Here is the fourth part of the prologue, and for this part this part at the beginning I will admit I do have a mental video made to this using Simple and Clean. And the ending would be accompanied by Destati/Fragments of Sorrow.
Prologue - Part Four - Dive into the Heart
WORLD: REALM OF DREAMS
WORLD: LUMENGRAD
I felt encased, as if I was being used to make a plastic mold. I was neither able nor did I want to breathe. I barely even felt anything, as if all of my nerves were shut down, but I was still able to perceive. I was most certainly awake, or something like it. I floated in some compressing void and I just existed there for what seemed an eternity. Whether my eyes were closed or not it made no difference as to what I could see. I hated the darkness and the silence. Late at night, I always found it miraculous that anyone could sleep in a silent, unlit room. It always felt oppressive, and maybe even a little scary. This was like that, but a hundred times worse.
Then, as if responding to my desire to see and to hear, images began to appear before my eyes in flashes. They were scenes of someone walking through the halls of the chapel in Freyvallow. I was looking out of their eyes, and they were being followed by more of the dark creatures I’d seen outside. Occasionally the image would turn to static, and then return to focus in a different place or perhaps a different time. The person on the screen was now standing in front of a stone door carved with many odd symbols. I’d never seen it before, but I recognized the stone from which it was made. It was the same stone as the chapel, and somehow I could identify the carvings in the stone as Rogo’s handiwork.
Then the images just stopped as the figure ripped open one of the one of the carved doors with what looked like a clawed, soot blackened hand. Around the fingertips of that hand were tendrils of blackness that seemed to move of their own volition with a sickening sentience. Following the cessation of the images I began to feel the sensation of moving through space, slowly at first, but then with increasing velocity. I was falling through darkness and I could only wonder where I where I was going to land. The darkness began to give way to an endless twilight sky. The clouds above were colored in a multitude of different shades by a foreign sun. The sky was the same, fading between shades of violet, pink, orange and red. Below me, I could make out a surface of some kind, and I knew that if I hit it at the speed I was traveling that what remained of me would be splatted indecorously all over it.
As I grew closer, I could see that the ground below me was made up of thick crystal. There were jagged formations of the stuff that jutted out like colossal knives from its surface. For a minute there, it really did look I was going to go splat on the giant crystal geodes. However, when I got within about fifty feet from the ground I began to slow and even began to right myself in the air. I landed gently on my feet and found that my movement was now unrestricted and my lungs were now taking in air. I looked around and found myself awed momentarily by the sheer size of the crystalline stalagmites next to me. They were as big as houses, and portions of them were perfectly reflective, as clear as high quality mirror glass. I walked up to one of them and looked at myself to see if anything was off. I looked like me, no alterations, nothing missing.
I felt slightly more relaxed, which was remarkable considering I had no idea where I was, or how I’d gotten there. I remembered being swallowed up, feeling suffocated and... I remembered Marsh falling into a sea of dark creatures and running people. It was impossible for me to know whether he’d survived or not, but knowing that someone had hurt him filled me with a rage so strong that was almost a palpable aura. I began to look around more furtively and I saw movement in the crystals around me. As I passed by some of the formations I could see images of Everask and Avani running to destinations unknown, both seemingly in a panic. I saw my parents, Avani’s parents, Everasks’ parents all cowering in fear or fighting against unseen forces. I saw people I’d known for years in the town being accosted by some hidden enemy and then disappearing. The crystals in which people disappeared would soon after go ominously dark and I shuddered at the implications.
My gaze moved to the path ahead of me and I could see a figure standing there maybe fifty yards away. Hoping to get some answers I began to make my way that direction, knowing full well that I might be walking to my death. For better or for worse, at least I might be able to find a way out of this place.
As I walked, I began to notice small details about the environment. For example, the crystal underneath me, while very thick, was actually hollow, a fact that came to me partially out of instinct than anything else. I also felt like there was something beneath that crystal and that it was moving. In fact, when I looked down I thought I could see the rhythmic motion of some incalculably large creature breathing in an out underneath its gemstone prison. I tried not to think about it as I moved inexorably towards that distant figure. Eventually I got close enough to make out specifics. Light hair, rugged features, it was...
“Marsh?” As the words escape my lips an earsplitting thunder filled the air. I felt the ground shake and I turned to see that the crystal spikes jutting out from the ground were beginning to shatter one by one, sending deadly shards of gemstone in all directions. Meanwhile, the crystalline ground itself began to develop fractures from which dark matter oozed like noxious smoke. It crept along the ground toward me as if drawn to me. I was already running for my life towards Marsh, my legs carrying me forward faster than they ever had before.
Around me the world broke apart. I could see spots where there seemed to be nothing below but that blackness. Fearful, frustrated tears fell from my eyes as I tried to make it to Marsh. Somehow, I knew that if I made it to him, everything would be alright and that I would be able to go home. I must have been ten feet away, then five. Beneath me, all that was left was a platform of cut stone and the bit of crystal left between me and Marsh. We reached out towards one another and I felt the stone beneath my feet begin to give. I leapt forward with all of my strength and tried to grasp Marsh’s hand as he held it out to me, but all I managed to grab hold of was air. I plummeted into the darkness below.
As I fell, panels and shards of crystal followed me, and on them were more visions of the horrors that I suspected were happening back home. I saw Everask calling out words I couldn’t hear, his face contorted with rage, his fingers giving off a magical glow. I saw Avani wielding a strange gun I’d never seen before, her father standing next to her with one of his own. On and on they passed me, images of events happening right now. Then things began to get stranger as I passed by these falling shards more and more quickly. I saw people and places I’d never met, never seen. I saw myself, older, my hair an unnatural shade of white, my eyes empty and dark. I saw scars that people had yet to receive, joys people had yet to experience. It was all filling up my head to fast that I lost track of it all. I flailed trying to knock away the phantasmagorias of the future. Then suddenly, I felt someone catch me by the wrist. Their grip was tight and I dangled over what looked like a dark ocean in storm. I looked up hopefully for a moment, expecting to see Marsh’s face, but instead I saw the shadow figure gripping my wrist, his eyes now like hellfire embers boring into me. Terror gripped me and I let out a whimper. I struggled to disengage the being’s grip, but it was like trying to break the grip of a mountain.
The red claws of the shadow being’s hand began to sink slowly into the flesh of my left arm and I felt a pain greater than any I’d experienced in my young life. I yelled out, I kicked and struggled but it seemed to have no effect on the creature who held me. The skin of my arm began to blacken as if dying, and I noticed that the bone and muscle beneath began to writhe and shift agonizingly beneath the flesh. I could see my fingers elongating slightly, my nails there gaining that same red color as the being that held me. My scream shifted into a furious growl. Somewhere deep inside I felt a powerful and imperious rage at this creature daring to change me. I don’t know where it came from, but I knew that it felt right. The being’s eyes narrowed and then without warning, he dropped me, letting me fall down into the evil sea. The rage fled me, once again replaced by hysteric fear. I hit the water a few moment later with a rather forceful impact.
I sank, dragged down as if I had a great weight strapped to me. I feared I would suffocate, only to find that I could breathe, and when I looked around I could see without the murky quality one got from opening their eyes underwater. Dark, wraith-like entities seemed to flow around me like predators scenting their prey. Unlike myself, they seemed to traverse the murky depths without resistance, and I could tell they would soon be on me. My darkened arm seemed to respond to them, giving me an odd sensation whenever they would draw close.
I continued to sink quickly for a time until some unseen force intervened once again and I began to slow. Whatever it was, righted my trajectory and allowed me to land on my feet. I came to rest on some dark platform as the wraith-like monstrosities in the dark around me closed in. I found myself able to move freely once again and I began to take a few steps in hopes of finding a way out of this dark place. Then, a blinding light shone from beneath me as gold winged birds manifested from the dark patches of the platform under my feet, leaving bits of bright material in the spaces they once occupied. Their pure glow seemed to banish the shadows and the dark beings who pursued me cowered at the sight of them and fled of into the darkness around me. I watched the now massive flock of birds fly off into the distance in a circle, granting me some measure of relief. They hovered some distance away, a barrier of sorts against dark intrusion.
The surface I now stood on gave off a warm multicolored glow, and I looked down to see that my feet rested on a floor made entirely out stained glass. For a moment I thought it was just aimlessly colorful, but I quickly revised my opinion as I began to make out the design. It looked like Everask. He was dressed in his favorite outfit of a jacketless casual suit, and he held that book of his in one hand. Ev’s eyes were closed and his right hand was extended out as if to cast a spell. There were other designs as well, and images of other people I knew around him in circular framed segments of the glass floor. It was more than a little strange to see so many of the people close to me depicted in this bizarre dream art and I wondered to myself what the point of it all was. I recall walking over to the edge of the platform to see an endless abyss below. I let out a resigned breath. There was nowhere to go.
“
THERE IS LITTLE TIME. “ Said a strange disembodied voice. Or perhaps to call it a voice at all was inaccurate. It was more like an impression of words that came from everywhere, yet nowhere. Like the idea of a sentence. I jumped and looked around wildly, expecting more of those dark creatures, or worse, that thing that was commanding them, but no such presence was there.
“
DON’T’ BE ALARMED. WALK FORWARD.” Though I wasn’t actually hearing the voice, I could tell there was something truncated about it, like a weak radio signal. I could almost sense a sort of background static in the overlaid with the communication. I wasn’t too keen on doing anything this voice said. There were no indicators that this wasn’t just some trick by the shadow being that had mutilated my arm. At the same time, I didn’t really have much of a choice. Though the glowing birds that formed a ring around the platform drove away the darkness, I could tell they were growing dimmer, and one or two of the birds had simply disappeared. I ended up reluctantly obeying the voice, and I stepped forward into a part of the glass floor that glowed with a slightly stronger luminance.
Before me, three alters emerged from the floor of the platform, made of carved marble. One was black, one white and the last of some indescribably shifting hue. Floating in the air above them were glowing orbs that shared a color with the altars beneath them. Upon closer examination, I saw that they were identical to the cornerstone itself, though in vastly different color schemes. The black Cornerstone contained a violent, amethyst light. I could sense a righteous malice from it and a desire to exact it on those who it deemed wicked. The white cornerstone had an enveloping presence, like the feeling of a mother’s arms when you are very young. It made me feel safe, like I wasn’t alone. The last one was in a clear sphere whose light seemed to shift between every hue, and it gave a sense of wonder, of discovery, of untapped knowledge, yet also of greed and ambition.
“
WITHIN YOU IS A TERRIBLE POWER UNSHAPED.” The voice said. “
IT IS UP TO YOU TO DECIDE WHAT FORM IT TAKES.” The ground shook, and I sensed the presences of those dark wraith-like creatures closing in on the platform again. At this point a little more than half of the birds remained. The slight sense of safety I felt before was beginning to fade.
“
THEY COME, YOU MUST CHOOSE AND QUICKLY. “ Said the voice. I didn’t know what to do, so I simply placed a hand on each orb in turn. The moment my fingers brushed the black orb, I became aware of a set of words, almost as if I’d always known them,
The Power of the Warrior. Invincible courage. A force of terrible destruction. Is this the path you choose?
I removed my hand and quickly made my way over to the sphere in the middle, the sphere of many colors. Upon touching it I once again knew a set of words,
The Power of the Mystic. Inner strength. An art of wonder and ruin. Is this the path you choose?
I removed my hand from this orb and turned my attention to the last one, the white orb. I place a hand upon its warm surface. From behind me, I could hear murderous whispers in the darkness beyond the platform and perhaps it was just my imagination, but I thought the light of the platform itself seemed dimmed. Less than a fourth of the birds remained. My darkened arm twitched involuntarily, as if in anticipation of the arrival of creatures of its own like. Also, the darkness that had taken my arm had crept upwards like an infection, changing its make-up as it grew. Before it had extended only to my elbow, now it was well on its way to my shoulder. As I touched the white orb, I knew the last set of words.
The Power of the Guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is this the path you choose?
I knew very quickly which of the three I would choose. I didn’t want destructive might, or magical prowess. Others could take those paths.
“I just want to power to protect the people I love.” I said, taking the white cornerstone sphere off of its pedestal. It burst into small stars in my hand and then began to take shape. The light condensed into a thin blade of silvery metal. It was largely unadorned and didn’t even have any wrapping around its handle. The whole thing seemed like it was made in one piece with the blade smoothly transitioning into the handle. There was an energy to the blade, a vitality. It seemed to glow slightly.
“
YOUR PATH IS SET.” Said the voice. I held on to the blade tightly, and felt suddenly energized and filled with renewed purpose. The arm that had gone dark from the touch of the shadow figure above seemed to twinge in response to the blade I held in my right hand, but did nothing else. It was as if the presence of the blade calmed it somehow.
“
BEHIND YOU!”
I spun around to see smoke and tar rise up from the ground and form into a small moving shape. It was sort of like bug, with a round head and a thin, vaguely humanoid body. It had large, round, gold eyes and small antennae on its head. The creature seemed to sniff about for me, prowling nearby as if waiting for an opportunity to strike. It had tiny arms tipped with razor sharp claws. The little monster leapt up and began to flail its small clawed arms at me. I side stepped out of the way with relative ease, letting it pass through the spot which I’d just vacated. I put both hands on my new weapon and swung at the creature with all my might. The blade seemed to meet resistance for a moment before it simply caused the creature to dissipate into smoke again.
Four more of these creatures manifested from the ground surrounding me from all sides. They lunged at me, and I jumped between two of them with a strong push of my legs. I was surprised when my leap took me nearly eight feet away. I stumbled to a halt, not used to the momentum borne from the extra powerful jump. The creatures followed, and as they did, more of them dredged themselves up from whatever source they originated from. A small army of these little shadows seemed to be gathering around me.
“Shit.” I said, holding the blade out in front of me. I stopped three more attacking shadows with a couple deft swings, causing them to turn to smoke just like the first one, but it was quickly dawning on me that while one of these things were no real problem, hundreds of them would most certainly kill me. They all took quick fidgeting steps towards me and I found myself suddenly along the edge of the massive platform.
“
THE DOOR...QUICKLY!” the voice called out urgently. I turned around and saw a set of ornate double doors carved out of some kind of metal or stone. They slowly parted letting in a blinding light that repelled the creatures behind me and gave me a moment of respite. My salvation lie just a few feet away from the edge of the platform, and I didn’t have much room for a running jump. Luckily, the new enhanced power of my leaps carried me up and through the doorway. I found myself flailing for a few moments, before my feet touched another glass surface. I tucked and rolled, nearly losing grip on the sword as I did. I skidded to a stop and knelt there for a moment getting my bearings.
Looking up at the door I’d just emerged from, I could see countless golden eyes on the other side of it, writhing and pressing in for a chance to squeeze through the narrow opening after me. Running as quickly as possible, I shoved my shoulder into doors to shut them. They resisted me, and I was astonished at the sheer weight of them. I don’t think that I would have been able to actually close them without the assistance of the blade’s power, but soon they were sealed, and a resounding click rang out once it did.
Gasping for breath, and I feel backwards into a sitting position to give me some time to compose myself. Despite all of the things that had happened, I still had no answers to my questions. I still didn’t know what was going on. Sure the sword was nice, but it didn’t really do much to stack the odds in my favor when the sheer number of those things alone was enough to overwhelm me. I got to me feet and looked down. Another stained glass platform rested below me, this time representing Avani. She wore a pair of black paints, a gun belt, and a belly shirt with a black leather jacket over it. Held in her hands was a long gun, the same one I’d seen in an earlier vision. She stood as if she were aiming it at something.
“Hey you!” I called out, looking up into darkness. “Where am I? What are those things? What’s going on?” I practically yelled that last question as the frustration building in me reached the breaking point.
“
YOU ARE BEING HUNTED.” Said the voice. I was actually kind of surprised it had responded.
“By what?”
“
HEARTLESS CREATURES WHO’S ONLY MISSION IS TO CONSUME. THEY TEAR AT THE WALLS OF YOUR SOUL TO TAKE YOUR HEART.” I rubbed my temples in frustration.
“But why?” I said, my voice biting.
“
THERE IS NO TIME. THEY ARE BEING HELD AT BAY, BUT ONLY JUST. THERE ARE STILL TASKS TO PERFORM BEFORE THIS DAY IS DONE.” I opened my mouth to argue, but the voice or impression or whatever, rang out.
“
IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY, ALL THOSE YOU HOLD DEAR WILL DIE. THIS IS NOT A THREAT, BUT A CERTAINTY. YOU MUST SEE THIS THROUGH OR ELSE ALL WILL BE LOST. AGAIN, IT IS YOUR CHOICE.” I gritted my teeth and nodded. As if there was any real choice at all.
“
VERY WELL, THEN LET US COMMENCE.” At those words I felt a stirring in the air, and then I noticed another glowing cathedral glass platform appear in the distance, and on it there was a pillar of glowing light. From the edge of my current platform, panels of the same stained glass appeared from motes of light and created a path to the other platform.
“
WALK INTO THE LIGHT. IT WILL LOOK INTO YOU, AND HOW YOU EMERGE WILL DEPEND ON WHAT IT SEES.” I didn’t like the way that sounded. What would happen if it didn’t like what it saw? Would I just be cast away, thrown back like an unwanted fish? The uncertainty of what my future would bring (or whether it would continue at all for that matter) was eating me up inside. That being said, I think I was handling the situation rather well. The worst thing that happened to me before this (physically anyways) was that I’d broken my right leg while doing something stupid on the farm. The weirdest thing that had happened to me was having Everask cast a spell on me anthat turned me green for a few days. Everything that was happening to me now was at least a couple dozen of leagues up from those situations.
I began to make my way to the bridge leading to what I hoped was the final platform in this place. My steps seemed to echo despite the unending openness of the space. As I placed my foot onto the first panel of the walk way to test it, another voice rang out, cutting through the silence like a hot knife. It was a harsh guttural voice that made my stomach churn.
“I HAVE FOUND YOU, BOY!”
The door I’d come from before began to part slowly and inexorably. My eyes went wide, and I began to run. Moments later it flew open, the doors falling off their hinges, and a stream of dark creatures poured out of it like a fountain of black ink. They flooded over the other platform, and it immediately darkened, beginning to break apart before falling away into nothingness. I was moving so fast away from the darkness that I was practically leaping. My legs burned, as did my lungs. There was a knife sharp stitch in my side, and I was beginning to slow down. The vicious stream of enemies began to consume the glass tiled platforms behind me as I ran. Then, faster than I thought possible, a massive tendril of dark matter slammed down into the tiles in front of me and sent them tumbling out of sight. I leapt over the space and tendril alike and landed on the next set of tiles gracelessly, nearly tumbling into the depths below myself. The couple seconds it took me to get up nearly killed me, as the dark creatures continued to move as one massive blob of eyes, limbs and sharp claws towards me.
The amorphous conglomeration of dark monsters came together to form a massive arm that must have been large enough to crush a good portion of my house back in Freyvallow. It came down with earth shattering force and I leapt out of the way just in time as it took out the last of the glass walkway panels and a chunk of the cathedral platform with it. The image on this last platform was of me. My image self stood in the middle of the circular design with spiked black chains around my left arm. In the picture, my arm was blackened and semi-monstrous, just like my real arm now was. On the other side of me was the holy blade held up high. Over my left shoulder were images of my friends and family, as if they were looking after me.
I tried to run for the light but tripped and sprawled onto the ground, the blade flying out of my hands. I tried to grab it, but a dark tendril brushed it away and off the side of the platform. I felt its power leave me, and I suddenly felt drained. The dark creatures grew more and more numerous and they began to combine to form a colossal shape. A hideous face began to manifest from the many shadows and its eyes were the same hellfire pits that the dark man had. Hell, probably was him considering I’d never actually seen his face. Maybe he was always this ugly. Two more arms formed to either side of the face, and the remainder of the shadows swirled and spiraled around the platform like a smoky cyclone. Their movement was creating a powerful wind and I felt like I was truly in the eye of a storm.
“
THE LIGHT KNOTON! GO TO THE LIGHT!” The original voice said, clearly distressed despite not actually sounding like anything. They sounded so faint now, like they were speaking from a great distance.
“YOUR FUTURE IS DARKNESS. ACCEPT ITS EMBRACE. HELP US USHER IN THIS NEW AGE!” Said the hideous face, the ring of dark wind closing in. As it did, it eroded away the parts of the platform it touched, turning it to dust. I stood up and sprinted for the light, dodging dark creatures and shifting tendrils alike. When I reached it, the voice called out,
“
RAISE UP YOUR HAND!” I did so, and the light began to intensify even as the darkness tried to engulf me. The cyclone was no more than three or four feet away from me. The pillar of light began to solidify and suddenly the holy blade reappeared to my hand. Within moments it began to change. A guard began to form in the shape of a heart. It was white and had a black double helix pattern running along it, almost like Marsh’s necklace. The handle was wrapped in black leather, and like the guard it had a double helix design as part of the grip, though this time in white. The blade transformed as well. It grew and turned into something like an ornate wing made of white and gold metal. Veins of golden and white light ran along the blade, all of which emerged from a white gem at the hilt which was more or less identical to the white cornerstone I’d chosen before. Finally, a keychain grew from the bottom of the guard and handle. The links were like golden triangles and they lead to a smaller version of the original cornerstone. Inside of the clear orb however, was Marsh’s heart necklace surrounded by rings of light.
“YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE!” Said the dark being as every bit of dark matter at his disposal attempted to pour down on me at once. With this new blade however, this Keyblade, my strength felt not only enhanced but unstoppable, and the light within me had never been stronger. With a round sweep of my new blade, light burst forth in a ring from my body, keeping the darkness at bay. I felt myself beginning to rise off of the ground, and a great doorway of white light opened up above me. I knew that this was my way out. I must have done what I needed to do. However, the darkness wasn’t ready to give up on me yet. I felt my progress upward stop as twists of dark energy coiled around my leg and began making their way up my body.
“
DON’T BE AFRAID.”
I held the keyblade up high and light began to gather there. I could hear screeches of anger and vehemence from the darkness below in response to the light. Within moments, it was as if I was holding a key shaped sun in my hands. I could feel the energy gathered there thrumming in my fingers.
“
BECAUSE YOU HOLD THE MIGHTIEST WEAPON OF ALL.”
“This is for my friends.” The words came out neither loudly, nor angrily but with an almost calm reverence. Then I pointed the tip of the blade right in the evil face of that dark body, and a thin beam of golden sunfire and quicksilver light flew from the tip of my blade and right through that monstrous visage. A shriek of pain rang out so powerfully, that my vision blurred and I think I blacked out for a moment. The dark coils holding me faded and I rose once more.
“
BUT NEVER FORGET: “
The darkness below me disappeared and my word began to shine. The void of smoke and blackness was being slowly enveloped in light. I began to fade out again. I just hoped then when I woke again, that I would be home.
“
YOU WILL BE THE ONE TO UNITE US ALL. “
My world went blank.