A/N: Okay, I'm going out on a limb and posting this. It may have flaws, but I have reread it too many times. I feel that I might start decrementing its quality rather than incrementing it if I continue revising. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and that it lives up to whatever expectation you've formed. As for the double author's note up here, it's because I added this one afterwards. The stuff after is what I wrote before I wrote the chapter. Normally I put after-thoughts, you know, after, but I wanted you to read this first for some reason. Not sure why. Maybe I'm feeling self-conscious or something, but whatever, here's the chapter, enjoy!

A/N: Hello!

Shout out to Lilac Gemani for favoriting, following, and reviewing! You're officially awesome!

Yes, I did in fact steal that, verbatim. If anybody recognizes from whom, I'll be impressed.

But seriously, thanks a ton to Lilac Gemani. I anybody is reading this, you too should thank her. It is because of her that I am back.

§ - Chapter 5: Hooded Figures - §

He stood and watched. And stood. And watched. That was all he ever did. He used to feel bitter, but he was finding it harder and harder to feel anything at all. He stood and he watched and, as usual, nothing changed. The endless void that stretched before him, infinite in all directions, somehow pressed in upon him. Claustrophobic in the midst of boundless space, as if openness itself was somehow bearing down on him and squeezing the life out of him. Just like it had for what seemed like an eternity. Endless time to match and endless emptiness. In reality, if such a thing persisted in the face of such whelming vacuity, he had in fact been there for one single, solitary year. A year in darkness for an unfeeling warrior should have been a trivial experience; however, for one as young as he, a year in darkness was a virtual eternity. On several occasions, the light had been so tantalizingly close. And as it approached, each time it brought with it a flood of hope, a promise as bright and powerful as the sun. And each time, he was thrown back into the abyss, with faint mocking whispers taunting him, promising him that someday he would get out, but for now, he must wait. Wait. Wait. Wait! That was all ever could do! The moments when he was forced to return were the worst of all hells. He could feel, tainted with light and emotion, the intense pangs of loneliness and solitude that plagued him. And they dared to tell him to wait. As if some day they may bring him out and not shove him back in when they were through. Worst of all, he couldn't blame his warden. The one responsible for keeping his prison strong and impenetrable was the only one who had ever tried – was still trying – to help him. It was better when the light was furthest. No pain, no feeling, no suffering. But he could feel it. He could feel its horrible hope approaching to torture him further.

No. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait! This was not the light! There was something else in the darkness with him. Something much worse. Something he had thought, had hoped with every ounce of his being he would never be near again. A void in the void. Where Nothing Gathers he felt it before, and here, where nothing gathers, he feels it again. An all pervasive twilight seeking to control him as it had before.

Ghirahim stared at Mayabi, lustily scrutinizing the object the member of his court had presented to him. He could feel the power radiate off it. It was everything he had hoped it would be. Mayabi, though rather dull in his opinion, had not once caused the Demon Sword or the Original Demon before him any reason to punish him, nor even to be mildly displeased. Once again, Mayabi had accomplished exactly what was demanded of him.

"It is, my lord, the power of Twilight, as for which you asked, condensed as strongly as my sorcery could compact it. This power of Nothing, should it bear any connection to the Twilight as Katib believes, will be present within this object. Condensed Twilight. Welded Dusk. Evening's glimmer given solid form. Fused Shadow. This power will grant you what you seek."

"I could not have asked for more. Now depart! Blood saturates the ground, and the darkness squirms in anticipation of my rise to power.

As the man in blue robes finished his enigmatic speech, Sora's vitality suddenly took a dive, a fact not escaping Riku's notice.

"Sora? What's wrong? Are you ok?" Riku questioned, bringing the groups attention to the newest Keyblade Master's state. He had suddenly become very pallid, looking dazed and unsteady.

"I hear a weird voice," he cryptically replied.

"What kind of voice?" the King questioned.

"It's evil," Sora responded, yet again of little help.

Yen Sid, eyeing Sora with concern, inquired, "What does the voice say?"

"It keeps repeating these weird words, over and over."

Sora looked to the wizard and began to recite the chant he could hear.

"Denuntio vos, magnum inane.

Vana aeternam, audite vocem meam.

Onmium nihil, mundum introeat.

Et mundus vacuus sit."

Link flew on his loftwing as fast as he could. As he headed toward the Sealed Grounds, he could feel a sinister power building up. It didn't feel like any dark power he had encountered before. It had a desperate, desolate quality to it that seemed very disparate from the demon lords and monstrous beasts he had fought in his quest against Demise. With this added to his paradoxical intuitions, he knew that whatever was happening, he absolutely needed to be there.

"Mayabi!" Ghirahim barked, nearly frenzied by the power he felt, "The ceremony is complete, but it will take time for the full extent of its purpose to be realized. The sky child is on his way now. Delay his arrival. If you fail here, your flawless record will not save you from the horrors I shall inflict upon you!"

Mayabi simply bowed and departed.

He was so near to the source of the disruption, so close to finding and putting a stop to whatever the Demon Sword was doing. He could feel it. But then, as he thought had occurred a few short days ago, the evil storm of his fears formed before his eyes.

His faithful companion halted, hovering in place. The black cyclone stayed its ground, neither advancing nor retreating. The flurry of wind and power was paradoxically motionless. The moment Link attempted to go around, however, it followed his course, maintaining a perimeter around his destination, guarding it from the Hero.

Simultaneously agonized and thrilled by slow solidification of the shadows before him, the Demon Lord laughed insanely as white and gray forms began to spew forth from the center of the circle and monochrome tendrils resembling thorn-covered vines infested the surrounding area.

He let loose screams and howls that would have scraped the lungs out of a mortal as he became imbued with this foreign energy, strengthening him and emboldening him.

As the shifting twilight before him continued to take form, he looked down upon his ritual elements.

"No one else must ever attain this power that I have gained!" He declared to the heavens. He then faced the Fused Shadow and, with the extension of an arm, let loose a powerful blast of Twilight, shattering it into several pieces and flinging them across the world to be hidden in the deep and dark places where none may safely go.

Suddenly, he felt much weaker. "Mayabi! What has happened!? Why am I losing my strength!?"

"Relax, my lord. The spell was still drawing power from the Fused Shadow to do its work. Its destruction has forced the ritual to draw power from whatever source of Nothing it may, which in this case is you. You will be fine, and you will keep your power; however, you will be exhausted."

"Then assist me! The spell must continue!" Ghirahim demanded.

"Very well, my lord. I lend you all the power at my disposal," said Mayabi, releasing his dark tornado, unbeknownst to his master.

Link had been circling the area, attempting to find a way to trick, outrun, or otherwise avoid the terrible twister tearing through the terrain, when suddenly and for no apparent reason, it dispersed. Not taking the time to question it, he immediately made a bee line for the Sealed Temple.

As he approached from above, he saw something that caused him to stop in his tracks. This time, it was no physical obstacle like the conjured weather that had deterred him previously. He stilled his loftwing because he saw not just Ghirahim, but two others in the midst of a horrific scene.

In the midst of a veritable hoard of unknown colorless creatures, the trio stood silently. Beside Ghirahim, and in clear submission, was another character. This other person wore bright red draping robes, accented with gold and purple, existing somewhere on the spectrum between regal and garish. A blue eye gazed unwaveringly from his chest, the symbol prominently displayed as the centerpiece of the ensemble. A golden chord around his forehead, fastened by a golden brooch in the shape of an upward-pointing arrow, suspended his cowl. What little could be seen of his face beneath was the only portion of the man's actual body that was exposed, and it revealed light blue skin on a heavy brow which presided over his cold, gray eyes. His hands were tucked away in the opposite sleeves, a sign of composure and abstraction. His piercing glance subtly aligned itself with Link.

Hero. Link suddenly heard this word in his mind, at once calmly reserved and menacingly enraged. The ominous word echoed in his head before the red-robed man turned to Ghirahim, bowed, and his form melted into an impossibly black shadow on the ground where he had stood moments before. The pool of darkness dissipated. Realizing he didn't have time to contemplate this jarring turn of events, Link shifted his stare to the unfamiliar of the remaining pair.

This figure was in many ways different, but in many ways the same. Like his crimson-clad counterpart, this individual, who faced the pale aristocrat in silence, was enveloped in a concealing cloak. However, his garb was dark and narrow, and served to hide his presence, not announce it. Not an inch of his skin could be scene; his face was shrouded in shadow from the hood which loomed over the emptiness.

From the hooded man, the grotesque army, and Ghirahim himself radiated that strange, lonely power that Link had been feeling increase. As he looked on, he desperately hoped that they would not begin an assault immediately. It was painfully obvious that without the Master Sword, and maybe even with it, Link stood no chance against the both of them and the multitude around them.

At that moment the hooded man, in his first action since he materialized from the shadows, knelt in deference to the new Demon King.

Maybe, Link theorized, the conflicting feelings I have are from two different people. As the Hero mulled over this, it started to make sense. Maybe Ghirahim is planning a final battle soon, but one of these others has long-term plans. He couldn't say who, though. Both of these unfamiliar entities appeared willfully obedient to Ghirahim. The red one's calm countenance and his failure to inform Ghirahim of Link's presence suggested that he may have ulterior motives. Or sufficiently greater power that he had little to fear from the likes of Demise's successor. Or worse, both. On the other hand, everything about the dark one was entirely unknown. How ambitious was he? How devious? How powerful?

After a brief moment of contemplation, Yen Sid spoke.

"I summon you, the great void.

Empty eternal, listen to my voice.

All things nothing, enter the world.

And the world be empty."

"Huh?" Goofy asked, trying to grasp why his king's master would be calling out to such forces.

"That is the meaning of the incantation Sora relayed to us," he clarified.

Then, without warning, Sora's face regained its color. Suddenly invigorated, he looked to his mentors with deep alarm.

"Roxas is gone!"

A/N: Okay, so here's the next chapter. Yes, it is done.

So you got to see a bit of Roxas's wavering sanity toward the beginning. That part was interesting to write, but I don't think it turned out spectacularly. Actually, the same may be said of the whole chapter, but you'll have to let me know about that. See, as the author, I know what has happened, so there is a large potential for details to be left out, either because I forget to write them or because I forget you do not know. That said, I've wondered several times if some vital information is missing from between this chapter and the last. I've read over them together several more times, and I think it is correct, but if anything doesn't make sense, review and I'll try to patch things up (unless, of course, the confusion was intentional). More generally, let me know if it seems too rushed.

If you feel so inclined, that is. If you don't, then don't. But know that I can't really improve (at least very quickly) without some feedback.

Something worth noting about me and my preferences: I don't particularly like OCs. I figure if you wanted original fiction, you would not be reading fan fiction. Weird, right? Anyway, this story will not be OC-centric. They will have some heavy involvement, because Ghirahim needs some acolytes to serve as boss monsters and such. But the OCs will not take center stage.

In other news:

I had some ideas for two other stories. Of course, I won't start them until this is either finished or unless I somehow adopt a consistent, normalized writing schedule.

One of them is a riddle for the reader to solve, but it takes the form of a story in either Kid Icarus, or Legend of Zelda. If you ever try to solve the riddle (if I ever post it, anyway), keep in mind that it could have been either. That is actually pretty important. I also may drop hints in the author's notes every once in a while (like now) to reward people who have read my other stories (well, currently just this one).

The other is a religious horror set immediately after Twilight Princess and including copious amounts of character death. No character is safe! This means random bystanders, innocent children, or the hero himself (currently undecided about this, so it's not a spoiler!), along with the expected casualties of soldiers, etc. One familiar character dies in the prologue (the only part I wrote). Needless to say, it will be rather dark.

PS: Crap! I didn't realize that I nearly posted this with the title as:

§ - Chapter 5: [TITLE] - §

That would have been very unfortunate and unprofessional.

PPS: I've realized that sometimes copy-and-pastes from a Word Document cause issues with display (particularly involving single and double quotes). Let me know if you have these issues, and I will rectify them.

PPPS: One last thing! Sorry for anyone who tried to read this chapter in the last five minutes or so (I think there were two of you)! I checked up on it and realized it had posted random gibberish HTML crap. Further review indicates that it was XML, not HTML. Somehow, formatting markup was including the copy-and-paste. See the previous post script. I have fixed that (I hope).