In a cataclysm known as the Nightfall, the worlds were almost completely destroyed by a harrowing surge of darkness.
In the shadows of the ensuing chaos a new group has taken shape. Led by an Aegyl named Kalos, the 11th Hour touts an esoteric knowledge of how to combat the darkness and restore the worlds. They might be the worlds’ best chance at survival; but nobody really knows enough about them to confirm or deny their claims.
On the brink of collapse, the universe holds its breath in anticipation. Of restoration? Of destruction? It is up to individuals like yourself to decide.
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There aren't enough praises in the world I'd like to give to wonderful coders for the Proboards community. The following have contributed to World Destiny in some way: W3 Schools for countless how-tos and countless of other souls who have helped get WD up to where it is.
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Post by Fahe Reingard on Aug 17, 2019 21:25:06 GMT -4
"Wow, uh that's a bit much to take in all at once," Fahe said as he scratched his neck, "But uh, yeah, hopefully he'll be okay after 10 years of sleeping. Now I'm not saying I understand all this Keyblade talk or anything, or what this will necessarily help with getting my home back, but I've explored many mazes that change on the fly, so I think we'll do alright" Fahe said as he swayed back and forth, trying to make the room a little less awkward. Putting his hands in his pockets he looked over at the group, nodding slightly at Shaizen's small monolouge.
Thinking back to the forest Fahe shivered at the thought of an insurmountable ammount of Heartless, the maze he could handle, it was his bread and butter, but he'd only faved a few Heartless at a time in this town. If someone who fights those things as some sort of job says 'Only fight if you have to,' that's just something that you have to pay attention to. "So uh, anyway, when'll we be going?"
Post by Maxwell Tendas on Aug 23, 2019 8:07:32 GMT -4
He could see the change in demeanor almost the moment he had asked the question. Where before Aqua had seemed troubled but hopeful, her expression seemed subtly changed to one of great pain. It was just enough for Max to pick up that this was apparently something that had troubled the Keyblade Master for a good while now, possibly even years. Silence hung in the air for a while before she responded, as if unsure of what to or or how to say it. Then she gave a short explanation that Ven was an old friend she had trapped there to save him from darkness.
There was another brief pause as she seemed to think and her expression seemed somewhat more hopeful again as she continued, explaining that Ven was a wielder and that he’s fought alongside Aqua against someone called Xehanort. She continued, summoning her keyblade as she explained it had once belonged to her master before he had been struck down in battle and she’d used it to change their home into what was now Castle Oblivion. It was an interesting story, to be sure, and based off the expression on her face the memories were immensely painful. There was also a hardness there though, a steely determination that Max hadn’t seen in anyone’s eyes since he’d lost his memories.
Everyone remained quiet for a few moments before Shaizen responded, but Max wasn’t listening to him. His mind was back on what he could remember of home, of his best friend and the girl he’d loved back then. If they had been in a similar situation to this Ven, he would do no less than what Aqua wanted to do right now. In fact, he would have stopped at nothing to get them out of there.
He came out of his thoughts and looked at Aqua for a minute before he responded.
“Well, we can either stand around and talk all day, or we can go get his ass out of there,” he said, looking at everyone gathered, then back to Aqua, “so lead the way, Aqua.”
Oswald looked at Aqua as she explained her friend inside the castle, remembering awhile ago that time when Ortensia herself was trapped in stone at Dark Beauty Castle. Knowing what she was going through Oswald rubbed his neck and nodded as she explained her Master's Keyblade. Turning to look at the others he looked over at Fahe and the instant he did the boy opened his mouth, his words not doing much to allieviate the situation.
Listening to Shaizen for a breif moment Oswald nodded at him, then turned to the rest of the group. "Yeah, uh, how is this going to happen anyway? I've never much traveled worlds before." Oswald asked looking over at Aqua.
If there was a time anyone was going to turn their backs and leave, it would be now.
Aqua wasn't naive; she knew how selfish it was to drag these people into danger just because she was unable to keep her promises on her own. She'd purposely held back from talking about her former failures in regards to Ven and Terra. If she put their eyes on the idea that gaining Ven would help, she would have a better chance of convincing them to join her.
But given their responses, she'd apparently misjudged the people standing in front of her. Outside of her control, a small smile spread across her features.
"Thank you, everyone," Aqua said, her voice barely above a whisper.
She turned, giving Riku one last glance before walking to the MogNet control panel.
"Riku, if Xion isn't coming then I'd be happy to have you come along in her stead. You've been to the castle before, yes?"
If she'd heard right from the moogle she'd spoken to - Bayde, if she recalled his name correctly - then all she'd have to do was find the name that she and Xion had set for the portal device they'd brought to the entrance of the Castle.
The Land of Departure
It was wishful thinking, something she'd decided because she'd wanted to remain hopeful. Even if she was faking it, she wouldn't let herself give up until she had her home and friends back. The Darkness hadn't stopped her. Xehanort hadn't stopped her. She hadn't even been able to stop herself.
"We go through here. Xion and I set it up earlier; it's the safest and easiest way to go to and from the castle. The only downside is that it's a little dangerous to keep open while the destination is still the way it is. We'll need to return it to normal if we want access to it to remain open."
Tapping a few keys on the touch screen mounted at the center of the console, a faint mechanical whirring settled into the background. With a flash of light, the portal that would allow them access to Castle Oblivion was opened.
"This will only stay open for about thirty seconds. We'll have to be quick. Once we're on the other end, we should hit the ground running."
With that, the blue haired woman walked forward, entering the portal and disappearing through to the other side.
((- - - We've hit the point of no return, lads and lasses. I'm tracking inventories as of the start of everyone's next posts. - - -))
Aqua dove through the portal, brandishing the Master Defender as she did so. She had been serious when she'd said there was no telling what was beyond the gate. She and Xion may have been to the Castle to set the waypoint before, but that didn't mean the Heartless hadn't followed their scent and stuck around the Castle as they waited for them to return.
The Castle was in plain sight - hardly a hundred paces from the location of the portal they'd set up. Aqua turned her head back to watch as the others each came through at their own pace. With an overhead wave of her hand, she motioned for them all to make haste. The sooner they got inside the Castle, the sooner the Heartless would no longer be able to track them inside it.
The goal now was to ascend the staircase to the front doors of the Castle and get to the door. Once they were all through, she'd lock it tight with the Keyblade and keep anything from getting in after them.
And anyone from getting out until after they'd found Ven...
It didn't take long for the Heartless to catch the mobilization of so many hearts in their territory. From the murk and mire of the ground, countless Shadows emerged and began to coalesce, whirling and spinning together into a Demon Tide.
"Run!" Aqua called as she prepared and fired a series of Barrier spells. The crystalline walls that erupted from the earth were far from a perfect defense, but it would slow the Heartless for the moment or two anyone might need to pick up the pace. "We can't stop to fight here; more will already be on the way! Get to the Castle!"
Post by Shaizen Latross on Sept 8, 2019 16:14:32 GMT -4
Shaizen watched as the Keyblade master stepped through the portal and disappeared to some wherever it went. He would close his eyes and sigh a little. It seemed their journey was now beginning. He had his swords and a potion, so he felt that he was as prepared as he ever was for something like this.[break][break]
“Driven from my world, and now entering another. If I told the Talons I would be doing this they would have questioned my sanity. Oh well. Let’s get this over with.”[break][break]
He stepped into the portal a little bit after Aqua, feeling the familiar queasy feeling in his gut he always got when using such a mode of transportation. He hated portals for that reason, but still used them when the time came since there were usually few other choices. During these times he always just did what he could to fight the sick feeling.[break][break]
He exited behind Aqua and took just a second to calm his stomach before standing straight up and looking around. Castle Oblivion wasn’t entirely what he expected it to be, but still had an uneasy aura about it. Just looking at it made Shaizen feel as though there was something wrong about it.[break][break]
“As I said before… cheery.”[break][break]
He barely had time to get this out before he heard Aqua’s warning, looking back to see the mass amounts of Shadows coming together to form what looked like a much larger Heartless. It was something he had never seen before, and something that worried him greatly. A single Shadow alone, no problem. A group of Shadows when large enough could be disastrous. But this large amount, come together to form one large Heartless. Only something bad could come from this.[break][break]
In these situations he would usually stay behind to slow down the enemy, but he realized that Aqua was already working on such. He decided to take her advice and run for the Castle. He turned on the spot and began to head towards their destination, pulling his sword Lunar as he did so. There were still a few stray Shadows between them and the Castle, and Shaizen wanted to clear a path for the others as much as he could.[break][break]
The first Shadow he came across was about halfway to the Castle, and seemed too busy to join in the Demon Tide than to pay attention to him. This made it an easy target as Shaizen took a small step towards it before twisting his body. He would use this to gain momentum in his swing and slice his sword through the Heartless. He took this small moment of calm afterwards to turn and check on others who might be behind him.
Post by Maxwell Tendas on Sept 10, 2019 16:52:25 GMT -4
Aqua gave a short explanation of their mode of travel, what essentially amounted to a one-way portal. Her explanation on keeping the gateway closed until they had accomplished their mission made sense though. What with the dragon running around, Twilight Town didn’t need more ways for the Heartless to invade. Resigning himself to the fact of being stranded in a strange world, through a mode of transportation that still astounded him, with nobody he really had any memory of. It would be enough to set most people quaking in their boots...
...But the idea of all those obstacles just excited Max. He may have been stepping into the proverbial fire, but he felt like that was where he belonged. He wasn’t just fine in the fires of conflict, but thrived in it.
The Keyblade Master strode through the open portal, clearly expecting the rest of them to follow. After she was gone, Max heard Shaizen mumble something to himself as he was clearly situating himself to step through the portal. The soldier didn’t hear what he said, but didn’t pry. Things whispered in such moments of anticipation were likely only intended for their owners’ ears anyway. As he mumbled, the Shaizen stepped through the portal and disappeared from view.
Without wasting time, Max strode forward after the Tirealean, one hand resting across the pommel of his sword as he crossed through the light of the portal...
He stepped out onto stone on the other side. He took a few steps out of the way of the others stepping through and looked around. The sky here was dark as night, somehow darker than Twilight Town’s. The stone platform onto which he’s stepped was a sickly purple color which seemed to shimmer into different blues and greens as he moved. On one side, the platform led to a narrow path that wound back and forth, supported by narrow pillars of stone which extended down into the darkness below.
On the other side of the platform was castle oblivion itself, a light brown color accented here-and-there with green. Even as unwavering as he was, Max had to admit the castle seemed to be rather intimidating as it stood solitary against the dark sky of this world. He didn’t have much more time to take it in, though, as innumerable shadows began to appear around them, seemingly bleeding out of the ground itself. Many of them immediately came for the intruders from Twilight Town, but most moved towards each other, coalescing into what Max could have only described as a river of Heartless.
Max drew Quicksilver as the individuals advanced, the black blade ringing in his ears. He cut several out of the air as they leapt at him, then heeded Aqua’s advice to run. He made for the castle doors, slicing through countless Heartless mid-leap. Hot on Shaizen’s heels as they approached the door, he slid to a stop and turned, slicing through more Heartless with Quicksilver. There were still others behind him and they might not make it to the doors without someone helping to clear more of a path.
He opened his canister and grasped for control of the water within. The liquid came out in a rush, knocking back a rush of more shadows coming for him and turning several of them to black mist. He formed it into as many orbs as he could and sent them hurtling through the mass of Heartless in front of him, partially clearing a path to the doors. He recalled the water to his canister as he turned and shouted to the others behind.
“Hurry up!” He screamed as he turned and cut down another Heartless....
Post by Fahe Reingard on Sept 20, 2019 1:32:53 GMT -4
Watching Aqua open up a portal to a new world was very interesting, even if it was just a few clicks on a panel that opened it up. Hearing one of the group talk to themselves Fahe shrugged his shoulders and walked in after Max. The area he walked into looked, not the safest, but Fahe didn't really think that a castle with sideways facing rooms would be safe at first glance.
Walking along the path he saw the heartless start to arrive outside of the castle which wouldn't be unusual, except that they formed into a massive pillar of shadow and Aqua yelled at them to run. Jumping into the air Fahe started to fly above the Heartless to make it to the door, Landing inside of the room he turned to watch the others make their way in.
Oswald relaxed slightly as he watched Aqua put the portal down "Alright let's do this," he said as the portal opened readying himself as the others went through, walking in after them he watched as they all seemed to draw their weapons, all except for the kid with wings. He never seemed to have any weapons at all, but somehow was living in the outskirts of town for as long as he did.
Watching the Demon Tide form Oswald's eyes went wide, watching the kid fly up into the air Oswald took his remote out and leapt into the air starting a glide towards the castle firing at any of the shadows that got close, landing near the door Oswald turned around and started backpedalling towards the door while firing his remote at any of the shadows.
The barriers Aqua had crafted to divert the flow of the Demon Tide were weaved together in good faith, but while her magic was potent the Heartless were relentless. Splitting apart, scrambling, and scrawling through the magical structures were no problem for the horde. She'd tried to match their numbers and failed to gather potent enough magic to keep them back.
Shaizen had good enough sense to keep on the move, sprinting past Aqua as she came to a halt. The question now was whether or not he'd be fast enough to reach the castle gates before the others. Max had fallen back, still running but slowed by his attacks against the Heartless that had broken through Aqua's fragile barriers. He was making progress, but not fast enough to avoid the risk of putting himself in the middle of a fight. Riku and Mikail seemed to have adopted a similar strategem, running forward while beating back the Heartless with all they had.
Oswald and Fahe had both seemingly adopted another, safer strategy. Or at least they believed it would be one. For whatever reason, watching prey escape was the last thing the Heartless had in mind, especially given their ability to give chase.
The demon tide reformed into its toweresque state, immediatley gaining enough height to sweep up Oswald and spin him around, casting him to the ground several yards away from where he'd initially started. Fahe would have no better luck, as after Oswald had been struck a battalion of the Shadows that composed their enemy burst outward from the Demon Tide's body and took further to the air, grabbing and ripping at the wings on the back of the boy, sending him into freefall. Thinking quick, Aqua allowed a pulse of her mana to surge into her Water materia. The summoned liquid flowed and reshaped itself, reaching towards Fahe and catching him from his fall. After she'd guided him safely to the ground, Aqua once again reshaped the water into spheres that encased and surrounded the Heartless that had latched onto Fahe before freezing them solid into orbs.
That feat had taken more of her magic than she'd have liked it to, but keeping everyone out of the fight was her primary concern at the moment. There was no time to get caught up here. Where one Shadow came, a Darkside was to follow. That was a lesson she'd learned too many times during the stint she'd spent in the Realm of Darkness. Though Castle Oblivion layed at its farthest borders, she hated to think what the Nightfall had done to encourage the population of the Heartless infestation.
"There's no time to fight!" she cried. Looking to Riku, Mikhail, and Max, and then to Fahe and Oswald, Aqua swallowed the knot in her throat and drew focus.
She overturned the Master's Defender, slamming the head of the blade into the ground as she allowed magic to flow freely and ferociously through it. If they were being attacked by an unstoppable force, what they needed was an immovable object.
Two separate barriers erupted from the earth on either side of her, shooting up and connecting the ground to the sky. What few Shadows remained inside could be ignored now that they were hopefully out of reach of the majority. The barrier snaked its way across the terrain, forming a hallway that would allow all of them relatively safe passage to the castle. It was the best thing Aqua could think of, barring using the Chains of Light. Those, however, drained even more of her stamina than her Barrier magic did. It would have been a gamble as well, as there was a risk she couldn't have coralled all the Heartless into their grasp.
Post by Shaizen Latross on Sept 24, 2019 16:07:46 GMT -4
The fight Shaizen watched take place where he had just been was enough to make him want to rush in to aid those who were having problems. That was always his natural reaction in such situations. Having spent his life as a Guildsman and peacekeeper, it was always second nature to protect those around him. Even when he knew there were others who could do the same thing just as well if not better than he could. Right now, however, he knew there were far more important things that he needed to pay attention to.[break][break]
He was in front of everyone else, closer to the castle. Everyone else seemed busy fending off Heartless behind them. It was up to him to clear the Heartless between themselves and their destination. He couldn’t take any chances, he needed to give it his all and make sure the others had a clear path before them. He looked down at Lunar, the white-metal blade letting off a soft glow which lit up its immediate area. While this blade was the one he primarily used, he decided he would make an exception this time.[break][break]
His left hand would reach up and grasp the black-metal blade known as Eclipse, slowly pulling it from its sheath and hold it at the ready. While Lunar cast light around itself, Eclipse seemed to darkness its own immediate area. Two blades of opposing power, balancing each other the same way his own heart did. He held Eclipse back, hovering beside his face so that he looked down the flat of the blade, Lunar held out at arms length. Just before he started to clear the path to the castle, the walls which Aqua summoned sprung up, making it so that less Heartless had to be felled before they made it to their target. He looked back at Maxwell, hoping the man was close enough to hear.[break][break]
“I’m going to clear a path! Help the others get to the castle! Things will only get worse if we stay out here any longer!”[break][break]
Without waiting for an answer, he would take off. There were five Shadows between himself and the castle now that the barriers cut off the rest of the Heartless. They seemed to come in two small groups as well. Just in front of him was a group of two, followed by a group of three just before the castle.[break][break]
As he neared the first group, one lunged at him while the other sunk into the ground. He focused on the more prominent threat first, lowering himself down so that he slid under the jumping Shadow. As he went past, he thrust Lunar up into its gut and watched as it faded into black mist. As he came back up to his feet, the second Shadow re-emerged from the ground and took a swing at his back. Shaizen blocked this with Lunar, swinging his body around and following up with Eclipse aimed at the Heartless and cutting off its attack.[break][break]
With those two gone, he set his sights on the final three. They were already making their way over to him, one in the ground while the other two wobbled along behind. The first one slithered through the ground behind him, slowing coming out of the shadows and preparing to strike while one of the other two jumped at Shaizen. He used the flat of Eclipse’ blade to catch the jumping Shadow, swinging it over his head and into the first Heartless. This staggered the two of them and gave Shaizen the opportunity to focus on the third Shadow. He took a single step back and twisted his body, swinging Lunar upwards across the Shadow’s chest before grasping the white blade tight and pulling it back, thrusting forward and through the final two Shadows.[break][break]
With the few Heartless now clear, he would go up the stairs and to the doors of Castle Oblivion. With the path completely cleared, he knew that the others should at least be able to make it here much easier now. And he felt he should stay where he was. Now that they had gained ground and made it, he wanted to make sure they kept it. All he could currently do right now was wait for the others. He looked back to them to see how they were doing, and if they needed any help.[break][break]
Post by Maxwell Tendas on Sept 27, 2019 10:46:32 GMT -4
The Drydenian soldier kept beating back individual shadows with his blade, covering Mikhail and Riku as they approached the doors and came to a stop next to Aqua. Max turned to check on the others just in time to see the Demon Tide form into a towering pillar of darkness, scoop up the man-rabbit, and toss him to the side. At the same time, a group of shadows launched themselves out of the pillar and at the winged boy, tearing at his wings and leaving him in a freefall. Max grimaced as Aqua used magic to freeze the shadows solid, giving the beleaguered boy a chance to right himself. He and the man-rabbit both still needed more help though.
Without thinking, Max leapt onto a platform of water and rocketed himself forward, determined to not leave their companions behind. He dodged what shadows he could, and cut down those he couldn’t, and managed to reach the man-rabbit quickly. Barely slowing, Max reached down with his free hand and grabbed the man-rabbit by the ears and hauled him onto the water platform, then turned back towards the castle.
“Just hold on tight!” He shouted back over the rushing wind as he pushed them faster, forming the platform to rise up and grip their feet to keep them safely on. As they rushed toward the doors, a pair of immense walls rose to either side, cutting off the rest of the Heartless and leaving them with practically no resistance, at least for a short time. As they rejoined the others, Max flipped them once in the air to help slow them down safely, then set them down on the ground before returning the water to his canister.
Without waiting for the others, he walked up to one of the doors and rested a hand on the handle before saying, “Why don’t we get inside before they decide the party’s not over?”
(As an aside, please bear in mind that these threads operate a little differently than your typical quest. The results of your actions are not for you to determine here.)
Keeping the walls that separated her group from the vast majority of the Heartless intact required focus and energy that was on another level than what Aqua had become used to under her training with Master Eraqus or while in the Realm of Darkness, but that didn't mean she could afford to stay put any more than the others. She pulled Master Defender from the ground and looked to the others. Fahe and Oswald had yet to recover from being struck by the Demon Tide, and Riku and the others were still locked in combat with the remaining Shadows that had been on the inside of her barriers when she'd cast her spell.
Almost simultaneously, Maxwell and Shaizen took action.
Maxwell sprung forward to retrieve Oswald and carried him to safety on platforms made of controlled water, though Fahe didn't share the same privilege. That was fine, Aqua could retrieve him herself while Mikhail and Riku finished cleaning up the Shadows that remained.Following Max's lead, she took off in a sprint for the young winged boy and pulled him to his feet, wrapping one of his arms over her shoulders.
"You had a good idea," Aqua reassured. "But the Heartless can be unrelenting. We should stick close for now."
Of course, the second those words had left her mouth she remembered that Shaizen had also broken away from the group as he ran towards their goal. Rather than following after him, she'd chosen to go assist Fahe. Had he gotten there safely?
Five Heartless had emerged from the ether, popping up inexplicably on their flank and guarding the way to the door. Electing to deal with them himself, he had lashed out against the first of the two small groups with his weapons brandished. Although he claimed he'd clear a path, the strength of the Heartless in the realm of Darkness was not to be underestimated.
The Shadow he'd attempted to slide under was quick to realize Shaizen's ploy, and as it landed it sunk into the blackened earth and darted backwards. It lunged upward, raking a claw across his back at the same moment Shaizen's blade fond its torso and caused it to dissipate. The second Shadow, whom had also aimed to strike at Shaizen's back, was easily dealt with as well.
The two that came next acted as one, and as Shaizen moved to cut off the attack the one that brought up the rear used its partner's body as a stepping tool to jump over the attempted parry and latch to the sword user's face. Following that, thankfully, he was able to make quick work of them. By the time the scuffle had finished, Aqua's footsteps had carried her and Fahe within arm's reach.
She blew past him, not hesitating for a moment to check on Shaizen's condition. They could treat injuries when they got inside.
Between Aqua's barrier and the swift actions of the other members of the party, they were all able to safely make their way to the entrance of the castle. Although slightly worse for wear, no serious damage had been done to them. Hopefully they could keep things this way.
Still supporting Fahe, Aqua reached out and tugged one of the large double-doors open, and pushed Fahe through while waiting for the others to make it as well. When they'd all made it - and with one last glance at the closing portal that MogNet had created - she pushed herself through the doors as well and allowed them to shut.
Once inside, her steps were slow and her eyes darted from one corner of the room to another. Is this what she'd turned her home into? What the magic Eraqus had taught her was capable of creating? As a small relief, she felt the castle's innate ability to distort space and time itself forcibly sever her link with the barrier spell she'd woven earlier. Finally, she could begin to recover mana.
"We've all done well, even to just get this far," she started, letting her eyes pass over each of her companions. "And I don't want to discourage anyone, especially now that we don't exactly have a way back, but we should mind our tactics."
Her words came warily, perhaps remembering how she'd spoken out of turn back in the meeting in Marmadue's clinic. Her words came carefully and measured, tangible thought going into each one as she spoke them. "Riku, Mihkail, Max. I'm glad you're all willing to bring up the rear and fend off pursuers, and I know you were just trying to help since I wasn't doing a good enough job of holding the Heartless at bay, but if we put too much focus on our backs it's just going to slow us down."
Maybe if she wasn't willing to get the people who trusted her killed she wouldn't have to push them away.
"Fahe, Oswald. Flying was a good idea, but the Heartless here can't be taken lightly. Our unity is our best and only weapon against the darkness; you shouldn't go where we can't reach you."
With that, Aqua gave a slow nod and a smile. Her gaze lingered on them all for the briefest of moments before flickering back to the stark white walls of the castle. There were no enemies now. For the moment, they were safe.
"We should rest here; just for a while," Aqua breathed. "Regain your stamina. We may need it for the maze that awaits us."
Oswald fell onto the ground roughly, apparently the Heartless saw him going above the mass, groaning as he put his hands against the ground to stand up he didn't have much time to react before something grabbed his ears. "Agh! Get off of me!" The rabbit said as he was dragged onto the water platform and let go, turning around to look at the apparent attacker, Oswald saw Maxwell and Oswald relaxed slightly, still agitated from being grabbed.
Arriving at the doors of the castle Oswald jumped off of the Platform to land inside the doors, "Look, Maxwell, you can't just grab my ears without me knowing," Oswald said ticked off still at him before looking at Aqua, as she discussed the tactics that the group had used to get here. "I wasn't really expecting to be shot out of the air," The rabbit said to nobody in particular before quieting down and sitting down and looking around at the room, who decorates in stark white?
Post by Shaizen Latross on Oct 3, 2019 15:20:07 GMT -4
Shaizen hadn’t expected even the Shadows to be as strong as they were, realizing that fighting off even such a small number of them within the realm of Darkness was a much more difficult task than he had been expecting. He had even taken a few hits from them. The damage he received wasn’t enough to make him worry, but it was enough to tell him that Heartless of a stronger class would be a real problem.[break][break]As the final Shadow clung to his face, he would lean back in surprise. He was use to Shadows running from an immediate fight and attacking from behind. To have such a minor Heartless come straight at him threw him off quite a bit. Enough so that it took him a few seconds to regain his bearings. Once he did he would sheath Eclipse before grabbing and prying the Shadow off his face. He dropped the Heartless on the spot, swinging Eclipse up to cut it as it fell and then turning to join the others.[break][break]Once within the castle, he would stop and stare in a mixture of awe and slight confusion. Was this room, white and nearly perfectly built as it was really a room within the castle they had walked into? It was such a vast change between design that it was hard to believe. And yet the doors were the same on both sides, which told him that this was indeed the same castle.[break][break]“I can’t say I expected even the Shadows to be so strong. Guess this Realm really does give them quite the boost in strength. We will all have to be careful with that.”[break][break]He didn’t mind that Aqua had nothing to say about him. He did what he thought was best at the time. Even if he had been caught off guard by the Shadow, he felt he did what he could to make sure everyone had gotten this far. And that is what he would continue doing.[break][break]He would set Lunar against the wall and sit down beside it, holding his arms over his knees as he took Aqua’s advice and took a small break. While he wasn’t quite worn down by the events, he knew that the little adventure was far from over.
Fleeing from the hordes of heartless to reach Castle Oblivion had been difficult, some members of their group taking heavy hits before they could reach the castle. Max helped Oswald once he had fallen, so Riku made sure to help Fahe, knocking away heartless as they all ran. When they finally reached the Castle entrance, however, Aqua stopped them all abruptly in front of the door, turning to face them and tell them how reckless they had been, Riku glanced back at the heartless, and then to their injured party members before turning a sharp gaze to Aqua.
“There will be time for lectures once we’re all safely inside, Master Aqua!” He snapped before she finally opened the doors and they all piled into the entrance hall. As the door closed the sounds of the chaos outside was immediately cut off and replaced with silence. Which was then broken as Shaizen observed how strong the heartless were.
Riku gave a curt nod as he dismissed his keyblade, “Yeah, the darkness definitely feels stronger, even from when I was last here. Must have something to do with the upset balance of the worlds. We’ll have to watch each other’s backs to get through this.”
As the others took a moment to catch their breath, Riku glanced ahead at the familiar stark white room with a door waiting at the other end. It had been some time since he was last here, digging through his memories in order to progress through this castle. He had assumed this place belonged to the Organization, considering they occupied it when he first came here. He never would have guessed it had been created to protect someone within the castle; someone Aqua referred to as Ven. Riku silently wondered how different the castle would be now that the Organization was gone.
”If this place is anything like the last time I was here: don’t trust everything you see. This castle may play tricks on you.”