Darkness
Aqua found an inn to rest in and the caretakers even allowed her to rest there for free since she was a Keyblade Wielder. She was glad to have a soft bed to rest on as she looked out the window across the city.
She had to wonder more than once if she was dreaming.
Then she remembered that traveling to other worlds, encountering strange places and people was par for the course as a Keyblade Wielder. Still, she knew that not only does she need to find a way back to the Realm of Light but to also find a cure for Ozma's illness and it was unlikely he had much time left. She had seen some places that sold special elixir that might help cure Ozma's condition but she needed to first pay for it. She would probably need to take some jobs around town and she had seen Keyblade Wielders gathering for fights against creatures of darkness.
The Heartless.
Aqua had read about them but they were supposed to live in the Realm of Darkness, not in a place like this world.
Then again, she hadn't seen any Heartless in the world she had come from when she had fallen into the darkness. Perhaps those creatures, the Grimm, were manifestations of darkness in worlds that somehow thrive in the Realm of Darkness but that was a long shot at best.
Still she had to try.
Just as she fell asleep, a dark shadow crept into the room…
Aqua's eyes shot open and she jumped up, landing on the ground and summoned her Keyblade. "Who's there?!"
There was no answer…
She looked around her room, having felt a surge of darkness just a mere second ago. After a moment of being on guard, Aqua slowly lowered her Keyblade and sighed. She sat back on her bed and lied down, staring at the ceiling.
It would be some time before she fell asleep.
Outside of the inn she was resting at, a dark miasma appeared on the roof of a nearby building, seemingly watching her.
'Truly interesting.'
"She's strong. Not as strong as any of us but strong enough. She's obviously been trained to the point she can use multiple forms of magic, including elemental and time magic. Still she had much to learn before she can even stand a chance of defeating one of us."
Invi had returned to the Clock Tower as soon as her fight with Aqua ended to make her report.
"She obviously has more to learn but she's not a threat to us." Invi finished her report.
"And yet you let her live." Aced pointed out. "If she posed even the slightest threat, you should have eliminated her."
"Aced, Aced, Aced." The Foreteller was silent as the Master slowly approached, waving a single finger. "I never said 'eliminate' her. I said 'test' her. She is a fellow Wielder, like everyone in this town. Let's try and be a little considerate here."
Aced was silent, seemingly accepting the Master's casualness, for now.
Another Foreteller, Gula spoke next. "So who is going to be testing her next?"
"Excellent question." The Master brought a hand to his chin. "Any volunteers?"
"Why not you choose, Master?" The young woman wearing the fox mask, Ava suggested.
"Oh me?" The Master gestured to himself. "Well, I wouldn't presume to make decisions for all of you now. You're all able to make your own choices but if you feel that my input is that important to you…Gula."
"Yes." The boy in the leopard mask perked up.
"I think you and her will get off to a great start. So when she's had time to rest and recuperate, you can approach her and see what else she's got." The Master suggested.
"Yes, Master." Gula nodded. "I'll do my best."
"That's what I like to hear, Gula." The Master turned away.
Aced crossed his arms, sending a look at Invi who stared back for a mere second.
When Aqua finally awoke, the sun was just starting to rise, light shining down on her as her eyes opened. Groaning softly as she got up, Aqua stretched before proceeding to take a quick wash and a light breakfast before getting on with her day. As she set about the morning chores of getting up, cleaned and fed, Aqua did a mental list of what she needed to do.
1. Find something that could cure Ozma of his illness.
2. Find Ven and find out why he is in a Keyblade Wielder city when he should be sleeping in the temple back home.
3. Find a way back to her own world to find Terra and then Ven's heart so she could save them both.
She sighed, knowing it would not be easy but nothing has been easy since she left home. She just had to keep trying and never give up.
'Terra, Ven, I will keep going…for you.' She thought to herself as she walked out onto the street.
Only as soon as she took the first she sensed something.
Darkness!
Aqua summoned her Keyblade just in time as a Corridor of Darkness appeared in front of her and from it emerged a group of small creatures with antenna on their heads, clawed hands and yellow eyes.
'Heartless?!' Aqua gasped, recognizing these creatures from the books she had read in the Land of Departure.
But it was rare for them to appear outside of the Realm of Darkness so why would they suddenly appear now?
Aqua shook her head, focusing on the battle as the Heartless tried swarming her. She quickly cartwheeled to one side as the nearest Heartless leapt at her, trying to stab her with its claws but she was too agile. She spun and slashed three of them down, spinning again as they dissolved into a black smoke that vanished. These Heartless fought in a similar manner to the Unversed which she was used to fighting as well.
They all tried swarming her but she just needed to use a barrier to block their strikes which would also knock them back.
"Thunder!" With a single shout, lightning rained down on all the Heartless surrounding her, eliminating them instantly.
Only that was not the end.
Aqua narrowed her eyes as seven new and larger Heartless appeared, looking larger and slightly more humanoid to the smaller Shadows that had first appeared.
Neoshadows.
They moved faster and just as Aqua blocked a strike from the first to attack, she found that they were stronger as she slid a few inches back. Just as they tried to swarm her, Aqua teleported out of the way in time before they could pile on her. She appeared a few feet away and pointed her Keyblade at the Heartless while they were left disorientated from colliding with each other. Her form was engulfed in bright white and blue light as she slammed her Keyblade on the ground.
Ice blasted out of the ground, freezing and impaling the Neoshadow Heartless before they could react and a second later the ice shattered and the Heartless dissolved like their predecessors. As soon as they were gone, another Corridor of Darkness appeared and out stepped another Heartless.
Just three this time, all the same type but equally dangerous.
They were humanoid and muscular with a heart shaped hole in its torso. They had purple and blue horns sprouting from its head, curving into the outline of a heart with small bat like wings sprouting from their back, golden tipped feathered wings on its forearms, and bluish-purple fireballs under their feet. They also had a long scaly tail that ended with a sharp, crescent shaped blade. Unlike the other Heartless, there ones were carrying a weapon in the form of a scalloped, blue-bladed sword that looked blunt but Aqua wasn't about to bet it couldn't cut her.
So she readied herself as the first of the three new Heartless, known as Invisibles flew at her and swung its sword. Aqua quickly blocked, grunting a bit from how strong the Heartless felt just from slashing at her. She jumped back as a second one flew at her and tried slashing at her.
'Great. They're trying to gang up on me.' Aqua thought to herself, making sure to keep all three Heartless in her sight. 'They keep getting stronger and smarter.'
Her inner paranoia wondered if this all a coincidence or by design?
Whatever it might be, she had no time to ponder as the Heartless attacked her again.
"Beautiful."
That was the only word the God of Darkness had to describe the creatures Aqua was currently fighting. They were made of darkness but not his darkness, that's for sure. Still, they seemed to be powerful and even had many forms like his Grimm children did.
"She told me about this creatures when she visited me. She called them Heartless." His brother spoke, watching the fight as well.
Heartless.
What a grand name for such extraordinary creatures.
He could sense these Heartless were not made of pure destruction like his Grimm children were. No, they were made of a different kind of darkness.
One that he could smell, even all the way here.
A darkness that sought to corrupt and twist the individual down to their very core, turning from something as mundane as a mortal into something else…
A force that sought to spread out and destroys everything in its path.
Perhaps he could learn to create such creatures on his own or evolve his Grimm to be like these Heartless. To be able to summon portals of their own to travel anywhere in the world or perhaps to other worlds to spread destruction in their wake.
Such an idea thrilled the Dark Brother.
"Marvelous." The dark deity said, giving the impression it was grinning.
His brother seemingly frowned at him before turning back to watch the fight. He knew his brother was now interested in these Heartless as much he was interested in Aqua along with these Keyblade Wielders who protected the light.
Or rather protected the balance.
When Aqua explained her role, it resonated with the light deity for some reason. Perhaps because he was committed to preserving the balance of this world that he and his brother had created. Regardless, it was because of this he had become fascinated with her and the worlds she had come from, enough he had gone out of his way to help her and watch her closely.
He wanted to see more of what she could do.
He wanted to understand this role she played.
The Keyblade.
The Heartless.
The balance of Light and Darkness in the Heart.
He wanted to see it and thus was why he had gifted the spirit in the Horn of Passage with the gift of Omniscient vision that could be shown to him and his brother.
So they could watch and understand.
'Show us, Aqua. Show us this balance. Show us the power you say comes from the Heart.'
Aqua grunted as she avoided another slash and immediately counter attacked. "Thunder!"
These Heartless were putting her training to the test as they relentlessly attacked her. While Aqua was not a brawler like Terra or utilized quick strikes like Ven, Aqua still gracefully danced around the battlefield while pelting the Heartless with a variety of spells. She fought with almost dance like grace. Gliding and cartwheeling around the battle field, forcing the Heartless to chase after her. One even threw its sword at her before dissolving into purple fire that traveled along the ground towards her.
She jumped just the flames exploded underneath the ground where she had stood and watched as it reformed back into its original form before trying to grab its sword.
"Collision Magnet!" Aqua shouted, firing a beam of light that hit the Heartless before it grabbed its sword.
She then swung and sent it crashing into one of the other Invisibles as they flew at her and dashed over to the fallen sword, picking it up and using it to block a slash from the third Invisible. Aqua then stabbed it in the chest, causing it to scream in pain as a blast of light burst through its chest and out the back. The Invisible dissolved Aqua faced the other two just as they had recovered. She dashed at them, throwing the sword she had stolen right back at its owner, stabbing it through the chest and she immediately fell upon the final one, teleporting just as it swung its blade at her.
Appearing behind the monster, Aqua's Keyblade was engulfed in a bright light, courtesy of her Bladecharge Spell and she immediately slashed and stabbed, killing the Heartless immediately. She watched as it dissolved back into the darkness it was made from.
Sighing, Aqua dismissed her Keyblade after she looked around and saw no other enemies appearing. "Since when do Heartless appear in the Realm of Light?"
Unless this wasn't the Realm of Light but Aqua could feel the light of this world.
Something was not right here.
"What have I stumbled into now?" She sighed as she walked down the street.
"She has won."
The Master looked on, seemingly impressed by Aqua taking down all the Heartless sent her way. He didn't move as the dark miasma from before appeared behind him.
"Has she performed to your expectations?"
"She has. She even sensed me when I was in close proximity. She certainly has the potential to be a great Wielder. Perhaps as great as your students if she is allowed to thrive."
"Well, this town was made for allowing young wielders to thrive." The Master admitted. "Still, glad to see she impressed you."
"Impressed?"
"A feeling of admiration invoked through size, quality, or skill." The Master explained.
"I suppose it was that. To not only fight against the Heartless but to also stand her ground against apprentices trained by you. It is no small feat."
"Now you're just trying to make me blush." The Master chuckled.
"Blush?"
"Never mind. I sometimes forget you have long since lost the ability to understand emotions outside of negativity. Don't you find it taking step backwards in forgetting how to understand emotional beings?" The Master questioned.
"That is why I seek you out. You enjoy reminding me."
"I suppose I do." The Master conceded.
"She carries more than a Keyblade. I sense two objects of great power that she carries. They are what allowed her to reach this city." The Darkness changed the subject.
"I felt it too. Not many things outside of a Keyblade that can do such a thing." The Master agreed. "She got them from somewhere."
"What will you do?"
"Hm…That is a very good question." The Master brought a hand to his chin. "I could go and take them from her, while either killing her or just knocking her out. Or I could invite her in for tea, cookies and ice cream to talk to her, open a dialogue with her while secretly plotting her demise. Or I could ask to go along with her on her quest and see what lies truly beyond, take in all the sights, see the wonders while secretly plotting the destruction of it all."
"Your talent for riddles never ceases to amaze."
"Thank you." The Master chuckled.
"And annoy."
The Master chuckled even louder. "I suppose I tend to go too far. Maybe we don't have to do anything at all. Sit back and just watch and let it unfold."
"Is that suggestion for yourself and your apprentices or does that apply to me as well?"
"I suppose if you want to do a little more that's your choice. It's not like I can stop you." The Master said as he turned to face the Darkness.
"I believe you could if you wanted to."
"There's that flattery again. You're getting better at that." The Master chuckled again, watching as the Darkness faded. "Though I wonder what you're going to do."
"Perhaps the same as you for now…" The voice of the Darkness echoed around the Master before it was gone.
"Sometimes, I am not even sure what I am going to do." The Master admitted to himself as he looked back out the window.
"So what will you do know, Brother? You've seen her power, the Heartless and a new world." The God of Light stated, once Aqua's battle with the Heartless was over.
The God of Darkness was silent for a moment. "Nothing for the moment. I have to take to consider what I have seen."
The light deity looked at his brother. "That is not normally your response."
"This is not a normal occasion." The dark one replied softly.
"Will you still send those your weapons have chosen after her when she returns?"
"There's no sense telling them to stand down now. I promised them riches and more power and I keep my word."
The God of Light simply watched as his brother vanished in a pillar of dark light. Not for the first time, he wondered how much danger his brother would be. They were brothers and they cared for one another, always feeling complete when they are together but they still had their differences.
"I hope, Brother that your plans do not lead you and all of us astray."
When Surtr was defeated, his remains were taken and buried far from the kingdom, meant to be taken somewhere they would never be found.
That place was a cave deep in the forests of Midgard.
So no noticed a sea dragon flying through the air and land in front of the cave where Surtr's remains had been taken. The dragon Grimm let out a roar as it lowered its head in front of the cave and opened its mouth, releasing the fire given to it by its creator. The entire cave was burned and from the depths of the dark caverns, something pulsed.
The Grimm dragon stepped back as a burst of purple fire emerged from the cave. From the dark, came a pulse of dark purple light.
From the cave emerged the dark being Surtr.
He stopped and looked at his hands, shocked to see he was alive.
"Surtr."
The former human watched as its creator, the God of Darkness appeared before it and it knelt down. "Master."
"When you came to me, I was amused by your pleas but pleased all the same as you were one of the few who came to me, praying for my divinity instead of my brother." The God of Darkness spoke. "The condition was that until you defeated your foe, you would willingly be my harbinger. I have seen to it that you will keep that promise."
"You revived me?" Surtr asked, lifting his head.
"You were never dead. A mortal cannot survive the Pools of Destruction that I had you bathe in so I bound your soul to your crown. Even if your body is destroyed, it can be revived." The God of Darkness explained, pointing at Surtr's horned crown. "Only I decide when your time will be over."
"I thank you, Master." Surtr bowed again. "I promise you I will not fail again."
"No you won't." The dark deity agreed. "For when you challenge the key wielder again you will not be alone."
"Master?" Surtr looked up, confused by what the deity meant.
"I have created three weapons to seek three worthy candidates to challenge the key wielder alongside you." The dark god explained, presenting Surtr's fiery sword, Twilight to him. "You wield fire. They will wield the other forces of nature."
"We shall not fail." Surtr said as he grasped Twilight.
"It matters not to me if you fail, Surtr. I only continue to wish to see what you will do with the power I have gifted you." The God of Darkness stated before vanishing, his voice echoing as he disappeared. "And if you continue to entertain me."
Surtr held up Twilight and narrowed his eyes at the memory of the woman who had defeated him.
He vowed she would pay dearly for that.
Still, he had only just returned to life and would need time to recover. So rather than seek out his hated enemy, Surtr would return to his fortress in the land of Ragnorak to rest and recuperate and then he would find her.
'Aqua, this is not over.'
"This should do it."
Aqua smiled as she purchased the special object that might help save Ozma's life.
"A Phoenix Down."
Aqua had only heard about these in myths but they were said to be an advanced form of healing feather that could supposedly even revive the dead. While she wasn't sure anything could cure Ozma of his illness because she wasn't exactly sure what the illness itself was, a Phoenix Down might be able to account for that.
Now she just had to get back in time.
She stepped out of the market and headed for a place on the far side of the town where no one would see her and then pulled out the Horn of Passage.
She blew into it and summoned Heimdallr."You have summoned me, again."
"I wish to return back to the world of your creators." Aqua stated.
"As you wish." Heimdallr said, summoning the rainbow bridge from before.
Aqua then brought out the Sail of the Heavens, summoning the boat along with her Keyblade armor before taking off, back to the world she had arrived in, hoping she was not too late to save Ozma.
As she left, she failed to notice a boy in a fox mask watching.
"Now this is interesting."
He vanished as quietly as he appeared, leaving no trace that he had ever been watching the strange woman.
