Hikari
God of War and all associated characters and interpretations are property of Sony Santa Monica. Kingdom Hearts and all associated characters are property of Disney and Square Enix.
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The portal transported them to a tall, circular room. Massive thorns and metal pipes lined the walls, holes broken through the stone allowing the sunlight in.
"A dead end." Hildr noted. "Maleficent must've been desperate to warp here."
"But where'd she go?" Sigrún asked, flying into the air with Freya.
As the others scanned the room, Sora and his companions appeared beside Kratos. Oddly, they did not appear overly alert or alarmed. Merely looking around, curious.
"Eh, Brother," Mimir spoke up. "Something's…happening behind you."
Kratos turned on the spot, as did Sora, the air shifting and warping before him. A figure flickered in-and-out of view. A tall man in a black coat, his face obscured by his hood, shadowed as if by magic.
Something about it set Kratos's mind aflame. An instinct honed throughout centuries that blared in alarm. Danger. The kind that could make even his soul tremble in anticipation.
Sora gasped, stepping back as the figure made to walk right into him.
Only for Naminé to appear in a flash of light, face set into a frown. "Oh no!" she shouted, Sora and the figure freezing midstep. "No you don't! I am not dealing with you right now." She swiped her hand, the figure, and Sora and the others, vanishing from sight.
"Who was that?" Kratos asked, glaring where the figure once stood.
"An annoyance," Naminé declared, before vanishing once more.
"Ominous," Mimir drawled. At that moment, Sora and the other reappeared beside him.
"Riku?" he called out. Kratos turned around, and indeed, Riku stood with Maleficent, his back towards them. He wore his armor once more, but in his hands was not the fin-shaped sword from before. No, this weapon…It looked a lot like a Keyblade, with a red guard and black blade, the teeth coming to a sharp point and shaped like a broken heart. It lacked a keychain, however.
Donald focused on the weapon. "Is that—"
"Yes, a Keyblade," Riku answered, but there was something wrong with his voice. There was an echo to it. As though two people were speaking at once. Riku held the weapon in front of him. "But unlike yours, this Keyblade holds the power to unlock
people's hearts. Allow me to demonstrate. Behold!" Quick as a flash, he whirled around and stabbed Maleficent in the stomach.
The woman gasped, bent forward and eyes wide in alarm. If there was any blood from the wound, it was obscured by the dark energy that poured out from it. It seeped into her body, bursting out from her skin and coating her in a dark, malevolent aura.
"Now, open your heart," Riku said, voice trembling with glee. "Surrender it to the darkness! Become darkness itself!" He wrenched his weapon free, before vanishing in a black portal.
Maleficent straightened from the force of the movement; mouth open in shock as the darkness engulfing her shifted into emerald-green flames. "This is it!" She cackled. "This power! Darkness! Supreme Darkness!" She cried, before erupting in flames which spread out around her in a wide sphere.
It was with that statement that Sora and the others vanished—a green circle once again appearing where they stood—the unnatural fire freezing in place.
"Okay people, taking bets." Atreus said with a smirk. "What're we going to find once that fire fades?"
"I think she just burned that nice cloak of hers," Olrun replied.
"Nah, she's become a Heartless. She gave herself up to the Darkness." Mimir stated. "That's the prerequisite, after all."
"I'm going with a physical change," Hildr chimed in. "Some sort of animal transformation. Maybe a dragon—she's got the horns and scales."
"That's ridiculous." Olrun stated. "Transforming into a dragon isn't some simple trick. It takes a lot of time. Like that mad cultist in Vanaheim that the Sora, Atreus, and Kratos fought. That took months or work."
"Where we come from, sure."
Freya stepped away from the friendly bickering—Sigrún staying put and shaking her head at them like an exasperated parent—towards Kratos. "Look at them," she said with a fond sigh. "As if we aren't in the most insane situation to ever exist."
"I have been in stranger," Kratos replied.
Freya snorted. "That was an exclusionary 'we', obviously." Kratos rolled his eyes. "I'm more curious about Riku," Freya continued. "His voice…It sounded like a possession."
"You think so too?" Mimir chimed in. "But the question is, who, or what, is possessing him?"
Kratos hummed, the word 'possession' lighting up in his mind. Then, the answer came in a flash. "It is possession." He stated. "Sora mentioned this time in Riku's life to me, briefly."
Mimir blinked. "When did you talk about this?"
"The night he fled the cabin. After Atreus broached the topic of his parents." Mimir hummed, while Freya frowned in sympathy.
"Well, what's this possessor's name, then?" Mimir asked.
Kratos turned to the space 'Riku' once stood. "He referred to him with two names. Ansem, and Xehanort's Heartless."
Freya arched a brow. "How does—"
"Sora refused to elaborate," Kratos cut her off. "Though I will admit, I have more concern towards that…figure that Naminé banished."
"That was weird, wasn't it?" Freya said. "Whoever that was, they must be part of an important memory."
"Perhaps they led to one of those fights Naminé didn't want us to have to partake in," Mimir pondered.
"If so, there was no need to banish it," Kratos concluded.
"If that thing would have led to a tougher battle than whatever Maleficent will give us, I disagree," Freya countered. "The last thing we need to needlessly wear ourselves out. If we lose any of the battles coming forward, that's precious time we've wasted."
"Fair enough," Kratos conceded. Whatever pride he held could not outweigh their circumstances. With one last nod to Freya, Kratos entered the glowing circle. When it vanished, so too did the flames surrounding Maleficent's form.
"Ha, I was right!" Hildr shouted in triumph as the flames parted to reveal a massive, black-scaled dragon with a purple underbelly. Large, transparent black wings stretched out from her back, sharp spines lining her back from the top of her head to the tip of her tail. Kratos couldn't help but compare this dragon to the one he had recently faced in Vanaheim. That one was bigger, but this dragon's inky-black scales and gleaming golden eyes struck a more outwardly intimidating figure.
Kratos ran forward, grunting as she slammed his axe against the dragon's right foreleg. His weapon sparked against her scales, glancing off without leaving a scratch. He swung his arms around, aiming an uppercut on her underbelly. The ax slid along the scales once more, but it did dig into her flesh near the base of her about halfway up her neck.
Maleficent roared, rearing up and raising her forelegs. Kratos leapt back and held up his shield—a good call, for though he was able to avoid the initial stomp, without the shield he would have been caught in the twin shockwaves spawned from her feet.
He slid back, coming to a stop beside his son. "Focus on the head," he declared.
"Ah, doing thing's Sora's way," Mimir chortled.
"These are his memories," Atreus replied as he fired sonic arrows into the dragon's snout.
Maleficent reared back as the arrows struck true, and then roared in pain once the sonic magic set in, her head vibrating violently as she jerked back in pain. Freya and her Shield Maidens took the chance to swarm her, striking her skull with weapons and magic. Kratos and Atreus provided supporting fire with spears and arrows, respectively. Unfortunately, whatever powers Maleficent possessed in this new form prevented the spears from sticking in her, thus cutting off the chance to cause massive damage. Still, they could whittle her down.
Not that Maleficent would simply go down, however. She withstood the assault, and once the sonic magic faded, she clenched her jaw, flames spilling past her lips.
"Get back!" Freya shouted as Maleficent reared her head and roared, a great gout of emerald fire blasting out of her maw. She whipped her head back-and-forth, fire streaming everywhere, forcing Freya and the others to land lest they burn. She snapped her jaw shut, the remaining flames swirling in the air to form eight massive orbs of fire.
She flickered her tongue out like a snake, and the fireballs rocketed towards them.
Kratos stepped in front of Atreus, holding up his shield to block the three fireballs headed their way. Freya and the shield maidens wove through the air to avoid their own projectiles.
"Father, give me a boost!" Atreus declared, taking a few steps back. Kratos grunted, turning around and holding his shield low. Atreus, wreathed in Flowmotion energy, sprinted forward. He braced against the shield, and Kratos wrenched it upward, shooting Atreus up to the ceiling.
His son curled in on himself at the apex of his jump, his body changing shape, growing wider and gray. As gravity took hold on him once more, Atreus had changed into a Hippo, and rocketed down towards Maleficent. She didn't notice him until it was too late.
Atreus crashed against the base of Maleficent's neck with a thundering BOOM. Splintered scales and blood spewed out from the point of impact as Maleficent fell to the ground with a pained roar.
As Atreus shifted back to his normal form, Kratos summoned a Draupnir spear and ran forward. With a harsh bellow, he planted his feet just in front of the dragon's maw and lunged, implanting the spear deep in her right eye, forcing it deep to ensure it took root. Despite her massive injury, she roared, flames gathering in her maw. He released his spear and summoned another, this time stabbing her through her mouth and embedding the spear into the floor, pinning her in place. He summoned another spear, and another, and another. Embedding glowing, shrunken copies of his weapon into every inch of scaly flesh he could find.
When Maleficent was more spear than dragon, he stepped back, summoned one last spear, and tapped it against the ground.
The spears exploded synchronously. At any other time, his foe's head would have burst apart into viscera. Maleficent was tougher than he gave her credit, and though her flesh and scales had been blasted apart, revealing her skull underneath, it still held firm. Though her eyes had also burst into viscera, the holes still glowed with pure malice. Kratos made to perform the same attack—this time intent on shattering her skull.
But then she reared back, let loose one last, ear-splitting roar, and fell to the ground. Dead. Freya and the others landed as Maleficent's body, and the thorns twisted around the room, slowly lit ablaze in emerald flames. When they died, all that was left of Maleficent was her cloak, spread out on the ground.
Riku—rather, Ansem—appeared once more before them, as did Sora and the others. He stepped over the cloak, looking down on it with mocking scorn. "How ironic," he said, voice still carrying that odd echo. "She was just another puppet after all."
"What?" Donald squawked.
Ansem smirked. "The Heartless were using Maleficent from the beginning. She failed to notice the darkness in her heart eating away at her." He ground his foot against the cloak, after which…vanished. It didn't break apart simply…vanished. Some magic, no doubt. "A fitting end for such a fool."
Sora started forward, but Riku vanished as quickly as he appeared. Sora glared at his once friend as he disappeared. He only stopped when Goofy walked up to him, handing over some sort of potion, which Sora broke and poured over his head. Before their eyes, his wounds vanished, just as he vanished from sight.
"That was fun!" Hildr said as she plucked burnt feathers from her wings
"Speak for yourself," Atreus groused as he tried, and failed, to wipe ash off neck. "I hate fighting dragons."
"And there's still more to come," Mimir added. "Unless one of those cards has spawned outside of my sight."
"None have," Kratos replied. He looked over his friends and son and nodded. "Let us rest. Prepare for the next battle is."
"Whatever that may be," Mimir remarked.
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After exiting through the portal the originally entered from, they discovered a new pathway. Entering it led to the main spire of the castle, along with a swarm of Shadow Heartless. You couldn't not move so much as an inch through the corridor without stepping on the creatures. It got to the point where they swarmed on top of each other, almost forming a tower of beady yellow eyes glowing through inky-black darkness.
On the bright side, them being so close together made it easy for Kratos to tear them apart with wind blasts from the Draupnir spear.
"These things are a menace," Olrun groused she pushed their misty remains away with a flap of her wings.
Atreus snorted. "That's a pretty light term for horrors born of literal Darkness."
"I'm trying to avoid thinking of that."
"I can't help thinking about how quickly these Heartless can spread," Sigrún stated, a tremor of worry in her voice. "The average person would easily fall to these creatures, and from the remains of their victims, more are formed." She shivered. "I understand how Worlds are overrun by these things."
It was with those disconcerting words that they entered the next room. It was another hallway that led to an altar—though this one needed to be reached by a short flight of stairs.
Along the sides of the hallway, disturbingly enough, were five young women and one girl—three on either wall—stuck in glass cases. They were all dressed in finely made clothes—kinds not seen in the Realms. And none of them appeared to be breathing.
"Eerie," Freya, eyeing the bodies with pity. "What did they do to end up like this?"
Mimir hummed, eyeing the closest girl—Belle, the woman Beast sought. "I believe these are the Princesses of Heart."
"The what?" Hildr asked.
"Seven women that bear Hearts of Pure Light. Lynchpins of all Creation that originate from the destruction of the original X-Blade."
"…The What?" Olrun repeated, echoed by her sisters.
Kratos handed Mimir off to Sigrún, who grimaced but held him up as he exposited to Hildr and Olrun.
Atreus and Freya had moved to the youngest girl—she couldn't have been older than fourteen. "Look at them all." Freya said, voice soft. "Children. Nothing but children and they bear this grand power."
Atreus shrugged. "I mean, they're not going to stay children."
"Oh no, they'll grow old. And then die, and then presumably another set of children will be born with this same power. Endlessly passing on and on, with only little breaks like"—she gestured to the other girls—"this."
"What would you propose instead?"
"I don't know." Freya sighed. "Maybe not having this just thrust into the hands of these poor girls?"
Atreus stared sadly at the girl. "From what Sora's been saying, most of the time Princesses of Heart don't even know that they are one."
"Great." Freya scoffed. "So, none of these poor girls even knew why they were brought here and subjected to…whatever this is?"
"There is nothing that can be done," Kratos spoke up, laying a hand on Freya's shoulder. "But as I said, take comfort in the fact that these girls have able defenders in the form of Sora and his allies."
"That really isn't as comforting as you want it to be," Freya deadpanned. But she quickly smiled at him and placed a hand over his own. "Still…thank you." They stared into each other's eyes for just the briefest moment. But it was enough for Atreus to shudder, suppress a gag, and quickly turn and walk to the other end of the room.
Freya snorted at his son's actions. "You know, even if we decide against…us…I think it'll be fun to keep teasing Atreus."
Kratos grunted in amusement. "You wish to torment my son?"
"Torment is a strong word." Freya snickered as she stepped away. She led them up the stairs to the end of the room.
The stairs led to a mostly bare platform, bits of railing crumbling to dust. The most striking feature was the mass of pipes at the end of the room, broken stones forming steps leading to it. In the middle of pass of pipes was the carved shape of the Heartless Emblem. Within the emblem was a roiling, oozing mass of colorful ooze. It shone like oil atop water.
The air shifted around them, and Kratos looked down to see a young girl lying on the floor beside him. She had crimson red hair, dressed in clothing that easily denoted her as belonging to a World different from their own, and—similar to the girls entombed in glass—had her eyes closed, and was not breathing.
The heard footsteps run up the stairs, and turned to see Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Beast was nowhere in sight. Kratos supposed he stayed below to try and free Belle.
Sora and Donald stepped onto the platform, but Goofy slammed into some kind of invisible barrier, and fell backwards. Donald looked back in alarm, but Sora immediately focused on the girl on the floor.
"Kairi!" he cried and ran forward. Kratos stepped aside, and Sora kneeled down and gently picked her up. He pled for her to open her eyes, but she remained still. Like a corpse.
"It's no us," came an echoing voice from above. They all turned to find Riku, rather, Ansem, sitting atop the emblem, staring down at them, his Keyblade gleaming in his hands. "That girl has lost her heart. She cannot wake up."
"That girl?" Atreus repeated in disgust. "He's not even trying to convince Sora he's Riku."
"Why should he?" Olrun asked. "By the look of it, his schemes have almost come to fruition."
Sora stared up at Ansem in confusion as he set Kairi down. "What? You…You're not Riku.'
Ansem ignored Sora. "The Keyhole cannot be completed." He slid off the emblem, slowly floating to the ground. "So long as the last Princess of Heart still sleeps."
Sora, and Donald, who had reluctantly left Goofy to stand beside Sora, looked down at Kairi in shock "The princess?" Sora stated, before turning back to Riku. "Kairi's a princess?"
"Oh!" Mimir exclaimed, looking at Sora. "The way he spoke of Kairi, I'd assumed they always knew she was a Princess of Heart." He hummed sympathetically. "Hell of a way to find out."
Ansem smiled smugly down at Sora. "Yes," he drawled. "And without her power, the Keyhole will remain incomplete. It is time she awakened."
Sora grit his teeth. "Whoever you are, let Riku go! Give him back his Heart!"
"But first"—Ansem purred, pointing his weapon at Sora—"you must give the princess back her Heart."
Sora's face scrunched in confusion, before he staggered back with a pained gasp. His chest lit up, a red light bursting around him, as he clutched a hand to his chest and fell to his knees. Donald cried out in alarm, hovering over him.
"Don't you see yet?!" Ansem walked down to the platform. "The princess's heart is responding. It has been there all along. Kairi's heart rests within you!"
Sora panted, looking back at Kairi. "Kairi…Kairi's inside me."
Atreus let out an ugly snort. When they all stared at him, he covered his mouth and coughed. "Sorry, but…c'mon, you know how that sounds!" Kratos did, but he could appreciate the gravity of the situation, and as such glared at his son for attempting to make a joke.
"Tell me," Sora grit out, bringing their attention back to the memory. "Who are you?"
"It is I, Ansem." He clenched his free hand into a fist, before releasing it and staring up at the ceiling. "The Seeker of Darkness!" As he spoke, the echo in his voice changed. Riku's voice softening as a deeper voice—a man's voice—took hold.
"That's an awful striking title," Olrun remarked. "Do you think he gave it to himself?"
"Probably." Sigrún replied. "The delusional are fond of that sort of thing."
Ansem slowly walked towards Sora. Donald summoned his staff, face set in a glare. Then, in a startling move for a mage, he charged forward, staff held high like a club. Predictably, the attack failed, and Ansem slammed his fist into Donald's face, knocking him off the platform, through the same invisible barrier that kept Goofy out.
Ansem stopped right in front of Sora, eyes alight with manic glee. "So, I shall release you now, Princess. Complete the Keyhole with your power. Open the door, lead me into everlasting Darkness!"
As Ansem swung his Keyblade to cleave Sora's head, a voice rang out around them. Young and feminine, it cried, "Sora!"
In an instant, Sora summoned his Keyblade and blocked the blow. The two struggled against each other—Ansem gripping his Keyblade with both hands for greater leverage. But, slowly and surely, Sora climbed to his feet.
"Forget it!" Sora spat, before shoving Ansem away. "There's no way you're taking Kairi's Heart!"
Ansem sneered at Sora as he stepped back, falling into Riku's fighting stance. He then froze, Sora vanishing as a glowing green circle appeared in his place.
Freya grimaced at the circle. "Are we really expected to fight a child?"
Naminé appeared before them, sitting on a railing. "Would it help if I told you Riku willingly let himself be possessed by the Heartless of someone who himself was an eighty-year-old man possessing a twenty-year-old man?"
"…What?" Freya shook her head. "N-No. It doesn't—I'm not fighting a child!"
"It does feel…strange," Hildr admitted, her sisters nodding in agreement. Atreus just rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath about how this person before them wasn't technically a child by multiple definitions
"I don't what you to fight him either," Naminé replied, sending the possessed Riku a leer. "If I could, I would have skipped this entire fight. But it, and the events the that proceed after, are some of the most important moments in Sora's life. The very core of his being. There's no avoiding it, I'm afraid. So, unless you all want to stand here twiddling your thumbs, one of you is going to have to bite the bullet." With and apologetic shrug, she vanished from sight.
"I shall do it," Kratos stated with a gruff sigh as he entered the circle. He could understand why none of the women wanted to relive their attempts to kill a child—Freya especially. But they could not let that hinder their progress.
Atreus wordlessly stepped up beside him while Freya and her shield maidens moved to stand at the stairs, intently watching them.
When the circle vanished, Ansem immediately dashed forward, slashing downward with his Keyblade. Kratos blocked the blow with his shield and countered with a swing of his axe. Ansem disengaged, leaping back just before the axe could hit him. Which left him open for a volley of sonic arrows from Atreus.
The magic activated, and Ansem staggered as his body burst with sonic energy. Leaving him open for two brutal slashes from Kratos. He didn't cut through the armor, but Ansem's eyes widened such that they both knew he would have done terrible damage without it. They also narrowed in confusion, before he subtly shook his head, glaring at Kratos.
He struck out with his Keyblade, forcing Kratos back. He pivoted and dashed forward to stab Atreus. His son ducked to the side and summoned a shield to block the follow-up slash. Ansem grit his teeth, drawing back his free hand before slamming it against the shield, dark purple flames erupting from the point of impact.
The resulting smoke obscured the pair from view, but Kratos hung back, trusting his son to handle himself. Indeed, seconds later Riku leapt backwards to avoid a devastating punch from Atreus, which, if it had connected, would have at the very least cracked his jaw.
Kratos ran up to slam his shield into his midsection. Riku brought up his Keyblade, just barely able to block it. But it left him open to another slash of the Leviathan axe.
Ansem crashed into one of the stones leading up to the Heartless Emblem, rubble sticking to his hair. As he stood, he clenched his left fist, dark magic swirling around it. "Welcome oblivion!" he cried as purple energy spawned around him, before coalescing over his left hand like an oversized glove.
He leapt into the air, before stabbing down to cleave Kratos in two. Kratos leapt back, throwing his ax at Ansem as he did so. But though he dodged the blow and struck true, he was hit by the resulting shockwave of magic that erupted from Ansem's landing.
"Brother, get back!" Mimir spoke for the first time this battle, and Kratos leapt backwards. Just in time to avoid dozens of pillars of dark magic erupting around him.
Believing Kratos to be suitably distracted, Ansem focused once more on Atreus. He slashed his weapon down, spawning a blue disc of magic that hurtled towards his son. He leapt to avoid the blow and summoned a shield to block Ansem's dashing slice. Ansem still followed through with the swing, pushing Atreus back and bringing his blade up for another vertical slash. Atreus dropped his shield, holding his bow in both hands and surging magic through it as he sidestepped the attack to counter.
But that turned out to be a mistake, for as Ansem hit the ground, waves of dark fire exploded from his side, and Atreus was pushed back and burned.
"Atreus!" Kratos called out, before sprinting forward to engage Ansem.
"I'm fine!" his son called out as Kratos and Ansem engaged in a deadly dance of blades. He stuck back, content to pepper Ansem with arrows.
Eventually, Ansem ended their short duel by slamming his left hand against the ground, fire and smoke obscuring his body. Still, Kratos swung his axe into the smoke, intent on cutting his foe down. He missed but did dispel the smoke enough to see Ansem's next move.
He floated into the air, holding his Keyblade above him in both hands as his body became coated in a white aura. "Behold the power of Darkness!" he bellowed, before bringing his weapon to his side and flying forward to skewer Kratos.
Kratos ducked past the attack, Ansem shooting past him. But instead of stopping or ramming into something, he vanished in a dark portal.
A split-second later, another portal appeared in front of Kratos, and he rocketed forward once more.
What followed next was a near-frantic exchange of charges and dodges. He was focused on attacking Kratos, but even Atreus had to be careful not to be caught up in the rapid, teleporting strikes.
"It's over!" Ansem called out as he warped high above their arena. He stabbed his Keyblade into the ground, spawning massive pillars of magical fire all around him.
Kratos ran forward, gritting his teeth as the energy blasted and burned him. But he was able to grab Ansem and throw him to the ground. He braced himself against his Keyblade, but it left him open for Atreus to dash forward and kick his face.
Ansem reared back, leaving him open for Kratos to slam his axe into his midsection. This time, the armor broke, and the ax sank deep into his chest. Ansem's eyes widened in shock, darting down to the wound before staring up at Kratos. Then, he flickered out of view, and reappeared to his side. As with Maleficent previously, he bore different wounds—blood pouring down his head, his armor cracked and burned in multiple places. He stared blankly ahead, before falling to his knees, his Keyblade clattering to the ground as he faded into purple mist.
"Riku!" Sora called out, reappearing and running forward. Only to slide to a stop as Donald called out to him. Him and Goofy had managed to slip past whatever barred them from entering the area and ran for the emblem at the end of the room.
"The—The Keyhole!" Goofy called out, pointing behind them to the emblem. The…liquid inside bubbled violently, lightning arcing from within. Sora took one last look at the Keyblade, before marching over to them.
At the same time, Freya and her shield maidens walked over to them.
"It is always a pleasure to watch you two fight," Hildr stated with a chuckle.
"I was more interested in Riku, er, Ansem," Olrun said, not even bothering to hide her curiosity. "His use of magic was fascinating!"
"It's not really anything we haven't seen before," Sigrún countered.
"But didn't you feel it?" She gushed. "It was so…I can't even think of the words."
"Slimy, but not in a strictly bad way," Mimir supplied.
"Certainly felt bad," Atreus grumbled as he looked over himself, healing the wounds he'd sustained. "Still, got nothing on that thing Sora did when he finally beat Sinmara. What did Naminé call it?"
"Rage Form," Mimir supplied. "And please, Brother, can we talk about that?"
"No."
"Agh, c'mon!" Mimir groused. "You have to admit it's an uncanny coincidence." Kratos ignored his friend, focusing on the memory of Sora. He aimed his Keyblade at the emblem, but nothing happened.
"It won't work!" Goofy cried in alarm. "The Keyhole's not finished yet!"
Sora stared helplessly at the emblem as he dismissed his Keyblade with a flourish. "What can we do?"
Goofy groaned. "Maybe we've gotta wake Kairi up."
Sora frowned. "I think you're right." He turned to stare down at her. "If we can free her heart…" He trailed off, placing his hand on his chest. "But how?" He fell silent while Goofy and Donald bickered among themselves.
"I suppose this must be vexing for Sora," Sigrún said. "Searching so far for his friend, seeking to save the Worlds, only to hit such a major roadblock."
"But he cleared it," Atreus replied. "Somehow, I mean. He told us about this a bit—him keeping Kairi's Heart safe within him. Don't know how he removed it from his body, though."
Olrun hummed. "This 'Heart' Sora speaks of isn't the physical organ, correct?"
"It is not." Mimir replied. "It's the collective sum of one's memories, emotions, and even their bonds with others."
"Sounds like what we call the 'Soul'."
"Oh!" Mimir heaved a great sigh as Kratos unhooked him from his belt and handed him off. "Don't get me started." He stepped closer to Sora, Donald, and Goofy. As always, he was alert for another fight, but something in his gut told him there would not be another in this World.
Suddenly, Naminé appeared at his side. She stared sadly at Sora.
"What is wrong?" he asked warily.
Naminé shook her head, not removing her gaze from Sora. "Nothing, just…I need to be here. For the real Naminé's sake, if nothing else." That did nothing to ease his mind.
"…I wonder." Sora's voice filtered into Kratos's ears. He turned back to the memory to find him staring contemplatively at the Keyblade Ansem had left behind. Unbidden, Kratos brought a hand up to trace the scar on his stomach, a pit forming within.
As Sora strode for the Keyblade with a determined frown, the others stared on. When he picked up the weapon, staring pointedly at the sharp tip, everyone, Freya especially, looked on in alarm.
"Sora, hold on!" Goofy cried, frozen in place.
"No wait!" Donald shouted, equally impotent.
Sora…He turned to look at them, a wide smile on his face. He then turned back to the blade, flipped it around, and shoved the tip straight into his chest without a moment's hesitation, a bright light bursting from where the blade met his flesh.
"No!" Freya gasped, running forward just a second too late. In her shock, of course, she forgot that this was simply a memory, and passed right through Sora. She sank to her knees, wide-eyed.
The Keyblade slid out of Sora's body—blood spilling from the wound as his arms fell to his side and his eyes fluttered shut—and floated before him. It faded into mist, six orbs of golden light spawning around it. They hovered before Sora, and then soared upwards and down the room—a brief glance revealed that they slowly sank into the entombed Princesses' bodies.
Sora's body shone with a golden light, and a seventh golden orb shot out from his wound. The orb quickly moved over to Kairi, sinking into her body. In an instant, her eyes snapped open, color returning to her cheeks.
Sora, perhaps sensing what had occurred, opened his eyes one last time to look at Kairi. His lips curled into a small, grateful smile, before his face fell slack, his body shining with golden light as the last of his strength left him.
Donald ran forward, tears in his eyes as he cried out Sora's name. At the same time, Kairi slowly sat up, groggy. But when she saw Sora, she leapt to her feet. "Sora!" she cried as she ran forward. She held her arms out to grab him, but he faded into golden light just before she could touch him.
"Sora!" Donald begged as Sora's remains floated above them. "Come back, Sora!"
As Donald's cries faded, so too did their surroundings fade away, until Kratos, his allies, and Namine were standing in a pitch-black void.
"What's…What's happening to me?" Sora's voice—young and small and weak—echoed around them. "Falling…Falling…Into Darkness."
"What is this?" Atreus asked, whirling around as Sigrún and her sisters comforted Freya.
"Sora's memories of these next events are…spotty." Naminé replied.
"…run! The Heartless are coming!" Riku's voice echoed around them. Their surroundings flashed, an image of Riku, wreathed in gold, preventing a tall, dark-toned man with long silver hair from advancing towards Kairi, Donald, and Goofy.
More images flashed by, the inner workings of the castle rushing past them.
"I can't leave them behind!" Kairi's voice reverberated.
"A Heartless is after us!" Goofy's warning echoed. At the same time, they saw a brief image of Kairi, Donald, and Goofy in the entrance hall of the castle, staring up trepidatiously at them.
"Ah!" Mimir grunted sadly. "Sora didn't kill himself, did he?"
"We saw him stab himself right through his chest!" Freya spat.
"Not what I meant, m'lady." Mimir looked over to Naminé. "Sora didn't just stab himself through the chest for kicks. He was seeking to release his Heart, and with it, Kairi's, no?"
As Naminé nodded, Atreus hummed in understanding. "Oh, I see. Yeah." Atreus crossed his arms over his chest. "When people lose their Hearts they turn into Heartless. Sora told us that he became one. I guess I just assumed he'd fallen in battle or something, not…"
"Killed himself," Freya miserably stated. Atreus shrugged uncertainly at that, unable to form a response.
Kratos looked down at his scar. He rarely felt phantom pains from when he'd stabbed himself with the Blade of Olympus to release the power of Hope for the mortals of Greece. But seeing Sora perform a very similar, if much smaller-scaled act, brought all the pain of that moment roaring back.
At least Sora performed his suicide for a truly noble reason, instead of an unhealthy mixture of spite and atonement.
Before anyone could move to help Freya up, Kairi's voice rang out around them. "Sora!" she cried, before they were blinded by a bright flash of pure white light.
When it faded, they were back at the castle's entrance, Sora holding Kairi in a tight embrace as wisps of light floated around them. Kairi looked up at him—shock, relief, and love shining in her eyes—while Sora just buried his head in her shoulder.
Heartless soon spawned around them, however, spoiling their reunion. Sora, Donald, and Goofy moved quickly protectively circling Kairi. It would come to naught, however, for Beast came roaring into the room, destroying the Heartless.
"Go, now!" he bellowed. Sora offered to take him with them, but Beast just shook his head. "I told you before, I'm not leaving without Belle." He shouted for them to flee once more, and Sora reluctantly nodding, ushering Kairi through the castle's main door.
As they left, so too did Beast vanish, the double doors of Castle Oblivion taking his place.
"Congratulations everyone!" Namine stated, splaying her hands over her stomach. "One more World down."
"Great," Freya drawled, still kneeling on the ground. "And how many more suicides are we to witness?"
Naminé sighed, and walked over to Freya, bending down to look her in the eyes. "If it helps, that really was the best course of actions. A single moment of heartbreak that led to a lot of good."
Freya sighed as Sigrún helped her to her feet. "It's just…Sora, Kairi, even Riku, those so-called 'Princesses'—"
"Most of them are actual royalty," Naminé added.
"Children, all," Freya said with a shake of her head. "These are the ones meant to safeguard all of Creation?"
"They do a pretty good job," Naminé smoothly replied.
"Pretty good?" Freya scoffed. "Sora killing himself is 'pretty good'?!"
"Your majesty, please, calm down." Olrun slowly stated she helped her stand. "You're getting far too worked up over these memories."
Freya's face twisted into a sneer, before it slackened into a tired frown. "You're right. Of course, I just…" she trailed off with a sigh.
Kratos grunted and walked forward to place a hand on her shoulder. "Can you continue?" he asked gently. "There is no shame in stopping here. We can finish this ourselves."
Freya smiled gratefully at him. "No, thank you. I will see this through, don't worry. I just need to…distract myself."
"Maybe by planning a little bit of festivities on Sora's behalf." Mimir stated as Sigrun handed him back to Kratos, who hooked him on his belt. "Some sort of going away party after we get everything sorted."
"Or some kind of apology party for all the crap he's gone through," Atreus said with a chuckle.
Naminé grinned. "Oh, don't worry. You'll all be plenty distracted with this next World." Another card spawned before Kratos. He grabbed it, studying the image printed on it. Like the image for Hollow Bastion it was divided in two; the top half bore some kind of castle surrounded by clouds, and the bottom half several dark spires.
"What World is this?"
"Hollow Bastion," Naminé stated. "The capital city, that is. You'll be skipping ahead about year, though."
"Ah, after Sora, Donald, and Goofy were forced into that restorative slumber?" Mimir asked. Kratos could see that Freya desperately wanted to ask why such a thing occurred, but wisely held her tongue.
"Yes." Naminé's smile returned. "This one will be fun. For me. To watch."
"Glad we can provide entertainment!" Atreus called out as Naminé vanished.
Kratos spared one more glance at Freya. She said nothing, merely nodding gratefully and gesturing for towards the door. Thus, he stepped towards it, leading them inside.
/+/+/+/+/
A/N: Three guesses as to who they fight next.
A/N2: Changed the last sentence because I realized I messed up how 'Castle Oblivion' works.