This story now updates on Archive of Our Own only.

My username and the story title are the same over there. The story is NOT locked to users only so can be viewed without needing an AO3 account. There are more chapters posted there already as well.

Sorry to anyone who is disappointed by this :( but posting here has become quite draining (variety of reasons) and I hope that if you have been enjoying this story you'll check it out over there!

Day 300

He still didn't know exactly how long he had been trapped in this world, but it must be drawing close to a year. Today marked 300 days since he woke up here, although days didn't matter much to him anymore. He'd barely slept since the last time he managed to fight off Rage, and tried to avoid it at all costs. If he gave in to the exhaustion he would only manage a few hours at a time before the nightmares became too much. Without sleep to separate them, the days just seemed to run together.

Still, he counted them, using the Heartless as a calendar. They came every night.

He'd held off Rage for 13 days. He kept the charm on his Keyblade now, and holding the Oathkeeper blade constantly was just enough to keep him in control of the darkness.

His constant observer was becoming more and more impatient. He never would have guessed it would take this long to break Sora. He'd spent months cultivating the boy's anger and misery, slowly chipping away at his hope with isolation and exhaustion. He needed Sora to give in to Rage. He needed someone to trap the final darkness within, and if he couldn't succeed with Sora then he didn't know when, or if, another perfect vessel would turn up. He was certain Sora was the one the book spoke of, and the darkness must refer to the thirteenth.

The boy had such a strong heart, and such a damaged one; one that had allowed in and harboured so many others already. It was porous. Porous and cracked, but still strong enough to hold the thirteenth. Once Rage took over, the thirteenth darkness would have its way in. After all these years, his mission would finally be complete.

And finally, he knew what was standing in the way of his plans. He had noticed the new Keyblade, and how desperately Sora clung to it and the charm whenever he sensed the boy was close to being taken. It was time to remove this barrier.

The boy had dealt with several groups of Heartless already tonight, nothing as fierce as the Towers he sent so often these days, but enough to stoke his anger. He'd already seen Sora struggle to push his dark form down once tonight, that tiny little trinket the only thing letting him do so. The Heartless were not suited to such a delicate task as this. He would have to take care of this one himself.

When the man struck him Sora was caught unawares, never having expected an attack from anything other than the Heartless. After so long waiting the hooded stranger wasn't going to bother dragging things out. Letting Sora attempt to fight him would be rather entertaining, but he was eager to see if this would work.

Sora felt a crack against his back, as though a giant hammer had struck his spine. He flew forwards, hitting the ground and rolling, trying to stop himself and gain control of his momentum. When he managed to find his feet and skid around, he found himself staring at the person he hated most.

He was furious, sure he could have deflected the blow if he hadn't been taken by surprise. But before he could attack the man waved his hand through the air before him, as if swatting away a fly. An invisible force whipped across Sora's chest and sent him flying backwards.

He was thrown against the side of a building and slumped to the ground, briefly stunned by the attack. Recovering quickly, he managed to push himself back up and charged, roaring and swinging his weapon behind him, preparing a heavy blow. The man flicked his hand again.

Sora was forced to a stop so quickly that he thought his shoulder might have been ripped from its socket, as cold metal twisted around his wrist. He looked behind him and saw a chain wrapped around it. The chain appeared from thin air, a ring of darkness surrounding the spot from which it emerged.

He felt another clasp his left wrist, and as he turned back to face the man a third materialised above him and wrapped itself around his neck. He tried to grab at it but the chains holding his arms were stretched taut, and he didn't dare release his Keyblade. Rage was already crawling beneath his skin.

The man walked slowly towards him, chuckling quietly to himself. He lifted a gloved hand before him. The chain around Sora's neck began pulling him up. Not high enough to lift and choke him, but enough so that if he didn't stay standing on his toes, it would surely strangle him. He pulled against the restraints on his arms, desperately trying to twist away as the man approached and came to a stop before him.

He reached down, taking a hold of Sora's Keyblade and lifting it, so the hilt was level with his own face, and the charm dangled before Sora's eyes. Sora gripped it hard, knowing that if he let it go Rage and this man would win.

"So this is what's been causing us so much trouble." He took the Wayfinder in his free hand, holding it in his open palm to examine it. "Awww, how cute."

Sora opened his mouth, wanting to scream at him to drop it, that he'd kill him for touching it, but the chain was too tight. He let out a choked gasp and the man laughed at him. He swung the Wayfinder back and forth in front of Sora's face.

"Did someone special give you this?"

He relished the hatred in the boy's eyes.

He took the charm in his hand again, and crushed it in his fist.

This time Sora did manage to scream, a scream of fury and despair. He watched, helplessly, as the man opened his hand and let the broken shards of shell fall to the ground.

In his hand Oathkeeper began turning black, smoking as though recently burnt. Cracks were appearing in the two bars of metal that made up the central blade, and the beautiful pointed edges of the star-like tip were crumbling to dust. As if in slow motion, the Keyblade split in two before Sora's eyes. The separated piece dissolved away as it fell, leaving little more than the blackened hilt in his hand behind.

The last connection he had.

Gone.

He had nothing now.

His body went limp, no longer straining against the chains, the metal links cutting further into his neck as his knees gave. The sad remains of the Keyblade fell from his hand and turned to dust as it hit the ground. Rage was gone, no longer trying to claw its way out.

As he hung limply from the chain around his throat, his vision began to fade. He could barely breathe, but he had nothing left in him, no strength to try and stand or fight back. The man smirked beneath his hood and stepped away, letting the chains melt into darkness and Sora slump to the ground.

He stayed where he had fallen, panting hard but otherwise motionless. He didn't think he could make himself move right now if he tried.

With his foot, the man pushed against Sora's shoulder and rolled him over, so he was looking directly up at him. His eyes were almost closed, but to the man's disappointment what showed between his lids was white and bright blue, not the glowing yellow or red he had been hoping for. The boy looked almost dead, his strength clearly spent.

"Hmmm, I guess that's enough for today then, looks like you couldn't change even if you wanted to right now."

It was too dark beneath the hood for Sora to make out the stranger's face.

"You get some rest now Sora. The Heartless will leave you alone for a while. But I'll see you again soon."

His face disappeared from view as he walked away, and Sora heard the crack of shells beneath his boots and the brief whooshing flames of a corridor. Then the city became quiet once again.

He lay there and stared at the night sky, eventually catching his breath and recovering from the stranglehold. But he stayed where he was, watching the stars blankly. For how long, he wasn't sure.

As the sky began turning from black to dark blue he rolled over and pushed himself to his hands and knees. He looked up at the remains of the charm, a small heap of shattered shells. The shells that had kept him connected to home.

He reached out and picked up the two shells which had somehow survived, a small shard of a third still clinging on. The tiny crown Kairi had placed at the charm's centre was still attached but as he lifted a hand to touch it, it fell, nothing left for it to hold on to. His throat and eyes burned as tears began running down his face. He clutched the shells to his chest, weeping, feeling more alone now than he ever had before.

But something else was burning in his chest.

It was more than anger. It was more than hatred, more than pain.
And it wasn't Rage. In fact, Rage was gone. He couldn't feel him at all anymore.

It was a certainty.
A certainty that this man would never see Rage take him again.
A certainty that he would end this.

If he had done this in the hope of summoning Rage once more, the man had failed.

Sora gathered the pieces of the charm and placed them in his pocket, searching until he was certain he had every piece and they were securely tucked away. He stretched out his hand and the Kingdom Key appeared. That still hadn't been taken from him.

He knew the streets perfectly by now, he'd walked them enough times. He knew all the best vantage points on the rooftops, and the fastest routes to get from any one of these to the next. He didn't need the element of surprise anymore, maybe he could bait his opponent out if he screamed for him enough. He didn't care that the man was probably stronger than him. He'd hunt him down if it was the last thing he ever did.

No matter what, he was going to end this.