Prologue: One False Step
"We probably shouldn't be here."
The words, though spoken quietly, echoed through the musty, damp caverns. The underground tunnels were lit faintly by an ethereal blue glow, the source of which was unclear but omnipresent. The deep shadows lining the periphery were glowing with the yellow eyes of dark monsters, who kept themselves obscured behind the boulders and spires that lined the edges of the cave around the ancient, worn path. These monsters watched intently, peering at the two intruders with great interest.
One of the two was a freckled and bespectacled girl with bright orange hair that hung down the back of her lilac robes. She stopped uneasily, taking a moment to really pay attention to her location for the first time. She'd come into this cursed cavern uneasily at first, but her curiosity had given her a powerful bravery that was just now coming under the scrutiny of her general wisdom. She shivered a bit as she considered the words of her friend.
"I suppose you're right… but we've come this far. Don't you think we could at least look a little further in?"
Her companion was a young man with long, curly hair the hue of a dark oak, pulled into a ponytail. His turquoise eyes were locked with those menacing yellow orbs that kept an intent watch on them. "There's an awful lot of Heartless here, Velcia…"
"I know, I can see them… but they never seem to want to bother us, when we're together."
"That can change at any time, you know," the young man told her, shaking his head. "I don't think we'd be able to fight our way out if they change their mind."
Velcia looked deeper into the cavern, sighed wistfully, then looked down at a leather-bound journal she was carrying. "I know, but… we've been trying to find someone to help us come see what's in the Underworld for a week now. We're so close, I just know it… If we could only go in far enough that I could draw the Gates of the Underworld…"
"I…" the young man trailed off, closing his eyes. They shouldn't be here without someone who could help protect them. He knew this. Velcia knew this. It would be easy to blame her curiosity for the situation, but he knew in his heart he was curious, too, and he had such a hard time telling her no.
"Maybe just a little further," he conceded, holding up a finger to curb her enthusiasm as she began to bounce in excitement. "But the moment we see anything even slightly dangerous, we need to run… whether you've drawn your picture or not."
Velcia nodded gleefully, clutching her book tightly. "You're the best, Balthazar."
Balthazar cracked a reluctant half-smile, and turned his attention to the path that awaited them. It didn't feel like the right choice, but it was too late to change his mind; his excited companion had already resumed her journey, her scholarly wonder had once again overridden her somewhat ill-developed sense of self preservation. There was an energetic pep in her step that Balthazar couldn't help but find a bit infectious, and though he was nervous to follow along he couldn't help but share her sense of adventure.
The two made their way deeper through the cave until at last it opened up into a wider space, the smooth rock walls gradually dissolving into an eerie green mist that obscured what lay beyond. A set of rock pillars on either side of the path stood tall, holding between them a boulder cut to resemble the Lord of the Dead himself; and at the sight of this impressive feature Velcia dropped to the ground crossed-legged, her book naturally falling open across her lap as she did. It was a motion she'd performed many times, and sitting in this fashion felt more natural to her than did any other.
Balthazar felt the hairs on his arms stand up, his keen magical senses feeling waves of dark magic flowing out from the land beyond the pillars. He couldn't help but bristle further at this realization, but his thoughts were interrupted by the low sound of a deep growl that rumbled through the chamber.
The young man's eyes darted around the space, looking for what may be lying in wait. "Velcia, I think there's something out there."
Her swooping pencil lifted from the page, and she glanced over to see him standing tense and at the ready. "What is it?" she asked.
"I don't know, but it's coming… or here already."
Her face fell, but she didn't argue and she was back upright with a quick spin, her pencil sliding into a pouch on her hip and her leather notebook quickly slung into a pocket in her backpack. "I don't see anything."
"Me neither… but I can hear it."
This was well-punctuated by another low growl, and now they both took a battle-ready stance. Their eyes met for a moment, and Balthazar nodded his head towards the exit.
Velcia turned with him to leave, but what lay ahead of them was not the clear and open path they were looking for - this was now blocked by an enormous, three-headed dog. The beast's heads lowered, baring their jagged teeth as they slowly advanced.
"This must be Cerberus…" Velcia whispered. "I don't think we can run past him."
Balthazar clenched his fists. "We have to try."
The hound lunged towards them, swiping at them with paws as tall as they were. The two explorers jumped back and away. As Velcia regained her footing, she held her hand out to the side and summoned her Keyblade in a flash of light. This sword-like blade was decorated with an ornate pattern of vines and red flowers; though her Keyblade had many forms available she favored this Divine Rose above all else.
She held the blade out before her and swung it at the monster, an image of a golden medallion shimmering near the hilt as she did. From this medallion a wave of magic burst out, sending a swirling vortex of blue light that spiraled harmlessly past Cerberus' many heads and into the ceiling.
Velcia squeaked in surprise and jumped back again, away from the advancing monster. "Oh, I can't even hit something as big as this?" she muttered, before squealing again as Balthazar clutched a handful of her robes from behind and yanked her away from another of Cerberus' furious swipes.
"You can do it, just concentrate!" he said.
She nodded and swung her blade again, another spell erupting out from her weapon in a spray of flame that entirely obscured the cursed dog from their view. Velcia smiled, and Balthazar grimaced.
A sharp, deep bark sounded out throughout the cavern as the three heads emerged from the smoke. Despite her efforts, Cerberus was still in the way and seemingly unharmed.
Velcia gasped and stepped back behind Balthazar. "Th-that was my strongest medal…!"
Balthazar's heart sank. He looked up at the advancing abomination, and then past it into the cavern beyond where the distinct, scrutinizing yellow eyes of the monsters of Darkness lay in wait. He knew it was going to have to get worse before it could get any better.
He held his hand out, and summoned his own spiky green-and-black Keyblade to hand. The moment it appeared a cacophony of shrieks broke out from the Heartless that filled the cave behind Cerberus, and they began to rush into the chamber.
"Follow me!" he cried out. With a swing of his weapon, a powerful rush of water erupted from the ground beneath Cerberus and, though not strong enough to throw the beast aside, the surprise of the strike threw the dog off-balance just long enough for Velcia and Balthazar to run past in a mad dash.
"I thought you weren't supposed to use that!" Velcia cried out to him as they sprinted under the hellhound's thrashing tail.
"I'm not! Look how mad it's made the Heartless!"
It was hard not to see the incoming, enraged horde. Velcia had seen Balthazar use his Keyblade only a few times before, and could never understand why it sent them into such a frenzy when he did - but then again, she couldn't understand why they seemed so unusually docile around him otherwise. She herself generally felt a tad more at ease around him, current situation notwithstanding, so didn't question it too much; but these mysteries certainly did seem to be very pertinent now.
"Pay attention!" he admonished, jumping in front of her and swiping away one of the small Heartless that had made a leap towards her.
"S-sorry!" she said, shaking her head and grabbing her Keyblade more tightly.
The number of Heartless coming from the caves was truly staggering now, and before they knew it their escape was impeded entirely as the two desperately swung their magical swords in an attempt to clear a path. The ground began to shake and a rumbling growl filled the air, and it was with no small amount of horror that Balthazar spied Cerberus coming up behind them and licking its jowls with eager anticipation.
Velcia crashed into Balthazar's back, having been sent flying into him by one of the Heartless. "I'm so sorry! It's all my fault!" she cried, standing up on weak knees.
They clasped their hands together and he hoisted her to her feet, and the two stood back-to-back taking deep breaths. This was it. They were overrun.
"Velcia-"
"I know, I'm so sor-"
"Don't freak out."
"I'm trying not to," Velcia said, trying to restrain her sharp, panicked breaths.
Balthazar's Keyblade dissipated, and he held his palms together before spiraling them outwards and apart, trails of dark energy swirling in the air beside them. These crackling, purple clouds thickened and sparked into a dark vortex. This caught Velcia's attention, and she looked over her shoulder at it with wide eyes.
"What is th-" she cut off with a yelp as she was yanked into the magical maelstrom.
When she next opened her eyes, Velcia found herself in a place she couldn't begin to comprehend. A long, swirling tube of dark magic stretched out in both directions; behind her was a rapidly-closing window into a certain doom they'd only just been fated to. The last thing to come through this portal were the enraged howls of the monsters that had just been cheated out of their victory.
It was now that Velcia realized she was sitting in a crumpled pile on whatever ethereal surface served as the ground, and as she looked up she saw Balthazar staring blankly into the distance. His face carried a dark, regretful expression, and it seemed as though the magic glow of the dark realm was causing his eyes to shimmer a bit.
"Where are we? Are we… dead?" she asked after a moment.
Balthazar shook his head, turning his attention back to her. "No… we're in a Corridor of Darkness," he said, extending his hand to help her back to her feet.
She looked around at this strange place, her fingertips twitching as she struggled against the impulse to grab her sketchbook and pencil. Balthazar noted this and couldn't help but smirk knowingly.
"We don't have time to stay here… it's probably more dangerous than the Underworld was."
Velcia clenched her fists tightly and nodded, turning towards him. "How do we get out? How… how did we get in here?"
"To get out… we follow that light," Balthazar said, pointing towards the far end of the corridor before turning towards it and leading the way."
"But how did we-" Velcia started, but stopped as she noticed his shoulders tighten. "Oh… is this one of those…"
"...Yeah."
Velcia's eyes began to tear up a bit, her fists loosening and her fingertips finding their ways to the nearest folds in her robes. "I'm so sorry, Balthazar… I know you're not supposed to use your magic like this."
"I… I didn't see any other way," he said.
The two made it to the other end without another word, and as they approached the white light it began to form an image that came to both of them as quite a relief. The rock-filled valley outside the corridor was not in and of itself the most inviting sort of place, but Velcia recognized it as the relatively safe landscape not far from where they first entered these cursed caverns.
She watched with great curiosity as Balthazar stepped through the rippling magic horizon that separated these two dimensions, wanting deeply to stop and marvel at this amazing phenomenon but too scared and too regretful of the troubles her curiosity had already brought to them. She followed through without delay, and was both relieved and disappointed to see that this dark portal was already dissipating as she turned to take one last look at it.
"Balthazar… I… I'm so sorry," she sai. "I should never have made us go in there without help, I should have stopped, I should have listened to you-!" she cut off, grasping the ends of the young man's suit jacket as she fought against the tears. "I've been so stupid!" she cried out.
Balthazar shook his head, and pulled her into a tight hug. "It's alright… it's my fault just as much as yours… I wanted to see it, too."
"But you wouldn't have gone if I wasn't such a pest about it," Velcia heaved sadly.
"Eh…" Balthazar shrugged.
"Don't try to trick me, I know how careful you are," she said, her cries now subsiding into gentle sniffles. "And I know that using that magic is… Oh, Balthazar, I haven't put you in danger, have I?"
The young man patted her gently on the back, but his eyes were locked on the top of the cliffside. His fingers tightened, and he swallowed hard. "I… no, I think it's fine this time," he said, praying that she wouldn't recognize the hesitation in his voice.
"If you're sure…" she said.
"Y-yeah, I'm sure," Balthazar told her, stepping back as she loosened from his hug. He glanced up towards the clifftop again, seeing the jet-black form of a looming Specter of Darkness slowly backing away and disappearing into the night. A shiver ran through his body, the magic that sustained his form surging softly at the rush of fear that ran through him.
"What's up there?" Velcia asked, turning to follow his stare.
Balthazar swallowed hard once more. He didn't dare tell her, not yet.
"Just thought I saw a shooting star."
