SK: Soul Kingdom (Color Series End)
On the Starship Phonix, the Soul Princes are preparing for the final battle. Ratchet asks, "One more test run of the Chrono Song, just to make sure this "key" is complete?" Sly brings out the Cooper Music Box, and it plays a medley of popular music from the series the Soul Princes come from. World 1-1, Zelda's Lullaby, the Rift Apart theme, and a few other tracks that have slipped my mind at the moment. Sorry about that. Bentley says, "Well, it sounds like we have a complete track. In theory that and the World Rings should get us into Soul Kingdom. Sora, Riku, Kairi, get the Gummi Ship ready. You and I are going on a little recruiting trip." "Nobodies?" "Nobodies."
SKSKSK
Montage of Bentley and the Galaxy of Hearts' Guardians of Light going around the Universe.
"Everything everywhere is at risk, Sicon."
"The Universe is potentially about to end, Aaron, Jade. I'll fill you in."
"Blossom, this is bigger than all of us."
"Connor, we never talked about it. Why you were brought back. The truth is, I didn't know then. But I know now: that after all we've seen, all we've lost, this fight might be our last."
"Kaden, I'm told your son has been protecting the Galaxy Cluster for years. But a Villain Alliance has surfaced. I assume they're just waiting on us to unlock the door to Soul Kingdom. Ready to help Ratchet help the Universe?"
And Drayke is just waiting on the Phonix. "It's going to be OK, Drayke. I know it will." This appears to calm him down.
SKSKSK
"In all seriousness, my research on Soul Kingdom reminds me of how Sly first learned about Clockwerk. In other words, we have extremely little to go off of. We're just going to have to play the Chrono Song, and have it guide us to where we need to be. Sora, would you do the honors?" Sly hits play on the music box. Sora opens a portal via Keyblade and says "Here goes nothing!" The Phonix flies in at top speed.
SKSKSK
Sly speaks first. "Bentley, do you have any idea where we are?" "Well, we're definitely not on any maps." Sora comments, "Hold on. I'm getting the same feelings I once had when I was inside of Kingdom Hearts near the end of the whole thing with me falling to darkness. If I remember right…" The Kingdom is a paradise.
The group awakens within that paradise, in a world that looks so similar to the shore he spent so much of his life on. Still, there's more than enough that's different about it to set it apart. The sea before the Soul Princes seems to shine blue as it stretches on far past forever, the sand beneath him is crystalline and iridescent. The sky is ever changing, shifting between an infinite swirl of colors and shades that almost every inch of the endless beach reflects. It's a surreal sight to say the least, otherworldly, but undeniably beautiful all the same.
He doesn't know what compels him to turn away from the sea. But what he finds when he does is something that's somehow even more incredible than the shining shore he's standing on.
A castle towers before him, perhaps the most awe-inspiring out of the many he's seen across his travels. It's shrouded in shades of black and white stone, it's countless towers defying gravity as they seem to hover on their own accord. "We're here. Soul Kingdom. The center of the Universe of Life." A stained glass door stands to greet them as they slowly approach the structure in the next gameplay sequence. On the way to the door, the Soul Princes learn the story behind the creation of the Universe via nearby memorials.
"Eons and Eons ago, there was just a blank space, neither bright or dark, with a shadow of white and a shadow of black. Depressed by the emptiness, the two painted two spheres on the space, creating the first world and sun. The sun had its own light, but even with its warm rays, the world was cold and lifeless. The two painted the world orange, blue and green, and used their powers to create the world a heart. The Jupiter Emerald and its supporters, the Ringed Emeralds, made of seven powerful gems and rings. The jewels created by the light - Power - and the rings created by the darkness - Emotion - empower one another. And with the Jupiter Emerald, the heart of the world, the first people were born." Sonic comments, "Did we just learn about the Chaos Emeralds' creation? It's info I have always wondered, but never really thought I would receive." "With an answer comes a list of questions. Let's keep going." Getting up to the next memorial requires some pretty precise platforming. And who would be better at that than the guy nicknamed Jumpman? But then Sly asks, "Mario, think we could turn getting up to that memorial into a race?" "Lets-A-Go!" You can choose either Mario or Sly for this segment. The manorial here reads, "What would be months later, our dear mother and father made themselves a personal child they named Yiya. But upon Yiya's birth came evil, which took the form of seven Evils. The Evils took advantage of the newborn Yiya and corrupted him and many people of the first world. The corrupted then tried to attack the world's heart for its power. The Soul Princes tried to reason with them, but their minds and hearts were already plagued by evil, thus Madness had been born. The Sins saw this coming and they had Yiya create his own Ringed Emerald: the Emerald of Fear. At the world's heart, Yiya used to it to bring the corrupted people into deeper Madness, thus unstablizng the heart and its supporters." Luigi comments, "Is it possible that this section of the story is related to the Rougeport Cataclysm?Just a thought." The next memorial is heavily guarded. Sly says, "Guys, Eggman's Badniks are here!" "And Clank and I are Locked and Loaded!" Combat segment swapping between Ratchet, Rayman and Link to clear out the room. In the aftermath, Ratchet gets to reading the last memorial. "When the Soul Princes arrived, they had no choice but to seal Yiya within the black Emerald and separate the Jewels from the Rings. By doing so however, the world began to break apart. The Jewels and the Rings were left under the protection of one of the Soul Princes, presumably among them the strongest. As the world's seven pieces drifted through the rest of the space, they continued to break up. But on each of the seven original pieces was a Soul Prince. With what power they had left, the Princes rebuilt the fragments into the other survivors' dreams and needs. They created many new worlds and even reshaped their people, until their life force was spent. But the new worlds were so far apart, they forgot each other's existence. But what's left of the core remains, somewhere within what was left of the empty space. And the spirits of the Princes resided in their "kingdoms", awaiting to select their heirs. After eons and eons, each were able to find a hero or a potential hero in each of their "kingdoms", whose both heart and soul carry strong light. At one point, the Jewels that represent all seven kingdoms were then scattered and in the process, the barriers of each world were beginning to break, taking the form of a meteor shower. Within each meteor shower, a Jewel was part of it, eventually finding each princes' heir and being placed in their hand. And that night set their destinies." Sonic says, "And that's how this all started. Bentley, are you picking up anything in that castle?" "Only a darkness signal greater than any I have picked up before…" "Then I guess it's time to see how the story of the 7 Jewels comes to an end…"
SKSK
The Soul Princes and their Nobodies approach the castle, and just like that door to Kingdom Hearts, it takes but one twist of the X-Blade to unlock it and whatever secrets hide behind this castle's stately walls.
SKSK
He's been here before. He doesn't know how or when, but he has. That's the first thing he realizes as the Soul Princes enter the castle's lofty foyer. Its rounded ceilings reach impossibly high above him, a pristine fountain flowing in between two grand spiral staircases. None if it looks like it could have possibly been built by human hands, and Sora already knows it wasn't. The Kingdom itself created this perfect palace for its Princes, a heavenly home meant only for the Soul Princes, and the Soul Princes alone.
Maybe that's why the second thing Sora realizes is that this castle is so oddly silent, so unnaturally still, so unspeakably lonely .
The Kingdom doesn't say much else as he slowly ascends the staircase, up to the gilded door, the only door that waits at the top. Sora only needs to place a gentle hand on its golden surface for it to creak open, revealing the castle's–and the Kingdom's most spectacular sight yet.
"Whoa…" Sora draws in a breath, struck by both awe and nostalgia. It's funny really, how he's so sure that he's never seen any of this, but he knows this throne room better than any other place he's ever been to. The long hall is immaculate, mingled between light and darkness like everything about the Kingdom seems to be, including its Princes. Both sides of that wall are lined with massive stained glass windows, each depicting one of the thirteen Keys. Sora can sense their power radiating from them, further proving his theory that the windows are where the Keys reside whenever his wings aren't around.
What's in the space between the windows, however, is much more interesting by far. Stars, hundreds of thousands of them, drift all around him, as small as fireflies but so much more radiant. They pulse even brighter when he walks among them, captivated by the untold energy each of them embodies. Some part of him already knows what they are, but curiosity still gets the better of him when he reaches out to the closest star. It eagerly glides over to him, coming to rest just above his open hands. He stares at it in silent wonder for a moment or two, but when he blinks, he suddenly finds himself somewhere far away from the ethereal Kingdom. He suddenly finds himself standing in another world entirely.
The dimly-lit streets of Traverse Town surround him, abandoned, quiet, and forlorn. He turns a slow circle, just to make sure his mind isn't playing tricks on him, but sure enough, he's there. At least until he lets the star in his hands drift away from him. As soon as it wanders out of his reach, he's back in his castle, back between the endless stars, each representing a different world.
He beckons another one in, fascinated when it seamlessly transports him to the dense jungles of Paradise Falls. Another takes him to the top of the highest building in San Fransokyo, while the next lets him see the shifting sands of Agrabah. With a daring smile, Sora bounds between dozens of worlds in a matter of mere seconds, from New Orleans, to Atlantica, to Wonderland, Gravity Falls, the Pride Lands, Halloween Town, Arendelle, Atlantis, Corona, and so many more. For as many worlds as he's been to before, he's brought to countless more he never even knew existed. The more he sees, the more he realizes he could spend an eternity traveling between the worlds and still not see them all.
Of course, he has an eternity here, far longer than that even. But still.
"Sora, the Darkness is getting closer. I first spotted it near the Black Chaos Emerald. I'm assuming this is Yiya?" "You would be somewhat correct, turtle. I am, in fact, Yiya, cursed by the Sins of True Darkness. That curse was years ago now, and I have been trying to get somebody's attention ever since. To get up here and end my suffering. Don't worry about me, Soul Princes. It's been a full life, as you've seen from the memorials to the United Kingdom around this place. But, we're done here once you take out the Evils trapped inside me. I'm itching for the next step. Heck, I'm excited about it. Don't even think of it as killing me. You're… breaking me out of prison. Now, what have you got… Soul Princes?" As he speaks, you can hear his almost distorted voice changing to that of the different members of the Villain Alliance. Bowser, Eggman, Le Paradox, Xigbar/Luxu, The Magician, Nefarious, and Ganondorf.
With that, Yiya comes off of the throne and the Soul Princes change into their Mage Costumes and, almost on instinct, perform a spell that will separate the Sins from the physical body. "And here they come! Final battle time!" But the freed Darknesses… head straight for the Soul Princes' Nobodies. "That was unexpected, but we can work with it…" Sonic Heroes' song What I'm Made Of starts playing as we transition into gameplay. A boss rush against the Sin-Possessed Nobodies begins, and given that this is the final fight, it is a challenge, and really requires the Soul Princes to work together. Eventually the Soul Princes, with the help everyone they've formed a connection with, manage to free their Nobodies and Yiya from the curse. "Thank you, Soul Princes. You have ended my suffering, but the Sins of True Darkness are still alive. Somewhere." Sora responds with, "If we ever find them, it's hero time!" But then, right as they are heading home, the door to the castle slams shut, trapping the Nobodies at Soul Kingdom. "I forgot to mention. When something is left behind at the core, it is forgotten by everyone." Aaron comments with the other Nobodies in a panic, "As in, they don't know who we are?" "Correct. And they are in danger. I will notify the spirits of the Soul Princes' predecessors that you need a way out of here. Consider it gratitude for helping me out." "Thanks, Yiya."
Pause for dramatic effect as the former Soul Princes enter the scene.
Connor puts his hand on his heart and says as we fade to black on the first part of the Soul Kingdom Trilogy, "Hang on, son… we're coming."
End Chapter