Kingdom Hearts: Consumed by Darkness

The path stretched forward, dark and desolate.

Helios and Skuld had been walking through the landscape after leaving the Dark Meridian for what felt like hours, following Skuld's heart as she tried to trace any lingering connection to Aqua.

So far, they had found nothing.

But something was… changing.

The ground beneath them shifted, becoming drier and cracked. The sand-like surface of the ground faded away, replaced by barren land, the scorched remains of an unfamiliar world.

Bones jutted out of the earth like jagged spires, the massive skulls of elephants scattered across the land.

Skuld's footsteps slowed. "Where are we?"

Helios narrowed his eyes. "Looks like a world that's been swallowed by darkness."

And yet, even though the area had shifted, there was no sign of Aqua.

No lingering traces of her magic.

No footprints, no markings.

Just a graveyard of a forgotten land.

They pressed forward, leaving behind the elephant bones and cracked earth as they moved into what looked like an open savannah.

Or at least… what used to be one.

The land was dry, lifeless. The distant rock formations were crumbling, eroded by time.

And ahead, towering over the rest of the ruined landscape—

Pride Rock.

Helios recognized it immediately, the iconic rock from the Disney film and the game.

A jagged, once-proud monument now darkened by the decay of darkness.

Skuld glanced at him. "You know this place?"

Helios nodded. "Yeah. I believe the name of this world used to be the Pride Lands. It used to be ruled by a lion king named Simba or should I say will be ruled by him. Here we'll come across many worlds or what's left of them after the darkness has finished ravaging them."

Skuld frowned. "Then… why would Aqua have been here?"

Helios exhaled. "I don't know that she was. Everything in this world is a jumbled mess we could find ourselves anywhere. Space and Time don't matter that much here so even though we're walking forward we might be moving further and further away from where Aqua is so we have to follow where your heart leads."

Before either of them could ponder further, the ground shook beneath them.

And this time, it wasn't a natural tremor.

The darkness responded—because something had sensed them.

Helios tensed as the shadows around them twisted and warped, forming dark portals.

Then, they emerged.

Darksides.

Massive, muscular Heartless, towering colossal in size, their piercing yellow eyes fixated on their prey.

And with them—a swarm of Invisibles.

The blade-wielding demons flapped their bat-like wings, their jagged, purple-and-blue horns curling into a twisted heart shape. Their massive, bladed swords gleamed with dark energy, already poised for an attack.

Skuld inhaled sharply. "More of them?!"

Helios clicked his tongue, gripping Equilibrium. "This world's been lost to darkness. Of course, it's swarming with Heartless."

The Darksides raised their massive hands, and the Invisibles shot forward, their glowing swords leaving streaks of violet in the air.

A blade slashed toward her—Skuld warped into a flash of golden light, zipping away just before it struck.

She reappeared mid-air, flipping gracefully, her Keyblade pulsing with radiant energy.

And this time—she was in control.

Her movements flowed effortlessly as she danced between enemies, warping in flashes of golden light, striking with a series of rapid slashes before vanishing again.

An Invisible lunged at her.

She reappeared above it, twisting her Keyblade mid-spin—

A burst of piercing white energy shot downward, spearing straight through the Heartless.

It let out a shriek before disintegrating.

Helios smirked. "You're getting faster."

Skuld landed, breathing steadily. "It's getting easier like I've done this before."

But there was no time to rest.

A Darkside swung its massive arm toward her—

She vanished in a streak of golden light, reappearing just behind it.

Then—she unleashed her newest technique.

Raising her Keyblade, she let her light surge outward, summoning several beams of radiant energy.

The pillars of light shot out unpredictably, twisting through the battlefield like arcing lightning strikes, blasting through the swarming Heartless.

Some of the Invisibles managed to dodge—others were struck, their bodies evaporating into nothingness.

But the Darksides endured.

They turned, eyes locked onto Skuld, and attacked in unison.

Helios who had taken a step back to avoid being hit again exhaled, stepping forward. "Guess it's my turn."

The Darksides slammed their fists into the ground, creating massive pools of darkness.

Helios vanished in an instant.

Not into light—but into darkness.

He reappeared at the chest of one of the giants, already mid-swing.

His Keyblade carved a deep gash across its torso, and before the creature could react, he teleported again—this time to its head.

A massive spike of earth erupted from the ground, impaling the Heartless from below.

The Darkside howled in agony before collapsing into black mist.

Helios landed with a smirk.

"One down."

But before he could turn to attack another, he noticed Skuld mid-air, spinning her Keyblade like a drill.

She unleashed a strike raid but this time, instead of one spinning Keyblade, the attack burst into multiple spinning keyblades made of light.

They shot out in all directions, striking everything in the area.

One of them slammed into Helios.

The moment it hit, Helios staggered, gritting his teeth as the familiar burning sensation flared up inside him.

His light immediately reacted, absorbing it, growing ever so slightly.

Skuld gasped. "Oh—! Sorry!"

Helios exhaled sharply, shaking it off before casting Cura on himself. "It's okay I'm paying attention this time so I didn't let my guard down."

She laughed awkwardly, but there was no time to dwell on it.

The remaining Darksides roared, readying for another round.

Helios and Skuld exchanged a glance—then rushed forward together.

One by one, the Darksides fell.

With Skuld's growing control over her light-speed warping and devastating light attacks, and Helios' perfected teleportation and counter-magic, they managed to wipe out the last of the Heartless.

And then—silence.

The battlefield was empty once more.

Skuld let out a breath, lowering her Keyblade. "That… was intense."

Helios smirked. "You're keeping up better than before."

Skuld smiled. "Thanks."

But then—

Helios tensed.

Because the feeling was back.

The sense of being watched.

He turned slowly, scanning the area.

There was nothing visible.

But he knew.

Something had been observing them.

And it wasn't just one pair of eyes.

It was many.

And that meant one thing.

Maybe the wait was over.