"So much to do, so little time…" came an enigmatic voice.
"Wha— Hello?" Sora called out, looking around for the source of this voice. Strangely, he couldn't identify if it was masculine or feminine. All he could make out were the words.
"Take your time. Don't be afraid. The door is still shut. Now step forward. Can you do it?"
"You mean, can I walk?" Sora asked with a smirk. "That's easy." He had no idea what the heck was going on right now, but he decided that it was probably best to just roll with it for now. The 14-year-old boy walked forward until he was under the beam of light at the center of the stained-glass image, looking up to try and see where the light was coming from. Once he was there, Sora was startled as three pedestals sprouted out of nowhere all around him.
"Power sleeps within you," came the voice again as objects began appearing in flashes of light, floating above each pedestal. "If you give it form, it will give you strength. Choose well."
Looking around, Sora noticed that the objects presented to him were a sword, a staff, and a shield. Each had some kind of symbol on it that was made of three circles joined together. The sword looked pretty cool, so he decided to head over and check it out first. He walked over to the first pedestal in front of him and hopped on top of it.
"The power of the warrior," came the voice as Sora grabbed the sword. "Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. Is this the power you seek?"
"Hmm," Sora hummed. "I am more of a sword-guy. But I think I'll see what kind of power the other stuff has first." With that said, he let go of the sword and hopped off the pedestal before heading over to the staff.
"The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin," explained the voice as Sora once again held the staff that had been floating in the air. "Is this the power you seek?"
"Just give me a second to find out what that shield is for," Sora replied before looking up with a raised eyebrow. "Are you going to ask that every time I get close to one of these?" The voice said nothing in return, and Sora shrugged his shoulders before heading over and grabbing the shield.
"The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is this the power you seek?"
"I knew you'd say that," Sora replied with a cheeky grin. He let go of the shield and walked back to the middle of the platform, folding his arms in contemplation.
'Hmm…' he thought to himself. 'I do consider myself a warrior, but I also want to look out for my friends. Also, being able to use magic sounds pretty cool. But I can only pick one, right? Let's see…' After a few moments of consideration, Sora decided to stick with what felt natural. He went over to the first pedestal and took the sword.
"This'll work for me." In response, the sword instantly disappeared from his hands as the voice returned.
"You have chosen the power of the warrior," came the voice. "Now, what will you give up in exchange?"
"Wait. What?" Sora asked, completely dumbfounded. "How can I give up something that I didn't choose in the first place?" When the voice gave no reply, Sora groaned and scratched his head. After giving it some more thought, he decided to do the sensible thing.
"Eenie, meenie, miney, moe," Sora began reciting as he pointed between the staff and the shield to the rhythm of his words. "Catch a seagull by the tail. If he pecks you, let him sail." By the time he got through the whole nursery rhyme (or at least his dad's version of it), Sora's finger pointed at a pedestal. After giving it some thought, he smiled and hopped aboard one of the pedestals. "I'll give up this one." The weapon he'd grabbed disappeared as soon as he'd made his statement.
"…Is this the form that you choose?"
"Yeah," Sora declared, putting his hands behind his head as he relaxed. "I'm good with that." But, instead of hearing the voice again, Sora lost his balance as the pedestal he stood on suddenly tilted over. He stumbled back onto the floor as all three pedestals sank back down, disappearing. The next thing he knew, the whole station shattered into a million pieces, sending Sora falling into the abyss below.
"WHOAH!" Sora shouted. "NOT AGAAAAAAIN!"
Before long, Sora felt his fall slow down as another station with a stained glass floor came into view. This time, the image on it depicted a brunette woman (or was she blonde?) with her hair up while wearing a fancy white ballgown. Sora slowly descended to the new station and landed on his feet.
"You've gained the power to fight," came the voice again. There was a flash near Sora's hand as the Dream Sword appeared in it, and he gave it a couple of quick test swings, smirking. "All right! You've got it. There will be times where you have to fight."
"What do you—whoa!" Sora gasped as he stood back. At that moment, four shadows appeared on the floor in front of him. They rose and transformed into strange monsters with glowing, beady yellow eyes and antennae that made them look a little like bugs.
"Keep your light burning strong."
As soon as one of the creatures leaped at Sora with its claws, he swung his sword at it and sliced it in half. The monster instantly popped into a mist of darkness, but the battle wasn't over yet. Two more advanced on him. The one to his left lurched forward, swiping its tiny claws at him, but Sora leaped over the creature, slashing at it in mid-air. The other shadow leaped after Sora, but he dodged the attack as soon as he'd landed and swung wide, easily defeating the shadowy bug.
"All right!" Sora cheered, pumping his fist in the air. All three monsters were down for the— "Wait!" Sora paused. "Were there three of those things or…"
"Behind you!" came the voice again. Sora whipped around in time to see the fourth creature rise from the ground. It rushed at him, but the young teen sliced it away with his sword, killing it.
"Phew," Sora sighed in relief. "I guess I owe you one, uh… Weird Voice."
"It's not over yet," warned the voice. Sora got into his battle stance, his legs squared, while holding his sword in both hands. If any of those things showed up, he knew that he could take them. "Not every enemy will be the same."
There was a loud CLACK as something slammed the floor behind Sora. He quickly turned around to see a large, pitch-black hand with bony claws grab onto the edge of the platform. It was quickly joined by another as Sora heard a loud snarl. A tall, dark monster leaped onto the platform, glaring at him.
"Aah!" Sora screamed as he stared at the glowing red eyes of a werewolf-looking thing. Its almost pitch-black body was emanating some kind of dark wisp, while boney spikes jutted out along its arms, legs, and spine. There was also a skull-like mask over its face with red markings. Its eyes seemed to leave a trail of red light as it lowered its head and licked its chops.
Sora backed away at first. He had to admit that this thing was a lot scarier than those bug things. Looking back, he reminded himself of the long drop at the edge of the platform and looked back at the wolf-monster tightening his grip on the sword. The monster leaped at him, but he leaped aside, landing nearby as the monster pounced where he'd just been. Sora quickly followed up, swinging the sword at the monster's shoulder and slicing through it. The wolf monster howled in pain but retaliated with a backhand that sent Sora flying a short distance.
"Gyah!" he shouted before landing in a roll along the floor. He managed to catch himself just before he could fall off the edge of the station. "Ow…" Sora groaned as he got back to his feet.
The wolf-monster wasted no time, running on all fours before leaping at him. Thinking fast, Sora ran and ducked, sliding under the beast as it sailed over. He swung his sword upward as he went, managing to cut the thing's bushy tail off.
The action earned a high-pitched "ARROOF!" from the monster. As Sora got back on his feet, it stared at the stub of a tail that was left and growled furiously at the boy while the part that'd been cut off evaporated into black smoke.
"You want a fight?" Sora challenged, getting into his battle stance. "You got one!" The monster snarled in anger and charged, swiping its claws at him. Sora swung his sword in time to intercept the attack, causing the blade and claw to clash and bounce off of each other. The wolf-monster attacked with its other claw, but Sora side-stepped the strike and slashed at its arm, managing to cut it off as well.
Sora laid into his attacks, slashing the wolf-monster's torso twice. "Take this!" he shouted while delivering a final strike that knocked the beast over. It struggled back to its feet, not seeming to care about its grievous injuries. It made a final, desperate attempt to bite his head off, but Sora leaped aside and delivered an overhead slash right into its neck, decapitating it. The head plopped heavily onto the glass floor, the rest of its body following it.
"How'd you… Like that?" Sora panted with a smirk. He actually felt a little proud of that improvised sliding move he'd made. It wasn't too impressive, but he wondered if he could work on it and come up with something new.
Sora's thoughts were cut short when he spotted more shadows moving along the floor. "Oh, come on!" The bug-things returned, but instead of attacking, they sank back into the floor, leaving behind pools of darkness as they went. Sora looked around in panic as the entire station was blacked out by the strange black and purple substance. He tried to take a step, only to sink into the floor. "Hey, wait!" Sora gasped, struggling to get out of the dark pool, only to sink farther. Sora let out a gasp before he was swallowed.
The 14-year-old kept struggling as he felt the darkness swirl around his body, squeezing and choking him. He was losing air and continued to rage against the onslaught. But then it all stopped. Sora didn't even register it until a second later, when he could breathe again and nothing was strangling him. He gasped as he opened his eyes and found himself on yet another glass-stained floor.
Where the previous stations had each depicted a clear image of a beautiful woman in a fancy dress, this one was different. It was a mostly pink image with three hearts. Inside each heart was a blue silhouette of women who were similarly dressed to the last two. Judging by the pointy things on top of their heads, Sora figured these girls must've been princesses or something.
"Aaaagh!" Sora groaned. "First I'm drowning in the ocean, then the floor shatters, then I sink into some black… stuff." He shook his head in exasperation. "What's next? Getting eaten?" His question was answered when he turned around and saw an ornate door.
It sat just a short distance from the edge of the station, and it was see-through. Rubbing his body where that wolf thing had nailed him, Sora approached the mysterious door and reached for the handle. It wasn't that surprising when his hand went right through.
'I can't open it,' Sora thought to himself. 'So, am I supposed to do something before I can touch it?' He turned around and noticed another beam of light shine down on the other side of the station. As it did, a red chest appeared beneath the light. Not needing anyone to state the obvious to him, Sora walked over to the chest and tried to lift it open. Unfortunately, it was jammed.
"Come… On…" Sora grunted as he struggled to lift the stupid lid. "Agh! Open already!" Having had enough of this, the 14-year-old smacked the chest with the flat of his sword in frustration. To his surprise, the chest popped right open after one hit. Sora paused in confusion before chuckling. "First time I've seen that work. But I like it." He suddenly heard a Whoosh coming from behind him. Turning around, Sora witnessed the frame on the translucent door flash and become solid.
Right after that, a bunch of small, square boxes appeared throughout the platform. He recognized the way they were colored, stacked, and arranged. It was very similar to the way he and his friends would sometimes set up a game of Whack-a-Box.
Smirking Sora held his sword at the ready and charged in, hacking away at any nearby boxes as fast as he could. Each weakly constructed cube easily collapsed into pieces after taking a couple of hits. Sora made sure to take out as many as he could within each swing that he took. After a little while, he managed to smash the last of the boxes that lied throughout the station. There was another Whoosh, and Sora watched as the door flashed, becoming solid just like the frame.
"Oh yeah!" Sora exclaimed, pumping his fist. Looking down, he noticed that something had fallen out of the last box that he'd smashed. He recognized it as a healing potion, which he had no problem grabbing and pocketing for later.
He ran over to the door and was about to reach for the handle when everything briefly vibrated. The door rumbled, and Sora slowly stood back as it opened itself. Instead of seeing the other side of the platform, he saw a bright light. Sora had to squint his eyes, but he could make out something beyond the bright light. It seemed familiar, and he knew that he had to check it out. The boy slowly inched forward until everything went white!
When it cleared, Sora found himself standing in the familiar, wooden structure on the island where he and his friends would often play. He remembered all the times when he'd pretended that this spot was a pirate ship, with him as the captain. Well, usually Riku would get to be captain. Looking around, Sora spotted three long-time friends of his either standing or sitting around, staring off into space.
"Selphie? Tidus? Wakka?" Sora asked as he turned to each friend. "Um. Hey guys. What's up?" Sora started getting a little creeped out when none of his friends gave him a response.
"Hold on," came the voice from earlier, startling Sora. "The door won't open just yet. First tell me more about yourself."
"Huh?" asked Sora. "Okay. Where should I begin?"
"Sora," called out a sweet, feminine voice. He turned to Selphie, who was now looking directly at him. Her green eyes seemed almost empty while the wind blew against her brown hair that curled at the ends. She wore a yellow dress along with some slip-on sandals.
"Y-yeah?" asked Sora, still feeling creeped out. "What is it, Selphie?"
"What's most important to you?" asked the girl, maintaining a blank expression.
"To me?" Sora folded his arms and thought for a moment. If there was one thing that he could never live without, it would probably be the ones he cared for. He then shrugged and answered, "I guess my friends matter most." Selphie tilted her head for a moment before responding.
"Is friendship really such a big deal?" she asked. Sora was taken aback by her response. That wasn't at all what he'd expect to hear from her. Selphie loved hanging out with friends. The 14-year-old was beginning to realize that these weren't his actual friends.
"Sora?" asked an older boy's voice. Sora turned to face Wakka, as the latter's eyes were now focused on him, just as Selphie's had been. His dark-orange hair was curled up into a weird coif, while a thick blue bandana wrapped around his head. He was wearing his usual tank and baggy yellow pants. The same white and blue blitzball was held in his hand as always.
"Yeah?" asked Sora.
"What do you want outta life?" Wakka asked in his thick, islander accent. Sora thought for another moment. If he was being honest, life on the islands wasn't bad. He got to hang out with his friends and mess around on this smaller island or in the small mountains on the main island. But it was also starting to get a little stale. There was only so much he could do to mix things up in such a small home. This led Sora to his answer.
"Well, I guess that I want to broaden my horizons," Sora admitted. "See what's really out there, you know?"
"That's what you want, huh?" Wakka asked before turning his attention away from the boy again. Sora turned to Tidus and shrugged his shoulders.
"I guess you're going to ask me something random too?" asked the brown-haired boy. Tidus had choppy, dark-blond hair and blue eyes. He wore a white and yellow short-sleeve vest with no shirt underneath. His gray shorts had one legging that went past his knee, while the other didn't even reach its knee.
"What are you so afraid of?" asked Tidus, turning his gaze at Sora.
"Bingo." Sora shook his head and thought for a moment. 'Right now? I'm afraid that this weirdness won't stop anytime soon.' Putting that thought aside, Sora figured that he'd need to take the question seriously and gave it some more thought. "I guess… I'm afraid of missing any shot I have in life. Like if someone needs me and I take too long to help them. So, I guess you could say I'm afraid of being indecisive?"
"Being indecisive?" asked Tidus. "Is that really so scary?"
"Did you not hear my explanation just now?" Sora countered, quirking his eyebrow.
"You want friendship," came the voice again. Sora looked to the sky for any sign of whoever was talking to him. "You want to broaden your horizons. You're afraid of being indecisive. Your adventure begins at midday. Keep a steady pace and you'll come through fine."
"Keep it steady, huh?" Sora shrugged. "Sounds okay to me."
"The day you will open the door is both far off and very near," continued the voice. Sora didn't quite understand what that meant. How can something be both far away and really close? Before he could voice that question, everything went white again.
When it cleared, Sora found himself standing on yet another glass-stain platform. This time, it showed the image of a gorgeous woman with long blonde hair and a tiara on her head. She was wearing a purple dress as she closed her eyes and held a flower to her chest. There were images of some silhouettes that he didn't recognize surrounding the woman's head. Below her, he could see a tangle of thorny vines encroaching upon her.
When he spotted another ray of light shining down on the station, Sora headed for it, wanting to know what was next. But as soon as he arrived, he watched as shadows appeared on the floor and more of those weird bug things squirmed into view, looking right at him.
Sora held his sword at the ready and wasted no time in taking the shadowy bugs down. He had to keep moving in order to avoid any sneak attacks from the others, as he'd focus on any nearby monsters. After a little bit, he'd managed to take them all out.
"Okay," said Sora as he stayed in his battle stance and nervously checked his surroundings. "Is there going to be another wolf monster this time?"
But instead of that, a beam of light shined down on Sora and moved away from him. He turned and watched as the light went past the edge of the platform. There was a high-pitched chiming sound as Sora witnessed a series of stained-glass panels appear, creating a slightly winding path for him. At the end of it, Sora saw another station appear out of thin air.
"I guess that's where I need to head next," Sora thought aloud.
Since there were no safety rails along the way, he decided to slow down as he reached the path. He couldn't resist taking a look down and wondering how these panels were staying in the air when there was nothing holding them up. About midway, he turned around for a look at the station that he'd come from, only to stare in confusion.
Where were the panels that he'd already crossed? It was as if they'd disappeared as soon as he passed them. Deciding to experiment, Sora stepped onto the next glass-stain panel and watched as the third one behind him faded away.
"Eh-heh-heh…" Sora laughed nervously. "Guess it's a one-way trip."
He finally reached the end of the path and found himself at the next station. This time, it showed a beautiful brunette who wore a fancy yellow ballgown. Right behind her was the giant face of a hairy, horned creature with sharp teeth that stoically gazed off to the side. Once again, Sora approached the beam of light that was shining down at the center of the platform. As he slowly stepped into the light, he could hear the voice return.
"The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes."
Curious as to what it meant, Sora turned around and noted that his shadow had indeed become huge, reaching nearly to the edge of the station. As Sora turned to fully face his shadow, it suddenly stood up! Sora backed away as his shadow became solid, towering over him as it morphed into something much more hideous.
"But don't be afraid," came the voice again. Sora stepped back as the giant shadow's fingers morphed into claws and its top half gained huge muscles. Its feet shrank into pointed tips that were somehow able to support its massive frame. Glowing yellow eyes opened in its head as its spiky hair morphed into writhing tentacles all around its face. "And don't forget..."
'Don't be afraid, my foot!' Sora screamed on the inside as he witnessed the monster's waist open to reveal a heart-shaped cavity. He whipped around and made a mad dash for it. Only to halt just in time to stop himself from falling off the edge of the platform. He looked back as wings sprouted from the monster's back. They looked way too small for flight, but they were still pretty big.
Sora got into his battle stance. As the giant monster reached down, the boy charged in and leaped, slashing at its hands as hard as he could in the air. But some kind of energy built up in its hand before it reared back and punched the ground near Sora, knocking him into the air. He landed with a tumble but got back on his feet and stared in shock as a pool of darkness swirled around the monster's fist as it remained planted on the ground.
Not wanting to get himself killed, Sora tapped the edge of the pool with his foot. When it didn't hurt, he rushed in to attack the planted fist. He managed to get a few hits in until he felt something jump onto his back.
"Hey!" Sora yelled in protest as one of those bug things clawed at him from his back. "Get off!" As he scrambled to grab the little monster, he noticed more bugs coming out of the dark pool. Acting fast, Sora grabbed the one on his back and threw it into another as it leaped at him. He quickly followed up by slashing another one in half before it could attack him. As another rushed him, Sora leaped back and landed on top of the giant's fist.
Before he could do anything else, the monster finally lifted its hand from the ground. Sora stumbled and plunged his sword into the giant's wrist, holding on for dear life. The giant lifted its arm towards its face and got a good look at Sora as he dangled from the hilt of his sword. The boy laughed nervously until the giant grabbed him by the waist with its free hand.
"Gyah!" Sora grunted in protest as he felt the giant's grip tightening. It reared its arm back, as if about to throw the boy. Sora quickly slashed at its hand with his sword, causing its grip to loosen and drop the boy. "Whoa!" he yelled, stabbing his sword into the giant's side as he fell. He then slid down its body, landing much more gently on the ground than he would have otherwise.
After yanking his sword out, Sora ran to gain some distance and watched as the giant crossed its arms before spreading them out and getting on its knees. Power built in front of the heart-shaped hole in its stomach until it fired three dark balls of energy right for him. Sora ran as fast as he could, jumping from side to side in order to dodge the shots as they came.
Thinking quickly, Sora tried getting behind the giants right hand and wailed on it with his sword. He was hoping the hand would block any shots that came his way. Unfortunately, it only worked a little as he caught sight of a single energy ball turn in the air and head right for him. Sora barely had time to sidestep the shot. But it still missed him, hitting the ground.
Not wanting to waste any time, Sora kept slashing the hand until the giant stopped firing and stood back up. It turned its gaze back on Sora as he ran out in front of it. It then knelt and reared its right arm back. Sora watched in alarm as it proceeded to sweep across the floor, heading straight for him. He hurriedly leaped into the air, barely clearing the monstrosity's arm as it swung underneath him.
The giant didn't seem satisfied as it gathered energy in its hand again. Recognizing what it was doing, Sora moved out of the way just in time as it slammed its fist into the ground, creating another pool of darkness.
'I need to end this now,' Sora thought in desperation. He ran across the dark pool, dodging and slashing bug things as he went. As he reached the fist, Sora leaped on top of its arm again. Only this time, he ran up the monster's arm. The giant saw him coming and began to stand up, reaching for the boy with its other arm again. But Sora was ready this time as he reached its shoulder.
"HA-AAAGH!" Sora cried out as he swung the sword at the giant's head with all his might. The attack seemed to work as its head recoiled and the monster stumbled before it could finish standing up. Unfortunately, its movements caused Sora to lose his balance. The boy fell from its shoulder but managed to land with a haphazard roll before standing his ground to face the monster as it stood to its full height. Things went wrong when the sword suddenly vanished from Sora's hand in a flash of light.
"What?" Sora exclaimed in panic, barely reacting in time as the giant kneeled down and threw a punch at him. The boy managed to leap back but lost his footing and landed on his butt as the giant punched both of its fists into the ground.
"—But don't be afraid," came the voice again. Sora didn't have time to dwell on the voice this time as a pool of darkness formed around him where he sat. He struggled to get free as the voice continued. "You hold the mightiest weapon of all." The 14-year-old struggled to crawl his way out, but it was all for nothing as dark tendrils wrapped around his body. He desperately reached out with his right hand, only for more tendrils to wrap around it as well and force it back down.
"So don't forget:"
Sora took one final, terrified glance at what might've been his final glimpse of light.
"You are the one who will open the door."