As soon as Roxas returned, Sora's apartment went quiet.

"Hey, Roxas, about this–" Kairi didn't get a chance to finish. Roxas took the invitation from her, ripped it in half, and tossed it in the garbage can. Hayner and Olette glanced at each other. Pence came up beside Kairi, who stared at Roxas in confusion. "What did you do that for?"

"Sora was right," Roxas said. "This was a joke."

"Dude, why are you so agitated?" Hayner asked.

Roxas glared at his other blonde friend. "I'm not," then more quietly, "You're imagining things."

"Maybe… we should go," Olette suggested. "Roxas had a long trip, so he's probably tired."

"Yeah," Pence agreed. "...We'll help clean up."

As Olette began packing up the cake leftovers and Pence trying–and failing–to calm an irritated Hayner, Kairi noticed Sora ushering Roxas to a small bedroom and closing the door behind them. She sighed softly, then joined her friends in the cleanup.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked sternly. "This isn't like you."

"You'll just laugh if I tell you."

"Not if it's bothering you this much," the brunette reassured. "Whatever it is, I won't."

Roxas stared at his friend in the eyes and sighed. "The paper I just ripped up? It was supposedly an invitation. An invitation to a place called Castle Oblivion from this woman called Naminé. I don't know why you couldn't see it. Maybe she did something to it, and–" Roxas took a deep breath and exhaled. "I… just met her outside. And she's–she's not normal. She's like… I don't know… a–a–" He caught the worried look in his friend's eyes. "I'm not crazy!"

"I never thought you were," Sora said calmly.

"Then why are you giving me that look?"

Sora sat down on the edge of the bed. "Was this woman dressed in white?"

Roxas's eyes went wide. "H-how did you know that?"

"There was a rumour going around here a long time ago about people seeing a woman in white."

Roxas immediately sat beside his friend. "What rumours?"

"The story I heard was that this person got a visit from a woman dressed in white. But… a week later, she passed away."

Roxas swallowed. "Is… Is that it?"

"I think so. It was such a bizarre story, and I didn't know the person who passed away, so… I didn't pay much attention to it."

"Oh, God," Roxas muttered. "What if… What if–"

"Hey, don't jump to conclusions," Sora said sternly.

"Have you ever heard of a place called Castle Oblivion?" Sora shook his head. "...I think I need to see a doctor."

The brunette patted Roxas on the back. "Get some rest first."

"First, I should go apologize to everyone outside," Roxas sighed.

Sora stood and went to open the door. He stopped briefly and smiled. "Nah, you probably don't have to." Roxas raised a brow. Sora opened the door, and Hayner was the first to almost stumble into the room. "They probably heard everything."

"We weren't eavesdropping," Olette corrected.

"We started only after we heard Roxas say he's not crazy," Pence added. The redhead standing beside him elbowed him. "Ow! What? I'm honest!"

"Too honest," Olette and Kairi said.

Hayner rubbed the back of his head. "I heard about that rumour too."

"You did?" Pence asked, surprised. "You've never told us that."

"Yeah, well, I didn't think much about it either," Hayner sighed. "But the girl Sora mentioned was my friend's cousin. We went to university with her. She was always a bit strange. I guess she was socially awkward, and she was usually alone."

"I have a feeling something happened," Olette said quietly.

Hayner nodded. "He told me that she visited this temple outside of town, and one night, he heard her talking to someone. He peeked into her room and saw that it was a woman... dressed in white."

"Did he do anything?" Pence asked, curiously.

"He was too shocked, especially after she looked at him. He said her eyes were frightening. Like they were lifeless or something."

"Can I ask…" Roxas began, and all eyes were on him, "How did your friend's cousin die?"

"I think it was winter… she drove while drunk," Hayner answered quietly. "The car crashed into a lake, and she drowned."

"You're starting to look paler than a sheet," Olette said, looking at Roxas.

"I'm fine," Roxas said. His voice wavered, but he hoped he sounded slightly reassuring.

"Get some rest," Kairi suggested gently.

Roxas nodded. "...Yeah, I'm sorry for today, guys. I didn't mean to snap at anyone."

"Don't let it bother you," Pence smiled.

As his friends left the room, Sora glanced at Roxas over his shoulder and said, "You'll be fine, don't worry."

Roxas managed a small smile before the male brunette closed the door. The rain started to fall; it began as a drizzle but quickly started to pour in less than seconds. Roxas stared at the droplets rushing down the window. He had always enjoyed the rain, but this time, it made him feel uneasy.

He collapsed onto the bed and closed his eyes. Roxas hadn't told Sora the worst of it. While he didn't know what his friend thought after his crazy experience, Roxas knew that he would be keeping the drenched woman a secret. At least for now.

…

…

…

It was cold. Freezing. Roxas could feel himself shaking. When he took a breath, he smelt alcohol. When Roxas exhaled, he could see his breath. He was in the passenger seat of a moving car, not knowing where he was headed to. Roxas glanced at the woman in the driver seat. Her long, black hair reached her waist, and she had dark rings underneath her large, brown eyes. Roxas noticed that the young woman kept closing eyes and forcing them open. She had one hand on the wheel, and the other was continually rubbing her forehead.

It began to snow. It was light at first but got heavier as the car accelerated forward.

Roxas gripped his seat, his heart racing. His eyes continuously glanced at the woman and back to the road. There wasn't another car in sight. When he glanced at her again, Roxas's eyes widened. She was crying.

"Hey." His brows furrowed. He couldn't hear his voice. "Hey," he said again. Nothing.

And when he tried to touch her arm, his hand vanished upon impact.

Suddenly, the car swerved. Roxas grabbed onto the seat as the vehicle spun toward a snowy terrain. What he wasn't prepared for was plunge down the snowy hill. The world turned around him, so he tightly closed his eyes. And no matter how much he screamed, he couldn't hear anything. Suddenly, Roxas felt himself being lifted off of his seat. His body became harder to move, and when he opened his eyes, he realized he was surrounded by water. Murky darkness was all he could see through the cracked windshield.

He turned to his left and saw the woman unconscious. The window on her side was nearly shattered. Roxas reached to unbuckle her seatbelt. Once again, his hand vanished upon impact. Gradually, he saw himself fading; it began at his feet and worked its way up. And all he could do was stare helplessly at the woman lost to this murky darkness.

Roxas's eyes opened. He immediately sat up and felt his fingers graze his bedsheets. He was in a room, and he remembered that it was the room Sora had left him in. Roxas wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a deep breath. He turned to the window and saw a lone raindrop racing toward the bottom.

It was a dream.

"Hey, you feeling better?"

Roxas had opened the door and saw Sora and Kairi playing Jenga in the living room. Sora had been the first to notice him. Kairi, who had her back facing Roxas, turned and smiled at him.

"Wanna join us?" she asked.

Roxas smiled back and nodded.

As the night went on, Roxas welcomed the distraction. But he also realized how much he missed his friends. He hadn't sat and talked with Sora and Kairi for years since he left for university after high school. And during summer and winter breaks, Roxas was always doing internships. So, it had always been digital conversations. When Kairi left, Sora had walked her down. Roxas wasn't expecting his friend to come back with a pile of mail.

As Sora began tossing envelopes onto the coffee table, he stopped at a small, white envelope. On the front was Roxas written in elegant cursive.

"Hey," the brunette called. Roxas glanced up from his laptop. "There's… something for you." Roxas felt surprisingly calm. He stood and took the envelope from his friend. "Are you going to open it?"

"Yeah," Roxas said firmly and gently tore open the envelope.

It was a map, and it looked like it was hand-painted. This time, Sora could see it too.

"Hey, I know this place," the brunette said. "There's a small temple here. Right on the outskirts of the city. Kairi and I drove by there one time. It didn't really stand out, but it was extremely well kept. Why would someone send you this? Is there an address or anything?" Sora examined the map and the envelope; there was nothing else he could find. "Strange."

Roxas didn't need to guess who it was from.

When Sora noticed how serious his friend looked, he had to ask, "Hey, what are you thinking?"

"Is there anything special about this place?"

"Not that I know of. It looked pretty old like it's been around for a while." When Roxas didn't reply, the brunette asked incredulously, "Wait, are you seriously going to go?"

"I don't know."

And that was the truth.

Roxas had a dreamless sleep.

When he woke up the next morning and came into the living room, he saw two papers on the coffee table. As he got closer, his eyes widened. The invitation that he had ripped in two yesterday sat beside the hand-drawn map without a single tear. He had a feeling that this wouldn't be the end of it. Without another thought, Roxas picked up the map and headed out the door.

Roxas wasn't surprised that the train platform was bustling with people. It was the weekend, after all. The doors slid open, and Roxas followed the crowd inside the compartment. All of the seats were occupied. Roxas stood near the middle, his hand on a handle. As the train gently rocked back and forth, Roxas's mind began to flood with questions. What was the Castle Oblivion? Who was Naminé? What did she mean by 'training'? And most importantly, why him?

Suddenly, it went dark.

Roxas didn't think much about it. He knew that this line had a tunnel to the next station. What he wasn't expecting, however, was the sudden, eerie silence. It only took a second for everyone in the compartment to vanish. Roxas looked around, a cold chill coming over him. And when he looked in the window, he saw an unexpected reflection.

Roxas spun around and met the eyes of the drenched woman. As she took a step towards him, Roxas could feel himself trembling.

"Don't worry, she's not dangerous."

Roxas turned to the left and saw Naminé standing at the compartment door. Dressed in black, her black dress revealed her shoulders and reached just past her knees. The white sash tied in a large bow to the side, accentuated her small waist. Her blonde hair was tied in a neat bun on the crown of her head.

"You know," the other woman began. "You know… what happened to me."

Roxas turned back to her. "The dream that I had… it was you." The woman dipped her head once. Roxas took a careful look at her; he noticed a despondent look in her eyes. "Why… what happened that day?"

"If I tell you, are you going to help me?" the woman asked.

Roxas glanced at Naminé. She turned to him and smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. "If I do," Roxas began, staring Naminé in the eyes. "You'll leave me alone. Forever. And you'll cure my eyes."

Naminé slowly approached him, a cold look in her blue eyes. Roxas felt his heart race, fearing for the worst. Just inches from his face, Naminé tilted his chin upwards, a thin smile on her face. "Good luck."

Roxas blinked, and she was gone.

He turned to the woman. "Who is she?" he asked. "What did she do to you?"

"She helped me," the woman replied quietly. "She helped me live before I died."

"By doing what?"

"By taking away my most painful memories."

Roxas clenched his fist. "And is that why you died?"

"No," the woman said. "She told me… that I only had a week left to live. And because of that, she would take away any memory I wanted… so I asked her to take away the years I was bullied…I just wanted to be happy."

"And now you want…revenge?"

The woman looked down. "She said I deserved it."

"Who?"

"Naminé," the women replied. "She said she could make it happen. But..." Roxas stared at her in silence. "She told me to think about it."

He raised a brow. "Why?"

"The dead cannot harm the living. If I do, I won't get a chance to be reborn."

"Even then, you still want revenge?"

"...I don't know." Roxas saw that there were tears in her eyes. "I want them to pay for the years they tormented me. But… I want another chance at life."

For the first time, Roxas approached her. He stood in front of her and slowly reached out to touch her arms with his hands. Roxas almost shuddered when he touched her cold skin. "I'll help you. Trust me, you'll get the best of both worlds."