Chapter Text
The curtain of night fell upon them, an elegant drape that brought forth comfort instead of fear. Roxas wore it proudly, excitedly as they stared out at the city below. It stretched on past the horizon, past the limitations of imagination. The bright lights of the city created a path for them to follow.
"Ready?" Riku asked, getting up from his uncomfortable crouched position. He wore the darkness well. He embraced it as it was, not seeking to bend it to his will, but asking for its aid, drawing on its power. A delicate relationship, one that needed to be respected.
"Yeah," Roxas breathed, but the volume of his words was too low. The sudden waft of wind snatched them from his mouth and kept them from reaching Riku's ears. "Yeah," Roxas repeated, louder this time. He neared the edge of the skyscraper, both of them did. The tips of their sneakers extended past the rooftop to open space. Below, the lights obscured the specifics of what was waiting for them, but they already knew.
"There's so many," Riku complained, rolling his shoulders. He didn't want to go, but no one ever did. After a time, fighting heartless started to sap the hope and strength from one's body. They just kept coming, as eternal as the night but a wielder's strength had limitations.
That's why they relied on others, right? Roxas shook his head, annoyed at himself. Sora wasn't around to hear him say such things.
Roxas lacklusterly fell off the rooftop, placing his fate in the hands of gravity. As he fell backwards, he watched as Riku followed him without a second thought. They descended into madness together, allowing the darkness to consume them with grasping, desperate hands. There was nothing to fear. There never was.
From the deepest shadow, the darkest abyss, came light. Oathkeeper and Braveheart sang together as they cut through shadows, staining the blades with inky blackness. Beady yellow eyes faded away. Claws that clung to their legs and arms did their damage before falling away. Bit by bit, the darkness left them.
Roxas looked up at the city's splendor. It made sense, then, that all that remained was light.