Chapter 10

Sora, still grievously shaken by the destruction of Traverse Town, landed in Radiant Gardens. He got out, and began to walk away from the ship…in the opposite direction of the town.

"Sora! Where are you going?" Donald called.

"I…I need to be alone for a while…" Sora said, walking towards the Crystal Fissure.

He didn't stop walking until he reached the Dark Depths. He sat down there, and looked out at the valleys, his mind elsewhere.

That man had destroyed Traverse Town with a flick of his wrist. He could do the same to Radiant Gardens, or Twilight Town, or even the Islands just as easily…was this someone too powerful to stand against?

Sora brooded on his thoughts for a long time. There was very little hope in his mind…not after what he'd just witnessed.

Fight this enemy…and who knew how many more would die?

But…if he didn't fight…they'd just use the Heartless to take over all the worlds…Sora hung his head. This dilemma was made far worse by the fact that no mater what he did, innocent people would get hurt.

Better to die on your feet than live on your knees. Sora started, and looked around. Who said that?

Where is the strength you had before? The Organization could have destroyed worlds, and fighting the Heartless helped them. Did you stop? No. You fought.

…Roxas?

You're the Keyblade's chosen one, Sora. Only you can fight this battle. Not Riku, not Cloud and Squall, not Zidane, YOU. Do you think that these people would want to live in darkness eternally because you wouldn't fight?

But…the worlds…

These people aren't stupid. They want to conquer the worlds, not end them. I think that that man was trying to break your will…are you going to let him win?

…No. You're right, Roxas…I can't let them use me.

Don't shut yourself off to mourning…but don't let sorrow swallow you. Just like anger, any of your emotions can be used as weapons by your enemies.

Sora suddenly felt someone behind him. He turned.

It was one of the men from before…the ones wearing Organization XIII jackets…

"Who-? Why are you here?"

"You have suffered a great blow to your spirit, Roxas. I came because I was worried. You are likely to be attacked while still shaken."

Sora remembered all the people in Organization XIII had called him "Roxas" as well…but this man didn't sound anything like the ones he'd fought. The man sat down next to him. Sora barely was able to avoid getting up and summoning the keyblade.

"I came here to set your mind at ease about Namine."

Namine? Wait…Kairi!

"Where is she? Is she safe?" Sora asked frantically, turning to the man.

"She is in the safest place imaginable. Your enemies will tell you they have her, threaten her…even show you illusions of her suffering because you don't comply with them. Remember that it's all a lie. They will stop at nothing to make you bend to their will. But know that no harm will come to Namine while we still draw breath."

"Can you take me to her? Please," Sora said, his panic subsiding at the man's words. He shook his head.

"I wish it were otherwise, Roxas, but the Heartless can track your Keyblade in a way they cannot sense hers. Taking you or Riku to see Kairi would let the Heartless know where you were, and lead their masters right to the Sanctuary…and it is not just Namine that will come to harm if that happens." Sora could tell from his tone that the man did seem genuinely sorry.

"Do you…know anything about these guys? I can only assume you're fighting them…"

"My other mission here was to inform you about your enemies, but unfortunately, they are a very secretive group…we don't know much. But we can tell you the name of their leader…the destroyer of Traverse Town."

Sora's fists clenched. "It's not Xehanort returned, is it?"

"No…this man calls himself Iramaul, King of the Darkness." The man looked over the valley. "He is the leader of a group that refers to itself as the "Remnant", but of what, we have no idea…only that they are very powerful and ruthless. You will be hard pressed to defeat them…" The man stood up. Sora did as well.

"But know this: there are many forces at work in this story, and not all of them are your enemies. You will find help in unlikely places. Just remember you are never alone, Roxas."

And with that, he was gone.

Sora returned to the group. They all seemed worried, but he smiled, even though it was just to let them know he was all right.

"It's all right. I know that I have to do what I can to make sure that nothing like that ever happens again." His expression was deadly serious. "There will be time to grieve when the worlds are safe."

Late that night, Sora began to toss and turn in his sleep. A dream began to form in his mind, crushing the one he'd been having before…

Sora walked through an interminable wasteland. There was nothing that he could see for miles…just more sand and rocks. He saw some ruined buildings, but as he passed, the world was completely devoid of life.

Suddenly, the scenery changed. Sora now saw things coming out of the ground. As he looked around, he realized he was standing in a field of keyblades…dug into the ground as far as he could see. He looked to the horizon, not understanding how they came to be here. What he saw on the horizon made his blood run cold.

A ragged black shape was walking towards him…a hooded cloak around the form of a man. It walked with no hurry or urgency, but it covered a sinister amount of distance with each stride. It stopped, just at the beginning of the field of Keyblades, and looked at Sora, even though Sora couldn't see its face.

Sora felt a wave of horror and revulsion he couldn't explain wash over him. He had seen those that willingly gave themselves up to darkness…fought the Heartless…but this…thing…

It was an evil that left all he'd seen in the dust.

It took a step forward, and the ground beneath Sora's feet writhed as though in pain. Sora turned and ran.

He felt the creature pursue him…it was gaining…gaining…

Suddenly Sora tripped. The sun shone down into his eyes…but was then blocked out. Sora saw his assailant standing over him. It reached up, not taking its invisible gaze from Sora's face, and began to lower its hood.

Sora never saw the face of the being that had attacked him; as it began to lower it, he awoke, screaming, covered in cold sweat. He felt his forehead. He was still breathing heavily.

"Just…just a dream…" He said to himself.

Iramaul stood, looking at various screens. Sora's nightmare played out across their surface. The man in red stood behind him.

"Why are you looking through his dreams?"

"It is there I may learn much about our young adversary…" Iramaul replied. He pointed to one of the previous dreams, now shown on one of the farthest screens from him. "Tell me…do you notice anything odd about how this dream ended?"

"It was just a fairly sudden transition…"

"Not quite. Look in the corner of each screen…there's something that's always there, even when Sora isn't looking that direction anymore.

The man looked. There was a steadily growing void in the dreams…a ragged edge.

"Sora's nightmare was no accident. Something forced its way in…I want to know why."