Kingdom Hearts: Consumed by Darkness

The path Kurai had taken was steep and narrow, choked by the twisted roots of old trees and the haunting fog that rolled like living mist through the woods below Mount Olympus. Every shadow moved. Every step echoed like it might summon something from the dark.

And something did.

The first wave hit without warning.

Dozens of Heartless—more than either Helios or Sephiroth had faced—surged from the treeline. Neoshadows, Darkballs, and Invisibles, hundreds of them, all drawn like flies to blood. No, not blood.

Darkness.

Her darkness.

Kurai's eyes gleamed like onyx mirrors as she smiled without joy. "So you do know who I am."

They came all at once—leaping, crawling, soaring toward her with claws and fangs bared.

She didn't flinch.

Her Keyblade, the Shadow Sovereign, tore through the air in a wide arc, and the first line of Neoshadows exploded into black ash. Then, she moved—Umbral Step flashing her into shadow, blinking from one enemy to another. With each step, a new heartless fell.

Slash. Vanish. Reappear. Impale.

Dark Firaga detonated around her, black flame licking across the field. She fired a second volley in midair, leaping onto a conjured shadow platform and flipping backward just as a tide of Invisibles sliced toward her.

The platform exploded.

She spun, extending her Keyblade in a wide sweep, summoning Nightfall Vortex. A cyclone of black wind spiraled out from her body, slicing Heartless that strayed too close. Their twisted forms scattered like shrapnel across the rocks.

Still more came.

The shadows rippled. A second, larger wave emerged—massive in number, their dark presence smothering the air like poison fog.

"More than I expected," Kurai said, gritting her teeth, eyes dancing with growing exhilaration. "Perfect."

She plunged back into the fray.

Her Keyblade danced—a storm of strikes and spells, every move blending physical punishment with magical assault. Dark Thundaga split the sky above her, electrocuting Heartless mid-leap. She lunged into the staggered group, slashing straight through six in a single motion, and turned her blade sideways to unleash Abyssal Severance, tearing a line of explosive shadow energy through a whole squadron of Neoshadows.

Black ichor stained the ground.

But Kurai didn't stop. She wouldn't stop.

Another Umbral Step. Another flash of metal and malice. Another Invisible crumpled as her blade severed its spine.

Yet even as her offensive tore through dozens, the Heartless adapted—coordinating flanks, using aerial assaults to distract while others tunneled through the ground.

Kurai narrowed her eyes. "Good," she whispered. "Now fight like you mean it."

She lifted her palm—Drain.

The air pulsed with dark light as strands of shadow lashed out from her fingers, wrapping around nearby foes and siphoning their energy. Life and darkness flowed into her, refreshing her strength even as it killed her enemies. Her fatigue vanished, and her smirk widened.

She slammed the teeth of her Keyblade into the ground. Umbral Aeroga erupted, shredding the stunned Neoshadows in all directions.

But still, they came.

A third wave surged forward—more than fifty Heartless now in her sights.

Kurai raised her Keyblade again… then hesitated.

"No," she murmured, stepping back. "Let's test something."

The momentary pause cost her.

Three Invisibles blitzed through her defenses, one slashing her shoulder, another forcing her to duck as a blade narrowly missed her eye. Blood spilled.

Kurai didn't blink.

She twisted and countered, cutting through two of them in a single blow. Her foot landed squarely on the third's back, pinning it as she raised her blade.

Then, she stopped again.

The Heartless screeched beneath her boot.

"Enough."

Kurai lifted her Keyblade in front of her chest, both hands wrapped around the grip.

Darkness surged.

Her aura began to spiral downward, shadow and void energy wrapping around her like a cloak. The wind stilled. The very mountain seemed to pause. The blood from her cut evaporated in the heat of her growing presence.

The blade shimmered—no, it writhed.

She focused all her intent, all her darkness, into it.

"Did it go like this? You are not just a sword," she whispered. "You will obey this sovereign's will."

The Keyblade pulsed violently, absorbing her energy. Its serrated edges melted away, folding in on themselves—shifting, reforming.

Metal twisted. Spines broke. Shadows crackled like fire.

The Shadow Sovereign screamed as its form was rewritten.

A second later, the light dimmed.

In her hand now was a war fan—elegant yet deadly. Silver and black in color, the outer edge gleamed like obsidian, curved and wicked like a crescent blade. Each spine tipped in venomous purple glow, like the fangs of a snake. The folds of the fan were laced with shadowed fractal symbols, glowing softly in rhythm with Kurai's heartbeat.

She opened the fan with a single flick.

The air trembled.

"Let's see what you can really do."

The war fan felt strange in her hand—light, elegant, yet pulsing with her power like it had always been a part of her. Its silken surface shimmered with black and silver, each spine carved with dark sigils that radiated heatless fire. When she moved, it whispered through the air like it was hungry to perform.

Kurai grinned.

More than thirty Heartless surrounded her—Darkballs in clusters, Neoshadows twitching like animals eager to pounce, and the hulking forms of a few Invisibles lingering behind the others like cautious beasts.

"Come on then," she said, flicking the fan open with a snap. "Let's dance."

The first wave rushed her. She pivoted on her heel, bringing the fan in a graceful arc.

"Hmmm, how do I use this? I guess I can do this, but what should I call it? Waning Crescent Slash maybe?"

A line of pure darkness swept out from the fan's arc, slicing through three Darkballs like a scythe through mist. They didn't even get to scream before dissolving into particles.

Kurai giggled, not cruelly—but with genuine delight. "Oh, that's pretty."

A Neoshadow lunged. She flicked her fingers, shadows flaring beneath her boots.

She vanished in a plume of shadow and reappeared behind the creature, her fan glowing dark violet as she brought it down on the back of its neck.

"Oh, that was faster and easier than my normal movement so let's call it Veil Step. Now for the Dusk Guillotine."

The Neoshadow twitched once, then burst into black mist.

Two Invisibles charged together, raising their ornate swords.

Kurai didn't move. She waited. Let them get close.

Then she clapped the fan shut with one hand, spun, and let her darkness surge into it.

"Black Dahlia Bloom."

Dark petals burst outward from the closed fan in a spiraling storm, slashing the foes with dozens of tiny cuts, each laced with shadow magic. Both enemies dropped to their knees before they exploded.

Kurai blew on the fan. "This is addictive."

More came. A small cluster of Darkballs tried to surround her from above. She leapt high, landing on one of them with one foot and riding it down like a meteor. At the last second, she sprang off and flicked the fan toward the others.

"I guess this one will be called Twilight Ripples."

Circular blades of darkness erupted outward in a wave, flattening every enemy within fifteen feet.

Landing in a crouch, she opened the fan above her shoulder and twirled it like a dancer preparing a final pose. Her crimson eyes sparkled.

"Hmm… What if I added lightning?"

As if answering her, the fan crackled. Kurai infused it with Dark Thundaga, the air thickening with a storm's tension. She pointed the fan forward.

"Thunder Vein Silk."

Dark tendrils laced with lightning danced from the fan's edge, zipping across the battlefield like crackling spiderwebs. Each contact stunned, then shredded Heartless in a burst of jagged force.

The few remaining tried to flee.

"Oh no," she said playfully, vanishing in another Veil Step and reappearing before them, fan folded.

"Midnight Fold."

A dark shockwave erupted from the fan as she snapped it shut again, blowing the last of them into oblivion.

Silence returned.

Kurai stood in the center of it all, the battlefield now a crater-laced garden of shimmering darkness.

She twirled the fan once more and let it rest on her shoulder. Her breathing was calm—barely even raised.

The war fan pulsed.

Alive.

Responsive.

Fitting.

She looked up at the slowly brightening sky.

"I'll need a name for you," she whispered to the weapon. "But for now... we'll just keep playing with it."

Then she started walking again, behind her was a graveyard of shadows and destruction.