Some new scenes had been added, because I felt like adding them. I will say...being an Empath while it does have its upsides...be careful that you don't take in TOO much. Lest you emotionally break from all that you felt. -smiles evilly-

And holy hell Kingdom Hearts can be dark.

Obligatory disclaimer: I don't own anyone except my characters.

Everything had been quiet for a rather long time. He's very certain on where he is. Felt it when he was incapacitated for a few times. And a few where he 'died' as well. But… how did he end up like this...? It felt like… forever, since-

Suddenly, he remembered.

The battle between the forces of Heaven and Hell on the Third Kingdom. However… something was wrong. Abaddon, the arch Angel and leader of the Hellguard forces of the White City, is shocked by his appearance before he was killed. He himself fought his way through, confused and angry – he felt the call that the End-War has come and yet… his power has been sapped and his brotherhood, the rest of the Four Horsemen, nowhere to be found.

He had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Straga. He was about to deal the death blow until more of his power was sapped, weakening him to the point where he was easily knocked aside and then crushed to death.

It's very clear to him that the Law has been broken. But… why was the End-War triggered prematurely? Why was Abaddon shocked to not only see him but there fighting the Dark Legion of Hell? And why was he alone sent out?

So many questions, yet so little answers.

(And he had a rather faint memory, or a dream. He thought he had heard his sister in arms Fury…)

Begrudgingly, he has to wait until he fully recovered. If he regained consciousness, that means it wouldn't be long until he would be out in active duty again.

With a grunt, the Horseman, War, began his wait.

~o~

It had been a couple of days after Sora had crash landed on the world. Ulthane had been kind to him by letting him stay for a while and Sora really wanted to repay his kindness. So he tried to do some cleaning up and a few chores. But… some of them seem a bit impossible.

Ulthane seems amused on his attempts to help but he gave him a hand on a few things.

Sometimes, he would also practice a little with his Keyblade. He didn't make much movement, but he didn't want to be out of practice… just in case.

But, that question still lingers in the back of his mind. What had happened to this world? It's been a few days and yet there's still now sign of the Heartless. Or even Nobodies.

Finally, he approached Ulthane, as the giant man was working on something again. "Uh… hey, Ulthane," Sora called out over the sound.

"What do ya want, pup?" Ulthane asked, still working.

"Uh… I just… can you tell me on what happened here?" Sora asked him. "I've been wondering that for a while now."

The hammer was raised to strike down again when Ulthane stilled. Sora watched him, waiting for him to answer. Finally, Ulthane lowered his arm. "…I was wonderin' on when you'll ask. Not every day that someone with a Keyblade comes here."

"So you know about it?" Sora asked in surprise.

"Aye… weapons meant to steal the light back then, in a sordid war," Ulthane said. Sora blinked – the Keyblade? Meant to steal the light? (And a war?) "But… you have plenty of questions, now don't ya?"

"Uh… yeah," Sora nodded.

The giant of the man stood there before he let out a sigh. "Come on. It's best to show ya," he said, placing the forge hammer down. He headed towards a direction, with Sora blinking after him. Tilting his head, the boy followed him.

Ulthane led him along the path that he noticed a while before, but he didn't know that it would lead outside. Sure enough, they got to a large, stone door. Ulthane grabbed the sides and pulled it apart. "Look outside."

Sora looked at him before he looked out… and did a take. "…!"

Whatever Sora was expecting… it certainly wasn't this. The whole area is… ruined. There are plants growing all over the place, buildings collapsed over… and what disturbed Sora the most is the fact that the sky looked so cloudy… and that there is continuous meteor storm falling towards the world.

"What… what happened here?" He asked after a while, in shock at what he's seeing.

"This world was closed off from the others for a reason," Ulthane said, before he made a gesture for Sora to return inside. Reluctantly, the boy did so, with the huge man moving away, letting the doors close. "Unlike most worlds this is… special."

"In what way?" Sora asked with a curious look.

"I'd doubt you hear about it but… this is where it all 'began'," Ulthane said. "It was originally a part of the ancient pathways that connects all worlds. However, it was severed when it was decided that this world would be where the 'End-War' will occur."

"End-War?"

"A time of war where all three kingdoms – the Kingdoms of Heaven, Man and Hell – would fight against one another in a final conflict, but only when the Kingdom of Man are ready. It was established at the dawn of time. But… as you can see, something happened that had what you see in ruin. The End-War was triggered earlier than intended, and the Kingdom of Hell won."

"What? How did that happen?" Sora asked, shocked.

Ulthane looked up. "…Who knows. There are rumors that one of the Four Horsemen started it."

"Who are the Four Horsemen?"

"A brotherhood of four, fierce warriors. They are the last of the Nephilim, and the enforcers of the Charred Council. As for who the Charred Council is, it's an entity that are the 'watchers' of the balance of the universe. It was by their law that this world would be the final battle, to determine the fate of all three."

Sora blinked at what he was told, processing the information as best as he could. So…this world was mostly left alone, because of a pact to do the End War on this world? But…a thought then popped into his mind and he voiced his next question: "But if Hell won… then how come the demons hadn't been out to the worlds?"

"…Good question. Or it's the fact that there's a barrier around this world. If it broke, then they WILL emerge out onto the worlds."

The boy gulped at that. As if the worlds had enough trouble with the Heartless and Organization XIII, they don't need demons going on a rampage as well.

"But not everyone agrees with this law," Ulthane suddenly said. "The Kingdom of Heaven isn't what you think of it as – not all of the pigeons are benevolent."

"…Pigeons?"

"The angels. Even some of them are bad." Ulthane then headed back down, with the boy watching him.

The boy got out his Keyblade, looking at it. 'Even… angels can be bad?'

And there was that comment where Ulthane said that the Keyblade were made to steal the light. And yet they're able to slay Heartless and release the Hearts the ones with Emblems. But King Triton's words from a year ago came to him, that it's able to shatter peace and bring ruin…

Does that mean that he was there when the Keyblade War occurred? Why did he say all of those things?

…does it also mean that there are also bad Keyblade users as well?

At that moment, Sora realized that there's still so little he knew about the Keyblade. He had never heard about the Keyblade until a year ago and – even after figurative year of experience – is still learning a lot about it. The fact that the Keyblade was used for evil purposes – and probably still is… that's a really unnerving thought.

He lowered his head, his weapon lowered to his side and headed back.

~o~

A few more days went by. They were a blur to Sora. He helped out around the house, but he noticed that there's a look in Ulthane's eyes. Like… guilt. Why would he be guilty of anything? He didn't ask because it might be something personal to himself.

Though he learned that the Keyblade has a rather dark history, he supposes that they can't control what they are. So he wanted to be sure on using this weapon right, even if he wasn't its original user; hence he trained some more.

He removed his bandages a while ago so that they wouldn't rub against his skin wrong. Though, he's actually kind of surprised that he had healed up rather quickly. There are a few times that he had healed somewhat fast, but… this one is just on a matter of days. The boy didn't let it bother him, because it was a bit normal for him (considering that they used healing potions and magic to patch up their wounds).

But though he gained some information from his new friend, there's something else that he wanted to know about. Once again, he approached Ulthane.

"Hey, can I ask something?" he called out.

"What is it?" Ulthane asked, hammering away.

"…If Hell won, who's leading them?" he asked. He didn't know much about this stuff but considering that this world had been separated from other worlds, some information had to be gathered.

Again, Ulthane paused. "…I 'unno, some bloke who calls himself the 'Destroyer' – it's a title given to the one who had caused the End War to occur. I heard many things in my solitude. But I choose not to get involved."

Sora gave him a particular look. Somehow, he had a feeling that the conversation wouldn't get anywhere. "…Right. I'll leave you alone now." And he did just that.

That night, he lay on his 'bed', looking up at the ceiling. He knew that he couldn't stay with Ulthane forever. Or on this world. Someone like him can't meddle with what's going on. But he isn't sure how he'll leave. He isn't even sure on how he went through that suppose barrier to begin with.

There HAS to be a way off of this world… right?

It's a huge risk, but… he has to find out on how to get out of here. With him as a human, he won't be welcomed here, especially since he's a Keyblade user.

With a sigh, he rolled to his side, and closed his eyes. He better get some sleep.

…

He blinked his eyes open and pushed himself up. A place with very little color, and a yellowish tint to everything.

Oh, this dream again. He hadn't had this in a while. Not since…before he became a teenager. Growing up, he often has this weird dream. He couldn't comprehend it, nor make sense of it. It terrified him as a child back then BECAUSE he couldn't understand it most of the time. And they were frequent for the most part. Yet as he neared becoming a teenager, the dreams just…stopped being as frequent, until he hardly had it anymore. In fact, since the Islands fell to darkness, he hadn't had that dream at all in the months they were traveling around.

Staggering up to his feet, he cautiously looked around. So…why is he having this dream again? Why now?

He instinctively held out his arm but felt nothing. Sora looked to his hand in surprise and reached for his back, feeling nothing. No Keyblade. He's basically going in unarmed. That's…not a comforting thought.

Sora looked to the path, hesitating. Should he…? Yet something is compelling him to follow the path. Like something's…waiting for him.

Steeling himself, the Keyblade user walked down the path. He looked around the path, trying to see if there's anything different this time. Still the same yellowish tint and not much detail, sadly. At least, at first for the latter. As he approached what appeared to be a gate, some more details filled in. Intricate buildings and carvings of symbols he didn't know the significance of. However, when he got to the gates, massive doors suddenly swung in and slammed it close with a loud bang. He jumped back in surprise.

Whispers filled his ears, before the area began to darken with what seemed to be 'eyes' staring down at him. "Bastardized child, leave!" one of the voices hissed.

"Begone!"

"Your tainted kind does not belong!"

Sora looked over at the figures, bewildered. "What are you talking about?" He found himself asking. "How could you say that?" Yet the voices still continued their dehumanization, growing louder.

Frantically looking around, he couldn't find an opening to get away. He couldn't go back the way he came; the path was blocked. Swerving his head to the left, his eyes caught a flash of red. Zeroing in on the only color in this place, he took off after that red color. The voices followed him, and Sora did his best to ignore the hateful voices, laser focusing on that one color still visible.

However, the darkness was closing in on him, as if refusing to be ignored. He made his legs move faster to chase that color, but it felt as if he had hardly gone anyway as the color got further and further away…

Until suddenly the black went away when he collapsed into a room. Panting, feeling his heart hammer in his chest, he laid there for a few moments to catch his breath. When he was adequately stable, he raised his head and looked around. Behind him, a gate was closed. A confused sound escaped from his mouth before he…sensed something. Sharply looking up, he saw a shadowy figure. Beside it looked to be a winch. It made a gesture to holler to him, cupping their hands around the mouth, but…he couldn't hear them. The darkness completely made it impossible to know their features or what gender they are. And it didn't help he couldn't hear their voice.

"What?" He called back. "I…I don't understand…"

The figure merely pointed ahead, while still hollering. Looking in the direction, he saw the red color again. Gasping a little, he looked back up at the figure. "Thanks! I need to go!"

Sora resumed his chase after the color. During the case, he noticed that there were two other figures moving about. When there was an obstacle, one of them managed to help out to keep him going.

So were they helping him? If so…why?

Though as he got to a different area…he felt chills down his spine. Looking over his shoulder, something black manifested from the background. It moved funny as if…it's alive. The other three seem to notice it as well. They had defensive stances, with one of them gesturing further ahead before the three dashed at the thing.

"Wait!" He called out (his voice taking a fearful tone), extending a hand to them. "Don't go!"

He noticed a piece detaching away from the mass the other three were fighting off, starting to grow. Something screamed at him to run, something he gladly obeyed as he quickly turned on his heel and shot off. The boy kept running, but he isn't sure if he's even getting far. At the corner of his eye, an encroaching darkness started to reach him. He made the mistake looking around him, and the encroachment began to spread. Trying to fight down his fear and panic, he looked back ahead. A flash of red caught his eyes. Once more, he zero'd in on that color and ran after it. Turning corners, he kept after that red color. Slowly but surely the darkness receded.

Sora soon found himself someplace different. Panting, he slumped over. Trying to calm his heart rate and getting some air back in his lungs. Slowly, he raised his body, feeling at least stable enough. Though when he was halfway up, his eyes took note of something and after staring at it for a while, he blinked. A confused grunt came from his throat as a lone, red cloth was just…laying there.

He was still cautious about the whole thing…yet his curiosity won over, leading him to slowly approach the cloth. Once he got close, he tilted his head at it. "What's a cloth doing here…?" He asked out loud as he reached out and grabbed it.

He didn't know that his body seemed to be made up of stars, light and a soft red color until he had reached out. He ALSO didn't know that the moment his hand contacted it and curled his fingers to grasp it that the cloth suddenly turned into a long red cape. Suddenly left dangling in the air, as if he was free falling from the sky, a yelp came from his lips in an undignified manner as what seems to be a hulking, deep red being materialized from the cloak, also filled with stars too. The arms are up as if they were bound by something. The boy was still holding onto the 'cape' as it fluttered in a non-existent wind looking up at the giant before him.

His voice was caught in his throat. He tried to say a word, but it turned out breathless. Swallowing, he worked his throat before he managed to say, "Who…are you…?"

He didn't expect the head to snap in his direction. Nor of seeing two gleaming white eyes and a brand over the eyes.

Sora gasped, jerking back- and accidentally 'ripped' a piece of the cloak off. And.

He.

Falls.

Uncertain of why his hand reached out to the figure, he didn't miss the way the head watched him fall. Nor of how everything else was fading away. The piece of the cloak still clenched in his hand began to have a faint burn in his hand as an inky darkness began to close in on him-

Sora jolted awake and jerks up in his makeshift bed. He looked around frantically in the perpetual darkness of the room. Fumbling around in the darkness for a little bit, he found his Keyblade and made a small flame form at the tip, using it as a makeshift light to look around the room. Fortunately, there appears to be nothing. Everything is the same as when he last saw it. He exhaled heavily, relief flooding his system. He regarded his bed a bit before he decided to lean against the wall, keeping the small magical fire alive. He stared out into the room, eyes narrowing a bit.

"There is no inky darkness," he muttered to himself. He held up his Keyblade to the room. "There are no hate spewing voices." His voice sounding more determined and as its usual self, he added, "I'm NOT afraid."

There was silence after, but he didn't expect an answer. It's just an affirmation to himself. Nothing will happen to him. It was JUST a dream. That's all it was.

The mantra seemed to help, as he didn't feel as agitated as before. Exhaustion hits him, so he puts out the fire and lays back down. Though just in case, he kept his Keyblade close. Feeling assured by the weapon next to him, he closed his eyes. It didn't take long for him to drift to sleep.

(Had he looked at his hand, he would have spotted something that had seeped into his skin. A familiar brand formed into his palm before it soon faded away.)

(And at around the same time, the owner of said 'cloak' blearily opened his eyes. But still weak, he closed them again, drifting back to a healing sleep.)

Don't worry about what happened there for now. As a reminder, our boy is only human. A lot of his power was sapped away when he 'entered' the world. You gotta remember that the games they came from are simplified journeys and battles. Just imagine how fucking dangerous those fights actually are...

So why in the hell did they make a fourteen year old fight such dangerous beings? Like...holy crap, man! As an adult, it can make you realize just how messed up some of the stuff you like are.

Sorry for the ramble.