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The child is born.
A heart from the time of fairytales glistens inside him. There is glorious light, yes, but also the bruises of darkness and the shadows of guilt. This is a heart of a hero.
This will be the heart of a villain.
…
To travel in time, one must cast aside their body.
To arrive in the future, one requires a medium and a memory.
To be reborn, one only has to die.
…
Xehanort only remembers the beach. Destiny Islands is a small world, especially when his dreams show him the far reaches of another time. He never remembers who he used to be, that would be cheating, but there are remnants.
He wants to go out and find his friends. He knows that there’s something important for him. He didn’t come from the islands in either life and it’s ill-suited to a heart seeking freedom. His heart knows more than he does about being trapped and locked off from the real world.
Another escape. This time, he makes it out.
…
The Master has a plan. You’ve heard all about it. The Foretellers want to save the world. It’s up to you to gather lux. You need to do your part.
You pick a mask and join a union. You travel to different worlds and discover that not all is as it seems. You strengthen your heart and if you need to take on a little guilt, it’s ok.
Chirithy gives you stars for a mission well done.
…
Xehanort meets himself. Xehanort met himself. Xehanort will never know himself.
All of these things are true.
The boy leaves the island so that he’ll always leave the island. He never had a chance to stay. He told himself that it was his plan, but when has that heart ever chosen their fate?
…
You get to choose to dream or change.
You get a choice, Chirithy says. You get to choose. There are flashes of your future and you see, for the first time, someone with a destiny. You see what is to happen. You see the dark road.
The words are spoken for you. They are etched into your heart after all.
…
Xehanort wanders the Sleeping Worlds. He watches Sora fight Nightmares and make friends with Spirts. There’s something that bothers him about the future vessel naming the Dream Eaters and treating them like pets.
There’s something that hurts at the very sight of them.
Xehanort puts it aside like all of his other emotions. He won’t remember any of this anyways. It’s just something else to hide in his heart.
…
Xehanort feels an instant connection with Eraqus. He seems familiar somehow, like a true friend. They haven’t met before.
Xehanort feels an instant connection with Ventus. He seems familiar somehow, like a friend of a friend. They have met before.
Friends aren’t etched on his heart.
…
His master told him to wear his armor in the lanes between. His armor keeps him safe against the darkness. But why should he fear the darkness?
Xehanort is too interested in darkness. Unlike his classmates, he feels that its nothing to be afraid of. He can overcome the darkness, he knows that he can win against it.
He likes the wind on his bare face as he flies.
…
He doesn’t remember.
Or does he?
His name is Xehanort and the wise king Ansem has taken him as an apprentice. Ansem is using him for memory research. Or, is Xehanort using Ansem? Regardless, the heart is overfull with broken chains and faint impressions.
…
Xehanort meets Eraqus’s apprentice. He’s just a kid at the time, a kid with a key. He never realized just how young keyblade wielders were trained.
He watched the kid swing his keyblade, practicing abilities that will one day save his life. He’s strong, definitely a physical attacker. Eraqus smiles proudly with his unscarred face.
Xehanort realizes that he’s getting old.
…
Xehanort felt an instant connection with Subject X. She seems familiar somehow, but he has research to do. They have met before.
Xehanort’s heart is battered but he goes on. If he helps Ansem he’ll remember who he once was, that’s what Ansem says. Ansem has many big plans as he studies memories and the human heart. Xehanort leads some experiments while being the focus of others.
What are the pods in the basement?
…
You would use what you picked up on missions to expand your wardrobe. You bought all sorts of clothing and tried on different looks at a whim. You could look like anyone, become whoever you wanted.
Your medal collection grew as well. You were never sure what hero from the future you’d get, although you soon realized that you could draw villains as well. You looked at the portraits of these people and held them up to the light, only able to imagine their stories. You wanted to met them, befriend them.
You tried on an outfit from a medal with a smile. Future fashion.
…
Xehanort has found the darkness. A keyblade is in his hands. Is it his? He picks it up and wonders.
Heartless will run through the streets. The darkness will swallow entire worlds.
He plunges the keyblade into another chest. He’s not Xehanort, is he? That’s not his name. He’s not another… Not another… He shook his head. He’s Terr- He’s taken Radiant Garden. He may not get to choose but he can take. He will be Ansem.
…
Keyblade are weapons of the heart. Light, dark, or directly called from one’s heart- every keyblade can only be wielded by someone with a strong heart. They reflect the power that is found within.
You are shown how to upgrade your keyblade. You add and add to it, powering it up as much as you can. It doesn’t matter what it takes, you need to become stronger. You gather items. You gather lux. You flood your weapon to make it the best it can be.
The keyblade isn’t a physical weapon.
…
Braig knew Xehanort.
Braig knew Xehanort.
Xigbar knew Xemnas.
…
Xemnas knows Xehanort’s plan. He remembers it. He needs to assemble thirteen vessels for himself to kick off the Keyblade War.
The Keyblade War is important.
Xemnas doesn’t have Xehanort’s heart and looks longingly at Kingdom Hearts instead.
…
Darkness prevails after a keyblade war. Xehanort knows this from the bottom of his heart no matter what Eraqus claims about the light.
The is no light about war. It's fought over and stolen and used to create more darkness.
Have you heard about the lost masters? Maybe they shouldn’t be found.
…
The heart is divided up.
The heart is broken into pieces.
At what point has the heart had enough?
…
Larxene doesn’t want to be a vessel. She would have left if Marluxia hadn’t decided to stick around. She glares with yellow eyes that aren’t her own and clings to the only man she recognizes.
She wonders if the others feel the same stirrings she does. She has no desire to see the Keyblade War, yet also can’t imagine stopping it. It is inevitable and she can either run or play her part.
Xemnas says she came from the past and it feels right. She didn’t notice which heart fragment agreed with him.
…
Ansem seeks darkness.
He needs to know more. Getting into Kingdom Hearts is the only way to understand.
When the world crumble around him, it doesn’t faze him. It’s not like he hasn’t seen the end of the world before.
…
Marluxia can’t remember having his original heart, and yet having a piece of Xehanort’s heart is familiar. Sometimes, he’ll look at something and have twin pains- a hurt from Xehanort and a phantom hurt from the heart long gone.
He has not interest in Xehanort's goals, but what does that matter?
Long ago he had his own goal. Without his memories, what does that matter?
…
Xehanort.
Terra. Xehanort. Braig. Ansem. Xemnas. Xigbar.
Saix. Vanitas. Vexen. Marluxia. Larxene. Demyx. Luxord. Riku. Xion.
…
Xehanort looks at the mirror, getting closer to look at the gold in his eyes. It’s a change from his normal soft grey.
He frowns at himself.
He doesn’t feel like it’s quite him.
…
You are happy but surprised that your deception worked. Your acting fooled the darkness without a hitch. Ephemer had taken more convincing but it was the only way you saw you could save him. He had to live and the darkness couldn’t be allowed to go free.
You hugged Chirithy. Chirithy squeezed you back and awarded your stars for your final mission.
As you dissolved, you couldn’t help but wonder about the darkness. You wished you knew more. You still didn’t understand anything.
…
The child’s mother reluctantly handed him off.
He grows up on a beach, watched closely by an old man in a cloak.
He’d spend many, many years there.
…
All authors are biased. Just read the Book of Prophecies. Every prediction came from the eye of a keyblade and every word was written by the Master. You carried the keyblade, not him.
Your heart is etched. You say that you were the one with the chisel.
The road stretches before you. Daybreak has long faded and Twilight uses a train. Despite the darkness, there was only ever one path you could take. It was a choice, right?