Chapter 61 - Destiny Islands Pt.4
Destiny Islands Sub World, Play Island - Kingdom Hearts World - shortly after the end of the previous chapter - The Night of Fate
(Arturia's P.O.V)
"KEEP MOVING TOWARDS THE SECRET SPOT!" I yell out over the sound of heavy combat on the Play Island, having regained my Dream Staff from Sora who is busy slaughtering the Heartless almost too easily with the Kingdom Key Keyblade.
As for Altria and Sona, they're fighting with everything they have as they know that allowing themselves to be struck down by Heartless here would be both an insult to their skills and essentially giving both the Heartless and potentially even Organization XIII powerful additions to their arsenal
Still, there are way too many Heartless here to fight off forever, making me momentarily recall how when I played the game version of this world, Heartless fighting was a decent grinding experience…
Well, I never thought I would feel sympathy for Game Sora for all the grinding I put them through in the middle of a crisis, but here we are, essentially knee-deep in Heartless with no real end in sight…
While slowly moving towards the Secret Spot, there is just this general feeling that the world around us is slowly warping, as if someone lit a small fire at the end of a tapestry and that same fire is slowly but surely consuming it.
Judging by how anxious I can feel Goku Black is within my soul, he can very much feel the same sensation as I am, something that leads me to conclude that the heartless are basically devouring the heart of the world even as we fight for our very lives.
It is a truly ugly, nauseating feeling that I think only those who can sense Ki can even accomplish, making me glad I didn't bring Ritsuka, Grey, or Mashu here as I don't know how feeling this slow erosion of a world would make them react…
Of course, Goku Black is making his feelings on the matter known quite clearly…
"Those Damn fiends, destroy them, exorcise their very existence, THEY MUST BE PUNISHED FOR THIS DEFILEMENT OF A BEAUTIFUL WORLD!" Goku Black roars from within me, the sudden shout briefly making me lose focus, It's only pure battle instinct that I dodge an incoming swipe from a heartless and quickly destroy it.
I immediately have to block out any further comments from Goku Black as I have to focus, The sheer amount of heartless on this one beach is insane, the abnormal number of Heartless is likely due to the fact the world is falling to Darkness which in does make a twisted sort of sense when you think about it…
Regardless it's a slow slog toward the Secret Spot, one that seems to be working to benefit Sora's combat skills as the Busty Brunette is quickly adjusting to the use of the Keyblade much faster than I had expected her to.
Eventually, we do manage to get towards the Secret Spot, holding off the Onslaught of Heartless as Sora spots the large door that blocks the crawl space, soon managing to open the door and begins to crawl through…
As Sona is about to follow her, I hold her back and shake my head as I know what will come about shortly, with it being imperative that both Sona and Altria head back to the pocket dimension…
"Sona, Altria…I need you to head back to the Manor and let Merlin know about Future Xemnas, me and Sora can handle things from here!" I say to both of them, knowing that what will happen soon could run the risk of us being separated from each other and I'm not about to run that risk with a Future Version of Xemnas under the Worlds beck and call who could attempt to strike them down while they're without aid.
Both Sona and Altria are incredibly reluctant to head back, but unfortunately, there is simply no time for arguing on this topic as I open up a portal before throwing them both through it, both of them incredibly shocked that I would actually go so far to get them out of here but before I can hear their response, I shut the portal behind me before the Heartless can potentially get in.
Truth be told though, it shouldn't be taking so long for Sora to start harboring Kairi's heart so what exactly is going on in that cave?!
Destiny Island, Secret Spot Cave - Just a short while earlier
(Sora's P.O.V)
As I ran down the tunnel towards where Ms. Arturia believes Kairi is, I saw those black things that were outside beginning to appear in the tunnel, forcing me to use this strange new key-shaped weapon against them before they could finish wiggling out of the walls.
I think if Ms. Arturia knew that they'd show up here, she'd join me along with her friends who are fighting outside of the entrance to the Secret Spot, just a feeling I have within my heart for a lack of a better reason to explain this.
"It's strange though but I'm starting to get used to this a lot faster than I thought I would," I say to myself during a moment of respite between the fighting in the tunnel, catching my breath as I do but it is then that I end up being surprised by something else…
"That's probably because you got shafted in the brains department so your body made up for it dumbass…" A snarky male voice says from within my head, shocking me as I immediately stand up and look around for the physical source of the voice.
"Hey, I'm not that dumb…ok maybe I am, but you didn't have to say it like that," I say in an angry tone of voice as I know that I'm often seen as the Island Bimbo by many people I go to school with due to my low intelligence and my body, but at least I am actually making the effort to maintain at least a passing grade!
"...Huh, seems like getting a Keyblade finally allows me to talk to you, I was getting tired of watching Ventus sleep through the years or watch you struggle to use that minuscule brain of yours to try and pass a high school exam without your two girlfriends at your side," The male voice says in the same snarky tone, invoking a feeling of both anger and embarrassment in me as it's clear that they have a rather bad opinion of my capabilities.
"Look, I don't wanna talk about this right now, my friend is in danger!" I say with a snarl, the feeling of anger filling me with a strange sensation that makes the jerk laugh within my head as if he just found the best source of entertainment.
"I guess you DID get something from me after all, and I ain't talking about good looks here…" The male voice says in delight as I briefly look confused at the shift in his attitude before noticing a strange creature behind me, a slender blue creature with red slits for eyes which immediately began to attack the shadowy black creatures.
It takes me several seconds to realize where it comes from, but even as dumb as I am, I am still very perceptive so it's clear that that blue thing came from me. But how is that possible, I never had the ability to create that thing before…
"...Jeez, you were so close to figuring it out on your own, but what did I expect from a dumbass like you…" The voice says as I snarl again, unintentionally creating another one of those blue creatures I just really want to strangle the guy now, as he's just been an asshole from the moment I heard him.
"Hey, stop calling me dumbass Mr….uuuh…." I say as I make an admittedly ditzy frown while I realize I don't actually know the asshole's name, which has the jerk laughing again, almost resulting in me exploding at him again when he finally speaks up…
"...Right, the moment we leave this world I am going to make damn sure you get your head checked by someone who has the potential to give you something that can make you go from double-digit IQ to triple-digit at least if I'm gonna be stuck with you I want to make sure your brains aren't mush so I can make sure you're worthy of being my heir!" The voice says, stunning me momentarily as the Idea that I could actually become smarter if I left this world ripples through my mind along with the fact this jerk wants to make me his heir or something.
"Oh and by the way, stop calling me Jerk or Asshole in your head, my NAME is Vanitas…" Vanitas says, finally giving me a name to work with at last, but before I can give any response it finally dawns on me that I've still got Kairi to worry about so I immediately start running off towards where I saw the strange door.
I only hope Kairi is ok…
Destiny Island, Outside of the Secret Spot Tunnel Door - At that moment
(Arturia's P.O.V)
Twirling my Dream staff, I allow the power of Rhongomyniad to once more be imbued upon the staff as the wrappings soon form a Scythe head at the top of the staff, glowing with some of the borrowed power of the legendary lance.
Soon I flare my Ki and immediately perform a series of Instant transmissions, swinging my scythe into the mass of Shadow Heartless in between each attack as I continue to try and buy time for Sora while I can feel a slowly building dark erosion of ki around the entire world, as if the mass invasion of the Heartless is ever so gradually tainting the world with darkness itself.
I can feel the sensation building in the very heart of this world as if attempting to reach a macabre crescendo of destruction that is almost impossible to stop despite all the Heartless I am destroying with every swing.
Before long I immediately Instant transmission right back at the door to continue blocking the path, both myself, Goku Black and Madara are all wondering what the hell is going on in the tunnel and I even feel tempted to go in and check.
Moments later though, both me and my tenants can feel it, the exact moment that the Island begins to break as the door behind us suddenly swings open with Sora slamming into my back and sending the two of us careening towards what should have been the beach.
But in the brief moment, I was distracted, I felt almost the entire world crumble and crack around me, horror coming from both myself and Goku Black within me as the sensation that I felt was utterly nauseating to behold, it felt like all that lived on this island had just been completely devoured by the Darkness that has been invading the world for hours now.
The Confidence I felt in the Heartless being handled by most of the other worlds that I visited on my journey withered away as I truly felt at a deeper level what it means for an entire world to disappear into the darkness, and due to that, I know that I cannot allow this world to keep me contained for too long.
Those worlds will need my help big time if they are to survive the threat of the Heartless…
"Focus, both of you, we're not out of danger just yet!" Madara shouts from within my heart, breaking me out of my horror and allowing both me and Goku Black to focus on the threat ahead as I clutch onto Sora, looking around for a place to land before seeing a very familiar arena of land before I fly us both toward it and landing on it.
The moment both me and Sora land on the remaining patch of land, Sora is quick to remove herself from my grasp as she looks around her in abject horror, her gaze darting around as she is unable to process what is going on around her.
However, neither Sora nor I are given time to relax as almost soon after a large pillar of darkness surges from the other end of the platform as the Iconic Darkside Heartless appears just like in the game, its gaze focused on Sora more than me.
This is where Sora demonstrates a particularly surprising ability, one that I didn't think she'd actually have at all due to who it truly belonged to, as she seems to turn her anger and horror into beings of negative emotion that once plagued the world of Kingdom Hearts 10 years earlier...
The Unversed…
Blue Flood Unversed immediately began to spawn in large numbers, with Sora barely able to control them as they seemed to be much weaker than normal, likely due to not only her inexperience but perhaps her own current level of power.
But now the problem is that if I accidentally strike down one of the Unversed spawned from Sora, it could hurt Sora in turn which would not be advisable when we're so close to whatever that dark orb above us.
"Arturia, there is something I wish to try but I require your consent before I attempt it…" Madara suddenly says out of the blue, I can sense how his attention is focused on the Dark Orb above us and briefly wonder where he's going with this but I decide to trust Madara and give him permission to do whatever he's about to do.
Moments later I feel a shift within my body and I black out completely…
(P.O.V Shift - General P.O.V)
As Arturia's eyes close, the Dream Staff in her hands suddenly disappears as she slumps over on the spot, making Sora incredibly worried before she begins to see Arturia's hair begin to change from a luscious golden color to a jet charcoal black, slowly pulling herself up from the slump she was momentarily in.
Before long a Dark Blue aura of power begins to flow from Arturia's body before her eyes open to reveal a pair of rippling ringed eyes, the legendary Rinnegan as her stance and demeanor shifts completely from what Sora has seen before.
"It seems that our predicament is indeed that of a Jinjuriki and its host, although it seems that I am unable to access her Prana or Ki in this state, in the end, it matters not when I have the one thing she currently does not possess…the Rinnegan…" "Arturia" says with a low, Husky, and confident voice as the eyes that have shifted into the Rinnegan gaze up at the Darkside Heartless which has now begun to focus entirely on "Arturia" who is quick to respond.
"[Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!]" "Arturia" Calls out as from the crumbling Island around the combatants, large tree roots begin to surge from the remnants of Destiny Island as if the world itself is aiding "Arturia" in at least defeating the Darkside Heartless, said Heartless is at first thrown back by the overflow of tree roots slamming into it but would have recovered had it just been the Wood Style Ninjutsu attacking it at that moment…
But the Flood Unversed and their Mistress Sora were very quick on the uptake in this fight and began to scale one of the roots in order to chase down the boss-level Heartless, with the Busty Brunette performing feats of acrobatic agility that she never knew she was capable of but can now easily perform with the blessing of the Keyblade in her hand.
"Looks like I'm the only one stuck in another's heart it seems, but their host is way smarter than you dumbass" Vanitas snarks from within Sora's Heart, causing the ditzy and busty brunette to experience a sudden spike of sheer rage at the insult in the middle of the fight that she ends up summoning another unversed, one that Vantias only ever summoned once and that was in a strange mirage world.
While the practically Darkside-sized being has its legs locked in a black giblet and arms bound by chains, its rage, and fury are unparalleled as it locks its red slit eyes at the Darkside In front of it and immediately slams its entire bound body into the Boss-Level Heartless.
Both Sora and Vanitas were stunned at what Sora summoned just once from sheer rage before Vantias began to cackle at the sheer diamond in the rough he's found in Sora, all too eager to start teaching her the power the Darkness can grant her as it's far better than being bored and stuck in someone who can't even respond to any of his taunts as he had been previously.
"Ok I'll amend that slightly, you're dumb but you're full of potential how about that?" Vantias snarks again which immediately pisses off Sora again, but before she can respond she suddenly spasms in pain at the exact moment the Darkside manages to destroy the new Unversed that Sora summoned, nearly making her fall off of the root she's running on from the pain.
But that's given "Arturia" enough time to summon a double-headed form of the Imperfect Susano, with all three sets of limbs forming a precise hand sign all at once, with the currently black-haired, Rinnegan-using contractor starting at Darkside with a confident smirk.
"It's a shame I can't bind you with the Animal Path Beast, this pair of Rinnegan eyes are only temporarily awakened it seems as I can already feel that they are beginning to morph back into their original forms along with my control over this body beginning to fade along with it, so I will instead I will use what little time I have left to ensure you never forget the power of Madara Uchiha…" "Arturia" says, for a moment Sora and Vanitas are confused as nothing happens beyond a flare of power, but that's when Vantias senses something coming from above.
The Darkside soon looks up as it spots a large meteor twice the size of the dark orb hovering above the remnants of Destiny Island hurling toward the Boss-Level Heartless, the instinctive being soon rushing for the dark orb to escape the incoming meteor.
But it really need not have done so, as the dark orb had begun to start pulling everything that remains of Destiny Island into it just like it would in the regular timeline of events, it is just this moment that Arturia falls unconscious right after the meteor summoning with her Hair and eyes returning to normal moments later as she is pulled into the orb alongside Sora who is able to grab onto Arturia in that moment…
And with that, comes the end of the Destiny Islands…
[ DESTINY ISLANDS - COMPLETE ]
Star Wars World, Dathomeir - At the moment of Destiny Island's Fall
(Darth Vader's P.O.V)
The Planet of Dathomir…
It was once a place where the Nightsisters once practiced Dark side Magic and created that brute Savage back in the Clone Wars if what I recall is correct, even now my master and I have never had the inclination to come to this planet after the fall of the Nightsisters.
But with the alliance that has been forged with the Dark Faeire Maleficient and the power to open corridors of darkness at my disposal, it has become effortless to slip away from my master's spies and come to this world with a very particular intent in mind.
It is always been the way of the Sith to betray one another eventually, but the new abilities bestowed to me by Maleficient as a means to further our alliance have reminded me of the Dark Side magic practiced by the Night Sisters.
While my master can now potentially grant non-force users to begin wielding the force themselves in a similar manner to how Savage Opress was created, I myself seek to make use of the Nightsister's other specialty and harness the power of the dead.
However, while my first instinct is to perform my plan as a means to resurrect Padme, I know that it would not do to perform such a ritual on her without having first tested it with a different intent in mind.
Under normal circumstances, my cybernetic body would potentially hamper my ability to perform the ritual, but with the power of both the Dark Side and this new power of darkness that I now command, I should be able to harness the power my hubris previously left me unable to tap into.
For this Ritual that I have in mind, I require nine bodies in order to create the creatures I intend to command as my personal agents, and while I had originally intended to use nine dead Dathomirens, it seems that the 9th member has decided to present themselves to me instead.
"So, the emperor finally noticed me and sent his little dog to come take my head…" A man says as he ignites a red lightsaber, it seems that this was a Jedi that fell during Order 66, he will do well as the leader of the creatures I intend to create…
"That is where you are wrong, one insignificant Jedi is nothing to the power of the Sith…" I say before igniting my own red lightsaber, the Fallen Jedi snarls as he is quick to rush toward me with his lightsaber ready and we begin to exchange blows with our light sabers.
I intentionally hold back to gauge the Jedi's skill, to see how strong he shall become as my new agent of shadow, and can see he has grown strong in the Dark Side of the force due to this time in this place which is so heavily steeped in the Dark Side.
But it was never enough, for it became all too easy to disarm and strike down the Fallen Jedi once I stopped holding back, the man's lightsaber dropping to the ground and deactivating, allowing me to retrieve both it and the man's body for the ritual.
Before long I arranged nine dead bodies along an old Ritual circle as I began to tap into both the Power of the Dark Side of the Force alongside the Power of Darkness bestowed upon me by Maleficient to perform a modified version of one of the Nightsister Rituals.
Nine bodies are soon eclipsed by pillars of shadow as the ritual reaches its apex and begins to transform the bodies into beings that embody darkness itself, nine figures soon emerge from where the pillars stood, wrapped in cloaks of shadow as they kneel before me.
They are now beings who exist beyond the concept of Death, for they have been banished from death itself and are now bound to me for so long as I live, they shall reform as the nine shadowraiths that serve me and me alone.
"It seems that you've been quick to harness to fruits of our alliance Lord Vader…." I hear from behind me, Maleficient herself has decided to make her presence known as she looks over to the nine shadowraiths with an intrigued look on her face.
"It's a shame that these beings cannot be created outside of this world bound by your force, they would make suitable replacements for the Heartless given time…" Maleficient comments as she walks toward the Ritual Circle.
"You did not show up just now to compliment me on the Ritual Maleficient," I say with a tone of warning as my patience is starting to wane, the Dark Faeire takes a respectful tilt of her head as she is quick to explain her visit.
"I have recently come into the possession of a young woman who while not a princess of Heart, has shown clear inclination to utilizing the darkness and I've taken it upon myself to see to it that she becomes counter to any lingering keybearers that may show up….so I was wondering if it was possible to bestow upon her your force?" Maleficient asks, my eyes narrowing as I can sense she has ulterior motives regarding this young woman, but while I lack the ability to perform such a task my master most certainly can.
"I know of one who is capable of such a task, but I request something in exchange for this favor you ask of me Maleficient" I respond, Maleficient giving a calm yet calculating smile as she gestures her head for me to speak my request.
"One of your number, the Lord of the Dead, I wish to speak to him about a private matter…allow me to speak to him directly about it and I will endeavor to see to it that your young charge gets what you want for her…" I say, with Maleficent smirking and giving a regal bow, likely having known that I would request this even before she stepped foot on Dathomir.
"But of course Lord Vader, it would be but a trifle to do in exchange for this favor, now then I must be off…be sure to remember our deal when the time comes," Maleficient says before she disappears in a flash of green fire.
It seems that we may yet be reunited sooner than I had hoped Padme, your death shall be undone…
Author's Notes
And with that, we have lift-off! Welcome back to A Golden Goddess everyone, I hope you have all been doing well since the Hiatus and we're back and cooking with Olive Oil I hope this time.
Normally I would be willing to do Plot Discussions like usual, but this time I wanna keep things close to my chest for the moment as a lot of what is going on here needs to be kept under wraps for now.
Instead, I shall be announcing that A Golden Goddess from this point on shall be moving to a Monthly Release Schedule to ensure that I am able to get a timely release of chapters (Not to mention we're already 61 chapters strong).
So next time on A Golden Goddess: Awakening in Traverse Town, returning to Pendragon Pocket Dimension and Lion vs. Lion!
See you all next month!