadow as Lord Drazor held it vertically downward. The Dark Knight swings Soul Calibur over to the left of the Devon's right and counters the attack with a quick slice across his left-shoulder.

"Aaah!" Devon screams

Then, Lord Drazor delivers a low sweeping strike across Devon's right-leg, injuring him even more.

"Aaaaaaah!" Devon screams

Devon nearly fell over from the blow, but he turns around to his right and blocks Lord Drazor's Dark Keyblade as he swings it with a downward strike, putting them in another blade lock. It was brief however as Devon broke off and jumped away several feet from Lord Drazor. The young teen looked at his shoulder and saw a long cut across the center with small red streams of blood trailing down the length of his arm. Then, he looked down at his leg and saw that it was now bleeding with a deep, wide cut only a couple inches below the knee. Devon glanced back up at Lord Drazor and growled.

"Darkness is the heart's true essence. Why resist it? Let the storm run its course. Let the dark flames burn." Lord Drazor says

"And what? Lose my soul and turn into a corrupt monster like you? Not a chance!" Devon yells

Devon leaps toward Lord Drazor with a left-angled slash, spinning four times through the air, but misses as the Dark Keyblade Wielder leans away to his left. The young teen follows up with a right slash, a low left slash, and a downward slash. Lord Drazor parries each blow thrown at him and swings Soul Calibur away to the right before assaulting Devon again with a left downward slash from Fear's Shadow, a left-kick with his right-foot, a right uppercut slash, a backflip kick, and another downward strike. Devon holds his crystal Keyblade horizontally to the left, blocking the first move, jumps back and leans over to the right to dodge the next three strikes, and holds Soul Calibur to the right, blocking the final strike. Shoving Fear's Shadow away to the left, Devon fights back with a high right slash, a low left slash, an uppercut slash, and a downward slash, only to be parried each time.

"The more you contain the darkness, the more it will tear your heart asunder. Feel it... Know it... Embrace it!" Lord Drazor says

"Never! My heart belongs to the light!" Devon yells

The Keyblade Wielder shoves Fear's Shadow away and slides to the right around Lord Drazor to attack him from behind with a roundhouse slash, but the Dark Knight twists his body to the right and blocks Soul Calibur just as he strikes. Devon swings the Dark Keyblade away to the left and finally manages to hit Lord Drazor in the chest with a spinning double kick using his right-foot first, then his left-foot. Seizing his chance, he hits the Dark Knight with a left diagonal strike, a right slash, a thrusting strike, four right spinning slashes, and finishes with a left backflip slash.

"Draaagh!" Devon yells

The final strike knocks Lord Drazor several feet away from Devon, nearly halfway across the floating skyscraper until he slides and skids to a stop in a crouched position on his right-knee. The Dark Knight rises and stands up straight, while Devon was panting for breath.

"Huff... huff... huff... Ahh..." Devon pants

"Hmph. Is this really all the strength that the Keyblade's Chosen can muster? If this truly is the extent of your power, what do you expect to do against my master, let alone the Dark Lord of the Shadows?" Lord Drazor says

"Ugh... I don't understand. I was able to beat Lord Drazor before during my journey. Why am I having such a hard time fighting him?" Devon thought to himself

As he stood calmly, Lord Drazor lifts up his left-hand and stretches it out toward Devon. A black-violet orb of dark energy appears in the open palm of his hand as he channeled the darkness inside him and concentrated it into a powerful energy sphere that crackled with streaks of dark purple electricity.

"Uh-oh..." Devon thought to himself

"It seems you fail to ascertain the depths of my power. Allow me to give you a proper demonstration." Lord Drazor says

Without warning, the dark energy sphere flies forward, heading straight for Devon, making his eyes widen.

"Gnh!" Devon grunts

Reacting quickly, the young teen stretches his hands out to halt the attack with his telekinesis. The black-violet orb stops only a few feet away from Devon, but it slowly drew closer and closer to him as he struggled to keep it at bay.

"Kngh...! Hng...! Ngh...! It's... It's too strong! I... I... can't... hold it!" Devon grunts

With each passing second, the dark energy sphere got closer inch by inch, growing larger and larger in the Keyblade Wielder's eyes.

"Gagh... Gyaaaah!" Devon grunts

After struggling for thirty seconds, Devon diverts the dark orb away from him and off to the right, sending it flying out of the Nightmarish Abyss. The evil energy sphere shoots out far into the pitch black sky above the Dark City, disappearing into the distance. A few seconds later, a massive violet explosion, the size of a small moon, fills the sky, illuminating the darkness with its light. Next, came the loud, deafening bang, breaking the silence two seconds later. Then, the ground shook as the shockwave hits a second later. Devon stood his ground and shielded himself with his arms. Soon, the explosion diminishes, fading from the sky. Devon stared in shock, then slowly turns and faces Lord Drazor, whose left-hand was still crackling with electricity.

"Unbelievable! He's had that much power inside him this whole time? Lord Drazor... He isn't human. Who... Who is he?" Devon thought to himself

"That was only a small percentage of my power, and there is still plenty more where that came from. And what's more: My masters: Lord Thanatos, and even the Dark Lord of the Shadows himself, they also possess this kind of destructive power, and they are even more powerful than me." Lord Drazor says

Hearing this made Devon's eyes widen even further. If what Lord Drazor said was true, then all the times he fought against Lord Thanatos and Teridax, those were only small fractions of their phenominal power. Bigger hints of the horrifying things that awaited him and his friends. Of course, that could only explain how they were so resilient.

"Ahh..." Devon gasps

"Now do you understand? The gravity of what it is you and friends are up against? If you truly wish to defeat me and escape back to your friends, you must unleash your aggression, unleash your rage! Reveal your inner power!" Lord Drazor says

Devon stood frozen, still in awe at Lord Drazor's power. If he was as strong as he said he was, he could only imagine how strong Lord Thanatos was at full power, not to mention Teridax himself. He had been lucky before, but now things have changed. Could he even be able to contend with them at his current state?

"This is not good. I'm in serious trouble. I hate to admit it, but Drazor's got a point. If I don't boost my power, I'm never gonna beat him. Maybe if I push it far enough, I might be more than a match." Devon thought to himself

The young teen glanced down at his left-hand as the wet blood from his wound on his shoulder coated the side. As he did, he remembered something. Back in the Pokémon World, he had achieved a very powerful Formchange during his fight against the Dark Echo on New Island: Super Form. In that state, he was unstoppable. However, it left him nearly drained of energy. He had only ever used it once due to the desperate situation. He wasn't used to the transformation yet. Perhaps he could use it to turn this around and escape, yet he realized something else.

"I still haven't recovered from my previous fight with Xemnas though, and I'm not sure if my body can handle the stress. I'll be completely out of energy." Devon thought to himself

After staring down long at his hand for eight seconds, Devon clenches it into a fist. He had come far to make the Mark of Mastery, and he was not going to let it end here.

"I got no choice. It's the only way for me to end this. I have to do this! Everyone's counting on me! I won't let them down! I can't!" Devon thought to himself

Filling up with determination, the Keyblade Wielder looks up at the Dark Knight with a serious expression.

"You want power? Fine!" Devon says

Dismissing Soul Calibur from his right-hand, Devon spreads his legs out, grinds down on his teeth, and clenches his hands as tight as he could into fists until his muscles bulged under his skin. Devon closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment on increasing his power. He remembered seeing a memory of Draxon achieving a Super Form similar to his in the Pokémon World in his fight with the Dark Echo. Relying on that, he focused his energy even more through his body. Soon, he felt a tingling sensation emanating from his back and the young teen opens his eyes, letting out a scream at the top of his lungs.

"Haaaaah!" Devon screams

Gusts of wind started to swirl around him, the walls of the abyss and the ground beneath his feet slowly started to crack. With the boost in power, Devon's muscle mass also increased, making his body appear more muscular.

"Ngh... Gagh..." Devon grunts

The wind grew more intense, picking up speed by the second, the cracks stretched and widened in length and size, and blue electricity began to spark around the Keyblade Wielder's body. Soon, Devon crosses his arms and his eyes turned blank as he thrusts his body outward.

"Gaaaaagh!" Devon yells

After two minutes of charging, a massive surge of power explodes from Devon's body, illuminating the entire abyss in a bright, blinding light that could be seen for many miles around. When the light dims down, the Keyblade Wielder stood tall in his Super Form with a determined, yet calm exterior. Lord Drazor stared at the young teen, slightly impressed with his new form.

"Hmm... Impressive." Lord Drazor says

Devon's clothes were now tattered with several tears, rips, and holes in them. His jacket and tank top were badly damaged, specifically around the sleeves, the lower right-side around his waist, the upper-left of his chest, exposing his breast, and his back, which had even more tears than anywhere else. With his jeans, Devon's right-knee and lower right-leg was exposed at the front while his upper left-thigh bore a medium-sized cut on the side close to his other knee, three smaller cuts at the front, a small cut around the side his lower left-leg, and one on the inside mid-section of his thigh.

"Well, here it is. This is a form that I was able to achieve during my journey through the Sleeping Worlds. As for it's name, let's just call this my Super Form. I'm still not used to it yet, but I should still be able to control it long enough to defeat you, escape this trap, and get back to my friends." Devon says

Devon stretches his right-hand out infront of him and summons Soul Calibur back into his grip. Grinding down on his teeth, he swings his glowing crystal Keyblade to his side and got into his battle stance.

"Let's go, Lord Drazor! Time for Round 2!" Devon yells

"I will admit, your power is exceptional. But it's still not enough to overpower me!" Lord Drazor says

Dismissing Fear's Shadow from his right-hand, Lord Drazor clenches his hands into fists, crouches down, and began charging up with dark energy.

"Hmmmmm... Mmmmmm..." Lord Drazor grunts

A black aura starts to envelope the Dark Knight's entire body and purple electricity begins to spark and crackle around him as the power of darkness swelled up inside him. Again, the ground shook violently.

"Gnnnnnhhh... Nggggghhh..." Lord Drazor grunts

Cracks began to appear beneath Lord Drazor and large gusts of wind were expelled from him as his energy increased. After two minutes of charging up, Lord Drazor lets out a loud, bellowing yell.

"Rrrrrrrraaaaaaaaagh!" Lord Drazor yells

A massive power surge, similar in proportions to Devon's, erupts from Lord Drazor's body. Lightning began to streak across the black sky, illuminating the World That Never Was with flashes of dark blue light. With both of them powered up, the two warriors prepared themselves for an epic fight.

"Let us see what your power is capable of." Lord Drazor says

In an instant, Devon flies forward across the abyss at full speed towards Lord Drazor, raising Soul Calibur over his left-shoulder with both hands. Lord Drazor flies toward Devon as well, matching his speed and raising Fear's Shadow over his left-shoulder. Within moments, the two supercharged Keyblade Wielders swung their weapons and collided with one another, creating a huge shockwave that stretched out for miles. Devon and Lord Drazor exchanged blows with unbelievable speed and destructive power well over a minute, each blow creating miniature shockwaves and loud clanging sounds.

Devon swung his Keyblade at Lord Drazor with a wide right slash, but he warps away in the blink of an eye. The Dark Knight reappears above the young teen and swings his Dark Keyblade down with an overhead slash, only to miss as Devon evades the attack. The young teen stretches his left-hand out and conjures up a blue orb of light in his palm. Charging it with pure energy, the orb grows to the size of a large ball. Once fully charged, Devon hurls the energy ball at Lord Drazor, who knocks it away with his left-hand. The orb shoots off into the sky and detonates in a huge blue explosion. Lord Drazor dismisses Fear's Shadow and brings his hands to his sides, conjuring up two black-violet spheres of dark energy in his open palms, both the size of a basketball. Then, the evil villain throws his hands forward one after the other, firing dozens of energy blasts, each similar in size, at a very rapid rate. Devon teleports away from one spot to another, dodging the projectiles. After hurling forty dark blasts, Lord Drazor holds out his left-hand and charges up a fierce black-white pulsing energy sphere, then he reels back and throws it at Devon. The Keyblade Wielder quickly warps away and dodges the attack. Devon glances back over his right-shoulder and watches as the dark energy sphere hits the walls of the abyss, creating a gigantic explosion. Then, he turns and faces Lord Drazor with his left-hand clenched and his grip on Soul Calibur tightened.

Raising his crystal Keyblade above his head with both hands, Devon uses a Thundaza spell and summons an intense thunderstorm. A huge, extremely powerful lightning bolt strikes down on him and unleashes a hail of similar strikes all across the area. Lord Drazor warps around, dodging the lightning bolts as they strike dangerously close to his position. Then, extending his right-arm out and aiming Soul Calibur at the Dark Knight, Devon uses a Blizzaza spell and shoots a huge chunk of ice the size of a large iceberg. Lord Drazor brings his hands together and uses a Dark Firaza spell, conjuring up a fiery black-violet fireball in-between. Raising his hands up, the fireball grows equal in size to the ice chunk, and Lord Drazor hurls it forward. Both gigantic spells of Fire and Ice collide and cancel each other out in a massive explosion of black-violet flames and blue-white frost. With Soul Calibur still pointed at Lord Drazor, Devon uses a Firaza spell and shoots a huge fireball the size of a gigantic boulder. The attack hits with direct impact, creating a huge explosion and filling the area with thick smoke. When the smoke clears, Lord Drazor was revealed to be unharmed with his left-hand stretched out infront of him, encased within a black-violet spherical barrier of darkness.

Summoning Fear's Shadow back into his right-hand, Lord Drazor flies toward Devon and attacks him with another flurry of attacks, swinging his Dark Keyblade wildly at the young teen, who leans his body away from side-to-side, matching his speed and dodging the multiple strikes thrown at him. This went on for thirty seconds before Devon blocks one strike, holding Soul Calibur to the left with both hands. After a brief three-second blade lock, Devon counters with a left-kick across Lord Drazor's head. Now, it was his turn. Devon assaults the Dark Knight with a ferocious string of blows of his own, delivering fast, multiple strikes and kicks for the same amount of time as the evil Keyblade Wielder did for him. Lord Drazor attempts to strike back with a left-downward slash, swinging Fear's Shadow over his right-shoulder, but Devon caught the blow, stopping it telekinetically with his left-hand. From there, Devon lands a high right-kick to Lord Drazor's head.

"That's for my mother!" Devon yells

Next, he follows up with a left-kick to his chest.

"That's for my father!" Devon yells

Then, he delivers four left and right slashes, and two reverse roundhouse slashes followed by a roundhouse kick with Devon's right-foot. But he wasn't done there. With a swipe of his left-hand, he summons twenty small blue energy spheres, ten on both sides of his body, and launches them all at once at Lord Drazor with another swipe across his body. Devon strikes the Dark Knight with a downward slash, a left-uppercut slash, a wide right slash, another uppercut slash, and finishes with a blue blast of energy fired through the palm of his extended left-hand that sent Lord Drazor flying backwards.

"And that's for me!" Devon yells

Lord Drazor recovered from the attack and growled for a moment before dismissing Fear's Shadow from his right-hand. Spreading his hands out and raising them up to the sky, the Dark Knight summons dozens of meteors behind him, each one enveloped in a black-violet aura of darkness. Thrusting both hands forward, he sent them all flying at Devon. The Keyblade Wielder flew around, evading and smashing the meteors that descended down towards him. With his hands still raised, Lord Drazor summons a gigantic meteor a ove him and hurls it forward at Devon with a swing of his hands. Devon holds Soul Calibur infront of him with both hands and the crystal Keyblade glows brightly with its benevolent light. Swinging Soul Calibur over his right-shoulder with a left-downward slash, Devon launches a blue crescent blade of light that slices the meteor in half, and the two halves fly past him, crashing and breaking apart into the abyss. Devon generates a blue-white ball of light in the palm of his left-hand, which radiated a shine of brilliant light, and pulls it back to his side, charging it up with more energy.

"Haaaaaa!" Devon yells

Thrusting his hand forward, the young teen fires a huge, powerful beam of pure energy at the Dark Knight. Lord Drazor holds Fear's Shadow infront of him and fights against the energy attack for ten seconds until he is overwhelmed and blasted into the urban area on the opposite side of the abyss.

"I can't keep this up much longer. I need to finish this now." Devon thought to himself

As he hovered in mid-air, Devon remembered something: A very powerful light-based technique that might be able to help save him now. The attack Devon used was a sphere of pure energy capable of tremendous, destructive power, which he had used only once in Radiant Garden during the Battle of 1000 Heartless, and it destroyed hundreds of the dark creatures.

"Wait... That's it!" Devon thought to himself

Devon raises Soul Calibur above his head with both hands and the crystal Keyblade glows with a brilliant blue light. A blue orb of light appeared on the tip of Soul Calibur. Blue sparkling, glittering wisps of light were absorbed into the glowing energy sphere, adding to it's mass, increasing it's size.

"If I can charge this with enough energy, it should be enough to take down Lord Drazor." Devon thought to himself

Thirty seconds passed as Devon charged his orb of light with more and more pure energy, increasing its size and power even further. While the Keyblade Wielder charged up his attack, Lord Drazor emerges from a huge pile of rubble, unleashing a large black-violet wave of dark energy from his body. He looks up toward Devon and flies up to him, hovering several feet away.

"I grow tiresome of this, boy! I'll end this now!" Lord Drazor says

Lord Drazor brings the palms of his hands together infront of his chest and pulls them apart as he forms a black-red energy sphere of pure darkness. Raising it upward, he charges it with more power, making it larger and more powerful with streaks of black and red electricity.

"You fought bravely, but now your journey comes to an end!" Lord Drazor says

"I don't think so, Drazor! You're the one going down! Not me!" Devon says

The Dark Knight was slightly confused by what the Keyblade Wielder meant. That is until he senses something behind him. Turning around to his right and looking up, he saw the gigantic blue orb hovering above him, now the size of a small moon. It's form reflecting in his 'T'-shaped visor.

"What?!" Lord Drazor says

After charging up for two minutes, Devon's energy bomb was fully charged. The young teen swings Soul Calibur down and delivers his attack with a mighty yell.

"Haaaaaaa!" Devon yells

The gigantic orb of light began it's slow descent, heading down towards Lord Drazor, who stared in surprise. The Dark Knight stretches his hands out as the energy bomb comes down on him and pushes against it with all his strength to try and stop it. However, he was actually having some difficulty due to the immense power of the attack.

"N-No! Gnh...! Ngh...! I... will not... be... defeated... like this! Aaagggh!" Lord Drazor grunts

Soon, the massive orb crashes into the abyss, and explodes in an intensive burst of light, which lasted for long twenty seconds. When the light diminished, Lord Drazor was nowhere to be seen. Devon panted heavily for breath, now feeling completely exhausted. The aura of his Super Form faded away and Soul Calibur disappears from his right-hand as he descends onto the floating skyscraper, dropping down onto his left-knee and resting his right-hand on his bent other knee.

"And that's... that. Now... time to get out of here." Devon says

The Keyblade Wielder was about to turn around on his left to leave, but soon stopped when he sensed something wrong. Looking back, Devon's eyes widened in shock.

"Ah!" Devon exclaims

When the smoke clears, Lord Drazor was revealed to be still standing. His bodysuit damaged and in tatters, even more so than the Duel on Mustafar, offering bigger glimpses of his pale skin on his arms, legs, and around the sides of his chest.

"Gnh! You gotta... You gotta be kidding me!" Devon says

A large aura of darkness began to envelope Lord Drazor's body, and dark blue lightning started to crackle and spark around him.

"That does it. Now, I will make you suffer! Prepare to witness my full power!" Lord Drazor says

The Dark Knight slowly rises up five feet into the air and spreads his hands out, clenching them into fists.

"Haaaaaaaaa!" Lord Drazor yells

The ground began to shake more violently than before, the air currents intensified, and rocks both large and small started to rise around the Dark Knight. More sporadic bolts of electricity emit from Lord Drazor's body as his dark power increases even further, arcing out in every direction. Two bolts streaked dangerously close to Devon, causing him to shield himself with his right-arm. Lightning from the dark sky strikes down on Lord Drazor, amplifying his power even more.

"Raaaaaaaaaggghhh!" Lord Drazor yells

Another enormous power surge, much larger than the one before, exploded from the Dark Knight, causing a black cloud of darkness to spread throughout the area. Devon lowered his arm and saw Lord Drazor standing on the other side of the floating skyscraper, his entire body outlined with a dark purple glow, enveloped in a fierce, jagged black-violet dark aura, and sparks of dark blue electricity. His power now greatly doubled.

Before Devon could even react, Lord Drazor instantly teleports up to him, even faster than before, and strikes him hard in the gut with a two-handed right slash, causing the young teen to violently lurch forward.

"Gaaagh!" Devon exclaims

Devon's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull as he felt the wind knocked out of him from the incredibly strong blow. Fear's Shadow was lodged in his gut, yet it didn't cut him. The impact was so great that he was choking on his own breath and was literally gasping for air. The Keyblade Wielder staggers backwards in three steps, clutching his body with both hands before falling onto his knees. Lord Drazor walks up to the injured teen and stands before him only a few feet away. Holding himself up with his left-hand, Devon glances up at the Dark Knight and grunted angrily.

"Gnh... N-Ngh..." Devon grunts

Summoning Soul Calibur back into his right-hand, rises up to his feet and pulls his crystal Keyblade behind him on his right-side in an attempt to strike Lord Drazor, letting out an angry yell.

"Haaaaaah!" Devon yells

Just as Devon swings Soul Calibur, Lord Drazor grabs his right-hand, stopping his attack inches from his head. The Dark Knight closes his grip tightly on the young teen's hand, causing him to drop Soul Calibur.

"Aaaah!" Devon yells

After disarming him, Lord Drazor delivers a strong right-kick to Devon's chest, sending him flying backwards. The Keyblade Wielder crashes on his back and flips over, landing on his stomach. Now completely drained of energy, the Keyblade Wielder stood no chance. Devon was now struggling against Lord Drazor's increased speed and strength. His wounds were beginning to wear him down and he was starting to lose his focus.

"Ngh... I-I'm... out... of energy... D-Dang it..." Devon groans

The young teen pushes himself up with whatever strength he had left to continue the fight. Summoning Soul Calibur into his right-hand, he uses it as a crutch to rise onto his feet. He glares at Lord Drazor, who stood only a couple feet away, and charges at him.

"Draaagh!" Devon yells

Devon thrusts his Soul Calibur at Lord Drazor, but the Dark Knight takes a small step to the left, making him miss. He takes another swing at Lord Drazor, but his crystal Keyblade was knocked aside and out of his grip with minimal effort. Despite being unarmed, Devon still tries to fight back by throwing a right-punch straight at the Dark Knight. Lord Drazor catches his fist with his left-hand and pulls Devon closer to him, causing the young teen to stumble forward, then brings his right-knee to his chin. Devon stumbles and falls onto his back. As soon as he hit the ground, the Keyblade Wielder felt stiff as his body froze up with a black-violet aura enveloped him. Lord Drazor had his left-hand held out toward Devon, ensnaring him with his telekinesis. The Keyblade Wielder was lifted off the ground and positioned upright before the Dark Knight, whose clenched his hand slowly, increasing pressure on Devon's body.

"Kngh... A-Agh..." Devon grunts

Swiping his hand to the left, Lord Drazor sent Devon flying face first into the rockwall of the abyss, then he swiped his hand to the right, throwing him to the other side, before bringing him back to the center. Laying him flat, Lord Drazor swings his hand down, smashing Devon hard onto the floating skyscraper on his back.

"Gaaagh!" Devon exclaims

Lord Drazor walks up to Devon and bends down with his left-hand to grab him, lifting him up to his level by his tank top.

"Ugh..." Devon groans

"Surrender, boy. It is useless to resist. Don't let yourself be destroyed as your mother did. " Lord Drazor says

Devon coughs a mouthful of blood, some of which splatters on Lord Drazor's mask. This angered the Dark Knight and he sent Devon flying with a strong right-punch to the head.

"Gaaah!" Devon exclaims

Warping ahead of him, Lord Drazor knocks Devon high into the air with a right uppercut strike, then he teleports above the young teen and smacks him back down with an overhead strike. The Dark Knight proceeds to smack the Keyblade Wielder all around the Nightmarish Abyss twelve times before sending him down to the ground with a left downward strike. Devon flips over six times in the air until he crashes flat on his stomach. Lord Drazor teleports up to the young teen, standing right infront of him. Devon looks up at the Dark Knight and gave one last attempt to strike him, thrusting Soul Calibur at his chest, but Lord Drazor steps over to the left and grabs his wrist. Then, he breaks his arm with his right-elbow, creating a loud, bone-cracking sound.

"Aaaaaaggghhh!" Devon screams

Lord Drazor kicks the Keyblade Wielder in the chest with his right-foot and knocks the him down on his back. He then walks up to Devon and points his Dark Keyblade down at him.

"There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you." Lord Drazor says

The young teen rolls over left onto his stomach and weakly crawls away from the Dark Keyblade Wielder, grunting and groaning in pain with each pull.

"Gnh... Ngh... Ugh..." Devon grunts

"Devon, you do not realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your true power, your unlimited potential. Join me, and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end the eternal conflict between Light and Darkness, and bring order to all worlds in the Universe." Lord Drazor says

Unable to move anymore, Devon rolls over onto his back and faces Lord Drazor.

"I'll... I'll never give in! I'll never join you!" Devon yells

"Foolish child. If you only knew the power of the darkness..." Lord Drazor says

"I do know! Darkness destroyed my home... stole my friends... killed my family! All it does... is enslaves, devours, and destroys! It... has brought me nothing... but pain and suffering! And you... Ngh... you murdered... Ngh... my mother... killed my father!" Devon yells

"No, Devon. I... am your father." Lord Drazor says

Devon's eyes widened in complete shock. Lord Drazor was his father. How was that even possible. Devon shook his head in denial and utter disbelief.

"No... You lie! That's not true! That's impossible!" Devon says

"Search your feelings, Devon. Look deep inside, and you'll know it to be true." Lord Drazor says

Devon was now trembling and his breath shuddered. All this time, he had believed Ducar, his father, to be dead, yet here he was standing before him, a servant to Lord Thanatos, to the Dark Lord of the Shadows. The young teen didn't know what to think, or what to say.

"I... B-But... How... Y-You... My father...?" Devon stammers

"Surely, you have seen flashes of your old life. The horrors of your past? They are memories that have been repressed for years. And now, they are all bubbling to the surface, scraping for breath." Lord Drazor says

"I... I don't understand..." Devon says

The Dark Knight walks up to his son and extends his left-hand down with his open palm. Devon began to feel a sharp pain in his head, like a stabbing in his brain. Unable to move, all he could do was shake his head to fight the pain.

"Gnh... Ngh... Agh..." Devon grunts

"Then, allow me to show you." Lord Drazor says

The Dark Knight increases his pressure of his mind probe, causing the young teen to squirm even more. Unable to resist the mental assault, Devon lets out a scream of agony.

"Aaaaaaaaaaggghhh!" Devon screams

---

In a series of flashbacks, Devon was shown visions of his father, Ducar.

The first vision he saw was Ducar on the day of his Mark of Mastery Exam, fighting his wife Shara in a sparring session. Shara's Keyblade: Faithful Salvation misses him by inches as he jumps back while it swings upward. As Shara charges at her husband for another attack, Ducar's eyes suddenly glowed with a brief red color. However, his eyes returned to normal as he shook his head and held up his Keyblade: Vanguard's Honor, blocking Shara's Keyblade.

A second vision showed Ducar meeting Spyro, Sparx, and Ignitus in the Dragon Realms at the start of his journey, then later Volteer, Cyril, and Terrador. Another vision in the same world showed him and Spyro facing off against a corrupted Cynder in the World of Convexity.

A third vision showed meeting many other people in his journey across different worlds in the Universe like Bowen and Draco from Camelot, Cinderella and Fairy Godmother from Castle of Dreams, Maleficent from Enchanted Dominion, the Evil Queen from Dwarf Woodlands, Queen Minnie, Pluto, Chip and Dale from Disney Town, Hades and Zack from Olympus Coliseum, Stitch, or Experiment 626 as he was known at the time, and Dr. Jumba Jookiba from Deep Space, and even Sora and Riku from Destiny Islands.

Next, Devon saw a vision of Ducar and Terra meeting Master Xehanort in Radiant Garden. The two men placed their right-hands on their chests and bowed their heads to the Keyblade Master.

Then, Devon saw a vision of Ducar, Shara, Ventus, Terra, and Aqua in their epic battle with Lord Thanatos, Master Xehanort, and Vanitas in the Keyblade Graveyard. In that battle, Ducar succumbed to the darkness as he thrust his body outward with a loud yell and unleashes it in a large black-violet pillar. Unfortunately, Ducar lost in his fight against Lord Thanatos as his unconscious body laid out before him on his back.

And for the final part of his vision, Devon saw Ducar awake and bound to a cold, metal table in a scary-looking dungeon, stripped of his clothes except for his pants. Then, he witnessed the short bits of the gruesome, horrifying surgery that became his transformation. A white flash progresses the vision onward to much later, showing the deadly assassin as he was now. Lord Drazor breaks free of his metal bonds using his tremendous strength and takes two steps forward from the vertically positioned table, then faces Lord Thanatos as he stood infront of him. As he had done for Master Xehanort, Lord Drazor places his right-hand on his chest and kneels before the evil being, pledging his loyalty to his new master.

---

Returning to the present time, Devon gasps and pants heavily. Lord Drazor lowers his hand and stares down at the young teen, while he stares up at him in utter shock and horror, having now seen the life of his father.

"Do you see now, Devon? You are my son. My prodigy. My flesh and blood. You are... unique. No one can ever relate to you. Your blood, my blood, runs through your veins." Lord Drazor says

For the first time in his life, Devon began to experience true dread. Overcome by grief, confusion, pain, hopelessness, and frustration, Devon was reduced to tears as he stared up at his evil father. The Keyblade Wielder had lost his will to fight.

"No... This... This can't be real..." Devon says

"You are strong, Devon, but only your anger, your rage can give you the power to save your friends. Join me. Learn to embrace the darkness as I have." Lord Drazor says

Lord Drazor offers his right-hand to his son, who simply stared at it. After a long fifteen seconds, Devon slowly shook his head.

"No... I... won't... I can't..." Devon says

Darkness began to envelope Devon's body as he laid weakened on the floating skyscraper. Lord Drazor lowers his hand after Devon refuses his offer.

"Whether you wish it or not, I suppose is irrelevant." Lord Drazor says

As the Dark Knight stared down at his son, Lord Thanatos suddenly appears behind him with Xemnas and Xigbar on his right, Ansem and Young Xehanort on his left, and the other hooded members of Organization XIII behind them. Lord Drazor turns right to face the group of villains as they approached them. Dismissing Fear's Shadow and placing his right-hand over his chest, he bows his head to Lord Thanatos.

"Master..." Lord Drazor says

"WELL DONE, LORD DRAZOR. THE KEYBLADE WIELDER IS FINALLY OURS. THE DARK LORD WILL BE MUCH PLEASED." Lord Thanatos says

Lord Thanatos walks past his apprentice and approaches Devon as he laid out on his back.

"YOU MAKE IT TOO EASY." Lord Thanatos says

The dark being stretches his right-hand out and tortures the young teen with a blast of dark blue lightning from his fingertips, causing Devon's body to jerk upwards and him to scream in agony as he is filled severe pain.

"Aaaaaaaaah!" Devon screams

The Keyblade Wielder suffered from the electric assault for over ten seconds until Lord Thanatos lowers his hand, ceasing the attack.

"Ugh..." Devon groans

"YOU BELIEVED YOU HAD WON, BUT YOU LOST THE MOMENT YOU DIVED THIS FAR. YOU'RE IN THE DEEPEST PIT OF SLUMBER AND YOU'VE REDUCED YOURSELF DOWN TO NOTHING. NOW, THERE'S NO RETURNING TO THE WORLD ABOVE. NO RETURNING TO THE REALM OF LIGHT." Lord Thanatos says

"But... how-?" Devon asks

Young Xehanort walks up to Devon on Lord Thanatos' left and kneels down to him, resting his right-arm on his right-knee.

"We told you. It was not the Sleeping Keyholes that guided you. They are not the reason you are here. You've been on a path, one that we have laid out for you." Young Xehanort says

"AND THAT SIGIL ON YOUR CHEST IS PROOF OF OUR SUCCESS." Lord Thanatos says pointing down at Devon with his right-hand

In that moment, a glowing black X with a red outline appears on Devon's chest through his tattered tank top, while the young teen weakly looks down at it.

"What?" Devon says baffled

"DO YOU SEE? THAT SIGIL. THE X. IT WAS PLACED UPON YOU AT THE START OF YOUR JOURNEY. IT TELLS US WHERE YOU ARE AT ALL TIMES. YOU OFTEN WONDERED WHY WE APPEARED WHERE YOU WERE THROUGHOUT YOUR JOURNEY. IT'S BECAUSE WE NEED YOU, DEVON. OR, TO BE MORE PRECISE, WHAT REMAINS: THE THIRTEENTH DARK VESSEL. THE ONE WHO SHALL PAVE THE WAY FOR THE DARK LORD'S RISE TO POWER!" Lord Thanatos says

"Why?" Devon asks

"WHY WAS IT ASSURED YOU WOULD BE HERE TODAY? BECAUSE WE ALL FOLLOWED OUR DESTINED PATHS, AND HERE WE ALL ARE, LOOKING DOWN UPON YOU RIGHT NOW. YOU CAN TRAVEL THROUGH TIME, BUT TIME ITSELF IS IMMOVABLE. TODAY, WE ARE ALL GATHERED HERE TO WELCOME YOU, DEVON, AS OUR THIRTEENTH MEMBER. THESE FACTS CANNOT BE CHANGED, NOR CAN THEY BE STOPPED." Lord Thanatos says

"What's... gonna happen..." Devon says weakly

"WE HAVE TOLD YOU ALL THAT WE KNOW. WE ARE ALL HERE, AND WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS LIES BEYOND OUR SIGHT. YOUNG XEHANORT WILL RETURN TO HIS OWN TIME AND GROW INTO THE MAN HE IS DESTINED TO BE." Lord Thanatos says

"Yes, and while I know this future now that I have lived it, returning to my own time will erase the memories and experiences I have gained here. Still, my appointed path is now etched in my heart, which will first lead me to seek the outside world." Young Xehanort says

More darkness envelopes Devon's body as his vision becomes blurry and is slowly clouded by the black aura.

"Sora... Riku... Kairi... Luna..." Devon says weakly

"YOUR HEART WILL REMAIN FOREVER IN THE FOLDS OF DARKNESS. AND YOUR BODY, YOUR BEING WILL BECOME A TRUE VESSEL FOR THE DARK LORD OF THE SHADOWS, OUR SUPREME MASTER. AND SO LIGHT GIVES WAY TO DARKNESS." Lord Thanatos says

The evil Dark Keyblade Master stretches his right-hand over Devon again, his open palm hovering over his body, and a black aura envelopes it. A black light emits from his palm as he uses a sleeping spell, causing Devon to feel drowsy and his eyes to grow heavy.

"Hng... Ngh... Uh..." Devon groans

"SLEEP WELL, DEVON. REST IN YOUR FINAL MOMENTS. FOR WHEN YOUR EYES OPEN AGAIN, YOU SHALL BE REBORN. NO LONGER A PAWN OF THE LIGHT... BUT A SERVANT OF THE DARKNESS." Lord Thanatos says

Soon, Devon loses consciousness as his eyes finally close and everything fades to black. With Devon now in a comatose state, Lord Thanatos and the Organization returned to the Castle That Never Was pleased with their glorious prize. Devon, the Legendary Keyblade Master was finally defeated. Now, he belonged to Organization XIII, to the Dark Lord of the Shadows, and his evil empire.

---

Inside the Castle That Never Was, in the white, circular room of Where Nothing Gathers, Devon was imprisoned inside a black orb of darkness, hovering over the lowest tall chair in the room. His hands and feet were bound in black chains. Black streams of dark energy swirled around the orb inside and outside, and dark blue lightning constantly danced and crackled around the young teen. Devon had been stripped of his jacket and his tank top, leaving his upper body exposed. And all over his body were ancient black runic glyphs that had a glowing fiery red outline. As the Keyblade Wielder hovered in his comatose state, a deep, demonic voice spoke, echoing in his mind.

"EmBrAcE tHe ShAdOwS, In DaRkNeSs PuRe, AnD kNoW wHaT lIeS aHeAd. SeE wHaT cAnNoT bE sEeN. FeEl WhAt CaNnOt Be FeLt. FoR aLl ShAlL cOmE tO lEaRn ThE iNeViTaBlE tRuTh. ThE LiViNg AnD tHe DeAd. LiGhT aNd DaRkNeSs. ThE pUrE aNd ThE cOrRuPt. ThE pAtH tO eTeRnItY LiEs In ThE dEaTh Of ThE lIgHt."

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In the Dive to the Heart, Devon felt himself falling through a pitch black world, descending deep into the depths of darkness. As he did, he felt another presence, which was familiar to him somehow. Suddenly, an orb of light appears, shining through the darkness, flying towards Devon. It was Ventus' heart. Eventually, the orb of light reaches the Keyblade Wielder and hovers infront of him. Slowly, the golden light of Ventus' heart begins to glow brighter and the same light envelopes Devon's body. When the light diminishes, the young teen was now wearing Ventus' Keyblade Armor.

Still falling slowly, the Keyblade Wielder descends toward his Station of Awakening, a light blue stained glass platform which depicted a sleeping Devon facing forward in the center with his crystal Keyblade: Soul Calibur held over his chest in his hands vertically downward flat on its right-side. Behind him was an inner circle that had six smaller circles, containing the colored head shot images of his closest friends and his parents. To his left was Shara, Sora, and Luna. And on his right was Ducar, Riku, and Kairi. The rest of Devon's companions were included in similar circles near the outer edges of the platform. At the top was Ventus with Terra on his left, and Aqua on his right. Draxon, Roxas, Lea, Xion, Naminé, Mickey, Donald, Goofy curved around the left-side of the platform, while Spyro, Cynder, Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Tuffnut and Ruffnut together made up the right-side. The background was a black, night sky filled with countless, glittering stars.

After a minute's descent, Devon lands gently on the platform flat on his back and was left all alone, trapped in the darkness. Yet, a shining star sparkled high above him.

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Author's Note: I'm still here, everyone, nobody worry. I apologize for the long wait, but it has been a very turbulent time for me being extremely busy at home and at work. But anyways... Devon has been captured! Our hero has fallen straight into the Dark Lord's trap and he can't escape from the nightmare! Weakened and defeated, Devon is taken by the Dark Order. Can Sora, Riku, Mickey, and co. save Devon in time? Or will he finally become the Dark Lord's vessel? Oh, and for an idea of the runic glyphs at the end, think of something similar to the Hive runes in Destiny, but far more horrifying, twisted, and demonic. We'll find out in the next chapter. I'm betting you guys are on the edges of your seats for this one. Let me know what you guys think. No flames please. Hope you guys like and don't forget to review!