Kingdom Hearts: Consumed by Darkness

Helios didn't return the smile. "We don't have the luxury of subtlety anymore. Hecate's stunt put us on the board. Now we have to play this stupid game."

Zack slid a plate in front of Helios, still smiling—but his eyes were troubled. "You sure you're ready for this? You guys look worse for wear and you just got here too."

Helios glanced down at the food, then at his bruised knuckles. "No," he admitted. "But ready or not… we move at dawn."

The warmth of the fire slowly ebbed into coals, its orange glow painting long shadows across the walls. Kurai had stopped watching the window hours ago. Sephiroth had gone still by the mantle, blade resting silently against the wall. Helios finished the last of his food, and even Zack had gone quiet, stirring the stew with less vigor.

Eventually, one by one, they retired.

But dawn did not come gently.

A sharp knock on the front door jolted Zack awake, but when he opened it, no one was there. Just a cold dark feeling outside his door.

In the kitchen, Helios stood quietly, healed fully and already gripping the hilt of his Keyblade. Sephiroth down there too—he was armed too. Kurai pulled on her boots in silence, her eyes colder than the morning air.

They regrouped in the main room.

"We'll be heading out now," Helios said.

Zack folded his arms, putting on the apron over his casual gear. "What's the plan?"

"You're staying here," Helios said. "Look after Cloud and Thalen for me okay? If anything happens—anything—you keep them safe. If we don't come back in a day or—"

"You will," Zack interrupted, smiling. "I've seen you idiots survive worse. Well, you guys mostly caused those incidents yourself. But you survived it nonetheless."

Helios gave a faint nod. "Then we head for Olympus. I'll take the southern ridge route, past the ruins. Sepiroth will take the east and Kurai the west. The statue should still stand."

Kurai slung her coat over one shoulder. "Whoever is attacked will try to draw fire and let the rest move on to make contact."

Sephiroth didn't speak, but his eyes met Helios'. Understanding passed between them. They all knew the real enemy wasn't just Hades.

It was the souls kept in the Underworld. Last time Hades had summoned two souls that almost killed them. Although the souls could only fight within the Underworld they both knew that they'd have to return there eventually and the weakening effects of the Underworld would interfere unless they could bargain for the Olympus Stone from Zeus.

Each second brought Hades' divine fury closer.

The trio passed through quiet hills as the sun rose—a pale light cresting over distant cliffs. The forest had grown thicker near the edge of the city, cloaking the trail in golden mist.

Helios led, eyes forward, every muscle tense. His body although healed still throbbed, but the lack of time to waste kept him moving.

Kurai was to his right, her steps soundless and her presence faint.

Sephiroth walked behind, like a shadow. Although his face was cold he seemed excited too.

The statue of Zeus was somewhat visible now—carved into the cliffside, standing over an ancient altar ringed with marble columns.

They were nearly at the mountain entrance.

Until the ground split open.

A jagged tear formed beneath the trees to their left—no natural quake, no fault line. Just blackness yawning wide.

From it poured Heartless.

Dozens at first. Then hundreds.

Darkballs: erratic spheres of hatred, twitching tentacles like broken nerves. They rolled, floated, and pulsed with violet hunger. Their yellow eyes blinked in unison—like a collective heartbeat of evil.

Neoshadows: hunched, humanoid horrors, their clawed hands twitching in anticipation. Blue veins shimmered faintly beneath their jet-black skin, their muscles taut, fangs twitching with each breath.

And behind them—

Invisibles.

Not just one. Not two. A full squad.

Their weapons shimmered in the lowlight, blue-bladed swords clutched in clawed hands. Their eyes glowed dimly through helm-like horns, and their massive, scaled tails flicked the air with reptilian grace. Bluish fire gathered beneath their feet as they hovered just inches above the ground—silent and ready.

Helios swore. "Hades didn't waste time."

"Split," Kurai said as she moved.

The three scattered as a wave of Heartless surged toward them. Sephiroth launched skyward in a silent streak, his blade glowing with a sharp violet edge as he descended in a cleaving arc. His slash tore through ten in one blow.

Kurai's form blurred into shadow—dashing between trees, her strikes clean, calculated, surgical. She used her teleporting afterimages to cut off flanks and scatter their charge.

Helios unleashed his custom spell.

"Freezing Gale!"

A hybrid burst of Blizzaga and Aeroga exploded from his palm. Wind and frost spiraled outward in a razor vortex, cutting down a wide swath of incoming Heartless, leaving shimmering trails of ice in its wake.

But the Heartless adapted—learning his range, shifting angles, and surrounding from all sides.

"New trick," Helios muttered.

He extended his hand.

"Umbral Spiral."

Dark magic surged from his Keyblade's whip form, arcing like a serpent and spearing the nearest creature—then exploding in a spiral of black flame.

The tear in the earth widened behind Helios as Kurai and Sephiroth veered off into the dense terrain, luring groups of Heartless with them. Trees groaned and splintered under the weight of the dark tide. What should've been a divine dawn was instead the beginning of another siege.

Left on the central path alone, Helios stood his ground.

From the black rift ahead, more and more enemies kept pouring out.

Thirty-six was the number he could count before he was overwhelmed and had to focus on fighting. More and more kept emerging from the ground.

Helios let out a slow breath. Then he twisted and swung his whip-sword—Slánú na nDoimhneacht. Shadows curled at his feet, responding to his pulse.

The first wave—Darkballs—lunged.

Helios spun, the whip-sword cracking the earth like thunder. A wide arc lashed forward, tearing five from the air. Their forms burst into motes, but five more rushed in.

"Freezing Gale!"

He cast again, fusing Blizzaga and Aeroga. A tornado of frost and wind exploded around him, freezing three Neoshadows mid-lunge and launching two Darkballs into the trees.

But it wasn't enough.

Neoshadows coordinated now, flanking with impossible speed. Helios parried the first strike, then dropped low—dodging a swipe aimed for his throat. One of the Invisibles surged in, its winged arms drawing glyphs in the air before hurling a ball of black fire at him.

He raised his free hand.

"Reflect."

The fireball rebounded, catching a cluster of advancing Heartless. Smoke bloomed as their forms dissolved—but three more took their place.

"Let's test something…"

Helios twisted Slánú into whip-form and called out:

"Fang of the Abyss!"

The segments curled, forming a drill of spiraling blades. He surged forward with a leap, piercing through a Neoshadow's chest, then spun midair to crash into two Darkballs.

Landing in a slide, he skidded back, gasping.

That took more strength than expected. This just went to show how much damage his battle in Atlantica had caused because even after healing and resting for a day his body still felt off and he found using his strength more difficult.

His eyes narrowed. "Okay. Time to adjust."

A rush of wind announced the Invisibles. Four of them hovered, swords glowing, forming a perimeter. One swooped in low, blade aimed for his stomach.

Helios pivoted, catching the blade with its sword mode, sparks flying.

The second came at his flank.

He flipped backward, narrowly dodging. Another fireball chased him. He rolled, ice trailing beneath his boots.

Helios clenched his teeth. Then forced calm.

He raised both hands.

"Sleep."

The spell rippled out in concentric circles—two Neoshadows and one Invisible hesitated. Their forms wavered.

But only one actually fell.

"Tch…the spell was too weak and their resistance shook it off."

Helios reached for the deepest point of his power. The dark and light magic swirling in his core.

"Drain."

Dark tendrils emerged from the ground and pierced four Neoshadows. Energy surged into him—restoring his vitality even as his body ached from overuse.

"I'm really pushing myself too hard these days," he told himself. "But it's either that or death."

The final wave charged. Seven Heartless—two Invisibles and five others—encircled him.

Time to end it.

He focused.

The Keyblade glowed—splitting.

Equilibrium divided into its twin forms:

Bríon na Lú — the radiant spear of light.

Slánú na nDoimhneacht — the whip of darkness.

One in each hand.

His eyes blazed.

"Let's dance."

With a cry, he hurled the spear into the sky—then teleported to it mid-flight.

From above, he launched Lightshift, sending phantom spears raining down like sunlit daggers. Shadows screamed as the strikes landed, pinning Neoshadows to the earth like cursed butterflies.

He dropped fast, catching his spear mid-spin, then struck the ground.

"Vow Severance."

The whip surged around him in a circle, absorbing light and darkness alike, then burst outward in a concussive wave of corrupted light.

The battlefield cracked.

Three Invisibles fell. Their bodies splintered, their weapons scattering.

Helios, panting, stood alone.

Body covered in dust and dirt. Shoulders trembling.

But still upright.

And then—

Silence.

The last Darkball retreated.

Helios looked down at his hands. Still steady.

The sky had turned red with dawn.

He could see the statue again.

"Well well, look what the darkness dragged in. Not looking so good kid," said Hades who appeared behind Helios, who actually had cold sweats for the first time.

Helios slowly turned to face Hades with a smile plastered on his face, despite what he was really feeling.