The man told him his name, which was forgotten as time passed. He explained the place they were trapped was called the Realm of Darkness. He was a scientist and was sent there by his apprentices because he wished to discontinue work they were keen to follow through on. The realm was a place where darkness thrived. There were things here that could harm them, but they were far and few. The man promised to protect him from the dark creatures and Sora believed him.
Sora was barely above the man's knee when they met. He believed he was five, but the man was quick to explain that time was impossible to tell. He told Sora he could have been alone on that beach for weeks or months before he had been found. It was entirely possible, especially since food and water and necessities had become incredibly unneeded. He hadn't been able to find out why, but he thought it had something to do with how time didn't really pass there.
The man had been alone for a long time. He felt like it had been years and years. It felt like almost an eternity, but it could have only been a month. There was no way to tell the time. His pocket watch had stopped. He didn't age. And trying to understand time was going to drive him insane.
If the man didn't age… would Sora age? Or would he remain a child in this eternity of darkness? Only time was able to tell that, yes. He was able to age and grow and learn.
The man asked him to describe in great detail the people who were important to him. And Sora did. He described his family and friends in the best way a child could. There wasn't as much detail as an adult could describe, but he did fairly well. The man deduced he must not have been there for too long.
"Think of them often, Sora." He said. "This place has a way of destroying the memories precious to you. The darkness will take them and leave you with nothing but an empty mind if you are not careful."
Nothing he told Sora about this place made him feel any better. It terrified him. He would lose his memories. He would forget those important to him. There was no way to leave. And monsters lurked in the darkest corners, waiting to devour his light. This place was a nightmare made real and he was never going to wake up.
The man was still amazed by Sora. "You are bright, my boy." He explained. "The brightest light I've ever seen. It could be because you are young and the darkness has yet to touch your heart. But you are still so bright. We will have to keep moving to make sure the monsters do not catch us."
"Because I'll attract them, right?" Sora asked, rubbing his arm. "Because the darkness tries to eat the light."
"Exactly. Darkness only wishes to devour light. But I will keep you safe, dear boy. Do not be afraid. It will bring the darkness into that shining heart of yours."
So, he trusted the man. He didn't question him. The boy had absolute faith in him, so when he discovered his obsession, he was thrown off. The man who was so kind to Sora, who taught him everything, was consumed with revenge. It seethed just under the surface, constantly ready to bubble to the surface.
He was angry with his apprentices. He wanted them to suffer worse than he had. Darkness was slowly eating the light in his heart and it wasn't something that he could easily hide. He tried, though. When Sora reached his navel, he wrapped his face in red fabric and told Sora to call him DiZ. He tried to keep the darkness at bay, but as time progressed, he was fueled more and more by his hatred.
He tried, though. He tried so hard to protect Sora from his own darkness. DiZ confessed to Sora that he was the reason he still had his heart. His need to protect the boy was much stronger than his need for revenge.
DiZ had done his best to raise this boy in this terrible environment. He taught him what he could with math and grammar. He learned to read and write, using sand and a stick as his notebook. Sora learned basic science, what he could learn about science with limited materials. There were things that had become lost to him when DiZ tried to explain the moon and how it affected the tides, the information was gone. The idea of the moon had vanished from his memory, so it became difficult to understand what DiZ was talking about.
This began to happen more frequently. DiZ would talk about something that was commonplace in the outside world. Green plants. Certain animals. Certain fruits. These things had become lost to him, just as DiZ had explained. It made learning a struggle. Why was DiZ able to remember these things, but not Sora? How could he remember when he had been here longer?
"I've been sacrificing other memories to keep my mind strong," DiZ explained. "I've forgotten people and places. I barely remember what my home was like. But I've kept my science and that is what keeps me sane. What do you find is keeping you sane, Sora?"
Sora frowned, thinking for a moment. It wasn't necessarily his home. But the people in it. The people he missed. His mother and father. His friends, Riku and Kairi. He knew he had other friends besides them. The ones he made his school. But he couldn't recall them. "I guess… the people my heart connected to." Sora met DiZ's eyes, his own blue ones full of determination. "Mom and Dad. Riku and Kairi. The four most important people to me."
"Then do not ever forget them, Sora." DiZ insisted. "Think of them constantly. Even if you must sacrifice other important memories to keep theirs alive."
Sora did his best. He thought of those most important people all the time. Where there was that rare discovery of paper, he used it to draw them. As he grew, he would write memories of them, even as they grew dimmer or dimmer. It felt as if this realm was all he knew. There were times when he truly believed he had always been here and that it had always been just him and DiZ and maybe these people he thought of were just his extremely vivid imagination. It was DiZ's teachings that reminded him there was a world outside of the Realm of Darkness.
Sora had never seen the monsters DiZ spoke of. He wondered if DiZ had made them up. When Sora asked about them, DiZ avoided the questions, simply telling him that he was lucky he had never seen them. Weren't adults supposed to tell children the opposite? Should he have been told there was no such thing as monsters and they were never in danger?
But DiZ was right. He wished he had never seen the monsters he had been warned of. It happened when DiZ was trying to explain to Sora how photosynthesis worked (even though it went over his still young mind, especially when the only plants he'd seen were dead so he wondered why he even needed to learn it). Sora sighed, believing he was going to die of boredom when he saw the movement. He was used to movement in structures and suspended debris. But this was different. Something twitched and scurried. It caught all of Sora's attention, which caught DiZ's attention.
"Hm?" DiZ followed Sora's gaze, which fell on the creature. "We've lingered too long. We must go."
"It doesn't look all that dangerous," Sora mused as he stood up. "Looks tiny."
"Because it is the weakest of it's kind." DiZ explained as the creature regarded them with interest. "Do not be fooled. It will still eat your heart."
DiZ turned to walk briskly away from the creature. Sora lingered a moment, his curiosity getting the best of him. The creature met his gaze and the two stood, watching each other, seeing what the other would do. Then, the monster sank into it's own shadow. The shadow moved at a terrifying rate towards the boy, jumping up in front of him. Sora screamed, falling back as the creature raised it's claws.
Before the creature could strike, the boy was dragged off. DiZ pulled him up and ran, his hand still gripping Sora's elbow. Sora kept up, although barely. DiZ's longer legs made him faster. It was one creature, but it was enough to terrify Sora and make DiZ declare relocation. Sora was right behind him.
They ran until Sora tired. He couldn't run anymore. How could DiZ run longer than him? He was younger, shouldn't he have more energy? Then again, he exerted more energy trying to keep up. The monster didn't seem to follow them, but DiZ insisted they kept moving. They were still too close to their previous location. So, after Sora caught his breath, they trudged forward.
They walked and walked, as they spent most of their time doing. As they did, Sora asked about the monster.
"It was going to kill me, wasn't it?"
"Yes and no." DiZ replied. "Those creatures feed on hearts. And what's left of you becomes one of them."
"You mean I could have turned into that?!"
"Yes, Sora." DiZ nodded. "I wish I could say otherwise, but you are in particular danger. Your heart shines so brightly, it attracts them."
"But, DiZ… how do you know? How can you see my light?" It was something Sora had wondered since he had met DiZ, but had not been able to ask. At first, it was fear and confusing. Then, it just seemed time had passed and it was just something Sora accepted. DiZ could see and do things Sora could not, like he was a superhuman being.
"I told you how I was a scientist, right?" DiZ began. "I studied the heart for a long time. Curiosity got the better of me. I'm afraid I had gone too far before I discovered it was too late. When I stopped, my apprentices didn't. But I had enough knowledge to know where to look to see the light and darkness in the heart of others."
"Can you teach me?"
"What would be the point, my dear boy? So you could see the darkness choking the light in my own heart? If you'll forgive me, I'd rather not show that to you, I'm afraid. It may instill a fear that you don't need because, no matter how dark my heart would get, your shining light will keep mine steady."
"Maybe I want to know that skill in case we get out of here." Sora frowned. "Then I'd know who I can trust."
DiZ laughed, if only briefly. Was he laughing at the idea they would get out? Did Sora's hope amuse him? That annoyed the boy. It wasn't a bad hope. And who knows? Maybe with all this walking, they'd find a way out of the Realm anyway. Maybe they'd just… walk out of there.
It was a silly hope, but hope nonetheless and it helped keep Sora's heart strong.
"Perhaps when you are older. You are still young. There is no need to introduce you to that sort of thing just yet."
"How tall do I have to be to learn it?" That was how Sora understood his age. His height and how it compared to DiZ's. There was no way to tell how many years had passed. Sora had no clue how old he was, and DiZ could not tell him either. DiZ guessed perhaps seven or eight, but Sora was also a small boy. He was small for a five year old when they had met, so it became impossible to tell his age.
"When you are as tall as my chin, I will teach you."
"But that'll be in a million years!" Sora whined.
"Perhaps I shall teach you biology next." DiZ mused.
The two continued their journey. They traveled through dismantled buildings and great fields of dried grass and shriveled flowers with bare trees and passed a river with dark waters until they reached a dry dessert of gray sand.
It made them stop and stare in awe. The ground was littered with countless objects embedded in the sand and rising mesas. The sight was unlike any they'd seen here. DiZ was not sure where the structures and landscapes came from, but this was certain a landscape that seems so out of place. A dessert, fine. But with all of those… what were they?
Sora approached a group of the objects. It seemed like a sword, being slightly longer than his arm. He grabbed the handle and pulled until it freed itself from the sand. Curious… he turned to DiZ.
"It looks like a key." Sora speculated.
"They're… they're Keyblades." DiZ breathed as he met Sora, taking the blade from his hand. "I never thought I'd see one ever again."
"A Keyblade? What's that?"
"Dear boy, it's a very special weapon. A sword that can unlock any door and vanquish any darkness." Sora listened as he pulled another blade from the soil. "It is the strongest sword imaginable."
"Can we use them?" Sora asked, swinging his blade.
"I'm afraid not," DiZ shook his head as he looked over the other blade, protruding like a patch of wildflowers. "These Keyblades are dead."
Sora swung the blade again and again, like he remembered from sparing with Riku. He knew he wasn't very good at it. Vague images of television shows came to mind where powerful men would fight each other with large swords. That was how you fought. He knew he'd never learn to fight like that since he had lost is partner in crime.
As he finished his final swing, there was a strong breeze, a distorted figure, and a deafening wail. Sora jumped back as DiZ pulled him behind him. As Sora dropped the Keyblade, the figure vanished. The two looked at one another. It was clear neither knew what happened.
"Don't worry," a voice said. They were both taken by surprise and jumped. A woman was approaching them. "They're only ghosts. They can't hurt you."
Sora peered around DiZ as he made an attempt to shield him. But... the woman seemed kind. She wore a friendly, if relieved smile. Her blue hair brushed passed her shoulders as she jogged to meet them. Her soft features crinkling as her blue eyes glassed over. Was she going to cry?
"Who are you?" DiZ asked. He was visibly relaxing, though still on guard.
"I am Master Aqua." She curtsied.
"You may call me DiZ. And this little one is—"
"Hi!" Sora ran out from around DiZ to face Aqua full on. "I'm Sora! How long have you been here?"
Master Aqua's eyes widened when they landed on Sora. Her puzzled expression moved from him to DiZ and back. She floundered for a moment before examining her hair. "Perhaps a few years?"
"Us, too! Why don't you stay with us?" Sora turned to DiZ. "Please, please, please, DiZ? Can she stay with us?"
DiZ examined the woman carefully, uncertainly before nodded. "If she wants to join us, she may."
Sora saw her face light up. She quickly wiped her eye, as if trying to hide her tears.
"Please, please, Master Aqua?"
"I… I would love to."