Kingdom Hearts: Familia Myth

by Keybladewielder97

After what Sora considers to be the most challenging fight of his life, he expected to be teleported back to the Final World. What he didn't expect was to wake up in a world filled with Gods and a Dungeon so deep that no one knows how far it goes. Finding a way back home isn't going to be easy, but at the very least, he has a hearth to fall back on.

13. Dungeon Dive Distance

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Danmachi. Both belong to their respective owners.

To quote a certain small Chinese fire dragon: I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVEEEEEE!

Sorry it took more than 2 months to update. A combination of school, writer's block (particularly this chapter), and a great deal of procrastination had held back a good amount of progress. Take make up for lost time, I made a very big chapter.

Video games also served as a good procrastination to this as well (especially Genshin Impact).

I got Pokémon Violet as a Christmas gift, and I gotta say, despite all the negative reception I've been hearing about the game (especially the bugs, but didn't run into any), I personally enjoyed the game a lot. And personally, I don't really take issue with the whole "graphics". I don't pay too much attention to graphics if I'm being completely honest.

And now we have 2 DLCs on the way. I'm really hoping that Flygon is part of the DLC, because Flygon is my all time absolute favorite Pokémon (he's my first Dragon-type Pokémon and the MVP for beating the first Pokémon game: Pokémon Emerald).

And lastly, I got myself a Tv Tropes page! Hooray! Also, please note that there are two pages: Kingdom "Kingdom Hearts: Family Myth" rather than "Kingdom Hearts: Familia Myth". Please be sure to put in the "Familia" word, otherwise you'll be led to a page that only has 2 tropes.

Let's start the chapter.

---

Chapter 13: Dungeon Dive Distance

It was early morning. The sun has barely risen from the horizon, and the morning mist was heavy at the given time. And in the mist was a run down Church, with a certain group standing in front of it.

Bell, Hestia, and Lili stood before Sora. The three of them had rather worried and skeptical expressions.

"Sora...are you sure about this? Even with all of your achievements, the Dungeon isn't to be underestimated, especially with the Deeper Floors. Not even Zeus's Familia is able to fully explore it, and they were the strongest Familia. And you're attempting to do this...alone." Hestia warned with worry and concern.

"Even Lili is having doubts about this..." Lili said with a skeptical expression.

Even if Sora is far more capable than anyone she knows, the Dungeon itself cannot be underestimated. Trying to take on the Deeper Floors of the Dungeon alone is a rather suicidal choice to make.

Even with all of this, Sora simply gave a grin of confidence and reassurance while bumping his fist to his chest.

"I'm positive. I've dealt with a lot of Heartless, so dealing with the Dungeon monsters won't be any different." Sora told her.

"Even so...don't bite off more than you can chew, alright?" Hestia told him.

"You got it." Sora replied with a grin, before he turned to Bell, who gave of a mixture of worry and hesitation. Sora simply gave a grin of reassurance towards Bell.

"Hey, don't give me that face! You act like we're not going to be seeing each other for a long time." Sora teased Bell, making Bell's cheek turn red in embarrassment.

"W-Well, I have no way of knowing what's going to happen to you once you're deep in the Dungeon. I can't help but worry..." Bell said with a frown while his eyes looked a bit downcast. Even though he knows that Sora is powerful, he can't help but worry. It isn't wrong to worry about a friend, regardless if they're capable of handling themselves.

"Even so, don't let it get to you too much." Sora told Bell, before he gave a small chuckle upon remembering a certain past memory. "If Aerith were here, I think she'll tell you this: 'No matter where we are, our Hearts will bring us together again'."

"Our Hearts will bring us together again..." Bell quietly repeated, taking in those types of words to Heart.

He honestly liked that saying.

Bell grew a soft smile as he looked up towards Sora.

"If...that's the case...," Bell started, "Then we'll see each other soon."

Sora grinned at Bell.

"Yeah. See you soon."

---

~ Break ~

---

Sora stood alone before the Tower of Babel with a small frown on his face while hefting his Keyblade over his shoulder.

"Right, I said that I'm going to the Deeper Floors of the Dungeon...but how exactly do I get there in the first place...?" Sora muttered to himself.

Obviously, you need to find the entrances to go down each floor. But Sora needs to get to the Deeper Floors in optimal time. He needs to find the correct path to each of the floors, and no go off any tangents or dead ends. The reason why is because Heartless are practically in everywhere in the unexplored Dungeon floors. He can't afford to be held up by the Heartless, which is a time consuming event in itself. So he needs to find the correct path in order to avoid the Heartless for now while finding the correct path to the Deeper Floors.

"If only I had a map or layout of the Dungeon..." Sora muttered with exasperation while rubbing his forehead. Looks like he's going to have to wing it from here on.

"...Ah, Sora." a familiar voice called out to him.

Sora blinked when he heard the voice, and turned his head to see a certain azure haired Captain approaching him.

"Oh, hey Shakti!" Sora greeted with a smile. "Didn't expect to run into you so early in the morning!"

"It's to be expected. I normally don't take this type of patrol route during this time of day." Shakti simply replied, before she looked around Sora. "...Are you not with your party this time?"

"Oh, that. Usually, I am, but let's just say the circumstances are different." Sora answered.

"Is that so? Does it have to do with the Heartless?" Shakti asked with a small raise of her eyebrow.

"Not this time. I'm actually plan on heading to the Deeper Floors of the Dungeon." Sora told her, which made Shakti blink in surprise upon hearing this.

"The Deeper Floors? All on your own?" Shakti said with an incredulous tone.

No sane Adventurer would dare go to the Deeper Floors of the Dungeon without a party. Even if Sora has proven to be far more capable than any Level 1, it's still incredibly dangerous to take on this sort of task.

"You bet!" Sora confidently answered.

"For what reason though? The Deeper Floors of the Dungeon is an area that cannot be underestimated. Even the top Familias are have a difficult time trying to survive the Deeper Floors of the Dungeon, and you're attempting to tackle it on your own?" Shakti pointed out to Sora while looking rather concerned about this.

"I know it sounds dangerous, but trust me, the I've dealt with plenty of Heartless. The Dungeon Monsters are practically a walk in the park compared to the likes of them." Sora simply said while crossing his arms behind his head.

"Even if that's the case, the Deeper Floors are not to be underestimated. In fact, what is driving you to go to the Deeper Floors now of all time?" Shakti asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, that. Well, here's the story..." Sora started, as he felt that there was nothing wrong with sharing this type of story with the Captain of the Ganesha Familia.

After a summarized explanation, Shakti had her eyes narrowed at the end of it.

"So you're in need of valis in order to help out a party member of yours...and it costs quite a hefty amount. I can certainly see why going to the Deeper Floors can fix the issue..." Shakti muttered.

Now that Sora mentioned it, there has been some kind of mention about a recent arrest on three people who attempted to rob Adventurers in the Dungeon. Those three must've been the ones who attempted to rob and murder Sora and his party, much to Shakti's displeasure. It seems like the darkness of Orario was catching up to Sora sooner than she thought.

'I'll have to put the Soma Familia on watch for now...' Shakti thought, already planning on forming a very strict watch on the Soma Familia. She's not going to give a single inch to that Familia.

"So yeah, I need to go to the Deeper Floors of the Dungeon to have a quick gain in valis. That's gonna be a problem though, considering how the Dungeon is a maze to get through. Gonna be in there for a few days..." Sora groaned while scratching the back of his head.

Hearing this caught Shakti's attention, while also finding an opportunity from this.

"...I'm not so sure about you attempting to tackle the Deeper Floors, but perhaps I can provide some assistance with the Upper and Middle floors of the Dungeon." Shakti offered, which made the Keyblade wielder blink upon hearing this.

"Really!?" Sora asked in surprise, to which Shakti nodded.

"Of course. I have some experience with the Dungeon layout, so I can serve as your guide." Shakti told Sora.

"Oh wow, that's great! But..." Sora paused a bit upon realizing something. "Aren't you in the middle of your duties right now? I don't want to be the one interfering with your duties." Sora told her with concern.

"About that..." Shakti said while looking around her surroundings a bit to make sure that they aren't being listened in on. There aren't that many people around, but she wanted to make sure that what she was going to reveal isn't too exposed to the public.

"...Recently, I've experienced a rather huge gain in my Falna. It was large enough that puts me in a decent spot for a Level Up." Shakti revealed to Sora.

Sora blinked a bit upon hearing this, before his eyes widened a bit in surprise.

"You're able to Level Up!? That's great news!" Sora congratulated, to which Shakti gave a small smile of appreciation towards Sora's praise.

"Indeed. Although my status makes me eligible for one, that alone isn't enough." Shakti told Sora.

"How so?" Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.

"In order to Level Up, you need to perform an achievement that would astound even the Gods. An example would be a Level 1 slaying an Infant Dragon on their own, or at the very least, be a major contributor in fighting said monster alongside your party. Because of my status, I wouldn't be able to Level Up here on the surface, but in the Dungeon itself. That is why Ganesha decided to give me some time off to find the opportunity to Level Up. The Vice Captain is taking my place for the time being." Shakti explained.

"Is that so? So you were also planning on going to the Dungeon as well?" Sora asked.

"Indeed. Though, that was a part of the plan."

"Plan?"

"I was actually hoping to find you today before you went into the Dungeon." Shakti revealed.

"Really? Why me in particular?" Sora said while pointing towards himself.

"About that. Ever since we've defeated the Behemoth Heartless, I've experienced a large gain in my status. I believe that defeating the Heartless is able to give you a large gain in excelia. And considering that your Skill attracts the Heartless..." Shakti explained.

"You're able to fight the Heartless that comes to me in order to gain more strength." Sora said in realization.

"...Correct." Shakti responded with a bit of a small frown. "I know this is a violation to the rule about the Ganesha Familia exploiting your powers, but that's why I'm willing to serve as your guide in return-"

"Hey, don't sweat on the details! I'm more than happy to help you out! Besides, I'm in need of a guide through the Dungeon, so we're pretty much even in all of this!" Sora reassured Shakti with a laid back grin.

Shakti looked at Sora with a bit of surprise, before a small fond smile formed on her lips. Right, this is Sora she's dealing with. A boy with a strong sense of justice and full of kindness for others when in need of help.

"...Right. You have my thanks." Shakti thanked.

"No problem!" Sora said with a smile.

And with that, the two turned towards the Dungeon and made their ways towards it. But before they could make even a single step...

"I finally found you!"

A new and sudden voice came out of nowhere, startling Sora with the new voice. But then Sora paused a bit upon realizing that voice.

He quickly turned around, and his eyes widened in shock and panic when he saw a certain Captain of a certain smithing Familia making her ways towards him.

'Oh crud, why is she here...!?' Sora thought in shock and panic upon seeing Tsubaki.

Shakti recognized the Captain before her, and then noticed the panic on Sora's face, causing her eyes to narrow a bit.

"Y-You...!" Sora stuttered a bit.

Tsubaki, however, just gave off a friendly smile.

"Honestly, you're too hard to find Sora! I'm starting to think that you don't want to see me." Tsubaki greeted.

This did little to ease Sora.

"Oh, well, g-good to see you to! B-But I'm afraid that I need to get going-!" Sora nervously said as he was about to turn around and run away, before Tsubaki caught onto Sora's collar.

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere." Tsubaki said with a smirk. "I can't exactly let an up and coming Adventurer get himself killed that easily. At least without any decent equipment on his body."

"And like I told you, I'm completely fine without the armor! I already have plenty of defensive equipment of my own!" Sora groaned with exasperation, having to deal with Tsubaki's persistence.

"...Sora, what exactly is going on here?" Shakti finally spoke up after watching the interaction with the two. It was then Tsubaki finally registered Shakti's presence.

"Oh, the Captain of the Ganesha Familia! This is rather surprising seeing you here at this time!" Tsubaki greeted with surprise, before she focused back onto Sora. "Don't mind us, I'm just someone who's looking out for a Level 1 from getting himself killed is all!"

"Getting himself killed...?" Shakti repeated with a confused look, before she turned to Sora. "Sora, what is she talking about?"

Sora was about to open his mouth, but Tsubaki beat him to the punch.

"This kid is apparently running into the Dungeon without any piece of armor. All of this you see on him? That's all he has on him. That's just asking to be killed by the monsters, don't you agree? Especially with a Level 1 like him." Tsubaki said with a small smirk, looking towards Shakti, expecting her to back her up on this.

Shakti stayed silent upon hearing this, a bit baffled upon hearing all of this from Tsubaki.

Sora? In need of armor? While she would agree that Sora lacks any armor, his own abilities more than makes up for it. Sora is capable enough to forego armor. And yet Tsubaki is saying it like Sora needs it.

'Why would she say it like he's a Level 1...' Shakti thought to herself, before she began to realize what was going on.

Because Sora is a Level 1, many would think that he has the capabilities of a Level 1. But in reality, Sora is able to perform far beyond a Level 1, and more along the lines of a Level 5 or 6.

But Tsubaki doesn't know that.

"...Conventionally, I would agree with you." Shakti admitted, which made Tsubaki blink upon hearing how that sentence was said.

'Would...?' Tsubaki thought in confusion.

"However, Sora has proven to be capable enough to forego the need for armor. So I would have to disagree with your assessment of Sora." Shakti simply stated.

"Wait, what?" Tsubaki said in surprise.

Even Shakti, a Level 5 in her own right, is telling her that Sora of all people doesn't need armor?

With this confusion in mind, Sora finally managed to get out of her grip and turned to Tsubaki with a bit of an annoyed look.

"See, even Shakti is backing me up on this! I appreciate the offer, really, but I'm happy with the equipment I have!" Sora told her.

"Seriously...?" Tsubaki whispered in a bit of disbelief.

"Seriously." Sora repeated while giving a small sigh.

A short bit of silence fell between the two, before Shakti found something else to ask.

"Then...your weapon...it's also up to your standards as well?" Tsubaki couldn't help but ask when she looked at Sora's Keyblade.

The weapon she's looking at has the most strangest design she has ever seen. It looks more like something he ripped off some ship parts.

It is predominantly dark grey in color, with a simple handle and a guard engraved with various designs. The base of the blade bears a pirate skull with a red bandanna. The blade itself is based on a ship mast, and is surrounded by two climbing nets that converge on three red flags. The teeth consist of a steering wheel. It consists of skulls tied to each other, and the token is looks like some kind of key to a treasure chest.

'Is...Is this the weapon the surpasses Lady Hephastois's creations...?' Tsubaki thought in confusion and a bit of skepticism.

"It sure is!" Sora optimistically replied.

Tsubaki gave a glance towards Shakti once more, expecting her to at least voice some concern or objection towards this.

Unfortunately, to Tsubaki's inner dismay, Shakti wasn't even batting an eye towards Sora's weapon.

It was then a realization finally began to hit Tsubaki.

"Wait a minute, what are you doing out here so early in the morning? Did this kid get in trouble or something?" Tsubaki asked with curiosity and confusion.

"It's nothing you should concern yourself with. Now, if you'll excuse us, Sora and I have important business to attend to. It's best that you don't interfere with classified activities." Shakti simply told Tsubaki as she began walking ahead while gesturing Sora to follow her.

"R-Right. See you later." Sora said as he hastily followed after Shakti.

As Sora and Tsubaki were leaving, Tsubaki stared at the two with a raised eyebrow.

"...They're heading towards the Dungeon...and they said to have important business to attend to. Now I'm just curious..." Tsubaki muttered to herself, before she gave a shrug. "Well, might as well see where they're going. I worked my ass off just to get a free morning like this to finally get to Sora. There's no way in hell that I'm going to give up the opportunity to learn what makes his weapon so special."

Even with the warning given to her, Tsubaki wasn't one to give up so easily. And with that, Tsubaki decided follow their trail and see where they're going.

---

~ Break ~

---

Hestia gave a small sigh while standing behind a counter, working as an employee at Hephastois's shop to pay off her debts. There are no customers at this time, which meant that Hestia could have some time to herself.

Her mind was still lingering on Sora's decision to go to the Deeper Floors of the Dungeon all on his own. Even though she knew Sora is powerful, she can't help but worry about Sora.

'Perhaps I should've tried move to convince Sora on going through the Middle Floors instead.' Hestia thought to herself when she glanced outside through the store's window. It was at the moment that made her narrow her eyes when she saw two certain people just walking outside by her store.

An elf with golden hair and green eyes, as well as a young woman with brown eyes and long black hair that she had braided in a tail.

Even if she didn't know these people, her intuition told that these people belong to a certain Familia of a certain Goddess that she doesn't like to deal with.

'So they're at it again...' Hestia thought with a frown, her mind still remembering what occurred just recently.

---

~ Break ~

---

A Couple Days Ago

Hestia was at the counter, giving a small tired sigh after having to deal with so many customers today. She was honestly wishing she could take a nice long break, but Hephastois wasn't exactly being nice with her, especially with the debt that she has on her.

Her ears picked up the door bells ringing, indicating the customers are here.

"Welcome! How may I help you today?" Hestia automatically greeted with her professional smile as she looked at the two before her.

The first is a young man with short, spiky black hair and brown eyes. He wears a long sleeved black top, large brown gloves, a large belt with a pouch for items, light colored pants, brown boots, and armor that protects his chest, shoulders, and legs. He keeps his sword in a black sheath on the left side of his waist.

The second is a Cat Person with long black hair and a tail. She wears a black and white outfit along with dark brown boots. She had a sword in a black sheath, hanging on the left side of her waist.

"H-Hello there! Um...you're Goddess Hestia, correct?" the young man stuttered a bit with a shaky smile.

This made Hestia blink upon hearing this question. Someone asking for her identity specifically? Well that's a first.

"Yes, that's me. Is there something you want from me?" Hestia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"W-Well, um...!" the young man stuttered while trying to find the right words. However, his companion besides him gave an exasperated smile as she smiled towards Hestia.

"What we're trying to ask is something regarding about a Familia members of yours. I believe it's...Sora?" the young woman recalled.

Immediately, this made the blood inside Hestia freeze upon hearing this.

'Why the hell do they know Sora's name!?' Hestia mentally shouted in alarm. 'Sora, did you do something to these people while I wasn't looking...!?'

Hestia's professional smile twitched a bit.

"Sora...? How exactly do you know my child's name...?" Hestia questioned with her strained professional smile.

"W-Well...he's been kind of the talk amongst our Familia recently...a-and he healed one of our Familia members. W-We're thankful for that...!" the man nervously tried to explain.

'Healed...? Sora never mentioned anything about healing someone outside of our Familia other than-' Hestia thought, before she stiffened upon realization.

"...I see...so you're with the Loki..." Hestia muttered while a vein was forming on her forehead. "And has there been anything else regarding about my child in your Familia...?" Hestia questioned, still giving off her professional smile while giving off a menacing aura that made the young man sweat a bit.

"W-Well, that's, um..." the man fumbled a bit on trying to explain.

"Raul, why don't you just leave things to me?" the young woman said with exasperation as she stepped in front of her fellow Familia member.

"To answer your question Lady Hestia, having a healer is a rather important asset to have, especially in a party. Lately, there's been interest in him as our Supporter for future events." the young woman explained.

Silence was made as soon as she heard that.

This was all Hestia needed to know.

"...Is that so?" Hestia said while narrowing her eyes, before she gave off a rather scary smile. "You know, I'm an employee at the store, so I'm sure my services are needed elsewhere. If you don't find anything of interest to buy, then please leave if you're not going to be a customer."

Raul paled when being told this.

"P-Please wait a moment, we-!"

"C'mon Raul, seems like we're not wanted here." the young woman told him with a soft frown. She gave an apologetic smile towards Hestia. "Sorry about taking up your time. We'll see ourselves out."

Hestia watched the two leave the store, and the Hearth Goddess was left with agitation towards the Trickster Goddess.

---

~ Break ~

---

Present

"So she's sending in more of her children to scout out the area..." Hestia muttered.

It was through that brief meeting that Hestia instantly knew what Loki's aim was. There has been recent news that the Loki Familia is going on an expedition to explore the Deeper Floors of the Dungeon. So of course, there have been a lot of preparations going on.

And it's because of this, Loki saw Sora as a perfect member to recruit to her expedition. Hephastois mentioned how some of her Familia members are being recruited for the expedition as well, so Loki saw fit to recruit Sora as well.

But Hestia knew Loki's game here. Knowing that Goddess, she wouldn't even dream of swallowing her pride and asking her directly to have Sora join her Familia's expedition. Instead, she's making it seem like it's her Familia being interested in Sora and having them ask her in her stead. Loki must've worked around the issue of not giving a direct order by asking someone in her Familia, a high rank member, to ask the lower ranked member to search for Sora. This way, Loki could avoid being looked at as someone who's asking for Sora's help.

Hah! Like she's that stupid to not see this!

"That Loki...the moment she sees a fraction of Sora's capability, and she already deems him useful for her expedition..." Hestia muttered while giving a displeased look.

There's no chance in hell that she is going to have Sora join that expedition.

For one, she's not going to give Sora to Loki out of spite, given her distaste for Loki.

But the second and most important reason is having Sora avoid the Loki Familia entirely and put him into hiding.

She has a pretty good grasp on Sora. Sora wouldn't hesitate on helping others, even if there is no benefit to him. If the Loki Familia simply asked for his help or gave some sob-story or some kind of small legitimate reason, Sora would probably help them out in a heartbeat. And that would mean Sora practically begging or asking her to join Loki's expedition, which meant Sora playing right into Loki's hands.

And if Sora joined the Loki expedition, it defeats the whole purpose of Sora trying to remain inconspicuous. Knowing Sora, the boy will immediately throw caution to the wind when it comes to helping others. Sora is too charitable to let anything bad befall upon others, meaning he'll show off more than what he's supposed to do. Not to mention the Heartless will force Sora's hand in revealing his other abilities.

And the moment he does, Loki and her Familia will discover how truly abnormal Sora is. And in turn, will spread even further to other Familias and Gods. And that alone is asking for a disaster.

Despite the damage already being done on Loki knowing that Sora is an abnormal Level 1, Hestia could still salvage the situation the best she could. And what better way is there than to have Sora go into hiding for a while and avoid Loki's active recruitment.

Thankfully, Sora is now choosing this time to go into the Dungeon in search of materials to gain valis. This timing couldn't be any more perfect.

'Like I'll ever let my Familia get involved with the Loki's Familia!' Hestia thought to herself.

---

~ Break ~

---

"Bufwah!" Bell cried out in pain as he was sent flying back from Ais's strike. He landed on the ground with a thud, all the while feeling the pain that he's receiving from this training. But even with that, Bell could only give a small groan as he forced himself to stand up before his sparring partner.

"...I can certainly see why gravity magic is needed..." Lefiya muttered, all the while inwardly wincing towards Bell's situation. She can't but feel sorry for what Bell is going through right now.

Because Sora isn't around, then that means Sora isn't able to use the magic item to cast gravity magic on Ais in order to handicap her for Bell to spar with.

Lefiya gave a small soft frown when thinking about it.

She was honestly expecting to meet up with Sora once more and train with him to improve her Concurrent Chanting. However, Bell was the only one to arrive and told the two that Sora had really important matters to attend to, and he won't be here for a few days. When asked about why Sora would suddenly take off, Bell explained that a party member of theirs is in big trouble, and Sora is off to take care of such a predicament.

It certainly matched up a lot with Sora's character. Always willing to help out those in need of help, and do everything he can to help them get through it. So now Sora is off doing his own thing.

Which only leaves her with Ais and Bell.

She could only wince in pain once more as she watched Bell get knocked back from Ais's strike, but he surprisingly held on as he stood his ground. He appeared a lot more durable than he looked for a Level 1.

"So this is my limit..." Bell muttered, before he gave a sigh as he lowered his arms. "Well, that's part 1 down..."

"Part 1?" Ais repeated with a confused look.

"Y-Yes, part 1. Before Sora took off, he gave me a certain training plan that involves the two of you." Bell explained to Ais and Lefiya.

"And that plan involves...?" Lefiya asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, Sora wanted me to test how far I can last against Ais without gravity magic, just to see my progress. As you saw earlier, progress is...gradual..." Bell weakly chuckled while scratching his cheek.

Lefiya gave a soft frown when she heard this from Bell.

Bell may be downplaying it, but he certainly improved a lot compared to the last time he sparred with Ais. There was a rather noticeable improvement in how he fights, and proved to be a lot more durable, enough to not be completely knocked out easily by Ais.

'...He truly is working hard to catch up...' Lefiya thought, and she felt a fire burn within her, as she felt motivated to work hard and do the same. Problem is, Sora isn't around to train her with her Concurrent Training. And training with Ais certainly seemed appealing, but seeing how Bell is easily knocked around and how Ais isn't able to control her strength made her a bit hesitant.

"Because he's not here, he told me that we should all train together instead." Bell told Ais and Lefiya, much to their surprise and confusion.

"...Train...together? What do you mean?" Ais asked while tilting her head in confusion. It was then Bell turned to Lefiya.

"Well, you're currently training with Concurrent Chanting, correct?" Bell wanted to clarify from Lefiya, making Lefiya silently nod at him, but what does that have to do with training?

"Sora told me that you and I should work together while we spar with Ais." Bell revealed to the two.

This made the two blink upon hearing this, before their eyes widened in shock and surprise.

"W-Wait a moment, we work together and spar against Ais!?" Lefiya repeated with shock and confusion.

"...But...why?" Ais asked in confusion.

"Based on what Sora told me, I have a rather difficult time trying to keep up with you. So in order to compensate, Lefiya would use her magic to heal me. Lefiya, Sora told me that you should focus on being defensive and avoid Ais's strikes while chanting your spells. Meanwhile, I'll be doing by best to hold her off while you chant your spell to heal me. So I'll be sparring and holding off Ais, while Ais while trying to come to you and disrupt your chanting. Ais will be given two tasks to deal with, so it gives us a better chance." Bell explained to the two.

Lefiya couldn't help but gape a bit upon hearing all of this.

Sora came up with all of this, just to help with both of their training. It seems like Sora truly thought ahead on all of this before he left.

'Still...fighting together with Cranel? It sounds rather...strange...' Lefiya thought while looking hesitant to try out this idea.

However, her line of thought was cut off when Ais spoke up.

"...Let's do it then." Ais declared, making the elf mage turn to her in surprise.

"A-Ais?" Lefiya stuttered. Ais just gave a small nod towards her.

"...We have nothing else to lose. And if I can help you with your training, then I'd be happy to do so..." Ais told her.

"I-I'll do my best to be a good support to you..." Bell said with a bit of a nervous smile.

Hearing such encouraging and supportive words from the both of them made Lefiya feel a bit fuzzy inside. Ais is willing to help her grow and Bell's earnest look of wanting to be of good support to her made her feel that she couldn't turn them down if they're this earnest in helping her improve.

"...I-I'll do my best." Lefiya answered with a shaky smile.

---

~ Break ~

---

"I wish upon the name of Wishe. Ancestors of the forest, proud brethren." Lefiya chanted as she was absolutely focused on what was before her.

Ais was attempting to get to her, only for Bell to stand in her way and do his best to stall her while Lefiya is chanting her spell. Ais swung her sheath at Bell's head, and the white haired boy barely had the time to raise his second knife and block the strike. He immediately used his other arm to stab her, only for Ais to immediately parry the blow and proceeded to kick to the side.

"Answer my call and come to the plains-" Lefiya continued to chant, and she hastily raised her staff to block an incoming swing from Ais. Her arms buckled when she felt the weapon collide with her staff and she attempted to step back and gain some distance, but Ais was easily closing in on her.

Just before she could make another strike, Ais suddenly stopped when she blocked an incoming slash from Bell, and then jumped aside to avoid the other knife's stab at her.

"Connecting bonds, the pledge of paradise-" Lefiya hurriedly chanted as she watched Bell flipped the grip on his knives to standard grip and immediately went on the offensive towards Ais as he aggressively slashed at her, all the while the Sword Princess was easily fending off his strikes.

Moving too fast for the boy to react, however, she easily swung her sheathe at his Bell straight to the side of his head, making him fall to the side and Ais moved in on Lefiya.

"Turn the circle and dance around-" Lefiya couldn't even continue any further as she panicked a bit as she hastily raised her staff once more, only for Ais to immediately perform a sweep kick, causing Lefiya to fall to the ground in surprise. Lefiya fell onto her back, and immediately groaned in pain when her body made impact with the ground.

And just like that, Ais managed to knock down Bell and stopped Lefiya for the nth time.

And just like before, Bell and Lefiya were both groaning in pain.

"...Did...Did we make progress...?" Bell asked with a bit of a dizzy tone.

"...You were able to hold her off a bit longer...and I've managed to make it a bit further..." Lefiya recalled while she sat up while massaging her sore shoulder.

"...This really is an interesting exercise to partake in..." Ais quietly noted.

Because she's sparring with both Bell and Lefiya, she's forced to divide her attention between the two. And because of her divided attention, Bell wasn't as easily as knocked out before, and Lefiya could chant with some progress in mind.

Even so, taking on a Level 6 is no easy task, as the two lower leveled Adventurers were painfully reminded of. But even with this painful reminder...the two weren't giving up so easily.

"We're far from done..." Bell said as he forced himself to stand up.

"...You're right. We can't just stop here..." Lefiya agreed as she stood up alongside Bell.

The two of them shared a look with each other and gave a nod, and turned their attention back towards Ais.

They jumped right back into training hell.

---

~ Break ~

---

A Darkball gave off chomping noises as it charged forward, only for it to be bisected in half, courtesy of Sora's Keyblade.

An Armored Knight charged forward while extending its blade arm, only to be met with the point end of a spear.

Mega Shadow Heartless attempted to pounce in from all sides, only for them to but quickly cut down by combination of Keyblade and spear.

"...You weren't exaggerating when you said that the Heartless come in large numbers in the Dungeon..." Shakti noted as she was swinging her spear around to cut down the incoming Heartless.

"Yep, which isn't really a good sign..." Sora responded as he swung his Keyblade to destroy incoming Armored Knights as he looked around his surroundings.

The floor he is in was completely different compared to the Upper Floors that he usually sticks around in. The walls, ground, and ceiling are made of bedrock. The Middle floors have more complex layout which include intertwining upper and lower tunnels. The light becomes darker and the air seems to be moist.

It was thanks to Shakti's guidance that Sora was able to get here in a short amount of time. But as he discovered, moving through the floors increased the numbers and strength of the Heartless.

'Bell is sure going to have a field day when he eventually comes here...' Sora thought as he finally finished off the last incoming Heartless. With the battle finished, Sora turned to Shakti.

"You holding up Shakti?" Sora asked.

"I'm fine. While the numbers are concerning, this isn't enough to overwhelm someone of my status." Shakti replied, though gave a subtle soft frown when looking away from Sora.

The Heartless proved to be more dangerous the Dungeon monsters, given their versatile abilities and numbers they come in. It doesn't help that they come in different shapes and sizes, so she has to adapt on the spot on whatever Heartless she is met with.

'Then again, with the given difficulty, it should be pushing my status...but it's not enough.' Shakti thought to herself.

Just taking out these Heartless isn't enough to constitute a Level Up. She needs to find a bigger challenge.

"By the way...she's still following us, isn't she...?" Sora quietly asked while giving a small gesture off to the distance.

Shakti's eyebrow twitched.

'Right...speaking of a challenge...' Shakti thought when she subtly turned her head towards the direction where Sora is gesturing to.

The two were well aware that the Captain of the Hephastois Familia is following them. Why the Familia Captain is following them of all people is something Shakti can figure out based on what Sora told her.

'While I understand blacksmiths seeking out potential clients to further their own work, this is rather ridiculous...' Shakti thought with annoyance as she turned to Sora.

"Considering the fact that she disregarded the warning I gave her, I'm in full capacity of arresting her..." Shakti thought aloud.

"No no no, let's not do that." Sora while waving his arms around with a shaky smile. "Arresting her is is going a bit too far, don't you think? Besides, she's not causing any harm to us at all, so I think it's best we let her be for now." Sora told her.

Even if Tsubaki is rather persistent towards trying to persuade him to become his blacksmith, Sora really isn't that bothered by it at all. It's more of an inconvenience at most really. And despite the fact that she's following them, it doesn't really mean she deserves to be arrested in Sora's opinion.

Shakti made a short click of her tongue, but said nothing more. It just shows Sora's kindness with others, even if that kindness is being used on the type of person.

"If that is what you wish..." Shakti said while sighing.

Honestly, she could arrest Tsubaki on the grounds of following them while they're on "classified" activities. But Shakti realized based on her earlier words to Tsubaki that she isn't interfering with them. Just trailing behind. Shakti could only curse to herself on her lack of specific wording to prevent Tsubaki from following them.

Shakti could only narrow her eyes at a certain direction, before she turned her head away and started following Sora.

As the two walked further away, Tsubaki peeked out from a pillar and watched the two walk off in the distance.

"...Damn, I really underestimated him..." Tsubaki muttered to herself with surprise.

She honestly didn't expect Sora to be this capable of handling himself within the middle floors of the Dungeon. When she saw Sora and Shakti enter the Middle Floors, she thought Shakti was going to be taking point while Sora is relying on her for her protection.

Instead, she was greeted with the sight of Sora fighting of hordes of these unknown monsters that appeared out of nowhere and attacked Sora and Shakti.

Speaking of unknown monsters...

"I remember Lady Hephastois warning me about these new dark monsters that are appearing in the Dungeon, and to take high caution of them. Well, I can certainly understand why..." Tsubaki muttered to herself.

These dark monsters that she observed were far more dangerous compared to you average Dungeon monster. These monsters came in various shapes and sizes, had various abilities that would put any Dungeon monster to shame, and came in such large quantities that was comparable to that of a Monster Parade.

"And he's facing them head on and prevailing..." Tsubaki muttered while narrowing her eye at Sora.

That certainly explained why Sora didn't need the armor. He was capable of fighting alongside Shakti, who's a Level 5. It honestly felt like he is a Level 5.

"But if that was the case, why is he considered a Level 1? Are they lying about his Level...?" Tsubaki muttered in confusion, before she groaned in confusion while rubbing her head. "Damn, this kid is just way too confusing. And speaking of confusing..." Tsubaki trailed off when her mind focused on a certain weapon.

That strange sword. It looked like it would do some form of blunt damage, but Sora has cut clean through those dark monsters like they were butter, which baffled the blacksmith.

"Is it a specially made sword to cut despite looking blunt? But that wouldn't be enough to be considered special to surpass Lady Hephastois's works...there's gotta be more to it..." Tsubaki muttered, before she noticed that Sora and Shakti are getting further away.

"Aw shoot, I'm gonna loose them!" Tsubaki muttered in panic as she went after them.

---

~ Break ~

---

Thanks to Shakti's guidance, navigating through the Dungeon floors became a lot more quicker for Sora. And with their combined strength, they were able to break through the number of Heartless coming their way. As a result, Sora found himself soon reaching the 18th floor soon.

"Woah...! What is this place...!?" Sora said aloud in awe and wonder when he and Shakti entered a rather large room.

Before Sora is a rather large room, along with a wall that appeared rather clean and flat compared to the jagged and rough walls of the Dungeon.

"This room is called the Big Wall of Grief. This is where the Monster Rex known as the Goliath spawns. Given that it's not in this room, that means it was defeated and is taking time to respawn." Shakti explained.

"That so? That just makes me curious to see what it's like in person." Sora remarked.

"If so, I would recommend taking it on with a party. Monster Rex's cannot be underestimated, and taking on one alone is rather dangerous and risky." Shakti warned Sora, before she gestured to the entrance that's far away from them. "In any case, we've reached the end of the 17th Floor and enter the 18th floor." Shakti told Sora.

"Great! That means better drops from the Dungeon monsters." Sora said to himself while nodding, and proceeded to walk ahead.

"Well then, let's get-

Before Sora could make another step, both he and Shakti felt the very air around them shift and change. Feeling this made them stop in alarm. And before they could even question what was going on, a massive pool of Darkness began to form before them.

"This is...!" Shakti muttered in recognition and alarm.

"Well this isn't good..." Sora muttered as he prepped himself for what is to come.

The two soon heard some kind of revving noise being made through the air, along with some kind of engine sound making its way towards them. The noise grew louder as a figure finally emerged from the Darkness, and it was a sight that made Shakti's jaw drop a bit in disbelief and shock.

The Heartless before them is a large, box-shaped being with four black wheels, two on either side of its body. It appears to be predominantly made of wood. Its face takes up its entire front side, with a large, red, jagged mouth with yellow "lips" on its lower half, and a black "forehead" with silver, metal additives on it. Its eyes are a glowing yellow color and its Heartless emblem is in the middle of its face. There is a wooden guardrail on its top decorated by yellow and red patterns as well as four white spikes.

And on top of the Heartless are several smaller Heartless that wore silver armor, including a bullet-shaped helmet with an opening for their black faces and glowing yellow eyes. All of their helmets sport two short spikes and a curled, black antenna. They have small legs which allow them to move around the top of engine. They wield large, indigo bow-like weapons.

"What in the world am I looking at...!?" Shakti muttered in alarm.

"This is...!" Sora said in recognition, before his mind was flooded with memories that didn't belong to him once more.

Once again, it was a Heartless that Roxas fought during his time in Organization 13. And from Roxas's experience, the Heartless before him is called...

"It's an Infernal Engine Heartless!" Sora recognized.

"Infernal Engine...? Honestly, what type of monsters did you encounter...!?" Shakti incredulously muttered, before she focused back on the important matter at hand.

This Heartless is more bigger compared to the last big Heartless that she fought. And if she knows anything about these types of Heartless, they're ridiculously powerful. So powerful that Sora was the key player in defeating them, while she and Bete were the supporting fighters. She knew that she's going to be facing an uphill battle from here, one where she isn't so confident with her chances of surviving.

So begrudgingly, Shakti simply turned her head to the entrance behind her.

"Are you just going to stand there hiding Collbrande, or are you finally going to show yourself?" Shakti questioned.

Her ears picked up a small started noise, as if she was surprised that she was caught so easily.

"Seirously...? I thought I hid myself pretty well..." Tsubaki muttered while scratching the back of her head. But she was frowning when she got a good view of the Heartless before her. "But seriously, what the hell am I looking at? That isn't the Goliath I know of!" Tsubaki said while pointing at the Infernal Engine Heartless before her.

"That's...a long and complicated story in itself really." Sora answered with a bit of an unsure look, before he focused back on the Heartless. "Well regardless, we have a Heartless to take down. You ready Shakti?"

"Of course." Shakti said as she prepped her spear once more, but not before giving a glance towards Tsubaki. "I certainly have some words to say about your recent activities, but this takes more priority at hand. Right now, either stay out of this fight or you can contribute in taking it down."

"You're letting me join?" Tsubaki said with a raised eyebrow.

"Unfortunately, this type of monster cannot be underestimated. We need all the fighters we can get if want to truly stand a chance against this monster." Shakti told her, as she's willing to compromise and look the other way for Tsubaki's recent activities in favor of eliminating the Heartless before her.

Tsubaki blinked a bit when she heard this, and turned towards the large Heartless. It was then Tsubaki gave a small smirk when she finally realized an opportunity from this. Another part of her is interested in testing herself against these new strange monsters that are appearing in the Dungeon.

"Alright alright, I'll lend a hand." Tsubaki simply said as grabbed hold of her Benishigure, a first-class naginata weapon she forged.

"So you're helping out? Great! Let's take this Heartless together!" Sora said with a ready smirk as he prepped himself for the Infernal Engine Heartless.

As the three stood before the Infernal Engine Heartless, the Infernal Engine Heartless had its engine roar with energy. The Heartless atop of it jumped around, ready to shoot down their targets.

The Infernal Engine Heartless immediately opened its mouth, and from its dark interior emerged a a large cannon pointed straight at them.

"Move!" Sora warned the two Captains as he immediately began to move out of the way. Tsubaki and Shakti took heed of Sora's warning and jumped away from their spots as well.

As soon as they moved, the Infernal Engine began to fire off large fireballs towards them. The large fireballs flew through the air and impacted on the ground, exploding violently as they made contact with the surface. At the same time, the archers on top of the Infernal Engine began to fire off their arrows as well, resulting in the trio finding themselves under heavy fire.

"Well ain't that a pain in the ass..." Tsubaki muttered as she was weaving her way through the projectiles or deflecting them with her spear, with Shakti doing the same as well.

The cannon then pointed towards Sora. Sora quickly glanced up and saw that the Archer Heartless weren't aiming at him at the moment. Seeing the cannon in front of him soon gave Sora an idea, based on the memories he has of Roxas's experience with the Infernal Engine.

The cannon soon fired off a large fireball, to which Sora firmly stood his ground instead of moving.

"Sora!?" Shakti exclaimed in shock and alarm when she saw Sora not moving when he was in its line of fire.

"Is that kid crazy!?" Tsubaki yelled in shock.

The large fireball soon closed in on Sora, to which Sora gave a small smirk on his face as he held up his Keyblade like it was some kind of bat.

"Back at ya!" Sora yelled as he swung his Keyblade like a baseball bat.

The moment the fireball closed the distance between it and Sora, Sora's Keyblade made contact with the fireball and ended up deflecting the incoming projectile. The fireball flew through the air, before it fell onto the Archer Heartless that was firing on top of it, instantly burning away the archer Heartless.

"Wait...you can do that...!?" Tsubaki muttered in surprise, before she frowned. "No, it's not that the fireball is physical enough to just knock back. Is...Is that the special trait of the kid's strange sword? Deflecting magic...?"

A magic deflecting sword.

A weapon trait like that is practically absurd and unheard of.

She knows of Welf's anti-magic spell, but that's magic. A sword being able to deflect magic is unheard of.

'Is that what makes the sword special...? I'm sure Lady Hephastois can come up with something like that if she puts her mind to it...' Tsubaki thought while frowning with confusion, before she focused back on the battle.

When Sora took out one of the Heartless archers, the Infernal Engine stopped firing off its cannon, before it went back into its mouth.

"A chance!" Shakti muttered as she closed in on the Infernal Engine.

"Time to take out those archers...!" Tsubaki said as she moved forward.

However, the moment she closed the distance between the Infernal Engine, the Infernal's Engine mouth opened up and emerged a large hammer. Seeing the large hammer made Shakti and Tsubaki stop in their tracks in alarm. Before they could retreat from any further, the hammer closed in on Shakti.

The Ganesha Familia Captain had no choice but to raise her spear to block the incoming attack. The moment the hammer landed on her, Shakti truly felt the weight of the hammer. Her knees buckled heavily, her arms screamed in strain upon impact, and the ground heavily cracked from the sheer impact.

'It's capable of striking with this much strength...!?' Shakti thought while hissing in pain from the impact that she had suffered with her body.

"Shoot...!" Tsubaki whispered in alarm as she immediately moved in to help Shakti from being crushed, as she leaped forward and knocked the hammer off of Shakti with the strike of her naginata.

"Shakti!" Sora cried out in alarm, before he turned towards the Infernal Engine in question with a glare. He then pointed his Keyblade forward. "Stream!"

Sora blasted Waterga from his Keyblade, sending forth a large ball of water to arc through the air and strike the Infernal Engine straight in its face. The force of the water blast pushed the Inferal Engine back a bit, but enough to give Shakti and Tsubaki space.

Shakti and Tsubaki soon jumped back to gain some distance, and Sora immediately got close to them. He raised his hand towards Shakti.

"Heal!" Sora casted Curaga on the Ganesha Familia Captain, causing a flower to materialize over Shakti and shower her with green light. The healing spell did its magic as Shakti's bodily strains soon faded away, and she felt as good as new.

Tsubaki stood there looking rather surprised once more on what she witnessed. The first is that sword actually blasted forth water magic, meaning it's a magic sword.

'Wait, so that funny looking sword is a Magic Sword!? But I thought it was able to just deflect magic...!' Tsubaki thought in surprise. 'And did this kid just cast a healing spell with no magic chant...!?'

Shakti could only turn to Sora in a bit of surprise on what he did, before she immediately regained her focus as she gave a nod of thanks.

"You have my thanks." Shakti told him.

"No problem." Sora returned with a small reassuring smile, before he frowned as he turned forward to the Infernal Engine. "I know it's rather late to say this, but this Heartless has more tricks up its sleeve than you could expect."

"Something I unfortunately witnessed first hand." Shakti quietly remarked.

"Yeah, and how the hell is it able to fit a cannon and a hammer like that in its body?" Tsubaki questioned with confusion. Seriously, just seeing a large cannon and large hammer emerge from its mouth made the blacksmith question how it could fit all of that inside its mouth.

Sora frowned when he turned to the half-dwarf. "We should worry about that later. All I can tell you is that it has more tricks up its sleeve. One is a battering ram, and the other is-"

Before Sora could finish his sentence, it retracted the hammer back onto its mouth, closed it, and immediately opened up again to let loose a barrage of giant rolling bombs towards them. And to follow up, the archer Heartless began pulling back their bows once more.

"-that!" Sora finished with alarm.

"Seriously, where the hell is it storing all of that!?" Tsubaki questioned with utter confusion and alarm.

"You can ask questions later! Focus on the battle!" Shakti warned as she was prepared to face the assault of giant bombs coming towards them.

"Both of you, get behind me!" Sora told the two Captains.

Both of the Captains looked at Sora in surprise and confusion when told this, but they immediately did so. As they did, Sora pointed his Keyblade forward once more.

"Stream!" Sora yelled as he fire it off Waterga from his Keyblade, sending forth another blast of water magic.

This time, the water magic struck the incoming bombs, and the force of the water caused it to diverge its course and roll into other bombs, causing an explosion to occur. Sora kept firing off water magic to divert whatever bombs comes their way, before he noticed a few arrows coming their way.

Immediately, he focused on the other aspect of his water magic as he casted it once more, this time having the water swirl around Sora and his party, shielding them from the arrows.

Annoyed by the arrows, Sora finally had enough as he spotted one bomb rolling towards them. He pointed his Keyblade forward once more and fired off Waterza. This time, the force of the water forced the bomb to roll backwards, the bomb towards the Infernal Engine Heartless. The bomb exploded when it made contact with the Infernal Engine Heartless, make it roll a bit backwards once more. This force of the explosion caused the archer Heartless to shake and lose their balance upon the sudden movement, interrupting their firing process.

"Tsubaki! Get up on the Infernal Engine's head!" Sora told her.

"Would love to, but that hammer of it is going to-" Tsubaki said, but Sora gave a small reassuring smile.

"No need to worry. Just jump forward now! I'll take care of the rest!" Sora told her.

Tsubaki blinked at what Sora is telling her to do, before she gave an exasperated sigh and smile.

"Honestly, you're just full of surprises." Tsubaki remarked, before she knelled a bit to get ready to jump forward. "Alright then, leaving what crazy plan up to you then!"

Tsubaki ran forward and jumped into the air, leaping up into the a good distance. It wasn't enough to close the distance between the Infernal Engine, but Sora had that covered.

He jumped up into the as well following Tsubaki, and then turned his Keyblade to the flat side. When he closed the distance between them, Sora then planted the flat blade of his Keyblade onto Tsubaki's feet.

"Get going!" Sora exclaimed as he used his strength to propel Tsubaki forward.

Tsubaki could only be surprised when Sora managed to launch her further in the air with his strength.

'He's this strong to launch me forward...? Seriously, who is this kid...?' Tsubaki thought to herself, before she shook her head a bit. 'You know what? I really need to stop asking that question. I have a feeling it's going to come up more often...'

With that in mind, Tsubaki focused on the task at hand as she soared through the air above the Infernal Engine, and managed to land on top of the Infernal Engine's head.

The archer Heartless turned to Tsubaki and attempted to fire at her, but the Captain proved to be too much for them as she immediately began to cut down their numbers rather quickly.

"Let's go Shakti!" Sora declared.

"Let's!" Shakti agreed as she sprinted forward.

With the archer Heartless being occupied by Tsubaki and the Infernal Engine stunned from the bomb attack, Sora and Shakti closed the distance between them and immediately began to deliver an assault on the Infernal Engine, delivering countless slashes on its face.

As they did, a light began to glow between the two. Sora and Shakti soon took notice of this, with Shakti blinking in surprise on what she's seeing.

"Your Skill...?" Shakti muttered in surprise, seeing it materialize so soon.

"You bet! Just like last time, follow on what your Heart is telling you to do!" Sora told her.

"Right!" Shakti said while nodding.

With the link established, the two jumped back into the air. Sora quickly descended down to the ground and slammed his Keyblade onto it, causing large chunks of the ground to fly up into the air. The ground chunks ascended up into the air and right in front of Shakti.

Shakti immediately threw up her spear into the air above her. With her hands free, Shakti's limbs soon glowed with power once more, and proceeded to rapidly punch each piece of ground chunks in front of her. When her fist made contact with the ground chunks, it launched them forward while the ground chunks glowed a brown-orange color. The ground chunks assaulted the Infernal Engine like they were mini meteorites, heavily damaging the Infernal Engine Heartless.

When Shakti used up all the ground chunks, she soon landed on the ground next to Sora. The Ganesha Familia Captain held up her arm into the air and caught her spear.

It was then Sora and Shakti drew back their weapons, their weapons glowing with power. The two then kicked off the ground and charged forward with their weapons pointed forward. As they did, energy soon began to take shape in the form of an elephant head, with the weapons forming as sharp tusks.

""Muladhara Rush!""

The elephant head soon impacted with the Infernal Engine, the impact so great that it ended up greatly pushing back the large Heartless, so far back that it's back ended up hitting the wall behind it.

The energy around the two soon faded, and the two jumped back once more to gain a safe distance. As they did, they saw the results of their combined attack.

The Infernal Engine was heavily damaged, smoke spewing from its mouth while its eyes were flickering on and off. It's entire body was shaking, like it was struggling to stand up.

"Nice! We dealt a lot of damage to it!" Sora said while giving a small victorious smile upon seeing this.

"Once again, that Skill of yours is honestly surprising and powerful..." Shakti remarked with a raised eyebrow, once again astonished at how powerful Sora's Skill is to bring out this kind of strength out of her and use it tandem to bring forth this powerful attack.

"...Alright, I'm just going to ask what the hell happened?" a familiar voice said behind them.

Both Sora and Shakti blinked when they heard this, and turned to see Tsubaki walking up to them.

"Tsubaki? Weren't you on top of the Infernal Engine? Why are you behind us?" Sora asked in confusion.

"I was, before you two pulled some kind of crazy move to hit the damn thing. It made me fall off because of it." Tsubaki explained with a raised eyebrow, but not at all bothered by the experience. "But seriously, what was that? Was that you or Shakti that pulled off that crazy spell?"

"My Skill." Sora simply answered with a grin.

Tsubaki could only stare at Sora with a bit of silence, and then turned to Shakti to see if Sora isn't kidding. The Ganesha Familia Captain only nodded in confirmation.

"I have...so many questions..." Tsubaki groaned while rubbing her forehead, feeling a headache forming.

"We can answer that later. Right now, we gotta finish it-" Sora said as he turned around to finish off the Infernal Engine Heartless, before he noticed something off about it.

The Infernal Engine Heartless was violently shaking, before its eyes began to just turn off. Suddenly, it stopped still for a moment, before a burst of Darkness erupted from it. The burst of Darkness caused the trio to raise their arms from the sudden pressure.

"What's going on...!?" Shakti questioned in alarm.

"I don't know! The Infernal Engine Heartless never done this before!" Sora said, not recognizing any pattern that Roxas fought in the past.

"Well whatever it is, it's not good, I can tell you that much!" Tsubaki said, her lone eye widening in alarm and surprise.

It was then the Infernal Engine opened its mouth once more. Only this time, nothing came out. Instead, it opened its mouth...and began to expand. The mouth kept growing upwards vertically, with the top of its head rising upwards and almost hitting the ceiling above them. Once it did finish opening its mouth to just a ridiculous extent, dark mist begun to spill before it.

It from its dark mouth that a pair of yellow eyes began to glow in the dark. And a figure began to emerge from that darkness.

Everyone could only gape in surprise on what they're witnessing.

The figure appeared very mechanical in appearance. It looked like a statue of sort, given its bronze color while tinged with dark purple. The mechanical statue only consisted of only its upper body structure, stopping down to its abdomen. It wore some kind of armor that covered its main body and shoulders, with the Heartless symbol on its chest. The head looked rather demonic, with 3 spiky horns protruding from the side of its head and a strange shaped crown on top of its head. It's arms looked rather lanky, but their thin stature didn't betray the strength it displayed, with its 3 pronged fingers holding up two massive curved and jagged swords.

And the figure's size absolutely loomed over the three.

"That's...unexpected." Sora uneasily commented, before he dug into his pocket and took out his Gummiphone. Quickly, he had the Gummiphone scan what kind of Heartless in front of him. In a short moment, the Gummiphone processed the data, before a new screen opened up on Sora's screen.

Scanning finished

Unidentified Heartless. No data available.

Database uploaded.

Name created: Demon Wall

"Demon Wall...?" Sora muttered in confusion, before he soon noticed this new type of Heartless began to advance towards the three. As it did, his ears picked up forming behind them, and turned his head to see the entrance to this floor is being sealed with some kind of dark barrier.

'Wait...does it intend on crushing us...!?' Sora thought in alarm, as he turned back to face the Demon Wall Heartless.

As soon as he did, it raised up its arm while prepping to swing its massive sword.

"Move!" Sora warned the two Captains as he immediately began to move out of the way. Shakti and Tsubaki followed suit as well.

As they did, the it swung down its massive sword and impacted with the ground, causing an explosion of dust and rubble to fly everywhere.

"Everyone, we gotta defeat this Heartless fast! If we don't, it's going to crush us with the wall behind us!" Sora warned the two Captains.

When they heard this, they turned their heads and their eyes widened at the sight of the entrance being magically blocked.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me...!" Tsubaki yelled in alarm.

"This Heartless isn't playing around...!" Shakti said in alarm.

"No kidding! If that's the case...!" Sora declared as he decided to kick things up a notch.

Sora jabbed his Keyblade forward, the end of the Keyblade's sail began to spin and expand. Sora swung the Keyblade over him, allowing a ship's wheel to detach itself from Sora's Keyblade, and proceeded to spin around Sora as water effects swirled around him. The Keyblade in hand began to transform into a spear, and Sora flipped himself right side up as the wheel came back to Sora and attached itself to the end of Sora's Keyblade.

Sora landed on the ground, prepping his High Wind for combat.

Tsubaki's jaw just dropped on what she just witnessed.

"What...How...Why...!?" Tsubaki couldn't help but utter out in absolute confusion and shock. Her mind couldn't even process on what she just witnessed.

What Sora's weapon did was do something absolutely impossible and violated the common definition of a Magic Sword.

It transformed into another weapon.

No Magic Sword in history should have the ability to do that!

'I have so many questions!' Tsubaki mentally cried out in shock and confusion.

"Focus Collbrande." Shakti simply reminded, her eyes still focused on the Heartless before her. It was a surprising sight for Shakti as well, but this isn't the first time. Plus, she isn't a blacksmith, so she doesn't understand how mind-shattering Sora's weapon is.

Tsubaki broke out of her stupor, seeing how they're still in the middle of the fight. She quickly shook her head, before she focused back on what's in front of her.

"Right, right. Gotta take care of this thing here first..." Tsubaki muttered, all the while feeling very motivated to take this thing out so she can get to more important matters at hand.

The Demon Wall Heartless's eyes soon glowed brighter, and the roof above them began to rumble and crack. The trio looked up, and saw that large rocks began to rain from above.

This caused the trio to constantly move to avoid the incoming rocks. The Demon Wall soon raised its arm and delivered a side swipe. Tsubaki's eye widened when it was coming from her side and closing in on her, and the rocks were coming in close as well.

But Sora then descended from the air and plunged his High Wind onto the flat of the blade, stopping the blade in its tracks. Sora immediately turned around and leapt forward towards the main body of the Demon Wall. Sora thrusted his High Wind forward, and light constructs of High Wind manifested around Sora. Multiple blows were dealt to Demon Wall as a result.

The Demon Wall wasn't going to allow Sora the chance as it tried to swipe Sora away from its body, causing Sora to jump back from its strike. As Sora did, The Demon Wall's eyes soon glowed once more, this time shooting forth a dark pulse forward.

The party raised their weapons to block the incoming attack, but the magic wave passed right through them. As it did, that's when everything began to take a dark turn.

Quite literally.

"What the-!? Why can't I see!?" Tsubaki questioned in alarm.

"Did this Heartless take away our vision!?" Shakti realized in alarm as well.

"Okay, I did not see that coming...!" Sora muttered, disturbed by this new revelation.

No matter how hard he looked, he can see nothing but darkness in front of him. The Heartless must've casted a spell that robbed them of their vision.

'Not good...! This Heartless is trickier than I thought...!' Sora thought with a frown, before he soon realized something. 'Wait...a magic that causes a negative status effect...in that case...!'

Sora raised his Keyblade into the air.

"Esuna!" Sora called out, causing pink petals to revolve around him. As it did, Sora's vision immediately began to return back to normal, and he was able to see what was in front of him once more.

"Alright...!" Sora cheered, seeing that the Esuna spell has indeed worked its magic as intended, being able to remove negative status effects.

However, Sora's celebration was cut short when he immediately saw the Demon Wall raising its sword once more, this time intending on cutting down Tsubaki, while Tsubaki stood there rather lost.

"Oh crud...!" Sora yelled in alarm and panic, seeing how Tsubaki is in danger.

Immediately, his body began to glow a blue-ish color as he immediately used Airstep to close the distance between him and Tsubaki. As soon as he did, he immediately swept Tsubaki off of her feet and into a bridal carry.

"Whoa, what the-!?"

"Hang on!" Sora told her as he immediately jumped off the ground move from their spot. Just in the nick of time, as they managed to avoid a giant sword hitting them as it hit the ground.

As Sora's was still in momentum, he saw that he was closing in on the wall. Seeing this, Sora simply lifted up his legs and planted his feet onto the wall. Immediately, energy began to surround Sora; this time, he was activating his Flowmotion.

Sora immediately kicked off the wall, and he and Tsubaki were soaring through the air. As they did, Sora saw Shakti across the room, standing on guard while frantically trying to keep track of her surroundings. But as Sora was soaring through the air, he immediately began to work his magic.

"Esuna!"

Pink petals began to swirl around Tsubaki. The anti-debuff spell worked its magic as it lifted Tsubaki of her blindness.

"Woah...my vision is coming back and...!" Tsubaki said to herself in surprise, and surprised to see that she and Sora were soaring through the air while he was carrying her. "Alright, didn't expect this...!"

Sora didn't really answer her as he focused on another task at hand. He immediately landed near Shakti and lets go of Tsubaki as he held his hand towards her.

"Esuna!"

Pink petals showered over the Ganesha Familia Captain, and the spell restored Shakti's vision.

"I-I can see again...?" Shakti muttered in surprise, before she saw Sora before her while he was holding up his arm. "Wait, Sora, did you...?"

"Managed to lift the blinding spell. It's a good thing I knew this spell." Sora remarked with a small grin, before he frowned as he turned to look at the Demon Wall, this time the Demon Wall was closing the distance between them. Sora began to notice that there isn't much room behind them as well.

"Just as we thought we would deal with it, it just keeps on brining more complicated tricks..." Tsubaki remarked while narrowing her lone eye. "We'll be dead meat if big and ugly uses the blinding magic once more..."

"All the more reason to to take it out immediately. We shouldn't give it a chance to do anything." Shakti said, prepping her spear once more.

"Agreed." Sora said as he prepped his High Wind once more.

The Demon Wall raised its two arms into the air. This time, the trio saw the Demon Wall forming sharp icicles above them. When the icicles formed above them, they immediately began a deadly rain to fall before them.

Immediately, the trio scattered once more to avoid the icicles. But even with their scattering, the raining icicles still had a wide area of effect. Sora then proceeded to use his High Wind to deflecting the incoming spears. The two polearm users followed suit as well to defend themselves.

Tsubaki then began to advance towards the Demon Wall while still deflecting with her naginata. As she closed the distance, the Demon Arm took notice and swung down its blade. Tsubaki side stepped the incoming blow, and kept on making her way towards the Demon Wall.

With the distance closed between them, Tsubaki swung her naginata, striking the Demon Wall's face. However, even with the slash, the most she did was staggering it for a short moment.

"Geez, what a tough bastard...!" Tsubaki remarked with annoyance, before she raised her polearm to defend herself from its headbutt. The force of the headbutt forced Tsubaki to go to the ground. As she landed, she saw from her left periphery that it raised its sword to do a sweep of its large sword.

But before it could do so, Shakti appeared out of nowhere as she planted her spear into its exposed arm. This stab caused the Heartless to let go of its large sword. Before it could do anything else, Sora appeared from above and multiple spear constructs appeared around him once more. Sora then plunged straight into the Demon Wall's back, followed by a rain of sharp spears.

The Demon Wall was staggering from all of this damage. It's eyes glowed, prepping to use its blinding spell to get out of a bind...

But Shakti immediately appeared near its head and delivered a nasty blow with her fist, using all of her strength to stun the large Heartless.

The Heartless grew agitated with all of this, and a dark aura began to surround it and the wall behind it. Seeing this, the trio saw danger on what it was about to do, and immediately jumped back to gain distance from the Demon Wall. Just as they did, the Demon Wall aggressively moved forward, intending on using its charge to deliver a blow to the trio. However, the trio managed to avoid the attack.

Sora, Shakti, and Tsubaki soon gained distance once more. But this time, they began to notice the wall behind them to be a lot more closer than list time.

The Demon Wall was close to crushing its targets.

"After all that, we still haven't finished it!?" Tsubaki said in alarm.

"Unfortatunely, these type of monsters tend to be more resilient and harder to take down..." Shakti muttered, troubled to see that her spear was still lodged into the Demon Wall's arm.

Sora frowned and narrowed his eyes at the Demon Wall Heartless before him, before glancing at his High Wind. 'Never thought this Heartless could endure this much punishment from the High Wind. And this Keyblade has a lot of offensive power. I think I need to use something other than water magic...'

Sora began to point his High Wind forward, this time, he intends on unleashing different spells to push back the Demon Wall to give them some space.

However, the Demon Wall's eyes soon glowed a short bit, and the roof above them began to rumble and crumble once more.

"Not this again...!" Tsubaki groaned when she took notice as well.

"Tch!" Shakti clicked her tongue.

Immediately, the trio had to move once more to avoid the incoming rock fall. As they did, the Demon Wall began to take advantage of the trio being distracted, before its eyes glowed once more, and a dark energy began to build up.

When Shakti saw this, her eyes widened in alarm, seeing what the Demon Wall is going to do once more.

'Not good...! If it casts that magic, we're going to be vulnerable once more...!' Shakti thought as she avoided a boulder. She didn't have anything stop it from casting the spell, seeing how her spear wasn't with her, so she can't throw it and interrupt its process...!

But it was then Shakti began to notice her surroundings. The rocks that were falling around her were still around. Her mind remembered how she used the rocks when doing a link attack with Sora...!

Shakti saw a good sizable boulder near her. Immediately, she got to the boulder and used her high physical Level 5 strength to lift the boulder above her. With the path clear before her, Shakti immediately chucked the boulder with all of her strength.

Everyone watched as the boulder soar through the air. Just as the Demon Wall was about to unleash its blinding magic wave, the boulder hit the Demon Wall straight in the face, interrupting its process of casting its blinding dark wave.

Tsubaki blinked in surprise on what she witnessed, while Sora grinned at what he saw.

"Way to go Shakti!" Sora cheered.

"Don't celebrate just yet. The Heartless is still standing..." Shakti reminded Sora.

"Right! We need to finish it one go then if we truly want to finish things off!" Sora declared.

As soon as he said that, a glow began to manifest around the three. Tsubaki blinked in surprise upon seeing the glow coming from her body.

"Wait, is this...?" Tsubaki said in recognition.

"Sora's Skill. If it's manifesting between us, then we're about to use our powers combined to truly finish this fight." Shakti said as she prepped herself once more.

"That's right! This time, we'll truly put an end to this!" Sora said with determination.

With Link to All taking effect, it began to works its magic as the glow intensified.

Immediately, a spear construct of light manifested near Shakti. Shakti noticed this and grabbed hold of the spear.

The trio then raised their polearms into the air, and a blue energy began to flow out of them. The energy began to collect and began to form into some kind of draconic head. After a moment of time, the collection and formation of energy soon finished, and a the draconic head gave a noiseless roar upon completion.

The trio soon jumped into and near the dragon head. When they did, the began to rise up into the air, before the dragon head surrounded the trio, and soon descended towards the Demon Wall.

The Demon Wall saw the incoming dragon, and swung its sword to meet the attack head on.

However, the moment the sword made contact with dragon, it completely broke through.

The Demon Wall was at its mercy as the dragon head crashed into its body, and immediately began to push it back with so much force that it was being pushed across the room. The force of their combined attack caused it to crash into the wall behind it, and an explosion of energy soon erupted from the collision, causing a bright light to fill the room.

When the light died down, the trio soon landed on the ground, and saw the results of their combined attack.

The Demon Wall was heavily damaged. Dark smoke was leaking all over its body. The Demon Wall Heartless was twitching like that of a damage machined. It attempted to raise its body, but stopped for a still moment. It then fell apart into pieces, causing its parts to scatter all over the ground. The body parts of the Heartless soon dissipated into dark mist, and a large Heart soon manifested and floated upwards into the air and disappeared.

With the Heartless gone, everyone soon gave a sigh of relief, seeing how the battle is over.

"Whew! Finally glad that's over with!" Sora cheered while bumping his fist. He turned to his two party members. "Awesome job everyone!"

"It was fortunate that we managed to come out of this relatively unscathed..." Shakti remarked.

"Yeah, all thanks to Sora. Seriously though, if it weren't for those healing spells, we would've been in deeper trouble." Tsubaki commented, before she blinked upon realizing something. "Wait a second...those two spells that you've used. I didn't hear a single chant from you. You're...able to use two spells without any chants!?" Tsubaki pointed out in surprise.

As soon as Tsubaki said that, Sora's eyes widened when he was hit with the realization that he used two spells outside of his water magic: Curaga and Esuna. He was so caught up in the heat of battle that he disregarded his cover of only being able to use Curaga.

Then again, Esuna was needed in a time of emergency. If he didn't use it, the party would've been exposed to much more danger, not to mention Shakti nearly being cut down by the Demon Wall Heartless.

"Ah ha ha ha...maaaaybeee?" Sora weakly tried to wave off while glancing off to the side.

"Oi, it's kind of too late to play it off..." Tsubaki flatly remarked, but soon narrowed her eye. "But never mind that. There's something more important at hand that we need to talk about."

"And what exactly is that?" Shakti said while narrowing her eyes at Tsubaki. She could imagine Tsubaki having so many questions regarding the Heartless they fought, which is supposed to be confidential information.

Tsubaki didn't say anything as she immediately closed in on Sora and grabbed his shoulders. Sora yelped when he felt a tight grip on his shoulders, and was immediately brought closer to Tsubaki.

"What the hell is that magic sword that you've just used!?" Tsubaki questioned with an indigent look.

Both Sora and Shakti blinked upon hearing this question.

"...What?" Sora said aloud in confusion.

"What. Is. That. Magic. Sword!?" Tsubaki repeated each single word. "Seriously, what you just used is completely unbelievable! It can deflect magic! It can cast water magic! It can transform into a friggin spear! It can summon more spears alongside it! All in one sword! That's just complete bullshit!" Tsubaki listed while looking a bit manic with all of this crashing down on her.

"U-Um..." Sora found himself at a loss of words on how to exactly answer this.

"Well!?" Tsubaki hurriedly insisted, wanting to know the explanation.

Now Sora found himself in quite a pickle. The only explanation he could give is that his Keyblades are just able to do that, ever since he discovered the use of Formchange.

"To be honest...they're just able to. I don't know how else to explain it..." Sora answered with an unsure look.

Tsubaki could only give a disbelieving look upon hearing this.

"You don't know...!? How could you not know-!?" Tsubaki said, before she realized something from Sora's answer. Sora says he doesn't know how the Magic Sword exactly functions, he just uses it. It would make sense, considering how he's an Adventurer and not a Blacksmith. Meaning he doesn't know all the intricate processes of forging a weapon!

"So your blacksmith knows the details on how this sword is created." Tsubaki said in realization.

'Where did she get that idea!?' Sora thought in surprise.

Technically speaking, Sora is a Blacksmith, considering how he's able to create new Keyblades with the Keychains he gains through his travels.

Before Sora could input on anything else, Tsubaki just gained a more hungry glint in her eye.

"I want to meet your Blacksmith. I want to know the requirements, methods, materials, Skills, and Developmental Abilities just to create that sword!" Tsubaki kept listing on.

"W-Well, that's-" Sora found himself tongue tied on how to answer that question.

"Alright, that's enough." Shakti immediately spoke up as she grabbed the two's shoulders, and immediately broke the two apart.

"Oi, I was just asking the kid questions!" Tsubaki protested.

"He needs space." Shakti retorted, before she narrowed her eyes. "And need I remind you that you're on thin ice, considering your earlier actions before this whole monster appeared."

"But-" Sora wanted to protest, but Shakti raised her hand to stop Sora, all the while turning slightly towards him to silently tell him with her eyes to leave this to her. Sora blinked when he saw this, but stayed quiet for the time being.

"Oh c'mon, I haven't even interfered with whatever that you're doing! And besides, I lent a helping hand, didn't I? That should make up for it!" Tsubaki pointed out.

"And that's precisely because of that, that you're on thin ice. I've already told you not go get involved in classified matters, but you choose to do so anyway. That alone is enough for me to put you under arrest. However..." Shakti said as she folded her arms. "I am willing to overlook this...provided that you stop asking questions about Sora and don't share this incident with anyone else."

"Seriously...?" Tsubaki whispered in disbelief, can't believing that Shakti is using her position as law enforcer to effectively stop her from asking Sora questions.

Sora grew an uncomfortable look upon seeing all of this. Shakti was using this to protect him from being interrogated about his Keyblade, but the fact that Shakti was using her position as law enforcer to effectively stop Tsubaki from doing so made the Keyblade wielder felt that Shakti was going a bit too far.

Shakti simply narrowed her eyes at Tsubaki, telling her that she's not fooling around.

Tsubaki could only give a disgruntled expression when given the ultimatum, before she gave an aggravated sigh while putting up her arms up in surrender.

"Fine fine, I'll stop." Tsubaki relented. She may be willing to do a lot of things to help improve her skills in blacksmithing, but she's smart enough not to push her luck with the head of law enforcement of Orario.

Shakti only gave a small exhale upon hearing this, and turned to Sora with a nod. Sora could only give a shaky smile in response.

"W-Well, in any case, g-glad that's over with..." Sora trailed off while glancing off to the side. He blinked when he saw something shining on the floor.

Sora made his way towards the object, which caught the attention of the two Captains when they saw Sora walking off.

"Sora...?" Shakti muttered in confusion.

"Wait, what are...?" Tsubaki muttered when she spotted two objects in the distance.

Sora knelt down and picked up the 2 items. When he looked at them, he could only blink in surprise upon recognizing what they are. Courtesy of Roxas's memories.

The first item that Sora recognized immediately with its star shaped deep blue jewel, which meant it's a Pulsing Crystal.

The second item was another crystal-like object, in the shape of an arrow, and butt of the arrow had 5 round tiny round jewels of the same color attached. It had a light violet color.

'This is...a Rune Tech...' Sora thought with recognition when he was looking at them.

"Sora?" a voice called out to him in confusion.

Sora blinked, and turned to see the two Captains standing before him with raised eyebrows. As he did, he bought the two synthesis items into view.

"Wait...those are...!" Tsubaki said in recognition upon seeing the Pulsing Crystal.

"Did the Heartless drop this?" Shakti asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You bet!" Sora answered with a grin. "Never thought it would drop these, but I'm not complaining."

"Interesting..." Shakti muttered while looking at the materials before her.

"Synthesis materials...!" Tsubaki muttered while her eye twinkled a bit upon seeing the rare forging materials. This was an opportunity she couldn't afford to lose. "Hey, Sora, how much are you willing to sell for those items?"

"Huh?" Sora gave a confused look.

"How much are you willing to sell those? Name your price, and I'm willing to pay for it." Tsubaki told him.

"U-Um..." Sora looked a bit caught off guard upon hearing this.

Once again, Tsubaki is under the belief that he has a personal blacksmith making his weapons. And the fact that she's willing to pay him anything he wants just for these two items felt kind of wrong to Sora. Honestly, finding these Synthesis Materials aren't that difficult for him to find. He usually gets some whenever he fights the Heartless. Having Tsubaki pay a hefty amount to what he perceived as easy materials felt like he was scamming her.

He honestly has no desire to use these, considering that his own equipment is up to date and top notch. So he has no problem just giving her this since she helped out in the fight against the Demon Wall Heartless.

Sora was about to open his mouth to offer it, but Shakti immediately grabbed shoulder by his upper arm and began dragging him away.

"S-Shakti?" Sora said in surprise.

"Oi, what gives-!?" Tsubaki protested.

"You stay put. Sora and I have need to have a personal talk." Shakti sternly told Tsubaki as she dragged Sora away a good distance. Once they did, Shakti simply sighed when she turned to Sora.

"Were you about to give her those materials?" Shakti questioned.

"Well...yeah. Tsubaki helped out in the fight against the Heartless, and I don't really have much use out of these materials. So I thought about giving this to her as thanks." Sora told Shakti.

Shakti simply sighed once more upon hearing this.

"Honestly, you're just too charitable for your own good..." Shakti muttered with a bit of exasperation, before she shook her head. "While I understand your intentions, this won't really turn out well for you Sora."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked with confusion.

"If you were to give these Synthesis materials to Collbrande without asking anything in return, you're just enabling her. And if you enable her desires for these materials, then you're giving her more leverage towards demanding more from you, especially those magic swords of yours. You don't seem comfortable sharing these kinds of details, so I'd imagine that being harassed and constantly questioned by her isn't something you want." Shakti pointed out.

Sora went into a silence when hearing this from Shakti, and gave a conflicted expression.

What Shakti is saying isn't necessarily wrong. Tsubaki is really intent on learning everything about his Keyblade, which in turn will expose the fact that he isn't from this World. And if it wasn't for Shakti intervening in Tsubaki's interrogation, he could've spilled some important details. Yet at the same time, Sora is willing to give credit where credit is due, where she helped out in the Heartless fight.

'...I really want to show my thanks, but hide my status at the same time...' Sora thought with a frown. 'So how do I convince her to-'

An idea popped up in Sora's head.

"...I got it...!" Sora muttered with recognition, something that Shakti noticed.

"Got what?" Shakti asked with confusion.

Sora gave a confident grin towards her. "A situation where everyone benefits."

With that said, Sora turned around and made his way towards Tsubaki. Shakti could only blink incredulously upon hearing this, before she hastily moved herself to catch up to Sora.

"So...?" Tsubaki trailed off, not really knowing where this conversation will go.

"After some thinking, I've decided to give these two materials to you." Sora declared with no hesitation.

"Really-!?" Tsubaki said with her eye sparkling.

"On two conditions." Sora interrupted.

This made Tsubaki pause upon hearing all of this, before she gave a complex expression. "...Come again?"

"I'm willing to give you these two materials if you accept two conditions." Sora repeated.

"...And what exactly are these two conditions?" Tsubaki asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The first condition is that you stop asking questions relating anything to my weapons." Sora said.

This made Tsubaki freeze upon hearing this.

"If you won't accept this condition, then I won't give you these two materials." Sora told her.

Hearing this made Tsubaki fall into silence. And she felt VERY conflicted about this.

What Sora is asking her is basically putting full stop on trying to figure out how his weapons work. But as a Blacksmith, she really wants to figure out the secrets behind those absurd magic swords. If she was able to learn how they're made and function, she could easily achieve her dream of forging weapons and equipment that surpass Hephastois's works.

Is it really worth the price of getting those two rare forging materials?

But getting those two materials may be a clue on how his absurd weapons are made.

Having the opportunity to interrogate Sora on how the weapons are made...or getting rare materials to gain an insight into how the weapons are made.

The Blacksmith Captain felt very conflicted on what to do from here on.

"I..." Tsubaki quietly said after a moment of silence, before she gave a very aggravated and defeated sigh as she hunched over a bit in defeat. "...I accept your condition."

Sora blinked when he heard this answer. "You sure? There's no backing out of this..."

"I'm sure." Tsubaki answered, before a determined glint appeared in her eye. 'Besides, I won't let this stop me from trying to figure out your weapon, even if it means going through different methods...!'

"Well okay then. And now for my second condition..." Sora continued, making Tsubaki realize that there was still another condition that she has to follow.

'Wait, is he setting up another way to prevent me from learning about his weapons...!?' Tsubaki thought in alarm.

Sora simply smiled as he turned his head towards Shakti.

"I want you to use these materials to forge Shakti some new equipment." Sora told the Blacksmith.

This made both Captains blink in surprise upon hearing this.

"S-Sora?" Shakti said in surprise.

Sora simply gave her a grin.

"What? You didn't think I would leave you out, didn't I?" Sora slyly said.

This is what Sora was aiming for with these two conditions, and these two conditions would ultimately lead to a win for everyone.

For Sora, Tsubaki would stop hounding him about the Keyblade.

For Shakti, she would gain new equipment befitting her new growth and possible Level up.

Even Tsubaki has some benefit from this, in Sora's view at the very least. She gets to gain new synthesis materials, and learn from the smithing experience to improve her blacksmith skills. Even if she can't forge something like the Keyblade, he's sure that she can use the learning experience to improve something.

Shakti could only stare at Sora for a short moment of silence, before she finally lets out a small sigh of exasperation.

"Honestly...you're just like her..." Shakti quietly said to herself.

"Shakti?" Sora said in confusion, as he couldn't hear her words properly.

"It's nothing to worry about." Shakti simply told Sora.

"If you say so..." Sora said while blinking at this, before he turned to Tsubaki holding the two materials before her.

"Well?"

Tsubaki could only stare at the materials before her in a short moment of silence, before she gave a small sigh.

"...Fine, I'll make Varma some new equipment." Tsubaki accepted.

"Then it's a deal! If that's the case, they're all yours!" Sora told Tsubaki as he extended his arm towards her.

"Sweet!" Tsubaki cheerfully said as she accepted the two synthesis materials from Sora, her mind already running through numerous ideas on what to forge with them.

"Alright then! Now with that out of the way, let's get a move one!" Sora said with a grin. With that said, Sora turned around while pointing forward. "I'm sure we could use a break after all that has happened."

"Now that you mention it, I could use some rest after all the crazy that we went through." Tsubaki remarked while hefting her naginata over her shoulder.

"Indeed. Now is a good time to go to the 18th floor and recover from there." Shakti said as she began to walk ahead of the group. "Follow me. This entrance will lead right to the 18th floor."

The two followed Shakti to the exit of the 17th floor and walked down a rather dark stairway. As they walked down the stairs, Sora took notice a bright light approaching up ahead of the staircase.

When the finally exited the staircase, Sora was greeted with an interesting sight before him.

"Woah...!" Sora marveled in awe upon what he saw before him.

The floor is filled with crystals and nature. Large forests and lakes cover the floor. And in the center of the floor is a humongous tree reaching great heights. Within the forest are blue crystals of different sizes that reflect the light from above, causing the forest to be filled with a pale blue glow. The exceptionally high ceiling is filled with brilliant shining crystals of two colors, white crystals in the center that resemble the sun, and blue crystals surrounding it that resemble the sky.

As Sora marveled the view before him, Shakti simply turned to Sora while gesturing out to the floor before him.

"Welcome to the Under Resort."

---

And that's a wrap to this chapter!

Son. Of. A. Bitch.

Writing a Heartless Boss battle is a boss battle in itself. Especially when you try to keep things fresh and original.

Also hoped that I wrote Tsubaki right in this chapter. She's often described to do things a bit over the top, and Gareth commented on how Tsubaki is prone to do foolish things, especially when it comes to her interest. So I thought, Tsubaki would totally follow Sora if it meant learning more about his Keyblade, even if there was a warning given to her.

And I'm sure you've noticed Sora quickly forgiving Tsubaki stalking him for his Keyblade and giving her the synthesis materials (albeit with some conditions). You have to keep in mind that Sora is a VERY forgiving person. I mean, he forgave Riku's attempt at killing him. He forgave Namine for tampering with his memories. He even forgave Axel for kidnapping Kairi and stayed with him in his dying moments in KH2. Hell, he even thanked Ansem SOD (who was actually Riku) for protecting Kairi. Relatively speaking, Tsubaki is the least offensive compared to all of them, so Sora has no trouble just brushing aside his troubles with Tsubaki.

---

(Sora is not joining Loki's Expedition)

I've noticed a good majority of my Reviews saying how Sora joining the Loki Familia is the smartest move to make in order to earn valis. Normally, I would agree to such an action.

Personally, however, that'll just create some complications down the line if I'm being completely honest.

Why?

I've said this many times before, but Sora can be a story-breaker when he wants to be.

If Sora were to go with the Loki Familia, he's able to take the Loki Familia beyond the 59th Floor. And Ōmori hasn't written anything beyond the 59th Floor. I don't exactly feel comfortable writing material that can be disproven by future novels.

And besides, Hestia REALLY doesn't want Sora to get involved with other Gods (exceptions are Ganesha and Hephastois), especially when it comes to Loki. If she did let Sora go with the Loki Familia, it kind of defeats the whole purpose of trying to hide Sora's true capabilities and identity, even if Sora is showing a fraction of his true capabilities from past events. And even a fraction is enough for Loki to greatly want Sora in her Familia.

And knowing Sora's luck and his personality, he's going to expose far more than necessary to help and protect the Loki Familia from harm. This chapter literally proved that, considering how Sora immediately exposed another short chant spell (Esuna) in front of others. And that'll just open up a can of worms, something Hestia really doesn't want to deal with.

I know that some of you may not like it, and some of you made certain points that I couldn't help but agree with. But rest assured, I've already came up with certain things that'll address/make up for those issues. Please be patient. I promise this will pay off in the end.

---

(Link to All Limits)

I've decided to have a bit of fun and make some interesting references regard Sora's link attacks with Shakti and Tsubaki.

Muladhara Rush, or rather, the term 'Muladhara' itself is one of the 7 chakras found in a human's body based on Hinduism. Ganesha, according to Hindu mythology, governs Muladhara chakra itself. Now who is Shakti the Familia member of again?

In addition, Muladhara is associated with the earth element as well. As such, I found it fitting to incorporate the earth element into Sora and Shakti's link attack.

Seriously Kingdom Hearts, please please please incorporate earth spells into Kingdom Hearts. I'm well aware that Kingdom Hearts COM and BBS has Quake and Meteor if you're being technical. But quite frankly, we need more earth spells in our magic repertoire. I want to see Stone spell series, which consists of Stone, Stonera, Stonega, and Stoneja and variations of Quake, which consists of Quake, Quakra, Quaga, and Quakeja.

For the Limit that Sora, Tsubaki, and Shakti used, it's basically the Dragonsong Dive Limit Break from Final Fantasy 14. I used this Limit Break as a Link Attack because Sora, Shakti, and Tsubaki were using polearm weapons. I figured, since Sora's High Wind Formchange is basically a straight out reference to the Dragoon class (personal favorite class next to ninja), it was appropriate that Sora has a Limit related to the Limit Break.

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(Infernal Engine / Demon Wall Heartless)

Once again, it's a Heartless Boss chapter, this time it's KH 358/2 day themed Heartless. I'll say this upfront that I personally love KH 358/2 days, and it's my first personal Kingdom Hearts game that I beat. Yes, the gameplay was rather mediocre, I'll admit that much. But the story and characters is what makes KH 358/2 days a personal favorite.

Here's an interesting tidbit to know: the Infernal Engine is based on Final Fantasy's Demon Wall. And due to said reference, I've decided give the Infernal Engine a second phase and have it turn into a traditional Final Fantasy Demon Wall. As such, I took two references from two Final Fantasy Games: 7 and 12.

For Final Fantasy 12, I've decided to take the statue figure with the twin giant swords as a "final phase" to the Infernal Engine Heartless. But imagine the Demon Wall from 12 to be way bigger, comparable to that of a Goliath from Danmachi. I've also took the Blindga spell to give it a dangerous gimmick.

For Final Fantasy 7, I've took some techniques from the Demon Wall and incorporated it into the Infernal Engine. Namely, the Falling Rocks, Cave-In, and Demon Rush.

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Fun Fact of the Day

The final battle with Xemnas in II was supposed be quite different, with Xemnas melding into a giant Transformer-esque creature after absorbing power from Kingdom Hearts and, upon defeat, transform into a distorted centaur-like monstrosity. This idea was nixed and replaced with the dragon-fortress/armored Xemnas and black-and-white coat Xemnas battles.

I personally wouldn't mind fighting an additional giant humanoid and centaur mecha phases for the final boss fight.

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Now then, time to wrap things...wait...one more scene?

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Heavy footsteps were made within the depths of the Dungeon. Heavy breathing and snorting was made every moment. The sound of metal being dragged across the floor could be heard.

A lone minotaur was making its ways through the halls of the Dungeon. It was in a rather battered state, and it had a broken horn on top of it.

The minotaur finally finished its brutal training with an Adventurer of a large build. The Adventurer shattered the landform weapon it possessed in its hand, and instead gave it a great sword of greater value. The moment the minotaur picked it up was the moment it was subjected to training hell from the Adventurer.

These past few days, the minotaur has done everything to kill the man, but the man proved to be its superior in every way. So it could do nothing more than swing the great sword as the Adventurer wanted. Just when it seems like the minotaur was forever going to be in a state of unrelenting training, the minotaur managed to break the weapon of the Adventurer. It was from the moment that the Adventurer declared the training was complete, and left the area.

It was finally finished with the brutal training.

And now...it can do whatever it wants.

With that freedom at hand, the minotaur continued what it was ingrained into its very being: seek out Adventurers and slaughter them mercilessly.

Which leads to this very moment, with the minotaur roaming the halls in search of Adventurers to slaughter.

As the minotaur was making its way through the hallway, it failed to notice shadows beginning to congregate behind it, all the while slowly following it. The minotaur, with nothing but a violent and mindless frame of mind, didn't notice what was forming behind it.

The dark cloud soon finished its form, and began making its way towards the minotaur, creeping ever closer towards it. Again, the minotaur failed to notice something following behind it.

Once it closed the distance between the two, the minotaur began to notice a new presence behind it.

Alas, it was too late to do anything.

The dark cloud immediately penetrated into the minotaur's body, making the minotaur roar in absolute agony, and an explosion of Darkness erupted from the body. A flood of Darkness began to fill the halls. A dark haze was made all around.

An orb of dark energy began to form in the epicenter of the explosion. A hand emerged from that orb, and began to pull itself out of the orb. A figure began to emerge from the dark cocoon.

And the first thing you could see from the Darkness...

Is a pair of yellow glowing eyes.

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...Uh oh.