Prologue
Day 303
He yawned widely and glanced up, checking the moon's position in the sky. It seemed a long time since the sun had set but, judging by how little the pale circle had moved, it must still be several hours until midnight.
Every now and then the boy's hoarse voice floated up through the night air to where he sat on the edge of a skyscraper roof, as Sora continued to shout for him to come out and fight. It had been a nice change of pace, seeing Sora consumed with anger and openly trying to hunt him down. But after several days of it, the novelty was wearing off.
He was bored. If losing that silly charm of his hadn't been enough to push Sora over the edge then maybe it was time to give him another nudge. Such an interesting challenge this was, keeping the boy balanced on the edge of this dark abyss until just the right moment. Push too soon, and he would be lost. Wait too long, and the chance might be missed. But if he got his timing just right...
Sora would fall, and allow something else to take flight.
And it would fly right into the cage he had set for it.
His head snapped to the side as he sensed something change, something abruptly altering the energy of this world. Someone else was here.
He stepped through the dark flames of the corridor he had summoned and emerged atop the roof of a different soaring skyscraper. A red light pulsed beneath the platform he stood on, and from the matching tower on the other side of the building. It was the ideal place to spot his intruders from, and he didn't have to look.
There they were.
Four teenagers, standing in the centre of the semicircular plaza far below. What a convenient location for them to have chosen. A blue sphere surrounded by diamonds hovered in the air behind them, pulsing faintly. It disappeared as a blonde-haired boy pointed a weapon at it. That weapon though, a Keyblade?
A roar of anger rose in his throat but he forced it back down. They must be here for Sora.
How dare they interfere! After months and months of careful planning and work, tormenting Sora with Heartless, sleepless nights, and murderous visions, these four were going to waltz in here and try to stop him? Try to throw away all those decades- centuries of planning.
They could never defeat him of course, but killing more Keyblade wielders unnecessarily was something he would prefer to avoid, and if Sora glimpsed them and regained his hope this would all be for nothing. He would lose his ideal vessel for the 13th.
Or maybe... His lip curled into a sneer as an idea occurred to him. Maybe this was that final nudge Sora needed.
The dark flames engulfed him once more and he returned to his previous observation point. He called down to the boy running through the streets below.
"Hello Sora, why don't you come up here and join me?"