I jerk awake, my heart beating faster than I thought should be possible. My blood is pounding in my ears and for some reason Adrenaline is coursing through my veins. I glance down at my hand, where moments before I had been holding a strange weapon.
"What was that?" I wondered aloud, breathing heavily. That dream, or whatever it was, had felt so real.
—-
I was standing atop a stained-glass platform. The glass showed an older version of myself; he lay with his eyes closed. In his hand was a weapon, unlike any I had ever seen before. It looked like an oversized key. Around the edge were several people I had never seen before. There were two boys, both appeared to be around 17. One of the boys had spiky brown hair. His eyes were closed, and a dream-like expression was on his face. The boy next to him had shoulder length silver hair. His eyes were set in a determined stare like he was looking for something in the distance. Next to both of them was a girl with deep red hair running down her back. She was a bit younger than the two boys, maybe 16. Her eyes were closed with the same dreamy expression as the boy with brown hair.
I glanced around the perimeter of the circle. It appeared to be the only platform in the area. It was glowing a soft golden light, causing the stained-glass to glow. Everything surrounding it was darkness as black as night. I tried to stare into the darkness, hoping to find any other structure. I saw nothing but never ending darkness. Staring into it made me feel cold, as if my heart had stopped beating.
I turned away from the darkness back towards the light. I could still feel the darkness calling to me from behind my back. I began to walk back to the center, almost missing the newcomer. He was standing in the center of the platform. He was wearing a long black cloak that only exposed his hands and feet. His hands were covered in a thick pair of leather gloves, and he wore thick black boots. He had his hood pulled up and it concealed his face, making his features impossible to see. When he spoke, his voice was deep, and came out almost as cold as the darkness had been.
"So. You are the key to finding the boy. It's odd, you don't look like much." He took a step towards me, his footsteps echoing off the stained glass floor. This man had a power about him, something that made my blood run cold. He got a better look at the mans hood, it had two cords hanging from either side, and each were adorned with silver on the ends. The man was not very large, he had a thin frame, and was pretty tall. He was likely only a few inches taller than me. Maybe just over 6 foot.
"You don't look like much yourself!" Or at least that's what I tried to say, but when I opened my mouth, no sound came out. My hand reached to my throat. It felt bizzare, the way his throat felt. As if the darkness that surrounded this platform had invaded inside of him. I couldn't help but shiver at the feeling.
The man chuckled quietly.
"Yes, it's hard to talk when the darkness is invading your body. Why don't we speed the process up a bit" He waved his hand and a dark puddle appeared in the center of the room. It rippled like water, but it looked more like a shadow. Three creatures rose from the puddle. They were small, each humanoid in shape but with antennas and large claws on the ends of their fingers. They had two eyes, both glowing yellow. There was no intelligence in those eyes, they were simply mindless monsters.
They began, they were constantly shifting between being in the shadow state, and being the small creatures now standing before me. It was a scary thing to watch, the way their bodies melted and reformed. They were able to move in both forms, as a shadow they drifted across the ground, and in their humanoid form each step was like a lunge, hopping from foot to foot. I hurried away from them, painfully aware of how little space I had left. I was taking deliberate steps backwards, focusing on them as they grew closer and closer. I took one more step back and my foot didn't connect with anything, instead I almost lost my balance and had to steady myself. I started to panic; I didn't know what to do. Jumping off would surely mean the end of me, but I had no idea what these creatures in front of me were capable of. I thought of my mom, and a pang struck through my chest. I felt a strong tugging in my heart, like something was inside trying to be freed. Suddenly I knew what to do. It felt so natural, as if this were something I'd done a hundred times before.
I stuck my arm out and flicked my wrist. There was a flash of a bright light, and there, resting in my hand was the same key shaped weapon my glass portrait was holding. The blade was probably three feet long and flat, sharpened to a razors edge on both sides. The blade was made of sleek black metal, with red lines running vertically in parallel. The teeth of the key protruded near the end. The two teeth were separated by about three inches of space, and in the center, split between the two teeth was a heart. The handle was simple, it was wrapped in some sort of leather, with a fully encased handguard, made of the same black material as the blade. Attached to the bottom was a long silver chain, at the end was symbol he had never seen before. It was the same heart shape from inside the teeth of the key, but this one had a red x running through it. The weapon fit in my hand perfectly, almost as if it were made for me. I took an offensive stance and lunged towards the creatures.
My first strike made direct contact with the one in the middle. One clean sweep was all it took. It exploded into black powder. I rolled to the left and brought my blade in an upward slash. This one too exploded in black dust. I stand up and face the final enemy, it stares at me unfazed by the vaporization of his two companions. The creature lunged at me, and I blocked its attack with the side of my blade. I push away from myself and the creature is thrown backwards. I point the tip of my weapon at it and thrust it forward. The instant the tip contacts the creature's body, it explodes the same as the others.
The warm tugging sensation I'd been feeling in my heart dissipated. I gripped the weapon firmly in my hand. It was bizarre, I had never been trained to wield a weapon. I had never even learned to fight with my fists, the only fight I had ever been in had ended with me lying unconscious for several hours. But wielding this weapon felt as natural as breathing. It was like an extension of my arm, it weighed nothing in my hand. I opened my hand as if to drop the weapon and it dissipated in a shower of light. I still felt connected to the weapon, even though it was gone I knew I could summon it again if I needed it.
I turned to face the man in the black cloak, he was clapping his hands. The low thud of his leather gloves matched the beating of my heart. I again went to ask him who he was but no sound escaped my lips. I watched as the man put his hand inside his coat, and pulled out a strange object on a string. It was an intricate star design, made out of shells with a different colored jewel at each vertex of the star. He tossed it to me, and I instinctively caught it. He pulled out another one of the star shaped objects. The one he held now matched the one in my hand but the jewel colors were inverse.
He spoke again, this time his voice had a strange almost playful tone to it. Something had pleased him, that much was evident. "This is a wayfinder. So long as you hold onto it our hearts will be connected." Sure enough even as he spoke he could feel a warm feeling in his heart. Not unlike one you get when you see a friend you haven't seen for a long time. The man returned his wayfinder to inside his long coat. He glanced around, almost like he was looking for something. I turned as well, but saw nothing but the void surrounding the platform. The light coming from the platform was making our shadows long, intertwining them at the torso.
Surely it must be some sort of trick, but I was certain the shadows were moving. A strange movement, almost like ripples on the water. Was this all caused by the odd stained glass platform? Or were more of those creatures about to appear? The man in the cloak glanced down at the shadow and nodded. "It appears my time is up. If you survive this encounter, come and find me. This journey is yours, I cannot give you anymore guidance than this. Trust in your keyblade; it will serve you well." He pointed at my chest. Was that what that strange weapon had been? A keyblade. The word rang around inside my head, it was echoing around as if it were in a cave. I felt that tugging sensation again. "And may your heart be your guiding key." At these words a dark puddle of the shadowy material formed on the ground under his feet. At the same time, my shadow had grown darker, and was definitely moving now. The platform was shaking like an earthquake had struck. The dark puddle rose around the man, encasing him in the darkness. When it vanished, the man was gone.
The shadow next to me began to rise, slowly taking the form of a giant creature. It towered over me, radiating a threatening aura. He was easily 30 feet tall. His head was a mess of tentacles, all wrapping around each other leaving only his piercing yellow eyes shining out of the darkness. The tentacles around his face were wriggling, each with a mind of its own. The creature had broad shoulders, and long arms bulging with muscle. It had a slim torso, which was held up by thin, but sturdy legs. In the center of his torso was a large empty space, shaped like the hearts you see during Valentines.
He had been the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen, as he stared at me with those yellow eyes. I turned to run, and found myself at the edge of the circle. I turned around in time to see the creature pull back his massive arm and slam it into the ground a few feet from me. Another puddle of black ooze formed around his fist. More of those black creatures from before rose from the puddle. Their bodies shifting from humanoid to shadow and back again, slowly approaching me.
I threw my arm out instinctually, calling upon the strange weapon from before. The keyblade materialized in my hand once more. I rolled to the side just as one of the creatures on the ground slashed its claw-like hand at me. I narrowly avoided it, coming out of the roll on one knee. I used the force to propel me into the air. I raised the Keyblade above my head and brought it down in a massive overhead swing. It cut through the creature's body like butter, dissolving it instantly. I quickly slashed to the right, slicing through another. The enemy on my left attacked before I could react. His cold claws slashed through me, sending shivers up my body. The pain was intense, as if I had been stabbed with an icicle. My hand flew to my ribs where he cut me, expecting to feel the warm blood pooling against my shirt, but there was nothing. No wound either. I rolled to the side again as he prepared a second slash. This time tossing the weapon at him like a frisbee. An invisible cord connected me to the weapon, even as it flew through the air towards the enemy. It cut through him just as easily as when I slashed through its friends. I yanked back on the invisible cord and the weapon spun back towards me landing perfectly in my hand. I set my jaw and turned back to face the big one.
He had been busy while I was distracted with the small fry. He was gripping his wrist with his left hand, and in his right hand sat a growing pulsing ball of pink energy. I lunged forward and began attacking the creature's hands. The Keyblade cut through his arms easily, but they reformed as quickly as they were slashed. He showed no signs of pain or even annoyance. His expressionless face was focused entirely on the pink ball in his hand. I slashed through his arm one last time as he stood up out of my reach. The monster lightly tossed the ball in the air where it exploded sending out a pink halo. It tilted its head to look at me and a shiver ran through my spine. It brought its two hands together and raised them above its head. My body reacted before I even consciously decided to. I rolled to the side, his massive hands striking the ground right where I had been standing seconds before. I turned to attack again, but I was distracted by the strange pink snow that had begun to fall.
Each flake was the same color as that ball had been, and were the size of small rocks. I focused on one as it hit the ground and sizzled. I was so distracted watching the flake that I didn't notice the one above me until it landed on my arm. It burned as if someone had pressed a hot piece of metal against my arm. I tried to scream out but I was still mute. I waited for the skin to blister, but as before no sign of damage appeared on my skin. My heart had begun to race again, something inside me told me I couldn't take many more hits.
I ran towards the monster again, swinging the Keyblade violently, slashing every bit of his body. When it began to raise its arms I leapt onto it, and ran up the arm onto its shoulder. I began attacking his face, swinging and stabbing, while occasionally using the Keyblade to deflect the pink snowflakes still falling. Occasionally I would miss and the flake would burn into my arm again. My heart was racing, and my blood was pounding. I knew I couldn't take even one more hit. The monster was weakening too, it stumbled backwards and fell to one knee. I felt a sensation like fire burn in my chest. It wasn't painful like the flakes were, it was inviting. I knew what I had to do. I used the monster's head as a springboard, flipping backwards when I reached the crest of my jump. I pointed the Keyblade at the monster and unleashed the flame within me.
The sensation spread from my chest, down my arms, and raced through the keyblade. The tip ignited and a ball of fire shot out striking the monster in the face. The moment the fireball connected, time seemed to slow down. I was slowly falling through the air, and the monster was beginning to dissolve. My vision faded to white, and for an instant I wondered if I had died. A voice I didn't recognize filled my mind. "Remember Hogo-sha, you are the one who will rescue the light." I felt my consciousness fade, and I woke up in my bed.
—-
I glanced over at my alarm clock, it read 3:35am. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. My mind raced with the memory of what just happened. Certainly it had been just a nightmare, but then why did it feel so real? My skin still burns slightly where those pink flakes had touched me, and a faint icy cold still remained in my ribs. My arms were also extremely sore, like I had been using them in my sleep. I laid back down, easing some of the soreness I felt. "Could that really have been real?" I asked aloud. I held my arm up above me, and thought hard of the weapon I had fought with, the Keyblade. No weapon materialized in my hand, no tugging sensation in my heart, nothing. I laughed out loud at how stupid I was. Of course that hadn't been real. It was just a vivid nightmare. I let my arm drop to my side and shut my eyes again. I was so tired, and I had a big day ahead of me. It wasn't long before I fell back into a dreamless sleep.
I woke up to the sound of my alarm. I reached over and shut it off, relieved to find my body no longer ached from being sore. I hopped out of bed and dashed to the bathroom. I pulled off my sweat soaked shirt and stared at my body, my mouth dropping open. I had always been a scrawny, sort of lanky guy. But now, I have well defined muscles and a solid six pack. I wasn't anything like a bodybuilder, but I looked like the soldiers outside. Each of them was built solid, infused with some kind of magic from ancient times. They all carried a very large sword on their backs, one that took two hands to wield. This was true at least for the city guard. There were rumors of warriors outside the city who would wield weapons of immense power, some of them infused with Mana. I didn't know what caused the change but my mind flashed back to the nightmare from before. Once again I wondered if that could have possibly been real. I shook my head and quickly showered, and threw on some clothes. They were tight against my new muscular body, making the shirt somewhat uncomfortable, but I didn't really mind.
Today was the last day of school, and by this afternoon I would be able to pick my future career. There were four main categories. Artisan, Warrior, Builder and Explorer. Artisans made the finer things in life. Jewelry, silverware, clothes, stuff like that. Each one was handcrafted by a well trained Artisan. This was not only the safest, but also the most lucrative career. Many of my classmates would want this position, but only the top 5 in each class were permitted to take that job. Should they turn it down, the person below them was given the opportunity. Builders were the ones responsible for almost all the construction. They built buildings, paved roads, crafted furniture and would also assist in constructing bunkers and outposts during times of war. This was the most common job, and what most people would choose.
The two remaining categories, warrior and explorer were the most dangerous, and the hardest to acquire. Warriors were well trained fighters, skilled in hand to hand combat, and how to use weapons. The upper ranks of the warriors were taught to use mana to assist them in combat. They took the role of police, doctor, soldier and anything else that required a more forceful hand. If the people who choose this career fail out of training, they would have to remain jobless, there was no second chance. And finally was the explorer. This was the job I sought after, and was by far the hardest to obtain. Only the number one kid in school would be given the opportunity, and if they turned it down, then there would be no explorer for that class. Explorers traveled beyond our world, seeking out new worlds and trying to establish relations with them. To date, only two worlds have been found, and they were so far away communication was almost impossible.
I've known I wanted to be an explorer for a very long time, ever since I met Orian. He was an older man, with salt and pepper hair cropped really short. His beard was perfectly trimmed. He hadn't been an explorer for a very long time when I met him, but he was the man who established contact with Astria, the second planet to be found with intelligent life. He had been one of the people who came in to talk to us in year 2. We were all only around 10 years old, but they were preparing us for the future. We were all expected to know what career we wanted to choose by Year 5.
Year 5 was when we took our aptitude exams. If you wanted to be an Artisan for example, you would have to take a specific exam and then take the following 3 years of schooling to prepare you for that role. The aptitude test did not disqualify you from your chosen goal should you fail, it is just to see if you have the natural instinct. Explorers had the toughest aptitude test, it was the only one that required not only a knowledge exam but also a test of reflexes and resourcefulness. They say this is to test how well we would do in a situation where we were to get stranded on a foreign planet, but the few of us who took the exam think they just wanted to torture us.
They took a group of 15 year olds deep into the forest. Our eyes had been covered and our hands had been tied. They dropped us off and left us there for 5 days. We had to escape our binds, and survive off of nothing but the land during the harshest season. They hadn't expected any of us to pass, but Gary and I had. We were the two 5th years in the past 2 decades to pass the aptitude test. Ever since then me and him had been rivals of sorts, 5th and 6th year he was number one in school. During year 7 however I had taken over and was still in the lead. All I had to do was beat him in the final exam and I would become the new explorer. It was all I wanted, and I would make it mine.
