A/N: Time for a heavy hitting chapter of Cracks of the Past and probably the most important one. This chapter pretty much establishes the lore moving forward and answers a lot of questions for our heroes. Also, I saw Batman v Superman during the weekend and... oh dear, as Luna would say. I mean, the good scenes are really good and the bad scenes just drag and are unnecessary. Couple that with a bad script, not understanding certain characters and obvious studio interference by putting in Justice League references and it just feels like it wants to tell too much in the little time that it has. But enough of my ranting, enjoy the chapter!


Chapter 72

Those Who Came Before

Breathing in the smell of musty old books, Luna spun to take in the circular room and gave a satisfied grinned before returning to earth. It wasn't exactly her idea of heaven, but she had spent most of her days in school in the library so there was definitely a nostalgic value about the place. It even looked to be roughly the same size as the one in her elementary school.

"I can kind of do without the smell, but…" Noticing two chandeliers on the ceiling, Luna summoned her Keyblade and flicked her wrist. The candles attached soon came to life in glorious flame and lit up the room. "It feels like I'm a kid again."

"Nice find, you guys," Kairi said to Milo, Rapunzel and Kupopo. In the time that everyone else had been gone, the trio had taken to exploring the underground city. It was the big building in the center that they had found this library. "There are definitely quite a few books here. I don't think we can carry all this."

"Let's get to work then. I'm not sure what we're looking for exactly, but mountains upon mountains of history all in one location... how can anyone say no to that," Milo said.

"The truth hidden beneath the surface of truth… that's it! Truth, I suppose, can be substituted with fact. Fact. History. This library is it! I'm sure that's what the puzzle box meant," Luna said, barely able to contain her excitement.

"Alright. Let's get to work then. Best we take different parts of the room," Riku said. All eager to find out more about the lost continent, the group split off into the different sections of the room. When Kairi noticed Luna's apprehension and that she was still standing in the same spot, she placed her hand on Luna's shoulder concernedly.

"I'm just worried about Sora. Something must have happened," she relayed her fears.

"I've seen it before. He's frustrated, and understandably so. There are times when he won't tell you what he's thinking. He'd much rather keep it locked up inside and smile instead. It happened a lot while you were in the Realm of Darkness. Sometimes, I really wonder how he feels about all this. It feels like he's trying to be happy just for the sake of not worrying us," Kairi replied, looking at the aisle Sora had just disappeared down.

"Well, he can't do it all by himself. He has to know that. I'm going to go talk to him," Luna said.

"Yeah, it might be best if you do it," Kairi said.

"What does that mean?" Luna asked. It wasn't so much what she had said as it was the saddened tone she had voiced it in.

"Nothing. Nothing," Kairi dismissed. She smiled at Luna before turning and leaving in the opposite direction. Luna blinked, momentarily confused for a second. Then she shrugged and headed in pursuit of Sora. She soon found him absently staring at a book's cover as if he wasn't aware that he was even holding it. Clearing her throat, Sora looked up quickly and accidently dropped the book.

"Oh, sorry," Luna said, watching as Sora bent down to pick the book back up.

"No, no, it's… uhm, listen, about what happened, I-"

"It's okay. It's just that we're worried about you. You don't have to tell us everything on your mind if you don't want to but overcoming problems together is much easier than doing it alone," Luna said.

Sora chuckled and looked down at the book cover. "If only it were that easy. Whatever it is that's wrong with me, I don't think it's something I can quite understand and because of that, I can't put it into words. That guy, he had this weapon on him that apparently can break any weapon in seven hits."

Luna gasped and covered her mouth before letting it fall. "Against the Keyblade?"

"I don't know whether it really did have that power, or if it could even break the Keyblade. More than likely, he probably didn't know either. There was no way he could have unless he's broken a Keyblade before. Maybe he has but… I don't know, I panicked and he got in six hits because of it. He could have gotten seven too but he stopped just before that. He was messing with me, I can tell, and it's working."

"Sora, I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to face him alone," Luna said.

"That's my own fault, really. I kind of just took off without telling you guys," Sora said, scratching the back of neck.

"I'd be surprised if you hadn't," Luna said.

Sora twisted his hand and looked at the back cover for a moment before sliding it back into a gap between two books. He turned to Luna and gave her a small smile.

"I don't know how to tell you this but… depending on how I'm feeling, by the time we make it back to Radiant Garden, this might be where my story ends."

"I don't understand. What are you-?"

"I can't do this anymore, Luna. It's just… I'm tired," Sora finally settled with after a pause.

"No, no… you can't be serious. Sora, that's something old people say when they've completely exhausted themselves from working. I don't want to hear that from you. You were the one who told me that this wasn't a job," Luna said. Her voice was quivering but her breath unsteady but she couldn't help but find herself angry and confused that Sora had suddenly brought something like this up.

"But-"

"But nothing. One lost fight doesn't mean you should give up. You're still alive. You're standing in front of me, right now. I'm sorry, these words might be harsh but you need to hear them. Unless you plan on dying on me any time soon, don't tell me that you're tired. I- We need you here by our side," Luna said.

Sora smiled at her and inserted his hands into his pockets. "You're probably right. Maybe I'm just overreacting."

"I know I'm right. Trust me, soon enough you're gonna be looking back on this day and wondering what you were even thinking. Admit it, you love this too much to give it up," Luna said with a confident smirk.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Sora said under his breath.

"Huh, what was that?" Luna asked, having heard only mumbling coming from him.

"Hey, what's that?"

"Whoa, Sora, don't change the subject now. What did you-"

"No, I mean what's that?" Sora pointed behind her and turning to look, Luna screamed and jumped out of the way as a book flew out of its spot on the book case. Sora caught the flying book and pulled it towards his chest before looking down. Luna walked over and peered down over his shoulder at the book along with him. On the front cover, the words In Memoria Temporis were printed in bold, gold letters. The book itself was of hard leather, the material feeling bumpy as Sora traced his index finger downwards.

"Err, Sora?" Luna asked watching as Sora's finger fell off the cover.

"Yeah?"

"Books don't fly."

"I know, Luna. I know."

"So, uhm, do we open it or…"

"You know what they say—these books are made for opening," Sora said. His thumb and index finger found rest above and beneath the front cover respectively. He looked up to see Luna boring holes into the book, her mouth open and barely moving. "Luna, breathe."

"Oh, sorry," Luna apologized. Her mouth closed but the glimmer in her eyes never left. He smiled at this and looked back down, flipping the book open as he did so. The first few words alone were enough for Sora to look away from the book.

"What the hell is this?" he whispered.

Before its arrival, the world lived in ignorance, oblivious to the power already in their hands. They knew not that they could change the world if they wished, only that they sought to make it so. The average ego saw only things in terms of one or the other, unable to understand the light that was within their own hearts. And so it was the emergence of Kingdom Hearts, first seen in the city of Atlantis, which would pave the way for first steps of humanity.

Compared to most other civilisations at the time, the Atlanteans were already very forward thinking people. I profess to believe that it was because of this sagacity that Kingdom Hearts chose to make its mark on humanity and reveal itself to the Atlanteans. First from the sky came many small objects, all elastic and rubber-like in nature in what is deemed to be the first ever recording of a meteor shower. Looking up into the ever expansive night sky, I admit to being personally overwhelmed by many feelings as I observed the meteors fall into the atmosphere. Warmth. Comfort. Hope. I and many Atlanteans alike saw something that night for the first time that we had never seen before. We saw the universe and what it could truly become.

The seventh day after the meteor shower. Kingdom Hearts awoke from its slumber and hovered above our city. Here we saw paradise. A utopia free of struggles and where man could unite and overcome anything. No fear. No despair. Even now as I write this in my old age, I cannot entirely give understanding as to why Kingdom Hearts revealed itself to us. We had not even known of its existence until its appearance. Though unable to communicate to us through oral means, we could somehow still understand what it was telling us, as if it were gently strumming the strings of our hearts. It spoke of its loneliness and dream to live among our kind. Most importantly, it was curious and wished to better study us. In exchange, it offered to share its power with us lesser beings.

In hindsight, maybe it had all been a test—to ascertain whether human beings could prove trustworthy when given power and autonomy over our own lives. If this is so, then we had failed miserably. Still, there are some questions that pervade my keen mind. Can a monolith, something that possesses an amalgamation of hearts that all work in unity—something incredibly unlike human nature—ever be truly lonely? Hearts by their own can dream but what about a massive collection of hearts? Can a great entity such as Kingdom Hearts dream, and if so, of what? Finally, for a place where all hearts are born, surely it must understand our hearts better than us, and yet it desired to understand us. To this, I have a theory. I believe that hearts do not reach their true potential until they are within the vessel alongside the soul. Hearts are not born with most of the things that make a person unique but are instead born with the capacity to change and develop, both of which allow for a person's individuality to be moulded. That is what Kingdom Hearts tried to understand.

The offer came to us in the form of the crystallization of a part Kingdom Hearts that it had split off from itself. This would be the first of many hearts that Kingdom Hearts would later designate to the newly created worlds after a certain incident—but I speak too soon. We Atlanteans were quick to utilize the power of the light bestowed by Kingdom Hearts. This led to a process of a great reformation for the city. We were aided by the help of future tellers who would soon play a great role in the formation of the modern world. Now it should only make sense that the light in the heart of some is greater than others. Exposure to the newly gifted Heart of Atlantis gave way to unlocking their powers and from this a lineage of what are known as the Farseers were born. These special Atlanteans had such power that it was not just the future that the seer could see but all of history. Thus, the importation of ideas from the future became the technology of the past. Medicine became more readily available allowing people to live out longer lives, machinery increased production of goods and commodities thus increasing their value and making Atlantis a wealthy nation among its neighbouring borders. Soon enough came the first instances of magic known as Arcana Arts, which were used to aid in the building a new world. The city as a whole flourished and everyone lived happier lives, blessing the light for its kindness to them. A new Atlantis was born, a city that was incredibly advanced for its own time, perhaps too advanced.

It would have been extremely difficult for an outsider not to have noticed this sudden leap in technology. Frustrations grew as villagers and townsfolk who had to make do with their stagnant development, watched as Atlantis' grew even faster. And so with the arrival of humanity also came the first battles of what would gradually transition into something worse. Time and again, Atlantis defended itself from the attacks with its superior artillery and so Kingdom Hearts saw it fit to bestow us with an extraordinary gift. It was a key, a necessary prerequisite that had the power to open the gate to the unseen realm, or in other words, paradise. This was symbolized by its name. Two paths crossing that would never normally otherwise. Life and death. The comprehensible and incomprehensible. The χ-Blade contained a power which allowed us to visit the afterlife (or realm of the dead to use the correct term, though we never liked to think of it as such) to reunite with our departed loved ones. I on the few occasions I could was able to see and talk to my wife. You can understand then that this was a power that no mortal should ever have, and yet, we did. We had earned Kingdom Hearts' trust.

This blade however, proved to be a most insufferable curse. Those who came in contact with its power were enticed by that power. Consequently, an internal conflict had begun among the people of Atlantis. Some tried to claim the blade for themselves by using the seers to predict in whose possession the key was and where it would be at any given time. Street fights broke out over the right to possess the weapon and some were even killed in their sleep by those who believed— as paranoid as they may have been— that their victim had been planning to steal the key. Because of this, the key had humorously come to be known as 'The Hidden Shame' among the Atlantean people, or at least the ones still resistant to its power. Kingdom Hearts had misjudged the people it had trusted to be able to handle with χ-Blade with the same unity as we had to overcome those who had threatened our land but by then it was too late. The Farseers who had felt mistreated and used by their own people left for newer lands. It is with great remorse that I strongly condemn the likes of those who drove our own kind out of Atlantis. The city was built on the philosophy of fairness and equality for all and the final product turned out to be anything but.

It should also be mentioned that before Kingdom Hearts could recall the χ-Blade to its side, a war broke out between a neighbouring army and Atlantis. With its walls breached, the King of Atlantis sought to use the χ-Blade in a way it was not intended to be used. Atlantis' invaders were left to tremble in fear, broken and battered, as the χ-Blade lay havoc and ruin on the forces. In wielding its awesome power, the King sought for a new strategy. Tired of constant sieges on his homeland, the King sought to push forward and conquer neighbouring lands. With the power of Arts and the χ-Blade in the hands of his most trusted general, King Nedakh became obsessed with destroying those who refused to swear their loyalty to him.

Then, on X day, X month, X Year, tragedy struck. The power cables supplying energy to all of Atlantis suddenly overloaded. An earthquake followed by a tsunami completely devastated Atlantis, sinking it to the depths. When King Nedakh pled for mercy and protection from Kingdom Hearts, the entity simply disappeared from the sky without a word and the χ-blade along with it. King Nedakh's wife was forced to merge with the Heart of Atlantis to protect what remained of the city. This was the first time that Kingdom Hearts appeared.

What is a world without hope? Perhaps the Keyblade War may provide answers to such a question for it reflected everything that was wrong in the world. Also known as the Dark Ages, the war was foreshadowed by the emergence of Kingdom Hearts, its second visit to the world. Seeing the chaotic nature of the world, my belief is that Kingdom Hearts resurfaced not to test humanity this time, but to purposely trigger a conflict. The great entity had plans and they began with letting the world believe that darkness had prevailed. This time, it did not stay in one place like it had for Atlantis but constantly moved from location to location, the χ-Blade along with it. Having already seen the power that possessing the χ-blade could give, it was not long before the world was to fall on the brink of all-out war.

There were several incidents which were to precede this. The first is the sudden disappearances of people with seemingly nothing in common, or at least superficially. These were children, students and many others whose disappearances could not be explained. Of course the truth was much more terrifying. These subjects were to be used in a series of experiments to replicate the power of the original χ-Blade. These keys drew their power from the hearts and souls of the subjects and converted it into energy, unleashing the heart's power in physical form. Despite the time and effort put into creating these keys, nothing created could ever equal that of the original.

Feeling his hands trembling, Sora ceased reading. When Luna looked up at him, she saw scarcely a boy she knew. Pale and confused. He had every reason to be. She was the same too.

"The Keyblade...?" Luna started, unable to come to terms with what Sora had read aloud.

"I… I don't think I want to read this," Sora said. "This can't be true. It can't be."

"It is a lot of information to take in all at once. Uhm, the Farseers… th- they come from Atlantis?" Luna went back to the previous page and looked it up before nodding. "So this is where Yeul's people originated from."

"Let's just… keep reading," Sora choked out, turning over to the next page and continuing. All of a sudden, the air had become incredibly stifling. Luna wanted to make a joke about not having any windows but she felt it was a bit inappropriate for the moment.

Thus, it was by these experiments that the Keyblades gained minds of their own allowing them to choose who would wield them. Some of the Keyblades found their way to family members and friends while others, who found no meaning to life fell into the hands of those who sought to cause chaos and destruction. Of this, a clash was sure to arise between those who wished to protect the light, those who wished to make the light their own, and those who wished simply to destroy the light.

Four factions, all under different disciples of teaching, were to soon clash against one another for the fate of the world. The first who sought to extinguish the light under the belief that it had become too powerful—Horus; the second worked in direct opposition then to protect the light— the Lunarians; and the third who sought to make the light theirs. They would later split off into two due to a conflict of interest—Cephadalus, which then separated into itself and Oberian.

"Horus…" Sora repeated the name, and then a few more times after that.

"Ring a bell?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, I think so… where have I heard that name before? Oh! It was Abraxas, or Xehanort, I guess, whichever one it was. They mentioned Horus at one point. I don't exactly remember what they said though. That battle feels like such a long time ago now."

"I don't know about that. Sometimes, it really feels like I joined the group just yesterday," Luna said. "Anyway, enough nostalgia for a day, I'd think. Horus, Lunarians, Ceph- Cephadalus? And Oberian."

"Quick learner. I guess I don't need to ask if you've 'Got it memorized'," Sora congratulated with a grin before returning to the book.

Soon realizing that the keys were unable to track the position of Kingdom Hearts and the χ-Blade, one of the factions decided to proceed with a radical experiment. Believing that only a heart of pure light could sense other pure lights, Horus kidnapped several subjects after finding a number of meteor fragments scattered across the world. These fragments had come from the shower that had predated Kingdom Hearts' first appearance. The experiment, though I know little detail, involved amplifying the light in the subject's heart using the fragments. By the end of the experiment, only seven candidates had survived, all young girls. One of them in particular I knew to have resided in Atlantis. She was the general's daughter, though I cannot begin to guess as to how she found her way out of the submerged city and into the hands of Horus. The subjects that survived all had something in common, the strength and innocence of their hearts. Maybe it is then possible that the girl in question found her way to the surface by simply believing. Sometimes that can be enough to pull off even the most miraculous of things, but I digress.

"I guess that answers that question. The Kairi who used to live here wasn't kidnapped, at least not here anyway. She found a way out," Sora said.

"Is that even possible?" Luna asked.

"Sure. I remember a corridor of light opening up for me and Riku when we trapped on the shores of the Realm of Darkness this one time. There was also this other guy, the Beast, or I guess he's a prince now, but he also used one and travelled all the way to Maleficent's castle in Hollow Bastion in order to find Belle. It's probably rare but it happens."

"Right… so these subjects were going to be stripped of their darkness? Funny, I've always had the impression that the Princesses of Heart just sort of… happened," Luna said.

Despite the survival of these candidates, their hearts, unable to sustain themselves without the proper balance, shortly collapsed and the subjects passed away. The experiment had ultimately proved to be a failure. Perhaps even uncharacteristically, Horus respected these bodies and buried them in their respective lands. Note that at the time of this, no one could find Atlantis. It came to be that the vessel of this world was buried elsewhere. This knowledge soon reached the ears of the other factions before Horus could act quickly to erase their footsteps.

The final piece of the puzzle to understanding the Keyblade War lies in the future tellers' hands. To further elaborate on the Farseers' journey, I feel it is appropriate to more concisely detail the power they hold. Their power stemmed not merely from within, for such ability to view all of time would no doubt destroy a person's mind if such was the case, but worked in conjunction with an invisible presence. The seers had the power to see rips or holes in time and space. To whoever may be reading this, these would come to be known as keyholes. From what I understand, little unseen pockets were intentionally left scattered among the world as a safety measure were darkness to spread over the land. These pockets would later be used by Kingdom Hearts to store pieces of itself that would become the hearts of each world.

After leaving Atlantis, the group would migrate in amongst others. Despite initial fears of being found out as seers, when this did happen, the townsfolk were quite welcoming and sympathetic to the Farseers' plight. It was mountain town of Alexander in which they would settle, mingling with the non-Atlanteans and spawning multiple generations of children.

"Alexander…" Luna said. "Though I guess it was more of a town back then than a city. Oh, fun fact, Sora-"

"Oh, boy."

"What do you mean 'oh, boy'? You will listen to my little fun fact and you will like it," Luna ordered. A bright-eyed expression immediately took over as she continued to speak. "You know the saying 'Don't count your chickens before they hatch'? Well, the more predominant saying in Alexander is actually 'Don't count your fish before they're on dry land'. The reason for that is that there was this guy who once caught a huge fish that was about 11 feet long and weighed roughly 740 pounds. So this guy gets a really huge ego and starts bragging about it aloud to absolutely no one in particular. Before he can reel the fish in, it slaps him in the face and jumps back into the water, never to be seen again. To this very day, some fishermen still believe he's out there, just waiting to meet his true match."

"That was a great story, Luna. I'm so…" Sora let out a yawn, something that he didn't even have to fake. "…enthralled, I really am. Okay, I really want to get through this so how about we just power through the rest of this, kay?"

Construction on the Turm Des Himmels, or Heaven's Tower, would mark a significant landmark in the relations of the Atlanteans and those who originated from Alexander. The tower was to show that there was nothing human beings could not accomplish when working together—they could even reach paradise itself. Construction of the tower took an astounding five years to complete, mainly due to the crystals which the Seers still possessed.

With belief that the worst was behind them, the Seers attempted to settle down. And so they did, until the devil came knocking on heaven's door. The newly found Keyblade wielders, seeking the power to see into the future, threatened to destroy Alexander if they refused to give up the seers. Mere threats turned to fear and then anger as the need to protect their families became more prevalent among the Alexandrians. The beginning of infighting and the possibility of a civil war breaking out forced the Seers to make a painful decision. They would leave Alexander and seek a new home.

The Atlanteans travelled from one place to the next, seeking refuge. None would accept out of fear that they would eventually become a target. They could never truly settle, for they were the prey and they had no one they could truly trust. This soon led to a split within the group. While some sought to fight against those who were after them, others refused to fight fire with fire and were more diplomatic with their approach. Finally, there were also those who wanted to run as far as possible where no one could trouble those— pacifists, in other words. These Seers split off into clans of their own which would serve as the basis for their demise. Those who fought gave further reason for Keyblade wielders and normal people alike to hate them. Because of this, the diplomats found it incredibly difficult to get others to sympathize for their cause. Finally, the pacifists were pushed farther and farther into conditions of limited survivability. Miraculously, it was this group of seers who found a new home in the town of Eden.

In the midst of all these battles, some more personal than others, the light of the world began to weaken. A strange fog began to envelop the land, washing over everything in its path like a great flood. Some of the fog managed to be contained by the invisible holes in time and space but it was not able to contain everything. Land which came into its path rotted and died away and living beings who came into contact found themselves contracting strange symptoms days later. People reacted to this fog differently but in the end they all became the same— Beings of darkness who fed off the light. The end of the world was nigh, and people were too busy fighting to notice it.

People fought. Others suffered. Pain and chaos spread throughout the land. A great many battles were fought but they were to all culminate in one final decisive battle. Kingdom Hearts made its nesting grounds in a place now known as The Badlands, or the Keyblade Graveyard. Keys clashed and fell to ground as lifeless as their owners. The exact account of the battle remains unknown to me but by the end of this long gruelling battle, a single-

"Huh? That's strange…" Sora flipped the page twice, as if doing so would change the contents of the book but everything remained the same. There was no doubt that this was where the book ended. The only thing telling him that the book had continued on and the writer had not simply died or something like that was that it looked as if pages had been torn right out of the book.

"So that's it? Well it gave us enough anyway. I guess someone was here before us," Luna said. After receiving no reply, Luna looked at Sora to see a downtrodden expression written all over his face. He seemed… defeated, and perhaps even more than he had been when they had arrived.

Jiminy popped out of Sora's hood and rubbed his chin. "Hmm. I was listening to the whole thing and… it's convenient. Almost as if this book popped out to give us all our answers. Like it was written with us in mind."

"Maybe it was the person who left the puzzle box? They wanted us to find the truth and I guess this would be it. This is far greater than just Atlantis though. This wasn't what I was expecting," Luna said.

"Sora, chin up. I know it's hard but we have to give it consideration all the same as opposed to turning a blind eye," Jiminy advised, placing his hand on Sora's cheek.

"Even if I wanted, it's impossible now that I've seen this. Why is this happening? Why is what's happening now so similar to what was happening back then?" Sora asked.

"What's happening now?" Luna questioned.

"The fog. I'm willing to bet it's the same one as the one we're facing now. But I don't get it. Is the realm of light weakening? If it is, then was that guy from KRONOS right after all?" Sora asked, his voice sounding brittle.

"But would the Heartless really be enough to cause all of that? When did the fog start leaking into the worlds anyway?" Luna asked.

"We'd need to ask around but it definitely wasn't any time before we defeated Xehanort. I had figured it started with the Chimera but now I'm not so sure," Sora replied, running his hands through his hair. "Urgh! Why is this so frustrating?"

"Wait a second. Sora, go back a few," Jiminy instructed. Sora obeyed without question and kept turning back pages until Jiminy told him to stop. Jiminy nodded his head and gave hums of approval as he read the selected passage before looking up at Sora and Luna. "Well, I'll be… it's just as I thought."

"Well? Don't keep us in the dark. What did you find out?" Luna questioned.

"A few paragraphs up it mentions tears or pockets in time and space. They would later be known as keyholes once the world split off into many. Later on, it mentions that some of the fog was contained by these pockets. Now what would happen if that fog never left? It would interfere with the hearts of each world."

"So, you're saying that the background radiation that's affecting the worlds, the realms even… it's coming from the… past?" Luna asked.

Jiminy nodded. "Yes, but even more importantly, it's leaking out from the keyholes!"

"HUH?"

"WHAT?"

Sora and Luna stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, the silence in between them so palpable that it could have been sliced with the dullest of knives. For the first time, Luna focused on the particles of dust she could see under the room's light. The floated in the air gently, blissfully unaware of what was going on below them. Luna closed her eyes and remembered to a recent conversation. Grandmother Willow had told her that the keyholes were dangerous, that it was dangerous to interfere with them even. Why had Grandmother Willow told her that? Luna opened her eyes again after a wild theory finally popped into her head and spoke.

"Do you think then that the keyholes act like a filter? I mean, if fog comes out of them then it makes sense that they can go into them as well, right? So if we seal the keyholes then-"

"The fog can't go back in. In that case, it might build up in the world and even spread to ones nearby," Jiminy finished for her. He sighed and took off his top hat. "You can't be suggesting that we've been doing something that we shouldn't have been doing this entire time?"

"Well, I keep wondering back to what Grandmother Willow told me, that the keyholes must not be sealed. I couldn't think of any reason for them not to be until now. Maybe they've always been affecting the worlds but we haven't noticed it until we started sealing too many of them."

Throughout this, Sora remained mostly unresponsive, occasionally glancing up with eyes of fatigued cerulean as Luna and Jiminy made their points. It was disconcerting, Luna pondered as the group once fell again into silence. Not just about what they had found out, but that she could not find ground on which to convince her friend to keep travelling with them anymore. If the armored man's words, depression and Yeul's death hadn't convinced him fully, this most certainly would.


A/N: So this chapter technically ends Atlantis, or at least as far as this chapter of the trilogy goes anyway. More than likely I'll be releasing the next chapter on the day on the FFXV Uncovered event so please look forward to it.