The Beginning of the End [Era, PM]

[Charme]

It was an odd feeling, waking up at the start of the end of the world. Despite time forever being constant, irrevocably unchangeable, when a day was going to go horribly wrong there seemed to be echoes throughout. It was something that chilled a man's very bones.

Synthest zipped up his jacket a little more as the wind sent a small flurry of snowflakes his way. The chill wasn't normal- his Heart burned enough to fend it off. But this chill was different. He shuffled through the First District snow, his shoulders somewhat barring the chill winds at his back. His blue eyes didn't glow as much as normal- they'd settled into a beautiful light blue. The average teen made his way through the town he'd grown accustomed to.

After all these years, who knew that he'd end up... like this. Just dead. Living an average life in an average town. Nothing extraordinary ever happened here, and he'd grown used to that.

Virtegon hadn't been a sword in ages. The seemingly aluminum bat was strapped to his backpack, where it had rested since he'd began his average life here. The Heartless would come around now and again, and Syn made sure to pummel them relentlessly. But without a keyblade it did no good- the stolen Hearts would float on forever to be reborn as a new Heartless.

Syn had stopped letting them go to waste.

He hadn't felt the pang from his Fever in a very long time. Life was enjoyable. He made enough Munny to feed himself. The Gestalt, his ship, was hidden safely on his property. The boy entered the outdoors coffee cafe, his normal place of relaxation, and felt the chill slowly ebb away. He sat down and awaited his normal routine.

Was his life in the Worlds officially over?

[Era]

Featherlight white crystals dusted the ground,
continuing to fall every now and then in a timeless, eventual flutter to the ground. The biting breeze would sweep a wave of slow-falling snow this way or that, giving the flakes under the breath of wind new height to sail on.

It was quiet here, and despite Traverse Town's peaceful reputation, the growing Darkness within brought an unsettling edge to the snow-laden streets. Once calm and relaxing, it was now silently restless and eerie. Something unsettling hung in the contradictory atmosphere. It was a feeling more befitting of a cold Halloween Town night than a world like Traverse Town.

Perhaps it was this nameless, faceless foe - the lingering feeling something was watching you - that time could use to drive a resident mad. Everyone knew, so there was little point in vocalizing that something was growing within the shadows; some whispers inspiring fear.

And it was just such a whisper that would creep through the First District this frost-ridden morning.

The quietest of noises carried from the closed colossal doors of the Gummi Ship port, through the Café, and past the Item Shop. "msshk-aaahv. Ais--sa --yyw. Snnnnnn..."

What was that?

The snow continued to fall. The silent, commonplace aura of unease returned. Perhaps the sound moments ago had been nothing. With how vague and soft it happened to be, it would be easy to brush it off and assume that one's ears were playing tricks on them. After all, the faint whisper had stopped as quickly as it began.

The lights of the lamp posts along the square buzzed on. The evergreen or two that had sprouted up under Jadis's reign continued to collect a soft white dusting of snow.

But the next gust of wind to blow through was stronger, and the voice within it louder, more pronounced, but no more understandable. It was as if the wind itself had taken a heavy breath, and exhaled right through the Café, exterminating one of the tables' candles on the way through. "Hsshaaaaaaa"

The unnerving, whispering gust followed a similar direction as the first, ending up behind the double doors leading to the Second District. A strong presence of evil had been carried in that breeze - and it was possible that anyone caught up within the pressing winds would feel cold deep inside them for several minutes proceeding. Now this was not the kind of cold one might feel because of the weather.

This cold was the type that dwelt in deep Darkness. This cold was evil.

[Charme]

Synthest paused, his ocean-grey eyes sweeping the First District. His right arm tensed slightly and he worried for the coffee cup- the Fever was acting up. That meant...

He laid down his cup a little too hard and left the normal amount of change on the table as he stepped out from the balcony. The aluminum bat met his palm and he whirled it around, gripping it readily. He tried to place where the strange chill was coming from- it was moving fast. Whatever it was, he hadn't felt it before. Heartless evolved often though, depending on how many Hearts they could obtain, so he thought of all the possible evolutions it could have gone through here in the town of eternal night. He wondered how powerful it could be- the lesser Heartless tended to ignore Synthest. They could feel the Fever inside of him. The Fire-Soul felt droplets of water hit his face and realized that in his readiness, he had radiated too much heat- the soft snow falling around him was immediately melting. He brushed it away from his cheek and sighed.

Might as well extend a hand and bait it out if it's gonna play hide 'n' seek...

Synthest focused on the chill that was running through his right arm and let heat bloom within it. The Fever sent a small twinge of Darkness and he grinned. That's right, you know what time it is, he thought as the Darkness that lived inside of him was thrown into the wind. The scent of Darkness always attracted the Heartless.

[Era]

The gusting wind had died down by now, returning stillness to the district. The Darkness had even seemed to ebb, hanging to the alley and the edges of buildings. Along the walls, where the least amount of light hung, the shadows rippled.

Out from the shady area bright gleams of gold watched the teenager, staring with an analyzing cold. Then, all of a sudden, they faded away again - whether or not he saw the gaze watching him made little difference. This fiery upstart held a strange relationship to the Darkness. He was a mystery; a thing of interest. Better yet, he was different, and he had something she wanted.

The Heartless took advantage of the tranquility settling once again over the first layer of Traverse Town. The flakes of snow flittered to the ground undisturbedly. The light blanket spreading over the roofs and walkways glimmered with the slightest change of light. It was beautiful. It had become nicely still again, and the metal hand grips on the door into the Second District were shaken by something unknown.

There was a beat of nothingness before the air all around seemed to pick up the hushed murmurs again. The whispering noises only amplified within the stillness of the world. One quick whisper just around the corner, another passing his left leg, then another over his right shoulder. There was just enough discrepency in the evidence to make it implausible… yet this was definitely unmistakeable. There was a presence here. And she was focussed on Synthest. The pace of the whispers grew faster, ever faster, until they eventually spoke his name.

And then, all of a sudden, they stopped. A half second of quiet executed while a shadow grew along the wall. Its form still ambiguous. From somewhere around the grey-eyed humanoid a faint voice spoke to him, its origins skewed, awry:

"We have something in common, you and I."