The black orb still in his possession, Cyrus headed downstairs after Arthal announced that they would be getting some rest before searching for the first piece of darkness. That was fine by him, he could probably use a good nap anyway. So, when he found the living quarters, Cyrus picked a door and claimed the room it belonged to for his own, even locking the door behind him. It was strange, being in a place where locking the door would actually prove worthwhile, since no one could use Keyblades in this place and he presumed that that extended to their lock-opening powers as well.
After gently placing the orb on a nearby bedside table, Cyrus laid down in the modestly designed bed and closed his eyes. He must have been more tired than he thought, because it took all of a few moments for him to drift into sleep. Though asleep, he would soon find himself getting anything but rest when he started to dream.
He found himself at the center of an endless black void. The only apparent object in existence was a circular platform, decorated with a stain-glass mural depicting vague imagery, all symbolic but of what Cyrus couldn't say for sure. He knew the place, though, he'd been here before. It was once described to Cyrus as the innermost sanctum of one's Heart, and he suspected this place was meant to represent his own Heart. But something seemed... off. The stain-glass mural always depicted the story of two boys growing up together, only to turn their Keyblades against one another. This time it was different, instead just a series of vague images with no apparent rhyme or reason to them. That was when it hit him, why this place seemed off, not quite what it should be. Cyrus looked down at his hands, and then around at himself. He was a
boy once more, 14 years old again, the age at which he first summoned his Keyblade. A soft, but unknown voice echoed in the darkness.
Now step forward... Can you do it?As if on autopilot, Cyrus stepped forwards until he was standing directly in the center of the platform. Around him, small puddles of darkness formed and then changed themselves into the familiar shapes of Shadows, the most basic form of Heartless. The voice echoed again.
There will be times that you have to fight...That was when
a Keyblade materialized itself in Cyrus' hand, though it was not the one he came to master, nor was it Ren's Keyblade which he would acquire later in his life. This one was... basic, simplistic in design but still very much effective as a weapon. Cyrus readied the blade and with what little skill his fourteen-year-old body possessed, he dispatched the small group of Heartless around him. Again he found himself on a sort of autopilot, walking toward the opposite edge of the platform as the voice echoed.
The closer you come to the light, the greater your shadow becomes...Glancing behind him, Cyrus noted that his shadow had indeed become much taller-looking. He blinked when his shadow suddenly began to rise from the ground, forming a body of its own until it became a
massive Heartless staring down at him with an expressionless face that still somehow conveyed absolute ferocity. The voice echoed again as Cyrus ran at the beast in full charge.
But don't be afraid...It slammed its hand on the ground, but Cyrus managed to avoid it and used the opening to run up the Heartless' arm and strike it directly in the head with a slash from his Keyblade. The giant Heartless reeled back, the weapon was clearly painful for it to interact with. It then raised a hand, sending dark energy directly above it and causing it to shower back down over the area. Cyrus had to move himself a considerable distance away to avoid the raining darkness. But when it subsided he made another lunging move, this targeting the creature's unused hand. It snapped its hand in pain, then tried the first tactic of slamming his other hand onto the ground again. As before, Cyrus managed to sidestep it and then ran up the arm, but this time he made a good leap past the Heartless' head, hooking the tip of the Keyblade onto its neck, causing his momentum to swing him around until he was clinging to the back of its neck. Cyrus took the opening to give the creature a few good whacks with the Keyblade, before swinging himself back out in front of the creature's face to give it one more vertical slash down the forehead to finish it off. He landed at the creature's feet, watching reel and topple over. He blinked in surprise, realizing it was falling right on him. Cyrus tried to move but it was too late. The Heartless melted into the darkness, turning the floor into a pool of darkness that began swallowing up Cyrus. The Keyblade he'd wielded had long since vanished, and now he was thrashing to get himself out of the sinking darkness as he heard the voice echo one last time.
So don't be afraid...
...and don't forget...
...you hold the mightiest weapon of all...His eyes blinked open and Cyrus was awake, "What a dream..." he said, then stopped briefly when he noticed his voice sounded wrong. He then realized why. He was still in his younger body, and he wasn't even at the temple. No, he was in his old bedroom from his home at Radiant Garden. He hadn't been here in years. Getting out of the bed, Cyrus looked out the window and gazed at the town. It was exactly as he remembered it all those years ago. And if he remembered correctly then... Cyrus hurriedly threw on some clothes and ran out the door. Outside the sky was darkening, and the creature's from his prior dream were beginning to swarm all over the streets.
Once outside, Cyrus halted and found himself surrounded by a pack of Shadows. He closed his eyes briefly, the voice from his dream speaking to his heart.
Keyblade, it said.
...Keyblade, it repeated. At that moment one of the Shadows leaped at Cyrus. He moved to try to punch it, but instead a weapon materialized in a flash and the the creature was gone. In his hand was a Keyblade, this time it was the one he recognized as his own. The other Heartless attacked but Cyrus fended them off and then was on the move again.
Cyrus had fought his way to Town Square before remembering what he was about to walk into. Puddles of darkness converged and a massive Heartless just like the one from his dream appeared. It glared menacingly with its evil, yellow eyes. It attacked, and this time far more fiercely than in the dream. In fact, Cyrus couldn't actually keep up with it, it was attacking with different tactics, even using a new power Cyrus hadn't seen in the dream, where it launched spheres of dark energy from the hole in its chest. The young Cyrus dodged and deflected as best as he could, but one of them hit their mark and sent him sprawling on the ground. Cyrus had to roll to the side to avoid its hand slamming down, but unlike the dream it formed a pool of darkness around the spot and several Shadows began emerging from it. There was no way the young and inexperienced Cyrus could keep this up, and for a moment he was certain that this was the end.
That was when
he appeared. The giant Heartless tried to throw a massive ball of dark energy at Cyrus, but a metallic object came spinning through the air from somewhere behind the boy, intercepting the attack and dispelling it. At that moment, a
hooded man in a white cloak stepped forward past him. In a flash of light, the spinning object appeared in his hand. It was a Keyblade, though different in design from the one Cyrus held, there was no mistaking its key-shape. The Heartless moved to attack, but in a single gesture the man raised his free hand and vanished. When next he appeared he was a few feet forward from his starting position and turned toward Cyrus, but with the snap of his fingers, the Heartless suddenly reeled and staggered several times over and then exploded into pixels of Darkness. Cyrus didn't actually see it, but what he witnessed was the man using a very advanced technique, one that involved casting a powerful stop spell and then using the frozen time to inflict numerous strikes on the surrounding enemies. To Cyrus, though, it looked like an instantaneous attack, and he later learned this was because the initial Stop spell caught him as well as the Heartless.
"Well now..." said the man to Cyrus, walking toward him with blade still in hand, "...and who might you be?" he pointed his blade at Cyrus as if threatening him.
"What?" asked Cyrus, his tone shaky, "I thought... I thought you were saving me? What's with the threats all of a sudden?" he held out his blade nervously, prepared to defend himself but against this man any attacks or defenses would have proven to be a pitiful effort. Cyrus was outclassed, and very much so.
"Hmm..." responded the man thoughtfully, and suddenly his blade was gone, "...a fresh Wielder, are you? Your utter confusion gives you away. Oh, and... you may want to learn a stronger stance, as you are now even a blind fool could disarm you."
With the man's weapon gone, Cyrus relaxed, though only a small bit, "What's with all this? What were those things? Who are you?"
The man turned and, with a warm laugh began to walk away, "If you really want to know, then come with me and find out for yourself. Otherwise you should return home, not every Wielder is as kind to their peers as I am."
Cyrus stood for a moment in sheer confusion. Who was this man? He clearly knew more about all of this than he himself, and his skill and power were frightening, but also awe-inspiring. Making his decision, Cyrus ran after the man he would come to call Master, and followed his lead.
