"What did I do, master? I just wanted to keep Ven safe," Terra pleaded, desperation evident in his voice as he extended a trembling hand toward his injured master, who approached with hesitant steps.
Master Eraqus, grappling with the physical and emotional toll of the recent battle, turned to face his apprentice that he thought was wayward, only now to realize it might have been the other way around. His aged features bore the marks of the conflict, and a myriad of thoughts raced through his weary mind as he contemplated his response.
"No, you're right, Terra. I failed you. Perhaps I bear the weight of responsibility for the darkness within you. And now, I've committed a greater sin," Eraqus replied wearily, his wounded body protesting each movement.
Terra shook his head, unable to comprehend the gravity of his master's self-blame. Yet, Eraqus pressed on, his words heavy with regret.
"I raised my Keyblade against you and Ventus. My own heart harbors darkness," Eraqus confessed, his admission echoing in the somber air.
Terra, now reaching out with both hands to catch his falling master, refused to accept these damning words. However, Eraqus continued, his voice strained with the weight of his realization.
In a sudden, agonizing moment, Eraqus screamed in pain, his features contorting in shock as he crumpled to the ground. Terra rushed forward, desperately attempting to catch his master before the inevitable fall.
Eraqus knelt on the ground, his Keyblade clattering to the floor beside him. Terra, driven by concern and love for his master, moved swiftly to support Eraqus in his weakened state.
For a breathless moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, student and master locked eyes, a poignant connection existing between them despite the turmoil surrounding their relationship. The air hung heavy with unspoken truths and the profound weight of the choices that had led them to this pivotal juncture.
"Eraqus!" An oriental-looking woman with tanned skin and long black hair tied into a ponytail shouted with both hands on the sides of her mouth.
"Hahaha!" A childish laugh echoed through the forest trees around her.
The woman found herself in a beautiful, lush green forest, surrounded by tall trees, soft grass, clean and sparkling rivers, and small waterfalls.
A blue sky covered in white clouds allowed sunlight to shine through, illuminating the forests and hills below and the mountains in the distance.
"Eraqus!" The woman screamed again, walking through the forest.
"Got you!" The childish voice returned as its owner hugged the woman from behind.
"AAAHHH!" The woman screamed in surprise, but soon that surprise turned into a smile as she escaped the hug and turned to the owner of the voice.
"Eraqus, how many times do I've to tell you not to go into the forest alone, it's dangerous!" The woman exclaimed, scolding the child in front of her, pulling his ear.
"Sorry, Mom!" Eraqus spoke, trying to escape the grip on his ear.
"No excuses! We will go home now; your grandfather and aunt are worried!" Eraqus' mother responded, pulling her son out of the forest.
Mother and son quickly exited the forest and walked down a grassy plain towards a dirt road, meanwhile, a large castle connected to two pairs of peaks by golden chains stood in the distance, surrounded by clouds.
Eraqus and his mother walked for a few minutes until they approached a large wooden house on top of a hill close to a medium-sized town.
Opening the door without knocking, Eraqus and his mother came face to face with an old man and another woman similar to his mother.
"I see you managed to find him, Xine." The old man spoke, scratching his beard.
"You can't even imagine how difficult it was." Xine replied tiredly, pulling Eraqus into the house, where he sat on the couch with an irritated expression.
"Do you have any idea how worried we were?" The woman similar to Xine asked approaching Eraqus with her hands on her hips.
Eraqus looked at the woman with a challenging look, but it soon turned into embarrassment as the boy looked away.
"No, Aunt Celes, I'm sorry." Eraqus replied in a low tone.
"Hump! At least you learned your lesson, now let me take care of those scratches!" Celes spoke in a calmer tone, manifesting her Keyblade with a hand wave.
Using a simple healing spell, Celes made the scratches Eraqus got from playing in the forest disappear immediately.
"You did the easy part, Celes. Now I'll have to sew up the tears in his clothes." Xine sighed, heading towards the kitchen.
"Give the boy a break! He's enjoying his childhood while he still can, I'd give anything to be a few years younger and play like this again!" The old man said to the sisters, but soon shut up with the murderous look he received from both of them.
Eraqus and his grandfather looked at each other nervously, with sweat running down their faces, exchanging an unspoken message between themselves.
"Help me!"
"You're alone in this one, kid!"
"Don't encourage this kind of behavior, Dad!" Xine scolded the old man while preparing lunch for the family.
"Let me help you!" Celes said, entering the kitchen as well and helping her sister.
With both sisters occupied, Eraqus was left alone with his grandfather in an uncomfortable silence after they had both been scolded.
"Grandpa Cecil, can you tell me more about your fights against the heartless?" Eraqus asked his grandfather, breaking the silence.
"Of course I can!" Cecil replied, smiling, and sitting next to his grandson.
"Let me tell you about my adventures where I fought the darkness in different worlds, from the sands of Agraba to the heights of Mount Olympus." Cecil said dramatically, making young Eraqus smile.
Cecil kept his grandson entertained with stories until dinner was ready, after being scolded several times by his mother due to his table manners; Eraqus went to sleep in his room.
"Mom, do you think I'll ever become a Keyblade Master like you and Aunt Celes?" Eraqus asked his mother as he covered himself.
"Of course, but you need to eat your vegetables and train hard to become one. Or maybe you prefer a different job?" Xine responded lovingly, poking her son's nose, making him laugh.
"Blergh! I hate vegetables, and I'm sure about it, I want to become a Keyblade Master!" Eraqus exclaimed playfully, earning a nervous laugh from his mother, however, she hid it well.
"Good night, Eraqus, I love you." Xine spoke, kissing her son's forehead.
"I love you too, mom." Eraqus replied, closing his eyes.
Xine turned off the light on the lamp next to her son's bed, and left the room, carefully closing the door behind her.
"Again!" Cecil screamed as Eraqus fell to the ground, letting out a pained scream.
"Ouch! Can you tell me why we're doing this again, Grandpa?" Eraqus muttered, rubbing his sore back.
"Your mother told me that you want to become a keyblade master. You have a long way to go, the sooner you start, the better. Unfortunately, I'm too old to show you the true power of a keyblade."
Cecil responded, holding a wooden sword in his left hand and swinging his right hand, where the transparent image of a keyblade appeared, but soon disappeared.
Eraqus nodded, before picking up his sword on the ground and assuming a fighting stance, advancing towards his grandfather and delivering a few blows that the old man easily blocked.
"That's a shame, and what can you tell me about the heartless?" Eraqus asked, blocking a blow aimed at his head.
"Heartless are beings of darkness and negative emotions, those of Pure Blood arise from the darkness in people's hearts, while those of Emblem arise when someone has their heart removed. But something they both have in common is that they always seek to consume more hearts." Cecil responded seriously, dodging a blow from his grandson.
"That's scary, but why do they do that?" Eraqus asked, still trying to hit his grandfather.
"Heartless act on instinct, always seeking more hearts and trying to corrupt the hearts of the worlds. This is how the darkness works, an infinite abyss, always consuming more, more and more…" Cecil responded, delivering a swift blow and knocking the sword out of Eraqus' hands.
"I'm having second thoughts about becoming a Keyblade Master." Eraqus muttered, standing up again.
"Hahaha! Don't worry kid, no one expects you to face a horde of heartless on your first day, take it easy and you'll learn in time." Cecil responded, setting his sword aside.
"Father, Eraqus, we arrived!" A female voice shouted, catching the attention of grandfather and grandson.
Looking towards the source of the voice, Cecil and Eraqus saw Xine and Celes approaching while waving at the two.
"Mom, aunt!" Eraqus shouted, running towards the two, and hugging them.
"So, how was your day?" Xine asked, pinching her son's cheek.
"Pretty cool, Grandpa Cecil and I spent all day training." Eraqus responded excitedly.
"I hope he didn't hurt you." Celes said, looking at Cecil menacingly, making the poor old man look away as he whistled.
"No, he trained me how to use a sword and told me more about the Heartless." Eraqus responded, moving away from his mother and aunt and delivering a few blows to the air while making fighting noises.
However, due to his distraction, Eraqus didn't notice the serious look his mother and aunt exchanged between themselves.
"I can't believe it, you told him more about the Heartless?!" Xine screamed at her grandfather, slamming her hands on the kitchen table.
"The boy wants to become a Keyblade Master; he needs to know more about his enemies to do so." Cecil retorted, crossing his arms.
"You talk as if he should become one!" Celes exclaimed, stopping next to her sister.
"So, you want to stop the boy from following the family tradition." Cecil spoke seriously, scratching his beard.
"As much as people say how wonderful it is to be a Keyblade Master, we all know the absurd risk that comes with this job, not all worlds are friendly, not all Heartless are easy to defeat, and not all masters can deal with the darkness inside their hearts, and you know what happened to his father…"
Xine spoke sadly, looking away, as Celes placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"The choice is yours, Xine, I'm too old to convince you otherwise, but the boy won't give up on his dream easily, he's determined to become a master." Cecil sighed.
Then the adults continued their conversation about the future, but imperceptible to everyone, Eraqus heard the entire conversation hidden behind a wall in the house's hallway.
Therefore, the days passed and Eraqus continued training with his grandfather while his mother and aunt went on missions to other worlds as Keyblade Masters.
Although Eraqus did not train with the same enthusiasm as before, his blows were slower and weaker, and the young man seemed less focused on what happened around him.
"Is there a problem kid?" Cecil asked worriedly.
"It's nothing, Grandpa…" Eraqus replied dejectedly, looking away.
"Let me guess, your mother tried to talk you out of becoming a Keyblade Master?" Cecil asked.
"Yes, and she wasn't exactly subtle about it."
"Boy, although I don't approve of her actions, she is doing this for your good. Stories about glory and adventure omit the parts about those who lost their lives or worse. Being a Keyblade Master is a serious responsibility, if you want to become one, you need to be sure." Cecil replied, giving his grandson a reassuring smile.
"Thank you, Grandpa Cecil, I guess I'll think better about becoming a master or not." Eraqus replied, returning the smile.
"I'm glad you understand, now let's have lunch, I'm hungry." Cecil spoke, walking towards his house, with Eraqus following him.
"Right! Hey, when do you think my mom and Aunt Celes will be back? It will be three months since they left on a mission."
"Hohoho! It may take them a while to get back; after all, they are on a mission of maximum difficulty, but nothing they can't handle." Cecil responded with a laugh.
As if fate heard the old man's words, a thunder echoed across the plains as the sky darkened with clouds that blocked out the sunlight.
Lightning split the sky while the earth shook violently, causing grandfather and grandson to lose their balance and fall to the ground.
Suddenly, the air boiled as a large luminous portal opened in the air, and two glowing objects shot out of it, falling like meteors into the fields below, as if that wasn't enough, a large figure stepped out of the portal.
It was a humanoid, feminine, and gigantic being, with bright green skin, and long green hair with a red jewel in the center of its forehead, the being had two orange tentacles coming out of its back while its body was enveloped in a red mist from the waist down.
"What is that thing?!" Eraqus shouted, pointing at the creature exiting the portal.
"Stay here, Eraqus!" Cecil shouted to his grandson, before running towards where the two glowing objects fell.
"Grandpa, wait!" Eraqus shouted, running after his grandfather.
Grandfather and grandson approached the place where the two objects fell, meanwhile, the big monster looked around, curious about its new location.
Finally, Eraqus and Cecil got close enough to see the two objects, which turned out to be Xine and Celes.
"Xine, Celes!" Cecil screamed, seeing his extremely injured daughter on the ground.
"Mom, aunt!" Eraqus shouted, following his grandfather.
However, Xine didn't listen to his shouts as she focused on her sister beside her.
"Celes, come on, wake up!" Xine shouted at her sister, who only muttered weakly with her body enveloped in a purple mist.
"Esuna, Esuna, Esuna!" Xine screamed repeatedly, pointing her Keyblade at her sister, but nothing happened, her magic had run out.
Weakly, Celes raised her hand towards her sister who held it gently; the sisters shared one last smile before Celes' hand fell towards the floor.
Xine sobbed as tears fell from her eyes towards her sister's body, staining her torn clothes.
"Celes…" Cecil muttered with pain in his voice.
"Auntie…" Eraqus cried, approaching with hesitant steps.
Unfortunately, the great monster in the sky chose the people below as the focus of its attention; after all, they were close to its opponents. One had perished, now only the other remained.
The monster opened its mouth, accumulating orange particles in front of it and preparing to launch its attack.
"Xine, we need to get out of here now!" Cecil exclaimed, shaking his daughter, but he quickly retreated as dark energy shocked his hand.
Slowly, Xine stood up and turned towards the monster in the sky, meanwhile, dark mud came out from under her feet and formed a large puddle around her.
Xine's skin darkened as her hair lengthened and her eyes glowed a sickly yellow. A dark aura covered her body as black lightning rushed around her.
"Mother…" Eraqus reached out to his mother. However, was stopped by his grandfather, who pulled him away.
"No! We have to get out of here now!" Cecil exclaimed, pulling his grandson away.
"But my mother…"
"Your mother is using the darkness; it is dangerous to approach her!" Cecil shouted, still walking away with his grandson.
"Mother!" Eraqus shouted.
Nevertheless, Xine ignored him, the woman approached the large being with trembling steps as her wounds healed and tears flowed from her eyes, simultaneously, dark, stocky creatures with glowing eyes came out of the dark puddle on the ground.
The being stared at Xine with disdain and launched its attack. A large orange beam ripped through the air, closing the distance towards the Keyblade Master.
All Xine did was raise her Keyblade and mutter one word.
"Flare."
A magic sigil appeared at the tip of the Keyblade and rotated quickly as it accumulated magic. In a blinding flash of light, a gigantic red beam shot out from the Keyblade, tearing off chunks of earth and burning the grass around Xine.
The two attacks met in the air, competing to see who would emerge victorious, the monster put more power behind its attack, forcing Xine's spell back.
"AAAHHH!" With a scream of fury, the darkness around Xine intensified, increasing the power behind her spell.
Xine's spell was the winner, overcoming the monster's attack and hitting it in the center of its face, forcing it back to the portal it came from.
A moment of tense silence took over the place, Xine kept her Keyblade raised, waiting for the next attack, but nothing happened. With an exhausted sigh, Xine fell to her knees as she dissipated her Keyblade.
"Mother!" Eraqus screamed, escaping his grandfather's grip and running towards the fallen woman.
"Eraqus wait!" Cecil shouted, running after his grandson as fast as his old body allowed.
Xine slowly turned towards her son after hearing his voice and extended her hand towards him with a smile. Eraqus extended his hand as well, returning the smile.
Nevertheless, that smile soon disappeared when a dark hand came out of his mother's chest, holding a cartoonish heart in its claws.
Still maintaining her smile, Xine fell forward towards her son, but before Eraqus reached her, Xine disappeared into dark particles, leaving behind a being made of darkness with glowing yellow eyes.
The being looked around in confusion, before running towards the slowly disappearing dark pool, where its body sank next to the being holding the heart.
Soon the great dark power disappeared as if nothing happened, leaving behind the damage caused by the battle.
Eraqus fell to his knees with his mouth open and eyes wide, opening and closing his outstretched hand, while Cecil approached his grandson, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Let's go… Let's go home…" Cecil spoke with regret in his voice.
"Hello, class! I would like you to meet our new classmate here in Scala ad Caelum!" An old man with a long white beard and an even larger hat declared to his class while introducing the boy next to him.
"Hm… Hello, my name is Eraqus and I hope we can get along." Eraqus replied nervously, looking at the students who stared at him curiously.
"Nice presentation, why don't you sit down…" The teacher spoke, looking for an open seat for his new student.
"Here, here, here!" A dark-skinned, white-haired student spoke excitedly, pointing to a vacant seat next to him.
"Why don't you sit over there?" The teacher spoke, pointing to the seat in question.
With a slow nod, Eraqus walked towards his seat while looking at the floor, ignoring the whispers of the students around him, then Eraqus sat down and prepared to attend class.
"Hey, you seem nervous, is everything okay with you?" The white-haired student asked Eraqus.
"Yes, I'm just not used to being the focus of attention." Eraqus replied in a low tone.
"Don't worry, it was the same for me when I came here, they will soon forget about you." The white-haired student replied.
"Okay, but I don't think I know your name, sir…"
"Don't give me that sir talk, I'm not that old, but to answer your question, my name is Xehanort." Xehanort spoke, offering a handshake.
"Nice to meet you, Xehanort, I hope we can be friends." Eraqus smiled, accepting the handshake.
"Equally!" Xehanort smiled back.
Eraqus snapped his eyes open, jolting himself awake from the memory.
"What… What happened?!" Eraqus gasped, his voice echoing through the ominous darkness that enveloped him. Confusion and concern painted his face as he called out the names of his apprentices, desperately seeking answers. "Where… Where am I? Terra? Ventus?" His questions hung unanswered in the air.
The Keyblade Master sensed an unusual posture as if lying down, and upon attempting to rise, he collided with a hard surface, his forehead bearing the brunt of the impact.
A pained cry escaped Eraqus as he instinctively tried to touch his sore forehead, only to realize that the confined space around him restricted such movements. Sensing the stony confines with both hands, Eraqus identified his surroundings as cold and unyielding.
In the oppressive darkness, something stirred, and a feeble beam of light penetrated the black veil, revealing a glimpse of the space around him. Focused on the source of illumination, Eraqus discerned that the obstruction impeding his movement was a lid of some sort.
Summoning his strength with a strained effort, Eraqus cast the lid aside with a resounding noise. Instantly, he shielded his eyes from the sudden influx of light, gradually regaining his composure as he rose to his feet, the movement causing a cascade of ash to spill around him.
Confusion etched on his features, Eraqus surveyed his surroundings, finding himself within the desolation of a ruined cemetery. Gray stone coffins, twisted trees, and shattered weapons lay scattered across the barren landscape, painting a grim tableau.
Taking shaky steps forward, Eraqus felt the weight of fatigue coursing through his body. Glancing back, he beheld the stone coffin that had confined him moments ago, now filled with the remnants of ash.
"How… How did I end up here? Where is here? Have I died?" Eraqus questioned himself aloud, the disorientation evident in his voice.
Before he could grasp the enormity of his predicament, a desiccated figure, adorned in tattered robes and fragmented armor, lurched toward him. A broken sword, held aloft with unnatural determination, spoke of the ominous threat approaching Eraqus.
END OF CHAPTER