Chapter 50
"Good job, Roxas!" said Demyx. "You kicked ass out there!"
Roxas was relaxing after the fight. Even though he did not feel pain during the fight, he was still tired from summoning that much energy. He was drinking water and eating rice and dumplings.
"I didn't exactly feel like that was what happened," said Roxas. "That was so fast!"
"Indeed, it was," said Bowser. "That is how most tournaments feel like. Anyways, it's your friend's turn."
"WAIT-"
Demyx teleported to the arena. Roxas could not help but smile at how unfortunate Demyx's situation was. Demyx was nervous when he fights more enemies. Will he be able to make it to one of the top spots?
Demyx summoned water, instantly flooding the field. Most of the contenders were KO'ed, with only an handful left to fight Demyx. Unfortunately, they were weakened by Demyx's attack, so they were unable to rush him. Demyx used his guitar to hit them down, winning the match.
"Wow, good job, Demyx," said Roxas as the nobody teleported back to the group.
"Well, Roxas, there is no need for you to go off the deep end," said Demyx. "It was nothing!"
Everyone else was teleported to their own matches. Surprisingly, only Toad lost, and the others made it to the top 32.
Roxas scanned the list of competitors. What he saw baffled him.
A masked boy was on the list. Several other figures were on the list, but it was this name that reminded him of the task given by Dark Pit. He also remembered Bowser's memory of his intruder. It was not the question of who this person is. Why is he here, following his victim?
The announcer caught Roxas' attention.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen! We have reached the top 32 people OUT OF A MILLION!" The crowd exploded when they heard that. The number made Roxas dizzy. There were a million fighters. Granted, they were heartless and other weak opponents, but a million of them were defeated?
"Now, for this next round, the randomizer will teleport the contestants to different dimensions. Each person will fight until the other is defeated. Good luck, contestants!"
Roxas instantly teleported to a tower. There, he saw a bald man who was carrying a sword. He was dressed like a shinigami.
"Well, there's some fresh blood here!" he growled. "I was looking for a fight. Who are you?"
"My name is Roxas. Who are you?"
"Call me Ikkaku!"
"Ready, set, GO!" The announcer's voice was everywhere.
Suddenly, Ikkaku charged at Roxas. Running forward, Roxas collided with the man, holding his position.
"You won't win today, kid!" Ikkaku revealed that his blade was changed without Roxas noticing. It split into three parts, almost surrounding Roxas. However, Roxas moved at lightning speeds, hitting Ikkaku with a flash of light. Staggering, Ikkaku tried to hit Roxas with his blade, but Roxas blocked it with his dark keyblade on his left hand, and used his right-handed keyblade to slam into Ikkaku. Ikkaku gasped, collapsing.
"Are you a shinigami?" asked Roxas.
"Well, duh!" Ikkaku pointed his blade at Roxas, barely standing. Roxas backed up, pointing his dark keyblade at him.
"This would be disappointing for a draw," said Ikkaku.
"Why do you assume that?" Roxas rushed to Ikkaku, slamming both keyblades at his abdominals. Ikkaku was immediately knocked out.
"KO'ed! Roxas owned his ass! Winner: Roxas!"
Roxas could hear the audience from here. "Must be magic," he muttered as he teleported.
Roxas teleported back to his area of rest. No one was around. Suspicious of what was going on, Roxas looked around, only to realize that the others must still be in their matches. Roxas went to check on the matches, only to see someone come in the place.
"Whoa!" Roxas backed up, materializing his keyblades in his hands. The figure that entered in was a boy with a mask.
"I take it that you do not know who I am," said the boy.
"Who are you?" asked Roxas.
"Some intruding loser!" Ikkaku bursted out of the door as well. "I saw him go to your area. Scram, man-"
The boy with the mask materialized his keyblade, launching it at Ikkaku. Without hesitation, he reflected it off of him, back to the man.
"So, that is how it is going to be, huh?" Roxas noticed that the room became gigantic. Was his mind playing tricks on him, or was it that the world was getting bigger?
"So, you still don't know who I am," the boy said to Roxas. "And here I thought Yen Sid or Merlin or whoever sent you here would have told you that."
"Who are you?!" asked Roxas.
"Why, I am your darkness, Roxas. I am Vanitas."
Roxas had no reaction whatsoever. Ikkaku looked confused. "Wait, were you hoping for some reaction or something?"
"No. Not really."
"Why are you here, Vanitas?"
"To defeat you and keep the worlds here asleep. That is why I entered the realm of Sleep."
"You took Bowser's ship!" said Roxas. "What did you do to it?"
"I flew it to a world you cannot enter to. Now, keyblade wielder...I will just end your interference right now."
"No you won't!" Demyx appeared, pointing his blade at the boy. "Go back to wherever you were, right now!"
Realizing that he was outnumbered, Vanitas walked back to a different exit, but not before turning to Roxas. "You have no idea what truly lies within this realm. If I were you, I would have never listened to a bunch of people who have no idea about a realm they fear. I would have stayed away from whatever war was happening and be glad that I was alive and well."
Vanitas left, making sure that the door was closed hard. Ikkaku and Demyx exchanged glances.
"Weirdo, am I right?" said Demyx.
"Yeah. What a coward." Ikkaku was about to leave, but not before doing what Vanitas did. "Hey, Roxas, stay safe, okay? People like him will take any advantage they could get. Keep your guard up, and win."
Ikkaku left. Demyx laughed softly. "Well, little dude, you just encountered a crazy dude. Either that, or someone who works for Xheanort."
"Vanitas probably does work for Xheanort, for all we know." Roxas looked silently at the door. "Who knows what else is out here?"
"Well, we won't ever know until the next round. Relax, alright?"
Roxas nodded, already slouching on a couch. "Okay. Time to see what's next."