King of the Sky
Chapter V
Shattered Path
Sora wasn't sure what he expected to see on the other side of the portal, but he knew it wasn't a black void with constant gray winds that howled from every direction.
Chirithy looked out from their little island of rock, even acting as a flashlight to try and see further, to no avail "well…this place feels depressing" he said with a cheery voice that stood in contrast to the prevailing sense of Darkness that permeated the Ascendant Plain.
The Ghost quickly turned to his charge though, as he sensed his unease and found Sora looking back to where the portal had been with a troubled expression "hay, is something wrong?" he asked as he flew over to his Guardian and hovered over his shoulder.
Sora hummed absentmindedly before taking notice of his Ghost "hmm…oh, no I'm ok, it's just…" he paused to look back to where the portal had been, in thought "that man…he felt familiar to me…and not in a good way" he admitted.
Chirithy pondered Sora's words for a moment, but before he could question him further, Sora shrugged and turned around with his trademark smile "oh well. I guess all we can do now is move forward" he proclaimed, as if nothing had happened.
Chirithy stared at him for a moment before shaking his shell and laughing inwardly "well, what's the plan then?" he asked, though already knew there wasn't really one.
Sora assumed a thinking pose all the same though, as he stared out into the vail of howling winds. He quickly perked up though and smiled as he held out his hand and summoned his Keyblade "oh, I was wondering where that went" Chirithy commented as he watched Sora grin at him before pointing his weapon into the storm and the tip glowed before shooting out a beam.
The winds immediately parted before the beam as it shot out and…zigzagged?…
The beam seamed to hit what appeared to be lanterns of some kind, just hanging in mid air and immediately jumping to another, lighting them and illuminating a path of floating rocks and chunks of land. The two even saw a building out in the distance on a larger island, with a blueish beam shooting up like a beacon.
Sora smiled up at his Ghost "there's our way out" he said and Chirithy nodded happily before floating over to the edge "wait, this way won't work. You can't make it without Double Jump and your not good enough as a Hunter yet to do it" he said, but Sora just smirked as he grabbed his Ghost, who yelped in response.
The next thing he knew, his Guardian was glowing with a blue aura that shattered like glass with each movement as he dashed from island to island, and they were on the other side in a matter of seconds.
Chirithy blinked as Sora released him and smirked at his Ghost "who needs Double Jump" he quipped before he started walking across the floating bride of rock.
Chirithy just stared dumbly for a moment before shaking his shell and his eye turned half-lidded "right, I forgot he could do that" he thought aloud before flying to catch up with Sora.
Eventually they reached the end of the bridge and Sora smirked at his Ghost again, who quickly realized what he was thinking "oh no, not this time!" he said and quickly vanished to wherever it was he went.
Sora just laughed a little as he began using Flow Motion in earnest. Hopping, flipping, dashing and sliding along rails and cables from island to island with acrobatic movement that any Hunter would be jealous of. He even ran up a shear cliff like it was a casual run at one point.
All the while, Chirithy, while awed by the display and recording it to brag to the other Ghosts, was also thinking on these abilities. More specifically, the over abundance of Light within Sora. Far more then any newly minted or even some veteran Guardians should have, and manipulated with far more skill then could be gained by instinct alone.
It was hard to ignore after everything that happened on Sora's Station of Waking. In fact the whole ordeal had opened up a realm of questions more suited for a Warlock or literally any other Ghost. And yet here Chirithy was, asking questions that only made his processor ache.
As far as he could tell, there was no difference between the two Lights inside Sora. At least as far as two brands of the same drink are different. The only thing Chirithy could tell was different and was preventing the two from merging together into one, was the source of each Light.
On one hand, Sora had the Light of the Traveler, which was currently attuned to Solar Light. A Light which was channeled through Chirithy himself.
But on the other hand, Sora also had the Light Within, which seamed to be producing some other form of energy that Chirithy couldn't identify, in a manner similar to how Guardians channeled Solar, Arc and Void.
It was a Light that Sora drew from the depths of his own soul and channeled through shear willpower and the Keyblade, as far as Chirithy could feel. A Light, NOT from the Traveler. The implications of which would probably inspire or terrify other Guardians and Ghosts.
Chirithy wasn't concerned though. He was more curious what all it could do. He had already gotten a taste of it when Sora wove the two Lights together during the battle with Anti-Sora, which was a whole other storm of questions Chirithy wasn't ready for.
The last thing on Chirithy's mind was the Keyblade. He wasn't quite sure what to think of it, but the way it helped to channel Sora's inner Light, felt almost like…well it almost felt similar to a Ghost in a way. Even the material it was made of came up the same as a Ghost's shell when scanned.
And of corse there was no point asking Sora, since any knowledge he had on it would most likely only be practical stuff like how to use it. At least if he was anything like Chirithy, as their time together was proving to be the case.
Eventually, Chirithy set those thoughts aside for better minds to ponder, as Sora reached the largest island, with a large and crumbling cathedral on it.
Sora paused as he looked up at the building "wait…I…think I know this place" he said and Chirithy appeared and looked up at the building "looks like Notre Dame, from old Earth" he commented.
Sora hummed as he looked up at the cathedral and felt something tugging at the edges of his memories. Sora shook it off though as he walked up the steps and pushed open the massive doors, only to yelp as one fell off it's hinges and slammed into the floor.
Sora chuckled sheepishly "oops. I guess this place has seen better days" he commented as Chirithy shook off his own shock and hovered over Sora's shoulder "I don't think this is the real Notre Dame. Not that the real one is any better off" he said while muttering the last part.
Chirithy then gave the Ghost equivalent of a shiver "let's not stay here for too long though. The Darkness in this place is making me feel funny" he added before disappearing again.
Sora hummed with concern for his Ghost and began moving further in. As he went though, he thought on Chirithy's words and felt the Darkness around him, and couldn't help the feeling he had endured worse before.
Eventually they came to the source of the beam they saw before and it certainly looked like it didn't belong.
It was polished white and undamaged, in an egg shape and segmented by lines of purple light that made it look a little like a flower bud. "Let me take a look". Chirithy said and Sora arched a confused eyebrow.
Chirithy had never asked to be let out before, he always just appeared and disappeared whenever he pleased. Sora just shrugged though. Perhaps Chirithy hadn't meant it like that but Sora felt inwards for his Ghost all the same and when he found him, there was a tingling feeling in his hand, which he held up and Chirithy appeared, floating over his palm.
The Ghost floated to the object and began scanning it "it's Awoken tech" he started with surprise as he scanned "it looks like some kind of beacon. If we could find a way to turn it on, it might show us a way out. Give me a second and I'll-"
TAP TAP
Chirithy was interrupted by Sora tapping his Keyblade against the beacon, and after a few moments of awkward silence, it suddenly sprung to life as it's sides opened up like a flower, sending out a brighter beam.
Chirithy just looked to Sora in bewilderment. All the boy offered in return was a cheeky grin as he rested the Keyblade over his shoulder.
Chirithy pouted in response and Sora smirked "you wanted to be the one who opened it didn't you?" he said but Chirithy just turned the other way. Sora smiled in response and patted the top of the Ghost "next time" he promised.
They both looked to the beacon but froze as they saw a Taken portal open behind it "is Luxu following us?" Sora pondered but immediately disregarded that idea as a creature, crawled out of the portal. What would have been chiton and bone covering the form of a Hive Thrall, was an empty void showing stars that weren't really there, as it fixed them with a hungry gaze from, what could only be assumed was it's eye.
Sora recoiled as he felt Darkness seeping off of the creature "ok not Luxu! I'm guessing that's a Taken" he said as he held his Keyblade at the ready and Chirithy quickly vanished.
As if to answer his question, the Taken shrieked at them before twitching unnaturally and dashing at Sora who deflected the strike before taking a swing at it, only for the Taken to divide itself in two "whoa!" Sora yelped as he dodged the attacks from both Taken and as he rolled back he summoned his Golden Gun and dispatched the two Taken swiftly.
Sora took a moment as the Taken burned and were sucked back to whatever realm they came from "man those things were creepy. I'm glad it was just two of them" Sora commented, but immediately regretted it and the sentiment was reflected by his Ghost.
It was another lesson Sora would learn to take to heart as he watched more Taken portals appear and spill out many Takan, though for the moment they all appeared to be Hive alone.
"Me and my big mouth" Sora moaned as he fired his last shot at the closest Taken and was mildly disappointed when the Golden Gun fizzled out of existence "oh, right" he muttered. He had gotten used to how he used it on his Station. He would have to learn to be a little more conservative with his Super from now on.
Not that it really mattered that much though, as he deftly spun his signature weapon and began to carve through the Taken hoard like a hot knife through butter.
It was embarrassingly easy for the boy as he hacked the Taken to pieces, hopping around the cathedral with Flow Motion and using it to launch devastating attacks.
Sora did pause momentarily though as he slew a Taken and, unlike when he used the Golden Gun, an orb of light burst from the fallen form of the Taken and floated off, not unlike how Heartless died.
Sora filed that thought away for later though as he dodged a Taken Knight's blade and retaliated by lifting his Keyblade to the sky and calling out "Thunder!" and golden lightning struck all the Taken in his immediate area.
With a moment of respite earned, Sora took a moment to catch his breath. Unlike his last battle, Sora hadn't so much as been scratched. He was however, a little tired. It would seam that wandering endlessly in the Final World had taken it's toll on him a little, and he would need to re-acclimate to fighting for prolonged periods again.
Sora still smiled though as he rolled his shoulder. It felt good to get the led out and fight the way he was used to again, and it felt good to not be humiliated by getting beaten right off the batt, so easily.
Sora's brake was interrupted by another Taken portal. This one spitting out an Ogre in addition to the usual string of Hive Taken that Sora had been dealing with "really? How many of these guys do I have to fight?" he moaned as he re-summoned his Keyblade and shot a fireball at the Taken Ogre, before Air-stepping to it and then spinning around it by the teeth of his Keyblade in Flow Motion. He then hurled the Ogre into it's brethren and then hit them with another lighting spell. Sora then dove in and began hacking away with his Keyblade and mopping up the survivors.
Sora panted as he leaned against the wall and surveyed the battlefield. The only evidence of one having occurred being the scorch marks, craters and slices all over the place.
No more Taken came through though and the beacon had finished whatever it was doing, causing more lanterns to appear, floating in the air and illuminating the way forward.
Sora didn't fallow them though. Instead he plopped down on one of the pews to take a breath.
Chirithy appeared and cast his Light on Sora, helping to alleviate his fatigue but not completely removing it "you ok?" he asked and Sora just smiled back "I'm fine, just a little worn out from fighting again so soon after the Heartless and my own Darkness" he admitted.
Chirithy blinked at his Guardian "seriously, I'm surprised you haven't already died a few more times. Most new Guardians aren't this powerful" he said.
Sora hummed as he felt the Light coursing through his body. He hadn't said anything before, but he actually felt as if some of his power was still missing. Atrophied from years of wandering the Final World. He obviously hadn't lost everything but still.
Then there was the Ascendant Plain it's self. Chirithy was right about the Darkness in this place but Sora also felt a tad bit of Light here too. And his powers overall actually felt stronger here.
Sora shook those thoughts off though as he stood back up and popped a few vertebra in his neck "well, I guess we better keep moving" he said and held his hand out to his Ghost, who floated over above his palm and vanished as Sora closed his hand.
And so the Guardian followed the lanterns through the howling winds of the Ascendant Plain, lighting more beacons and fighting more Taken.
Something strange happened as they went though. The areas where they found the beacons took the forms of unusual and strange locations or fragments of them. Some familiar to Chirithy, like Greece and others just outright weird, like one that resembled a computer simulation. All of them felt familiar to Sora though, he just couldn't remember where or when he'd seen them or even why.
The two pressed on though. Fighting through more and more Taken and Sora began taking a few hits, but they were soon healed by Chirithy.
The two now walked though a twisted and geometrically impossible castle as they approached the next beacon "well, fifth time's the charm" Sora sighed as he tapped the beacon with his Keyblade "I hope" he muttered as the beacon opened up and he prepared for more Taken to appear.
Nothing happened though. At least at first, as Sora looked around "huh? Where are the Taken?" he thought aloud.
Just then though, he and Chirithy both felt the world shift, as if a dominating force had swept through it and commanded the world to take the from of it choosing, and suddenly the castle was swept away, leaving Sora standing on a small island, only a little larger then himself, surrounded by the howling winds "what the?" Sora said as he looked around in confusion and held his Keyblade at the ready.
Sora and Chirithy both yelped as an orb of light, suddenly popped into existence before them and twitched around in the air "what the heck!?" Sora exclaimed as he held his Keyblade defensively "Wait, something feels weird about that light" Chirithy spoke up.
Sora stood there for a moment as he watched the light twitch around in the air a little, all the while, he couldn't help but think it looked familiar in some way "hmm, interesting" an ethereal voice suddenly spoke from the light and Sora jumped slightly.
Sora's eyes suddenly widened with recognition "you're a heart. Like the ones in the Final World" he realized, causing the disembodied heart to hum again "even more interesting. It would seam you have looked upon the Final Shape and returned, and yet it is not what I nor the Hive believe it to be" the heart spoke, mostly to it's self.
Chirithy appeared and floated over Sora's shoulder "who are you, and how did you get into the Ascendant Plain?" he asked.
The heart stopped twitching for a moment "who am I?" he parroted "I am the question and the answer. I am the sword and it's logic. I am…" he trailed off as he noticed Sora and Chirithy's eyes go vacant and their head/shell, tilting to the side in bewilderment "…going over the heads of an idiotic Hunter and Ghost…" he finished with a sigh before recomposing himself and resuming his twitching movements "in my second life I was Toland The Shattered" he finally answered.
Chirithy's eye widened at that "Toland!? As in the Toland!?" he asked in surprise, catching his Guardian's attention "you know him?" Sora asked but Chirithy shook his shell "no but I know of him. He was a Warlock Guardian, but was exiled for…doing things…I don't really know what exactly but I was sure he died on the moon" he replied.
Toland disappeared for a moment, only to reappear on the other side of the small island "death is subjective and can be enlightening, for those who know it's pathways" he spoke cryptically, but sighed again when the two only gave him more vacant stares.
The heart then vanished again and reappeared on another side of the island "as for why I have come. I was curious" he said before repeating his vanishing act, this time appearing to Sora's right "I was curious what powerful new force had come here and drawn the attention of the Taken" he said and then vanished again, this time only moving closer to look at Sora's Keyblade "then I was curious about this weapon that contradicts it's self" he finished, before jumping in front of Sora again.
Sora just looked at Toland in confusion for a moment before holding up his Keyblade "my Keyblade contradicts it's self? What do you mean by that?" he asked.
Toland didn't move this time, he only hummed in thought "this weapon embodies the Sword Logic and yet defies it. It takes from it's fallen foes to make it's wielder stronger, and yet releases the essence of it's victims, as it did with the Taken. Something that not even the strongest Guardians can claim. It is both Sword Logic and Bomb Logic. An impossible contradiction" he explained.
Sora and Chirithy just stared at Toland with uncomprehending stares "but…how is a sword a bomb?…" Sora trailed off uncertainty and Chirithy tilted his shell a little "or is it that the bomb is the sword?" he proposed, prompting Toland to give an even bigger sigh then before "how you have mastered such an enlightened weapon is beyond even me" he muttered with exasperation, feeling the first truly Human emotions he had in centuries.
Toland blinked right in front of Sora's face next and studied him "or perhaps it is your naïve empty-headedness, that has allowed you the wield this weapon, as my surrendering of the physical has enlightened me" he said before blinking back "you are yourself a contradiction as well" he said before blinding away again. This time far way, to another island that appeared out of the winds.
Sora quickly Air-stepped to the new island with Chirithy in hand before letting him float on his own again "you wield Light but circumvent the Traveler for half of it. You are a Guardian and yet you do not seek to purge the Darkness that sleeps within you. Indeed you embrace it and are thus in balance with it, and yet you do not use it unless desperate. You are as much a contradiction as this Keyblade. A weapon of Light that is it's self counterfeit" Toland finished and blinked out again.
Sora groaned as he began to feel a headache coming on, but searched for Toland again all the same, and found the former Guardian over another island, this one with a door on it and he jumped over "I look forward to studying the chaos you sow" Toland said but before Sora or Chirithy could get another word in, the door suddenly opened and surged forward, enveloping them and landing them back in the castle from before.
Sora and Chirithy just stood/floated there for a moment, as the beacon finished it's job and no Taken appeared.
Eventually, Sora shook his head "did anything he said make sense to you Chirithy?" he asked and the Ghost just shook his shell "nope" he replied.
Sora scratched his head as he tried to make sense of Toland one last time but in the end just shrugged and sighed "well, that just gave me a headache. Guess we better keep moving" he said, again letting the insanity of the world just bounce off him like nothing as he started walking.
Chirithy stared after Sora for a moment. Toland's insane ramblings had mostly gone over his head as well, but that part about Darkness still being in Sora did make him a little nervous. He shook it off though and quickly joined his Guardian.
This time the string of lanterns didn't lead to another beacon though. Instead they now stood before a large door that gave Sora a sense of déjà vu for some reason. It was covered by a barrier of some kind though.
Sora just shrugged and re-summoned the Keyblade and pointed it at the door, sending a beam out and a Keyhole appeared. The sound of the door unlocking rang out soon after and the barrier fell as the door flew open.
Sora smiled up at his Ghost "well, ready to get out of here?" he asked and Chirithy quickly flew to his hand "yes please!" he said and promptly vanished and Sora chuckled before walking though the door.
When Sora emerged on the other side, there was no door or even a portal. He was standing in front of some kind of tower in some kind of pit with two tiers leading up and an opening in front of him leading out "ok, so where are we now" Sora thought aloud as he rested his hands behind his head.
CLICK!
Sora looked up at the sound of a gun being cocked and his eyes widened "oh" he said as he saw the entirety of both tiers were now lined with people with blue skin that pulsed with energy and glowing eyes.
All of them pointing guns and bows at Sora…
Sora slowly raises his hands in a sign of surrender as one woman with an eyepatch and a holographic symbol projecting from her chest, stood out from the rest and addressed him with hostility "welcome to the Dreaming City, Guardian".
A/N - So a few things and this is going to be a long one.
Firstly for those wandering why the Taken were only Hive, that's because Oryx hasn't started his campaign against the Guardians yet. So while he most definitely has Taken from many different races already, the majority will still be Hive. That also means that the Dreaming City curse hasn't started yet.
And, for those wandering about that "other" energy, that Chirithy was talking about, that's just Sora's mana and other magic.
Now the explanation on the two different Lights and Darkness. I would like to explain it in story but too much of it is in grimoire that Characters might not know, so here it goes.
As Chirithy said, the Light of the Traveler and the Light of Kingdom Hearts (Light Within) are exactly the same, as is the Darkness. The difference is that one is a blessing from the Traveler or the Deep respectively, meaning their use is mostly restricted to what the Traveler or Deep allows, hence why Heartless aren't running around and the Hive couldn't use Darkness the same way as Xehanort until now.
The Light that the Keyblades and Princesses of Hearts provides, is acquired directly, without the Traveler's blessing and vice versa with the Seekers of Darkness. This also means the Light Within toes the line between paracausal and ontological. It's still a paracausal force, but (with the exception of the Princesses) it's being controlled by someone enforcing their own will, meaning you need a Keyblade and it's rules to keep it paracausal and avoid backlash.
For example. Sora uses the Power of Waking to save Kairi. This is against the rules so the Keyblade can't protect him and he fades from existence. A Ghost then revives Sora. He has permission to do this so no backlash.
Another example is the Vault of Glass, where time literally turned against the Vex when they messed with it too much.
So while the Traveler and Black Fleet may be masters of their respective powers, they are not absolute masters. Their power can be stolen or tapped another ways.
To back this up, I would like to point out a few things. In the Speaker's own words "The Light existence in all things" and on Io, the Cabal were harvesting the Traveler's energy that was left over, but it was not the Light. So in this story, (and arguably cannon) the Traveler and the Black Fleet are not the sources of the Light and Darkness, they just control and gift it to others. This is further backed up when Mithrax explained Splicing in the Lore, saying he drew Light from the core of the planet to do so, ie. the Heart of the World.
So, for those who are familiar with the Lore about the Gardener and the Winnower, think of Kingdom Hearts as the actual Garden it's self and the rest you could probably guess.
Ok, are our brains all thoroughly tied in knots? Good it wouldn't be KH otherwise and I think that's about it. What do think of the story so far? Where do you think it will go?