The Realm Between.
The Realm that divided the Realm of Light, and the Realm of Darkness.
And on the precipice of the border between the Realm Between and the Realm of Darkness laid the Dark Margin.
It was...
Quite a beautiful place.
It was, perhaps appropriately, a beach. Far off, into the distance, a white orb hung in the sky, bathing the beach in a soft glow, providing a soft illumination. Strange formations jutted out of the ground, warping and curving, offering a 'frame' to the 'sun' in the distance.
The light reflected off the water, a slow and light wind stretching from everywhere, yet nowhere. It was calm. Peaceful.
A peace well-deserved.
I lingered just long enough to take in the calm, quiet and peaceful scene, before dipping deeper.
Darkness.
DARKNESS.
So much Darkness.
I cannot say that I am surprised.
I also cannot say that, if I were anything but a Heartless, that I could have lived here.
This Darkness... it was immense.
Intense.
Drowning.
But it was a Darkness that was not malevolent. A Darkness that wasn't malicious.
It was... just Darkness.
The Darkness is not inherently evil. Nor is it inherently good. It merely is.
The Light is not inherently good. Nor is it inherently evil. It merely is.
I shuddered.
And then I went deeper.
I fell.
There was nothing beneath me. Nothing above me. Nothing around me.
It was dark. Very, very dark. I couldn't see anything.
There was nothing to see. Nothing but darkness.
There was no wind, and there was no sound. There was no light, and there was certainly no Light.
There was nothing but darkness, and Darkness.
It might have been terrifying, were I a Human. This complete lack of light, sound, feeling and sensation.
But I wasn't.
I was a Heartless, and this silence, this darkness and this Darkness, it settled over me like a warm blanket in a chilly night.
It was comfortable. For a brief moment, I closed my eyes and let myself fall.
For a brief moment.
I opened my eyes, and my feet touched the ground.
And I beheld the Realm of Darkness.
I could feel a- no, not 'a', not singular- two pulls.
Both led downwards, one to the very, very deepest depths of the Realm of Darkness, and the other to slightly above that.
The first one was easy to guess, for what else could attract the Heartless that laid in the deepest depths of Darkness?
Kingdom Hearts.
The other...
Well, Heartless were drawn to a few things. The first, Hearts. The second, Darkness.
And the third, Keyblades.
The first was absent, save only for Kingdom Hearts. The second, omnipresent. The third, however...
The Realm of Darkness had a Keyblade.
The Kingdom Key D. King Mickey's own Keyblade, taken from this very place.
And also the reason why I had come here at all.
I fell.
The Realm of Darkness was not a very lively place.
Fitting, since none of its inhabitants were truly living.
Existent, perhaps, if one could call what the Heartless had 'Existence', but not living.
Just... 'existing'. Unthinking. Unmoving.
I passed by a Darkside, suspended in the air, not doing anything, caught in some strange stasis. Its 'hair' tendrils fluttered around in a nonexistent breeze, the only part of its body that was moving at all.
It was not alone. Dozens, hundreds, thousands, millions, billions of other Heartless were in the same condition as it. None were moving, not with purpose, though some fluttered around as if caught on invisible tracks. None reacted as I moved, none noticing me, or displaying any interest in anything.
Out of the countless trillions of Heartless, here in this infinite Darkness, I was the only Heartless that was different. The only one that did anything.
This feeling...
Is it... loneliness?
There.
The Keyblade.
The Kingdom Key D.
It was interesting to note; the closer I came to the Keyblade, the less Heartless there were.
Right here?
There was precisely one; me.
I slowed my pace as I came closer, taking the opportunity to look at it.
Gold and silver featured prominently; the 'blade' being entirely gold and the 'guard' being entirely silver, a colour invert of the Kingdom Key. What was not a colour invert, however, was the small red band at the base of the 'blade', and the handle itself; which was a burnished gold-brown.
There was, curiously, a distinct lack of a key chain.
It is a weapon forged of Darkness, the very first of such; though not the first Keyblade. No Light exists within.
And despite that, it has been wielded by many who fought for the Light, and many who have fought against them.
I reached out, and grasped the handle.
Terrible power lays within. But then, terrible power lays within you, too.
Nothing happened.
I picked up the Kingdom Key D.
Things continued to not happen.
Great.
I grasped the blade, feeling the not-metal in my claw.
Still nothing.
I stopped hesitating.
My Darkness reached out.
Its Darkness reached back.
Darkness
My vision flickered.
I saw.
And learned.
A master's work. The first of its kind. The first Keyblade made with Darkness, instead of Light. She wielded what she created for 4 years, before meeting her end at the hands of her apprentice, who hungered for power. The apprentice met her end soon afterwards, the master's lover taking the Keyblade back.
When the other Keyblader Wielders learnt of the power of this Keyblade, many turned to Darkness. Unlike the master, they were unknowing of the nature of Darkness, and so many were consumed by the power that they sought. Those who weren't warned of it, but by then, it was already too late.
The Darkness had already sunk its claws into the flesh of The World.
Ah.
I put the Kingdom Key D back down, settling it directly back where it had been.
I sat down.
Interesting.
I brought my claw up, simply staring at it.
Keyblades are far more complicated than I had ever realised.
I extended my arm, hand wide open and palm facing away from me.
To think that they would remember what happened to them.
I began to close my fingers.
A flicker.
Darkness burst out. I felt the drain, half of My Darkness being pulled out, away, leaving my form smaller.
A concept bloomed, and I grasped a Keyblade in my hand. A look-alike of the Kingdom Key D, but smaller, the 'blade' thinner, and proportionally longer, the handle much the same. The colours, however, remained the same.
A Keyblade formed of Darkness. My Darkness.
My eyes narrowed.
It shifted and changed, the bright gold fading into a dark blue, the silver remaining the same save for a more polished look.
A Keyblade it was, but that didn't change the fact that it was still a part of My Darkness. Still a part of Me.
I had as much control over it as I had over myself.
I was smaller. Not lesser. And certainly not weaker.
I let the Keyblade fade, a nimbus of Darkness wrapping around it, before disappearing.
It was still there, but the Darkness that it was composed of was hidden, inside myself, a possibility that could become a reality at any moment.
I looked up.
And rose.
Well, that was productive.
Unexpectedly so.
"You're smaller." Madoka noted.
"An unexpected but not entirely problematic side effect."
So what if I was half my previous size?
I was still larger than I'd been when I'd first arrived.
"Side effect?"
"Indeed. But, before I explain, do you mind if ask a question of you?"
She shook her head.
"Do you know what a Keyhole is?"
"I-" She stopped.
"You're not referring to a normal keyhole, are you?"
"No."
I held my hand out, and pulled.
Darkness flashed, and my Keyblade manifested.
Madoka's eyes widened as she took in the sight of my Keyblade, a primal recognition flashing through her eyes.
And then, she smiled, looking at me.
She didn't say anything, however, merely holding her hand over her sternum.
A flash of light, and she then let her hand fall away.
So, I had been correct in my guess.
Madoka's Soul was the Keyhole of this World.
"You are aware of what will happen?"
"I am."
I nodded.
And then, I raised my Keyblade, pointing it towards her.
Connection.
I twisted.
Click.
I felt the change. Saw it. And to a very minor extent, understood it.
The outer path to the Heart of this World is sealed.
Darkness will never consume it.
The Heart remains connected.
The Heart is still a part of the Separated Whole.
Existence is preserved. All that is, and all that ever was, and all that ever will be, gains a cornerstone.
The Keyhole vanished.
A small, tiny Gummi Block tumbled to the ground.
Madoka smiled.
"That was a very weird feeling."
"I imagine that it would be."
She gave a small giggle, before sitting down- when had she stood up?
I didn't even notice...
Ugh. Nevermind.
Madoka... was currently playing with the sleeve of her coat, the coat that I had made for her, that is, a look of concentration on her face, lips pursed in a pout.
My vision flickered for a moment, and I could see the Light within Madoka surg-
Light
What the-
My eyes turned towards Madoka, who was smiling as she giggled.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"You sealed the Keyhole, and I figured out why."
"Why? Why what?"
Her mouth opens, and that is as far as she gets before another voice interrupts her.
"Ma-Madoka?"
She smiled, turning around.
"Hello Homura."
Oh.
Ooohhh.
She'd figured out why she couldn't be interacted with, and -seemingly- fixed it.
"Madoka!"
Kyubey dropped to the ground next to me, only just having managed to get off Homura's shoulder before Homura had launched into a flying tackle-hug, seemingly teleporting across the distance between her and Madoka.
Madoka herself only barely managed to catch Homura, wrapping her up in a hug.
It's times like these where I really do regret not being able to smile.