Chapter 6- Truth's awakening
When Sairu opened his eyes, he found himself back in a study of sorts, until he remembered he was in Master Yen Sid's tower. He was dressed again in the black cloak that DiZ had given him, which had felt so long ago compared to his recent journey. As he turned to lie on his back, he noticed a certain sorcerer standing over him, concern set in his stern face, yet this was soon replaced with an expression of relief. "It is done. Now you know the truth of your past, even though such great torment surrounded you at such a young age" At this, Sairu could only groan in response as he attempted to sit up, only for him to suddenly fall back on his elbows. "You have been out of your body a long time. You will regain proper locomotion in a matter of minutes. For now, remain seated" Yen Sid instructed, but Sairu, feeling disoriented, could only nod in response.
After a period of silence, Sairu finally stood up, and immediately saw a chair now stood opposite Yen Sid's own throne. "After your endeavours, I imagine you will be weakened at present. You have not eaten for as long as your body remained like a puppet. It would be advisable to take things slow at the moment" Yen Sid explained as Sairu approached and sat down, facing Yen Sid with saddened eyes. "Everything I saw... How could it all... have just been taken from me? It feels like a dream, but mostly a nightmare" Sairu said emptily, only for his stomach to suddenly rumble rather loudly, which made Yen Sid chuckle, while Sairu blushed in embarrassment. Yen Sid then spoke "If you recall, I mentioned that there was another chapter of your past that I had to reveal to you, before you travelled back in time. For the time, however, I would suggest some food and drink" And with a wave of his two hands, an array of food (sandwiches, pastries, shish kebabs and so on) and a jug of clear water appeared out of nowhere atop the desk between them.
"Eat what you can, and I will return" Yen Sid as he disappeared in a pillar of blue light. At this, once he was gone, Sairu dived headfirst into his personal feast, devouring everything in sight. Sairu had never been hungrier than he was now, and was amazed that the food was unbearably delectable. After fifteen minutes, Sairu had eaten and drank his fill, leaning back in his chair, breathing a huge sigh of relief at the food he had just eaten. Soon, the remains disappeared as Yen Sid reappeared in his throne. "Now that you have feasted, I will reveal what occurred after Eraqus saved you." At this, Sairu sat rigid and nodded to Yen Sid to continue. Taking this as a sign to continue, Yen Sid explained "As Eraqus traversed the Lanes Between with you in his arms, the Heartless discovered the Keyhole to your home, and devoured the heart of your world, now and forever. From what my magic was able to determine, your father sadly perished at the hands of the colossal Heartless he had sworn to defeat. In time, Eraqus brought you to me, stricken with grief, clutching you in his arms as he explained to me the tragedies that took place. It was owing to these events that since then, Eraqus developed an aversion to darkness in any shape or form, your father's noble sacrifice. After he composed himself, Eraqus revealed that he intended to raise you as his son" Hearing this, Sairu was left with a burning question, which he then felt compelled to ask: "Then, if that's true, why was it that I ended up with Leon and the others?" "Unfortunately, the duties of a Keyblade Master are arduous and many. Consequently, Eraqus was unable to raise you owing to these duties"
Sairu simply gave a stony-faced look to Yen Sid, which the latter could understand given his confusion. Yet Yen Sid continued "Although I came to retire as a Keyblade Master myself, I knew nothing of raising a child from infancy, and thus, we concluded, as a compromise, to send you to a world where even darkness hesitated to manifest... Radiant Garden" At this, Sairu came to understand how all the pieces fit together: he lost his home and his parents to the darkness, his father's closest friend was a Keyblade Master, but could not raise him owing to his responsibilities as a Keyblade Master, and ended up in his current family, with Leon, Aerith, Yuffie and Cid in the Radiant Garden.
"Then, this pendant I wear..." Sairu started, pulling the pendant from under the cloak, and showing it to Yen Sid "This was Eraqus's, wasn't it?" "Indeed. But you are aware of its abilities at present?" Yen Sid confirmed while asking. Sairu nodded at first, but then admitted "I think so. When I journeyed with Sora, Donald and Goofy, this activated whenever I fell unconscious. The light that it emitted was able to drive off the Heartless that would have attacked me on a few occasions" "That is indeed true. Eraqus's desire to protect you is what enables the charm to protect you when the darkness looms closer, even long after his departure from this world" Yen Sid replied, which prompted Sairu to look confused.
Yen Sid noticed this and proceeded to explain "Before I tell you about that, I suppose it would do no harm to inform you of who Eraqus was as a person and the events that transpired. In the past, Eraqus was the master of three apprentices in training for the Keyblade. Their names were Terra, Aqua and Ventus. For a time after your birth, they lived a harmonious existence as master and pupils, and around five years later, Terra and Aqua were to undergo the Mark of Mastery exam with Eraqus and a fellow Keyblade Master presiding over them. At the end of the exam, Aqua was the only one who rose to the rank of Keyblade Master, and not long after, a danger of unimaginable terror appeared once the exam concluded" "A danger?... Wait, I remember, when I was little in the Radiant Garden, these strange creatures appeared, these dark blue dangerous creatures that remind me of the Heartless today in all honesty" Sairu interjected, as the memory flashed before his eyes.
"Those creatures you encountered were a race known as the Unversed" Yen Sid continued, and with a wave of his hand, an image of a small navy blue humanoid creature with red eyes that resembled an angered expression, pointed hands and feet, and two jagged antennae adorning its triangular head, appeared before. "These creatures share many attributes with the Heartless, as you mentioned earlier, yet these creatures differed considerably in that they embodied negative emotions, and otherwise, lacked any true connection to the heart" "Are these creatures still around since then?" Sairu asked warily "Fortunately, the Unversed ceased to exist around a decade ago now. Their existence was tied to an enigmatic boy who was their progenitor and their life force. His name was Vanitas, a boy who held a heart of pure darkness, extracted from Ventus's own heart and given a physical form of his own, through the resulting negativity that took shape as these creatures. In the past, the fellow Keyblade Master of Eraqus yearned to forge a weapon of cataclysmic power, and the components of this weapon entailed a battle between a being of pure light, Ventus, and a being of pure darkness, Vanitas. In addition, this Master in particular intended to manipulate one of Eraqus's pupils for his own machinations with which to wield this great weapon. That was Terra" Yen Sid explained, yet Sairu was beginning to question the relevance of these events to his position now.
"Though Terra was undoubtedly a powerful wielder of the Keyblade, and one who cherished his closest companions, he nonetheless had an obsession with power, giving Terra a deep and powerful darkness in his heart. The Master had taken steps to manipulate into accepting the darkness and isolate him from Eraqus and his friends, and this was brought to a pique... when Eraqus was betrayed and struck down by his old acquaintance" At this, Sairu's eyes widened beyond all recognition in sheer horror: the only person who was something like family was now gone altogether. He almost couldn't breathe, and seeing this, Yen Sid's serious expression was replaced by one of sorrow. "I understand it is sudden to have to say this, but Eraqus's fall was what spurred his pupils on to counteract the Master and Vanitas's foolish plan. The Master's plan was somewhat fulfilled: the great weapon had been forged when Vanitas returned to Ventus, and the Master and Terra battled, though unexpectedly, both of them have now since disappeared. As for Aqua, owing to unclear circumstances, she herself has also disappeared from the realm of light. Furthermore, after the two vessels reunited into one, the weapon had been successfully forged, but Ventus was able to defeat his darkness and the weapon in question, Vanitas and by extension, the Unversed, disappeared from the face of the world. Consequently, Ventus fell into a comatose state, as his pure heart prevented a transformation into a Heartless, and has now been in that state for the past decade"
Hearing this, Sairu was shocked to hear these events occurred long ago, especially learning that Eraqus has faded from the world altogether and all that remained were the memories of the time that Sairu had collected from his travel back through time. And yet, hearing that story instilled something in him: a burning feeling in his chest, but it wasn't anger, something else that somehow provided him with comforting warmth. He composed long enough to then ask another question: "Master Yen Sid, have you heard of this 'Organization'?" At this, Yen Sid began stroking his beard again and responded "Yes. I am aware of their activities, and have been observing them for some time. It was my intention to summon Sora here to reveal the threat they pose, but owing to unclear circumstances, I am unable to reach him to inform of this danger"
"That is because... Sora has been put to sleep. Donald and Goofy too" At this, Yen Sid appeared momentarily stunned, but it faded instantly. "For what reason has this transpired?" he asked politely and with that Sairu responded: "To keep it short, Sora encountered some members of the Organization in a world called Castle Oblivion, who hoped to use his power for their own ends, not the Organization's. They had manipulated their prisoner, a girl called Naminé, to rewrite Sora's memories to make him into their puppet, but Naminé was able to reveal the truth to Sora, who has since defeated them. As an act of remorse, Naminé gave him a choice to remain as he was with those false memories she forged, or lose all memory of the castle and Naminé to reclaim his original memories. I am sure you can determine his choice" to which Yen Sid nodded and confirmed "He opted to regain his original memories and the process requires him to sleep" Sairu in turn nodded in confirmation.
"Yes. Though I was not with Sora that time, a comrade had somehow witnessed these events, and informed King Mickey and myself whilst I travelled with Riku through the basement floors of the castle. We also encountered members of the Organization, who were seeking Riku for a similar purpose to counteract the traitors in their midst. A puppet of darkness against a puppet of light, but it seemed they had no more use for him when the conspirators were defeated by Sora. Amongst these former members... was the Nobody of my best friend" he said in a visibly despondent tone of voice, as he squeezed his knuckles out of frustration which did not go unnoticed by Yen Sid. "Judging from your emotional state, I can only surmise you were forced to confront and defeat him to save Riku from their clutches" Yen Sid replied, as he looked at the boy's distress. Sairu simply looked him in the eye and shook his head.
"No. I did not fight him, but neither could he fight me. Then, as part of their plans, a replica of Riku alongside another member of the Organization, Axel, I believe he is called, goaded that Replica to defeat and absorb Zexion's powers, as the Replica was suffering from an identity crisis. Obviously, I could not allow that to happen so I stood and fought with the replica, and he almost destroyed me, until... Zexion sacrificed himself to save me instead, and he faded from my arms afterwards when they left. Now, I have lost him, my closest friend. I promised Kairi I would find him and bring him back... but I failed. I was too weak to save him" he said, as a single tear fell from his eye.
"Sairu, it was out of your control. You cannot blame yourself for such events when it was his own choice to save you. You are not weak; you are strong and you can become even more so, so you can protect your friends and defeat the remainder of Organization XIII. The time has come" Yen Sid said, and with a wave of his hands, a single object appeared on the desk in front of Sairu: it was a round, silver object connected to a chain. Upon the face was a design of a crescent moon with clock hands at the centre. "What is this?" Sairu asked as he looked at the object curiously.
"This is a fob watch which grants access to a separate dimension where you will encounter an entity that will become your ally, and yours alone. Here, they will grant you a new kind of power, and develop the powers you already possess. Your father passed this on to me shortly before your birth, believing the day will come when you will need this power to protect those you cherish. Further, this watch's power, even once unsealed, shall not fade once you yourself grasp it. If you can complete a certain trial, it is yours" "A trial?" Sairu asked, but suddenly, the watch began to shine, and Sairu suddenly fell off his chair to the ground, unconscious, face down on the floor.