The moment Skuld's radiant energy had flared to life, the Realm of Darkness responded.
The tremors beneath them grew stronger as massive, shadowy figures rose from the watery abyss. Their towering, muscular forms were silhouetted against the swirling, dark sky.
Darksides ten of them. Each one stood colossal, their glowing yellow eyes fixated on the two Keyblade wielders. Their massive clawed hands twitched, their bodies pulsing with pure darkness.
And surrounding them—dozens of smaller, faster creatures slithered forth.
Neoshadows.
They didn't lunge immediately. They were waiting. Watching.
The Darksides slowly raised their arms, and the Neoshadows tensed, coiling like springs, ready to strike.
Helios exhaled sharply, gripping Equilibrium. "Here we go."
The first attack came fast—a Darkside raised its massive arm and slammed it into the ground.
The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the air, and pools of darkness spread beneath them.
The Neoshadows immediately sank into the black puddles, disappearing from sight.
Then— they burst out from different directions, moving in an erratic, zig-zagging pattern too fast for the eye to follow.
Skuld's eyes widened. "They're too fast! I can't keep up!"
Helios had already moved, warping behind a Neoshadow in a burst of darkness, slashing it in half with a clean strike. "Then make yourself faster!"
Skuld clenched her Keyblade, and the warmth of the light within her chest pulsed.
She focused on making her body feel lighter, her movements sharper. The next moment, she vanished or rather her body transformed into a streak of pure, golden-white light, darting through the battlefield like a comet.
She reappeared instantly behind a Neoshadow, her Keyblade flashing mid-air—but her attack missed.
Her movements were too fast, too uncontrolled.
Another Neoshadow lunged at her, but she reacted, warping away again, but this time, she reappeared upside-down midair and barely corrected herself in time.
Skuld gritted her teeth as she landed. "I can't control it!"
Helios, slashing through another Neoshadow, called out, **"Then stop thinking—**just move!"
Skuld narrowed her eyes, and this time, she let instinct take over.
Her body shifted into light again, but this time she didn't try to dictate her landing rather this time she flowed with it.
She vanished—then reappeared behind a Darkside's arm, slashing downward.
Then again. And again.
She wasn't teleporting—she was pure motion. She was like a shooting star, striking down darkness wherever she fell.
Helios, meanwhile, took a different approach.
He focused his own light, trying to form another crescent slash like before. Golden energy surged into Equilibrium's blade, pulsing weaker than Skuld's, but controlled.
He swung.
The golden wave shot outward—but it wasn't strong enough. It hit a Darkside's arm, but instead of cutting through, it merely fizzled out, dispersing like embers in the wind.
Helios frowned.
His light was stable, but weak. It required too much effort to maintain, and after just one use, he felt the drain on his stamina. He couldn't use this often and worse yet he wasn't sure if it was even worth using as it currently was.
His darkness was effortless. His fire, ice, and thunder magic were second nature.
But this?
Light took effort. And even then it was nothing compared to Skuld's.
Before he could dwell on it, the Neoshadows attacked.
The battlefield erupted into chaos.
The Darksides slammed their fists into the ground, sending shockwaves through the water, while the Neoshadows zig-zagged unpredictably, striking from every direction.
Skuld, adapting to her speed-based light warping, slashed through a row of them, but her strikes still lacked precision.
Frustrated, she tried something new, she raised her Keyblade imagining light surrounding her, and bright pillars of light erupted randomly around her.
They shot up, twisting unpredictably, searing through the Neoshadows unlucky enough to be caught in their path.
Helios dodged as one nearly clipped him. "Oi! Watch it!"
Skuld turned, but at that moment a group of Shadows obscured her sight. So she flung her Keyblade in frustration, sending in a spinning arc that produced many spinning orbs of light outward.
It finished off the Shadows but unfortunately one of them slammed into Helios' back.
A flash of pain shot through him.
His vision blurred for a moment, his body felt heavy, weak—
The power of Light, it burned.
He stumbled back, shaking off the dizziness. "What the hell, Skuld?!"
She winced. "Sorry! I didn't—wait, are you okay?"
Helios inhaled sharply, then exhaled. He waved a hand, casting Cura on himself. "I'm fine," he said, brushing it off—but inside, his mind raced.
Light actually hurt him. He had been hit with many attacks before like fire, ice, and physical attacks but this was different. It was like it had attacked something deeper than just his body and that was… concerning, to say the least.
The Darksides raised their fists high, preparing to bring them down in unison.
Skuld, realizing the impending devastation, gritted her teeth.
She focused—focused on her light, on everything she had learned in this battle. Instead of trying to force her power, she let it flow naturally and suddenly—her Keyblade ignited with blinding radiance.
She twisted midair, using her speed to spin into a drill-like strike, her entire body wrapped in spiraling light. She shot forward—piercing clean through a Darkside's chest.
For a moment, everything froze.
Then—the giant Heartless let out a guttural roar, breaking apart into pure white light before vanishing completely.
The remaining Darksides faltered.
Helios took that moment to unleash a final attack, using what little magic he had left to send a burst of ice laced with darkness through the battlefield.
One by one, the remaining Heartless fell.
And finally—the Dark Meridian was silent once more.
Helios sighed, rolling his shoulders. "Well… that was fun."
Skuld breathed heavily. "I actually… did it."
She clenched her fists, feeling the lingering power within her.
Helios smirked, giving her a nod. "Told you you'd figure it out."
Skuld looked at him, eyes narrowing. "Wait—what happened when I hit you? You looked like you were in pain."
Helios stiffened for a moment, then shrugged. "Just a bad hit."
But inside?
He was unsettled. His light was weak. His darkness was strong. The lack of balance made him resistant to darkness but susceptible to light. Since Skuld's light actually hurt him that much that meant he was closer to being a dark being than he realized.
He would desperately have to master his light to some degree while in the Realm of Darkness.
He forced a grin, patting Skuld's shoulder. "Anyway, nice work. Don't worry I'm fine, I just wasn't expecting the hit, but I was more surprised than hurt so relax."
She didn't look convinced but nodded.
And so, they continued forward.