"Have you seen anything?!"
"No, nothing!"
Kairi asked the girls, receiving a negative response from Rena, while they were all rummaging in a forest.
Following the events of the previous world Kairi, with the help of Eve, traced the ship's travel route in the direction where the old Makarov mentioned, arriving in a world about which little information was had. Curiously, the only possible location to be transported from the ship was a dense forest, the group began to search if there was any trace of civilization there, although the only thing they found is that it was completely uninhabited, except for wild animals.
"Hey, are you sure this is the place?" Asked Edea tired of searching everywhere.
"It is the only world that is following the route that the guild master indicated," Eve replied, searching as well as her drones searched her side.
"But we've been looking for hours!" Priere exclaimed, kicking a nearby rock. "If you would let me, I could clear this forest with no problem."
"And destroy this forest? No way!" Rena yelled, hearing Priere's reply.
"Party pooper..." Priere muttered under her breath after hearing the answer.
"Hey, over here! I have found something, come here!"
Nina's voice came from the side of the forest, and they all headed in that direction. They did not take long to leave that forest, finding Nina standing on a cliff. When Nina saw them coming, she pointed to the horizon, making everyone look in that direction. It was then that Kairi's eyes widened upon seeing what was there.
Near where they were you could see the remains, still standing, of a great tower, supposedly as high as the cliff where they were. They all stared at that tower in surprise, but then they saw how Kairi fell to her knees, startling the group.
"Kairi!" Rena exclaimed seeing Kairi collapse.
There was a reason to collapse like this, for that tower was the same tower that she saw in her dreams. Now it was clear that she was in the right place. After a while of silence, Kairi soon explained to the others about the dreams he had before beginning her travel.
"I see." Said the elf, looking at the tower.
"I don't know what you will do, but now that we're here, we should investigate, don't you think?" Edea proposed to the group.
Following Edea's proposal, the group descended from the cliff in order to advance toward the tower, Kairi noticed that it was the same route that she saw in her dreams, although the place was changed. After walking a long way, they soon reached the entrance of the tower. There they could see that above the door were the remains of a coat of arms showing a bird with flames spreading under it.
Noticing the shield, Nina took out one of her books and searched them, soon finding the same symbol on one page, showing itself to the others.
"And that?" Edea asked.
"This crest belongs to an ancient order known as the Order of the Phoenix, and this is their emblem," Nina replied. "We may now be on what was their base then."
"The Order of the Phoenix?" Priere asked.
"An order that worshiped the Eidolon Phoenix, one of the three supreme ones." The winged woman replied.
"The three supreme ones?" Kairi asked.
Nina responded by nodding at her. "Leviathan, lord of the seas; Bahamut, king of dragons; and Phoenix, lord of fire and reincarnation. These three are the most powerful Eidolons of all, with very few who can summon them. The other Eidolons pale in comparison to them. Even with the Alexander Form, you could not resist their attacks. " Nina said looking at Kairi.
Kairi looked at her in surprise for a moment, nodding shortly after her. Even she knew it wouldn't be a good idea to challenge either of them if she happened to run into one of them.
When they crossed the entrance, they were soon in for an unpleasant surprise, as the first thing they found were skeletons. Many skeletons were lying on the ground with torn and damaged clothes. After taking a closer look, they noticed that there were battle marks everywhere.
"What the hell happened here?" Edea asked, looking around her.
Rena noticed something on one of the walls and approached, pulling out an object embedded in it. It didn't take long for the elf to show what it was: a rusted weapon identical to the one the Fallen tend to use.
"I feel things are getting worse and worse," Edea said, watching the rusted weapon as Rena threw it to the ground.
The group began to explore the interior of the tower, ascending the stairs when they found them. Apparently, the stairs were built not only to ascend or descend but to act as a defensive point in case of attack, as it was seen when seeing that the battle marks were more consistent in the area of the stairs and the skeletons that seemed armed.
On one of the floors, Priere noticed a small passageway, something difficult to see because of a curtain that seemed to cover the passageway and she approached to see, but her gaze saddened and she looked to the side, holding back tears. That passage was also full of skeletons, but the worst thing was that in most of them, their skulls were too small to be adults.
After ascending several floors, they reached what appeared to be the rooms where its inhabitants slept.
"What the hell happened here?" Edea asked, having contempt and disgust at seeing the state of the tower.
"I don't think we want to know it," Nina replied.
Kairi didn't reply. What's more, she didn't even say a word since they entered the tower, but she could feel a terrible pain in his heart, resisting the need to shed tears at the sight of the whole place.
They soon saw Eve's drones, Moby, and Remy approaching them, addressing the Nasod in their robotic language. After nodding for a moment, she used her technology to create a holographic map of the tower.
"Apparently we are in the rooms where most of them slept here," Eve said. "And apparently, there are two floors with bedrooms above us, and what looks like a sanctuary above them, as well as access to the top of it."
"If I'm not mistaken, the civilians who lived in the tower had to sleep here, and on top of it the chambers of the cult priests," Nina said. "And just above, the High Priestess' quarters."
"The High Priestess?" Edea asked.
"Yes. I have read a little about these types of religious groups, and the High Priestess is always the one who decides the path of the order, and she is also the one who is closest to the Eidolon they worship. It is said that only High Priestesses can speak to them directly."
"So maybe I was here, in one of these rooms?" Kairi asked, looking around.
"Perhaps," Priere said, looking around her. "Although to be honest, I don't see any cribs around here."
"What do you mean?" Edea asked.
"You've noticed, haven't you?" Rena asked Priere, nodding.
"Did I miss something or what?" Edea asked, even more confused.
"Think about it. If Kairi lived here before ending up in Radiant Garden, that means, unless they were somewhat retrograde here, there should be a crib or something. And I don't see any around here." Rena reasoned.
"Now that you mention it, you are right. We should at least see the remains of one hanging around here." Nina replied.
"Wait a minute," Kairi said. "Are you saying that my parents could be priests?"
"Given the lack of cribs here, it's likely," Rena replied.
"In that case let's investigate the upper floor!" Edea said energetically.
The group ascended to the next floor, seeing that the chambers on that floor were more typical of priests than civilians. But this time, they didn't see any cribs in the area either.
Edea was about to let out one of her moans of disappointment when she noticed Eve pulling her map out of the tower. "Is something wrong, Eve?"
"I hadn't noticed before," Eve said. "But Moby and Remy found various life forms above this plant."
"What?!" Kairi asked in shock.
"Are you saying that there is someone else besides us?" Rena asked.
"Yes, it seems so," Eve replied.
The girls ran as fast as they could to the upper floor, soon finding there the supposed quarters of the High Priestess. This room was destroyed as if they had been cruel to the room, but there they could find the remains of a crib, along with the remains of a skeleton lying near it. But what most caught their attention was the figure with its back to them: from the waist up you could see that she was a woman, but from the waist down it was the tail of a snake.
"A... snake woman?" Edea asked. "Medusa?"
"No, she is not Medusa." Eve corrected Edea.
The snake woman, a lamia, had brown hair which reached down to her waist, wearing clothes that were too seductive, without hiding her back which was covered by her long hair. A gust of wind moved her hair, revealing a very peculiar tattoo on her back: a woman in a fetal position surrounded by a circle of flames.
"She can't be!" Nina exclaimed upon seeing the symbol.
"What's happening?" Edea asked seeing her reaction.
"That emblem on the back is from one of the Four Lords of the Abyss!" Nina warned the others.
They all turned their gaze to the lamia woman who had her back turned to them, and Kairi jumped forward, several meters from the snake woman.
"Who are you?! What are you doing here?! Show yourself!" Kairi exclaimed, Keyblade in hand and ready to fight.
The woman smiled as she turned her back on them, soon turning slowly to Kairi and the others. When Kairi saw the woman's face, her eyes widened, her mouth hanging open.
"Hello, my dear." The snake woman said with a smile, looking at Kairi.
Kairi stared at the woman's face for a long time, her mind replaying the memories she has recovered, focusing exhaustively on a specific figure, the woman who cared for her in the memories of her as a baby.
"Mother?" Kairi asked, confusion in his voice.
"Mother?!" They all asked in shock upon hearing Kairi, looking at the snake woman.
The snake woman kept her smile as she looked at Kairi. "There has been no day or night, in which I did not wish to see you again, my little child."
None of the other girls dared react to the scene. Kairi, on the other hand, could not stop looking at who was her mother, her eyes beginning to fill with tears, being more difficult to keep looking at her.
The snake woman noticed this and still smiling she extended her arms to her sides, saying that she could get closer if she wanted. After a while, Kairi couldn't take it anymore and began to cry, throwing herself on her mother and hugging her, crying uncontrollably, while she hugged her with her arms.
"I'm very sorry for everything you've had to go through." Kairi's mother said. "But I am glad to see that you have grown into a beautiful little woman, Kairi."
Kairi kept crying in her mother's arms, while the girls began to lower their guard, seeing that there was no danger.
"This, ma'am..." Rena said, not knowing what to call her.
"Currently I am known by the name of Luxuria, but you can call me Adira if you want." The snake woman replied to the elf.
"Luxuria, one of the Lords of the Abyss," Nina commented upon hearing the name.
"Lords of the Abyss? How strong are they? " Priere asked Nina.
"Enough to not confront them unless you have a good reason, and still is a bad idea to do it," Nina replied to Priere to hold back.
"And by the way, I could know your names?" She asked the girls.
"Ah, right. I am Edea. " Edea introduced herself first.
"I am Rena, charmed."
"Eve."
"I am Nina, my pleasure."
"And my name is Priere."
Soon Kairi calmed down a bit and looked up from her to see her mother's face. "But mom, what happened? How is it that you are a Lord of the Abyss?"
Luxuria, or Adira, sighed at that question. "I knew that sooner or later you would have to know the truth. This all started a long time ago..."
The girls kept watching Adira as Kairi walked away from her, ready to hear her story.
"Many believe that no one who lived in the era of the Keyblade Wars existed now, but that is not so. There was a man who survived the battle, and such was his despair then that the darkness consumed him, but he did not disappear. He became a being of pure darkness linked to it. He renounced his name and called himself Dracula, the devil. "
"All this time, he has been amassing power from his stronghold, the Damned City, waiting for the best moment to spread his darkness over all worlds, but the light has always held him at bay."
"Centuries passed, and many groups and orders formed and disappeared in the river of time. One of these groups was the Order of the Phoenix, which worshiped the Eidolon Phoenix, the bird of fire and resurrection, and one of the Three Supremes. And in her day, I was the High Priestess of the order, the only one who could be allowed to see the Phoenix when he appeared in this world. I and he have had many encounters for a long time until, in the end, we fell in love, and as a result, you were born, Kairi. "
"Wait, wait, hold on, hold on, repeat that!" Edea exclaimed, interrupting Adira. "Are you saying that you fell in love with an Eidolon and that Kairi's father is the Phoenix?"
The girls were confused when they learned that information, especially when they learned that Kairi's father was neither more nor less than the Phoenix, one of the Three Supreme Eidolons. Kairi was the most shocked by this revelation.
"Carrier of the blood of an Eidolon," Eve said. "That might explain her ability with the power of the Eidolons." She said as Edea nodded her head.
"But how was it possible?!" Nina asked. "Wouldn't that be some kind of violation between races or something? And let's not talk about the difference in sizes... "
"Oh, you see, at first it seemed complicated, but finally it was the best thing I felt in my life!" Adira exclaimed with a smile.
"Time out, time out!" Rena said, waving her arms wildly. "I think that information is away from the point now, don't you think?"
"Oh please, I wouldn't mind explaining how-"
"Can we go back to history, please!" Rena interrupted again, wanting to avoid such details.
"As you wish," Adira said, a bit annoyed at the interruption and starting to explain the story from where she left off.
"Kairi's birth was a unique event, almost like a miracle. And many people from other worlds came to see the little miracle that was born from the love between the High Priestess and the Phoenix. It seemed like a fairy tale. Unfortunately, those kinds of stories always have a tragic twist. "
"In the Damned City, Dracula's acolytes managed to capture a Gulgan, blind men capable of seeing the future, both near and far. Dracula questioned the Gulgan to see if his future plans could be fruitful. And the Gulgan confirmed his total victory, but that vision came with a warning. "
"When he spreads the darkness of him, if a member of the Order of the Phoenix intervenes, he will have no glory."
"Dracula was enraged at this turn of events. But he decided to go against fate, and he made a decision that would change everyone's fate. And one night, when the moon turned red, Dracula, along with his Fallen, launched an all-out attack on our order, to destroy us. "
The flames were consuming the lower levels of the tower, as screams and roars mingled in chaos. As the chaos continued to escalate, Adira watched from a window in her room what was happening.
"Adira!" A voice caught her attention from behind her, causing her to turn around to find her elderly mother.
"Mother, I'm afraid this is the end," Adira said to her mother, as she walked towards the crib where little Kairi was. "But still, I can't let anything happen to my little girl."
"But how? The tower is infested with Fallen, and there is no way down! " Her mother said. "Besides, they won't take too long to reach here!"
"There is always a way," Adira said, as she picked up Kairi and walked over to her mother. "Please take care." She whispered in her ear.
Adira gave the baby to his mother and moving a brick revealed a secret passageway.
"Use this route. Only I know it, run! " Adira said. "Go into the forest and wait there. Someone will end up finding out what is going on. Hang in there. "
"What about you?" Her mother asked.
"I must stay so that Kairi can survive," Adira replied. "Now go away!"
Fearfully, Adira's mother grabbed Kairi tightly and stepped into the passageway.
Not long after, the flames began to reach the plant, and Adira could make out a sinister figure advancing through the flames, and she moved quickly towards the now empty crib, in an attempt to distract the intruder, while she picked up a dagger.
"Stand back, woman. Your order is finished, and your subjects are dead. You only delay the inevitable. " The figure said. "I'm just thinking of saving you the suffering your people are going through."
"As long as I'm alive, I won't let you take another step, Dracula!" Adira threatened, identifying the figure as Dracula.
"And what is a woman like you going to do against me?" Dracula replied. "Now your 'husband' is not here to help you.
"You will not go near her!" Adira warned, pointing her dagger at him.
"How funny," Dracula said, advancing towards her.
Adira tried to stab him with her weapon when Dracula approached, but Dracula caught her hand without problems, while with another hand he grabbed her neck, and after a few agonizing seconds, Dracula broke her neck, then let her body fall abruptly to the side of the crib.
Grinning wickedly he walked over to the crib but frowned when he saw that the crib was empty. Although he soon saw through the window as a figure was moving away from the tower.
Kairi's grandmother ran with all her might holding little Kairi as the tower burned in flames behind her, and at the same time, Dracula followed her slowly, accompanied by armored Wargs and armored lizardmen with swords and shields who were ahead of her. he.
Her grandma kept running until she tripped and fell to the ground, but she kept Kairi from falling to the ground. When she got up from her, she realized that Dracula had reached her and that his Fallen were around her cornering her.
"Give me the baby, old woman," Dracula said pointing a finger at the old woman, while the cloak that he was wearing on his back fluttered in the wind caused by the distant flames, looking at her with a pair of two red eyes, trying to scare the old woman. "If you hand the girl over to me, I'll... let you live the rest of your scarce days."
Before she could respond, a trail of light appeared in the sky and descended until it fell right between them, with a glow that forced Dracula to cover himself with the cloak of her blinding flash.
"Yen Sid..." Dracula muttered, looking at whoever caused the flash, showing old Yen Sid between him and the old woman with the baby.
"This has already gone too far, Dracula." Yen Sid said.
"Don't you know, old man?" Dracula asked Yen Sid. "The fate has spoken. My fate and that of the Order of the Phoenix are now linked. Which means that the existence of one is threatened by the other. Either the Order of the Phoenix dies, or I die. And I'd rather have the order rot in hell."
After those words, the Fallen jumped on the old woman and Yen Sid, but the old master unleashed his power, destroying all the Fallen that were around him, creating a wall of light that forced Dracula to retreat.
"Tonight's actions will have consequences, Dracula. You should already know." Yen Sid said.
Then Dracula looked up into the sky, seeing five streaks of light flying towards the burning tower.
"Keyblade users, huh?" Dracula said. "Don't make me laugh, man. Although they all unite, fate has spoken. And now there is only one person capable of facing me." Then he pointed to the baby that the grandmother had. "And one day I will kill her!"
After those words, Dracula disappeared into a pillar of light, leaving the world.
When Dracula left, Yen Sid turned and looked at Kairi's grandmother.
"I am so sorry." Yen Sid said, closing her eyes. "Come, let me take you to safety." The old master said extending his hand.
Kairi's grandmother stared at him, while she could see how the tower of the Order of the Phoenix burned in flames on the horizon.
In Radiant Garden, Yen Sid had brought Kairi's Grandmother and the baby to Merlin's house, where he was waiting for them. Kairi was asleep on a bed, while the wizards watched her.
"Poor little one," Merlin said. "And think about everything that has happened."
"Unfortunately I was late, and I couldn't do anything for the others." Yen Sid said. "She and her grandmother were the only survivors."
"And all thanks to the sacrifice of her mother," Merlin said. "So young, and having to see what she has seen..."
"Those memories could guide her to a dark destiny." Yen Sid said. "Especially if she is a Princess of the Heart."
The wizard looked at him with some surprise at this revelation, but then looked at the little girl. "And so we have no other choice," Merlin said. "If we want her to have at least one happy life, she must not remember anything that happened."
"Unfortunately, using that magic will make her forget everything up to this point. Even her parents. " Yen Sid said.
"It's the only way for her to forget everything," Merlin said. "If Dracula never crosses her path again, it is possible that she could have a happy life."
"But I'm afraid Dracula might try again." Yen Sid said. "And if that happens, maybe she will have to find out the truth someday."
The two wizards looked at each other for a moment, before looking at the baby Kairi.
"If that's the case. Then it will be the worlds that decide."
The girls heard the story from Adira, now Luxuria, to the end. Kairi was sitting on one of the rubble, her head down from hearing the whole story, while a tear fell on her cheek, as now all the memories of her childhood before Radiant Garden began to return to her.
"Mrs. Adira," Eve said. "If you died in this room that day, how do you know what happened next? And besides, how is it that you are here, like Luxuria?"
Obviously, that was a good question, despite the situation.
"Because they showed it to me at its moment, and I saw everything," Adira replied. "And about Luxuria, you see… when Dracula kills someone directly with his bare hands, whether you want to or not you go to hell, or in this case, to the Abyss. And there, Luxuria picked me up. Unlike what is said of the beings of the Abyss, Luxuria has always been on the side of mortals, safeguarding their existence even in the shadows. She knew what happened to me, and I ended up caring for her as one of her courtesans."
"And how did you become Luxuria then?" Priere asked.
"In the case of Luxuria, the title does not have to be perpetual. If she wants, she can choose whether to continue as Luxuria or reincarnate as a mortal after some time. And when that happens, she chooses one to replace her. And in this case, I was the chosen one. "
The girls simply fell silent, while Kairi continued to say nothing. Adira soon walked over and crouched down, putting a hand on Kairi's face.
"Listen to me Kairi. Although he is here now, a Lord of the Abyss cannot be in the world of the living for long. Which means that I won't be able to be with you forever. But listen to me well. You are not alone, you have people who love you and care about you. Treasure them, okay? "
Kairi began to think about her words, remembering not only those who take care of her but all of her friends, including Riku and Sora. After that Kairi smiled nodding her head. "I'll do."
Adira smiled at the sight of her smiling face on hers.
But then the tower shook without warning.
"An earthquake?" Nina asked.
"No, I don't think so," Eve said, checking the structure with Moby and Remy.
Adira looked up at the ceiling. "And I was thinking that she would not get it."
"Mother, what is it?" Kairi asked.
"Not long ago a little fairy climbed to the top of the tower," Adira replied.
"A fairy?!" Rena, Edea, Nina, and Kairi asked in unison.
"Yes," Adira said. "She said that she intended to absorb the residual power of this tower to become more powerful. She now herself must be at the top of the tower. "
"And why haven't you stopped her?!" Edea asked.
"Unfortunately, I cannot intervene as Mistress of the Abyss. Sorry." Adira said.
"Well, what a Lady of the Abyss you are, Lady Luxuria!" Edea said angrily, as she ran towards the stairs that led upstairs.
"Hey, you don't need to be so surly with the grown-ups!" Rena said, running after her along with the others.
Kairi stared at her mother for a moment, until she nodded and ran with the others while Adira looked at them.
The girls ran as fast as they could to climb several more floors until they reached the top of the tower. There they all saw a kind of sphere of fire floating above them.
"Can you tell what that is?" Priere asked.
The sphere of fire began to descend, soon revealing a humanoid figure within the flames. And when these disappeared, a human-sized fairy with huge butterfly wings on her back and butterfly wings also on her head appeared before them, long silver hair, red eyes, pointed ears, with a white leotard made of hair, gloves black and black long boots.
"Airy," Edea said simply, watching the fairy.
"I must admit that it has been a long time since I felt this powerful," Airy said, looking at her body. "The residual power here is extraordinary."
"May I know what you've done?" Rena asked.
"It's simple: I have absorbed the power that has remained here since the end of the order," Airy said. "The residual power that belonged to the Phoenix and his foolish acolytes."
"They weren't foolish, Airy!" Kairi said with a serious face.
"What's happening? Did I touch a nerve or something?" Airy said, teasing her.
"In my opinion, you are nothing more than a stupid fairy who does not know what she is dealing with," Priere said, looking at Airy.
"And who is the demon woman?" Asked Airy upon seeing Priere, she soon noticed Eve as well. "And that girl? New to the group?"
"My name is Eve," Eve replied coldly, more than usual.
"My name is Priere, and you better be careful, if you don't want to end badly." The demon woman said.
"So, that's the way it is going to be, huh?" Said Airy with a vile smile, though then she shook her head like she had a headache.
"Is something wrong, Airy?" Edea asked, seeing Airy's strange reaction.
"What happens to me is not in your interest," Airy said. "What should interest you is what I'm going to do with you."
"We'll see that!" Kairi said, summoning her Keyblade.
They all prepared to fight, as Edea used her Multi-Asterisk to take on the form of the Spell Fencer, acquiring a stereotypical pink belly dancer costume, and armed with a scimitar.
"We should have to make a list of the clothes that give that thing," Rena commented upon seeing Edea's outfit change.
"Interesting object." Said Airy seeing the effect of Edea's Multi-Asterisk.
After these words, Airy began to float above the floor of the tower, soon launching a large Firaga on the group, causing them to separate to avoid the spell. Nina began using her fire magic against the fairy, as Edea enveloped her weapon with her fire and headed towards her to attack with her flame-covered weapon at the same time that Priere launched herself at Airy.
The fairy moved away from them before her attacks reached them, responding with an Aeroga, sending Edea and Priere flying to the ground with the wind spell, both moaning after the hard impact against the ground.
Rena on the part of her began to shoot arrows at Airy, managing to hit some of them but not all because she was moving fast to avoid part of them. But fortunately, Nina managed to hit her with a powerful electrical spell that stunned her for a moment. This time, Priere lunged and struck the fairy hard with her staff.
"Not bad." Said Airy with a grimace of pride, and attacked her with Blizzaga, while Priere tried to contain the impact of the spell with her staff, making her recoil under the pressure of the spell.
Airy got up and prepared to launch another attack, but a Blizzaga struck her from the side, filling her arm with frost, soon noticed that Kairi was using her Shiva Form and had used an ice spell to try to freeze her, although it did not work at all. After that, the fairy launched a powerful Firaga against Kairi, but Edea got in the middle of her creating a spell that created a shield between them to block the attack.
After failing that attack, Airy began to generate fiery energy around her. Edea noticed that attack, recognizing it on the spot.
"Watch out, I know that spell!" Edea alerted the others.
Without giving time to react, Airy launched a powerful wave of fire against the entire group, but fortunately, an energy shield surrounded the group, blocking the attack completely. The fairy was confused when she saw what happened, but she soon realized that small machines were moving on the shield.
Kairi and the others looked at Eve, who was the one who created the shield that protected them from the attack.
"Well done!" Rena exclaimed.
"The shield will not last long," Eve said, watching as Airy started kicking the shield to try to get through it. "And less if she keep hitting it."
"No problem!" Rena said, soon launching several arrows at Airy, who was forced to move and dodge them since they did not stop chasing her.
With that distraction, Nina released another of her magic, this time being several sharp blades of wind, which the fairy narrowly evaded her. When the barrier vanished, Eve went on the offensive and began to launch orbs of energy that managed to impact Airy, stopping her with the impacts, moment that Edea and Priere took advantage of to jump towards her and thus hit her with force with their weapons and launch her against the floor.
As Airy tried to recover from that hard blow, Kairi aimed her Keyblade at the fairy, immediately launching a blizzard that covered Airy's body in ice, at the same time as Rena released an ice arrow that added more ice to the technique., while Nina used an ice spell to add it to the attack. This combination of attacks created a huge ice structure where the three attacks collided.
Kairi breathed in relief as she reverted to her normal form, but without warning the ice began to show cracks, and then the icy structure broke, releasing the fairy from the ice.
"Oh come on!" Edea cursed when she saw what happened.
"Please! Do you think that would work for me? " Airy asked, breathing hard, then shaking her head.
"What's happening? Exhausted? " Rena noticed Airy's exhaustion and aimed her bow, ready to strike with a powerful arrow.
"You want that, isn't it?" Airy said. "But this time you won't have it so-"
Airy did not finish her sentence, because to everyone's surprise, her face showed horror and sadness, and immediately she knelt on the ground, clutching her head with his hands, moaning in despair.
"Uh, Airy?" Kairi asked, confused by what was happening.
"Are you seeing the same thing as me, or am I imagining it?" Priere asked.
"No! Stop!" Airy exclaimed in despair, as she squirmed holding her head with her hands.
"But what is wrong with her?" Rena asked, seeing how Airy acted.
"It will be a trap, for sure," Edea said, readying her sword.
"No, it isn't."
The girls turned and saw Adira approaching them. She walked past her and soon she was standing next to Airy, who was still writhing in despair.
"Lady Luxuria, what is happening to her?" Eve asked Adira.
"It is what I expected," Adira said, looking at the group. "The fairy acquired vast power, but its origin was unknown to her. She has absorbed the residual power that was in this tower, which was originally from the Phoenix. Normally, when a power that comes directly from an Eidolon is acquired in this way, it requires a price to assimilate it. "
"Okay, that's what I'm getting. And what was the price Airy paid? " Edea asked.
"It is not a 'payment' as it is believed," Adira replied. "It is rather a condition for acquiring that power, and it depends on each Eidolon. In this case, the power of the Phoenix is based not only on fire but mainly on the resurrection. "
"Obviously, it is said that a phoenix is reborn from his ashes," Priere said.
"Yes, the resurrection, symbolized as a new opportunity."
"Then?" Kairi asked.
"What's happening to me?!" Airy asked desperately, still in her state.
"It is not clear enough?" Adira asked. "The price for you to acquire that power was simple: remorse."
"Remorse?" Edea asked Adira.
"That's it," Adira replied.
Kairi began to wonder what she meant by that until she remembered Edea's story about Airy and what she did in the past. "Did you know it?!" Kairi asked Adira, while the others continued to watch.
"Like Luxuria, I have my tricks. And I already knew who Airy was and what she did until today." Adira said, looking at Airy, who was still writhing on the ground. "Right now, she is feeling the regrets of all the deaths she has caused in her life."
"All of them?" Edea asked, returning her gaze to Airy, as she continued to suffer and returned to her original form, although this time she maintained human size. Seeing the fairy suffer in such a way, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
"So what will happen to her?" Priere asked.
Adira went to answer when they heard someone clapping near them. Kairi turned to see who was clapping.
"Htaed?"
Kairi was confused, like the others, to see the cleric in that place, clapping slowly and sinisterly.
"I must admit. This has been one of the best surprises I have ever seen. " Htaed said with a smile. "Who would have thought that the 'Boundary Destroyer' would end up giving in to remorse for her past acts? It's just pathetic. "
Still kneeling, Airy's eyes widened and she turned her face from hers to see the priest.
"What are you doing here?" Kairi asked.
"It's simple, my job," Htaed said. "I had heard that this fairy had come here, and I came to take care of her."
"Hey, I don't think that's necessary!" Rena exclaimed. Edea was a bit surprised, but she understood what she meant.
Undeterred, Htaed began to advance toward Airy, who began to back away in terror, trying to get as far away from the cleric as possible. Edea was more surprised than the others to see the terrified face on the fairy as she tried to get away from Htaed.
Until then Adira stood between him and Airy.
"Stand aside, Luxuria!" Htaed exclaimed to Adira.
"Or what? You know that even if I can't face you directly, you can't do anything to me. " Adira warned the man, soon showing a dark smile, worthy of a Lord of the Abyss. "Isn't that so, Death?"
The girls were surprised at this, but Kairi was the one who froze upon hearing that name from her mother's lips, addressing Htaed.
"What?" Kairi barely asked, almost speechless at this revelation.
Htaed soon began to laugh under his breath, then to laugh out loud, being heard around the tower.
"Oh, poor girl. Neither you nor any of your colleagues noticed so it was easy to fool you with my identity. Well, as you usually say: if you want to hide something, put it in view of everyone." Htaed replied after finishing laughing. "It makes sense if you think about it a bit. If you take the name and put it backward, what does it say? "
Kairi started thinking about his name until she decided to reverse the direction in which the name is said. "Death. Htaed is Death backward. "
Htaed, or in this case, Death, turned to her, now showing that his eyes were black with a red pupil, much like when she saw him in his skeleton form. The girls immediately prepared to fight in case he decided to attack them, but he raised his hand.
"Calm down. I have not come for you. But I have come for the fairy." Death said, turning to Adira and Airy. "Stand back, Luxuria. I have no business to discuss with you."
Adira watched Death closely until Kairi stepped right in front of Death.
"Before you think of doing something, you should know that you cannot touch me in any way," Kairi warned.
"You think I don't know? Don't take me for a fool." He said Death. "That seal that one of your mother's 'friends' put on you is the only thing that prevents me from taking care of you directly."
"And I suppose that's why the others were after me because you can't even touch me yourself," Kairi said.
"As one could say, Yes." Death brought his face closer but turned away when he saw Kairi's hand approached his face. "But you must know that I can still finish you."
"Oh yeah? And how, if I can ask? You can't even touch her!" Edea scoffed, pointing her weapon at Death.
"There are always ways to touch someone." Death replied. "The seal just prevents me from touching it directly. But what if I use something else? "
Kairi looked at him confused after that question. Without warning, Death caused the ground where they were both to collapse, causing Kairi to fall, while he descended, to the surprise of the others.
Kairi landed on the ground on the lower floor surrounded by some of the crumbling ground debris. With a groan after the rough landing, he got up and looked around. She knew that she along with the others had passed through that floor when they ascended to the top of the tower, but due to the rush, she did not pay much attention then.
The room was quite spacious, surely capable of filling a large number of people in it, where several statues, each one belonging to Shiva, Ifrit, Ramuh, Titan, Alexander, and Diabolos, could be seen on the sides of the room. Then Kairi noticed a large statue in the back of the room, in the shape of a huge bird with several feathered tails, clearly presiding over the room. Possibly this chamber must have been a prayer and prayer room in honor of the Phoenix, her father if what her mother said was true.
At that moment she noticed something was slowly descending from above, soon realizing that it was Death, still wearing Htaed's robe, but now showing a fleshless skull with small red flames in her eyes.
"Even if you isolate me, you can't touch me, you know that," Kairi said defiantly.
"As I already told you, the seal only prevents it from touching you directly, but that does not mean that it cannot use an alternative." Death replied.
"Surprise me!" Kairi said, taking her Keyblade.
Death raised his arms, creating a barrier that covered the walls, blocking both the access to the room and the crack through which Kairi and Death fell, making the others unable to access the room.
"I just have to gather enough dark energy to be able to bypass that protection of yours." Death commented as he began to collect dark energy.
"Like I'm going to let you!" Kairi prepared to fight before her enemy got ready.
"Fool, I'm not the only grim reaper out there. Maybe they can with you. " With a single wave of her hands, dark energy began to cover the statues in the room, beginning to crack. "Elemental Reapers, heed my call and accept this sacrifice in front of me!"
Upon those words, the statues were smashed, save for the Phoenix, revealing six hooded specters with scythes in their hands.
The one that came out of the Ifrit statue had his reddish cloak covered in flames with his scythe covered in flames as well. The one that came out of the Shiva statue had frost on the bluish cloak with the fully frozen scythe. The one that came out of the Ramuh statue had his cloak covered in electrical flashes, with electricity rushing through the scythe. The one that came out of the Titan statue had rocks all over his brown cape and his scythe appeared to be made of stone. The one that came out of the statue of Alexander had his cloak white with light covering his scythe. Finally, the one that came out of the Diabolos statue had demonic markings on the dark cloak and his scythe was the scariest of all.
The six grim reapers began to float around Kairi, as she tried to keep an eye on them all.
"These are the grim reapers of fire, ice, and lightning, as well as those of earth, light, and darkness." He said Death. "These creatures will surely finish you off. Destroy her! "
Following that command, the fiery grim reaper lunged toward Kairi with its fiery scythe. Luckily Kairi was prepared and she blocked the attack with her Keyblade and immediately launched a Blizzaga on it, hitting it squarely, but the being fell back away from her reach.
From the corner of her eye, she saw the ice reaper approach her with its weapon raised, allowing Kairi to avoid the cut by doing a backflip, responding with a Firaga against it, which also hit squarely.
After this she noticed that the electric reaper was pouncing on her with the scythe covered in electricity, and seeing that touching it was a bad idea for her she ducked to avoid the movement and responded with another Firaga on the spectrum, making him back away.
Kairi soon saw that the tactic of this group was that they attack in turns taking advantage of her being distracted by whoever attacked her before while keeping a distance from her, which made it clear that she could only attack one at a time, and only when one out for her. And she obviously couldn't start casting magic on everyone at once as they would surely be immune to its own element.
While she was thinking about this she saw how the ground type flew towards her ready to attack with his rock scythe, so she blocked the blow with his barrier and taking advantage of the recoil of the impact he pounced on it and began to hit it as much as she could until the elemental grim reaper away from her. Now she just had to find out if the light or the dark one would come after her if the pattern was what she thought.
The white grim reaper lunged at her ready to attack, but Kairi was already expecting it and rolled to the side to dodge her slash and struck with her Keyblade, knocking him back. And knowing who was going now, she turned to the dark reaper who was preparing to attack, but Kairi was already ready and launched an orb of light from her weapon against her attacker, and taking advantage of the impact she launched herself on the reaper and began to hit him with what he had until he got as far away from her as he could.
Kairi turned towards the fire reaper, and seeing that it was the one who was going to attack, she anticipated its action and threw several Blizzaga on him, hindering him and leaving him open to another attack, but she saw how the ice one attacked her with icicles taking advantage that she was focused on the previous one, being exposed to his attack.
Without the slightest warning, a flaming chakra appeared flying destroying the icicles, while an unexpected Mega Flare impacted on the ice grim reaper, fatally damaging it in the process as the creature turned into pure ice before breaking into pieces, leaving Kairi confused. before these events, until she saw a figure stand next to him.
A figure that she recognized immediately.
"Master Aqua?!" Kairi asked confused, seeing Master Aqua next to her.
"This is the second time you've gotten in my way, Keyblade Master!" She exclaimed Death seeing the master.
"And there will be more if needed," Aqua said, pointing her Keyblade toward Death.
"I must admit it wasn't bad."
Kairi turned when she heard that voice, seeing behind her a dark corridor, surely used for Aqua to reach the room despite being blocked. And from this came Axel, playing with a chakra between his fingers.
"It's a really fun game, but does it really have to be a six against one?" Axel asked Death.
"Axel!" Kairi exclaimed upon seeing her old partner.
"Are we coming at a bad time?" Axel asked Kairi.
"No, you come at the right time!" Kairi shook her head as he replied.
Axel looked at Death. "Oh dear, they told me about you, but I didn't think you were so horrible! By how ugly you are, you'd better not show up when I kick the bucket! " Axel exclaimed, combining his chakras to form his Keyblade. Then he looked up at the ceiling where he saw Kairi's companions on the other side of the barrier. "Don't worry, we'll take care of this!"
"Destroy them!" Death ordered the remaining elemental grim reapers.
The fire and lightning grim reapers were launched at Kairi, but these were repelled by Aqua, while the earth and light ones were intercepted by Axel.
"You take care of what remains and then help, okay?" Axel asked as he held back the sickles of the two grim reapers.
Kairi nodded and faced the dark reaper. With the rest of the wraiths busy, she could focus on the one with the dark element taking advantage of her with light magic. But the dark reaper didn't seem willing to be slowed down by that disadvantage and began to cast all kinds of dark magic against the Princess of the Heart while keeping her distance, but Kairi was able to dodge each of the attacks while managing to get closer to reach melee range.
Seeing her proximity, the dark reaper began to slash with her scythe in a desperate attempt to keep Kairi away, but she was cautious, and as she approached him before she prepared her magic as fast as she could, to call forward her Alexander Form. and take advantage of her enhanced resistance to protect herself from its weapon and start hitting it with everything she had at hand, until she finished it off with a large orb of light at point-blank range, causing it to vanish into black smoke.
With the dark element enemy already eliminated, Kairi withdrew her current form quickly and looked at which of the two was in the most trouble, though both Aqua and Axel were coping well against the remaining four elemental grim reapers. Still, Kairi decided to help Master Aqua by attacking the fire reaper.
"I'll take care of this one, you of the electric one!" Kairi exclaimed as the fire reaper fell back.
"Agree!" Aqua replied, focusing on the electric reaper.
Kairi began to attack with quick movements against the fiery reaper. This decision was not made without thinking, because although Aqua knows many elemental spells, Axel only used fire magic, and if the fire reaper ignored Aqua and go after Axel, he would be at a disadvantage because his flames would be useless against the elemental reaper, especially with the other two who were with him.
Without thinking, she acquired her Shiva Form and began to unleash her ice abilities, combining between empowered Blizzagas and icy blows, eluding the elemental reaper's fiery attacks, and after an arduous scuffle, Kairi was able to smash through the fire reaper with a huge sheet of ice formed from her Keyblade, causing the specter to burn into a ball of fire until it disappeared.
Kairi looked to Aqua to see if she needed help, but the Keyblade Master was able to keep the electric reaper under control, eventually executing a withering magic attack that caused the being to vanish with an electric flash.
With four of the elemental grim reapers out, they both went to help Axel, who was having trouble containing the earth and light grim reapers.
"About time, ladies," Lea said, blocking the scythe of one of the Grim Reapers. "I was getting tired of dealing with these two pesky ones."
"Leave me to the light reaper. I know how to take care of it." Kairi said, knocking the light reaper away from Axel, who was helped by Aqua to deal with the ground reaper.
Kairi soon blocked a slash from the elemental grim reaper, but she knew that fighting light with light would be troublesome. But she possessed an asset in her favor that she decided to use: the Diabolos Form. Upon unleashing said form, Kairi began to launch the dark magic attacks that she could use using that form while she dodged and blocked the elemental reaper's light attacks.
After an arduous fight between light and darkness in a different fashion than usual, Kairi managed to hit with a powerful dark attack against the reaper of light, causing the spectrum to vanish in a beam of light. Right at that moment, Axel and Aqua managed to combine in an attack that destroyed the Earth Reaper.
"They were really stubborn," Axel said.
"Yeah, sure," Aqua said, nodding her head.
Kairi smiled seeing both of them being alright, undid her Diabolos form from her, and directed her gaze towards Death, who was still gathering dark energy on the Phoenix statue.
"The game is over Death. Now is your turn." Kairi said, pointing her Keyblade at the avatar of death.
"Yes, it is over. For you!"
After those words, Death collected all the stored dark energy and entered the statue of the Phoenix. In a few moments, the statue was covered in flames emanating from cracks in the rock. The statue began to move and as its wings flapped it launched a slingshot that struck the three Keyblade users in the room, knocking them to the ground.
When Kairi could tell that she was passing by when she got up, she saw that she was now in an empty space, like a kind of pocket dimension, having trouble finding Axel and Aqua.
But he soon saw the burning Phoenix statue flying around him leaving a trail of red and black flames behind.
"Stupid girl. Do you think you can do something without your friends?" Death asked from the statue.
Kairi didn't answer the specter's question, as she didn't take her eyes off him.
"Do you think you are capable of defeating the darkness, just because you have a Keyblade? You will always be the princess who needs to be saved. And do you see what situation you are in? Do you know what situation your friends are in?"
Kairi's eyes widened when she guessed who he was talking about.
"He disappeared because he had to save you. And now your other friend has left this world to look for him. Can't you see it? Your existence only brings misfortunes to others. And very soon your new friends will suffer because of you. Just like your mother. Just like your Order. "
Kairi started to feel anger as she kept hearing her words.
"All those you know will be consumed. Your partners, your master, they will all be consumed by darkness. "
Kairi clenched her fist, closing her eyes, as her other hand clenched tightly on her Keyblade, it starting to show small flames.
"But don't worry, when your life comes to an end, I will hunt down your two remaining friends, and reunite them with you on the other side, where you must be."
"You will not do it," Kairi said, full of rage but strangely calm, opening her eyes. "You have taken my family from me, and now you are trying to take everything that matters to me. Maybe I'm not the best at using a Keyblade. Perhaps of all, I'm the most inexperienced, but of one thing I am sure." Then she focused her gaze on the burning statue that was heading towards her. "I will not allow you to hurt the ones I love more, never again."
After those words, not only her Keyblade but her entire body was covered in extremely fiery flames just as the statue possessed by Death was about to collide with it.
"Do you see something?" Edea asked, trying to see through the hole through the barrier, but the sudden darkness inside kept none of the girls at the top of the tower from seeing anything.
"Do you think she will be okay?" Rena asked, worried that she hadn't heard from her since the room below them darkened.
Priere soon noticed that she was beginning to light up the room a reddish color, her eyes opening wide open.
"Move away!" Priere alerted, moving away from the hole.
The others also moved away at her warning, and without warning, a huge pillar of flames broke through the barrier. A pillar that could be seen for miles and that was fading into the sky. From inside the pillar of flames came the statue of the Phoenix that began to crumble and fall to the ground, forcing Death out of it, floating in the air several meters from the top of the tower.
The pillar of flame soon focused on one point, forming a huge fireball that hovered above the tower. Said orb of flame soon erupted, revealing that there was something inside. The girls noticed what, or who was on them now.
"Wait? Is that Kairi? " Rena wondered, looking up at the sky.
"Are you sure?" Edea asked Rena.
"Perhaps," Eve answered, looking up at the sky.
"Excuse me!" Axel exclaimed as he climbed to the top of the tower through the hole, soon followed by Aqua, surprising the girls. "What a burst. Are you okay?"
Some just nodded their heads while keeping their gaze on the sky.
"What happened?" Aqua asked, looking up at the sky.
The figure that was now flying in the sky was Kairi, but she was now greatly changed. She had suddenly matured into the body of an adult woman with long hair, wearing a pink leotard that exposed her now larger breast with two dark shoulder pads, although the most remarkable things were two things, the two wings of fire that came out of her back, and that her arms and forelegs were more like the arms of a bird with the hands and legs of one, holding with one of the changed arms a Keyblade very different from the one she carried before.
Kairi was flying in the sky thanks to her wings of fire, staring at Death.
"I don't know how you did it, but you can be sure that this is not the end. Sooner or later we will finish you off. "
After those words, Death fled the place as fast as she could, leaving Kairi behind, who simply stared straight ahead.
She watched the horizon from the sky, without making any gesture at the gaze of those at the top of the tower. Soon she took a deep breath and screamed.
A scream of rage so loud and deep that it could be heard around the tower, with tears falling from Kairi's closed eyes.
After the events that occurred in the Phoenix Tower, Edea and company accepted Aqua's suggestion to take Kairi to the Mysterious Tower, and there report everything that had happened so far to Master Yen Sid.
"It is a great honor to stand before you, Yen Sid," Nina said, bowing to the wizard.
"No such deal is necessary, Princess of Windia." Yen Sid replied to Nina.
Edea, Rena, Eve, and Priere were also in the room before Yen Sid, just as Aqua, Terra, Ventus, Axel, Roxas, Xion, and even Namine were in the room, watching them. Some of the girls found it surprising how similar Xion and Namine had to Kairi, but now was not the time for those doubts.
"Do you think Kairi will be okay?" Rena asked, looking at the next door.
The question was very accurate since they arrived at the tower, Kairi has been locked in the room, being in her natural form while she thought about everything.
"Master Yen Sid, we must know. What Luxu-... this, what Adira said, about Kairi's past... is it all true? " Edea asked the old wizard.
Yen Sid closed his eyes for a moment looking down until he opened them and looked at everyone.
"Yes, that's how it is. Everything that Adira, who is currently the Mistress of the Abyss Luxuria, has told is true. Although I am not surprised that she knew everything that happened after her death." Yen Sid replied.
"So is it true that you blocked the memories of her even though she was a baby?" Priere asked, catching the attention of Aqua, Xion, and Namine.
"Yes, that's right." The wizard replied.
That answer caused a tense silence in the room as they looked at each other.
"And why did you do that?" Priere asked, offended that they did something like that to a baby.
"It is logical," Eve answered, catching everyone's attention. "If those memories had remained there, they could have appeared without warning, which could cause serious mental problems after witnessing that horror."
Priere fell silent, the demon woman being unable to reply to that answer. Aqua remembered when she met Kairi for the first time, seeing that she was a sweet and cheerful girl. What would that encounter have been like if those dark memories of her had haunted her?
"I don't want to be ominous, but what have you done with Airy?" Edea asked.
"Don't worry about the fairy. I've asked someone to take care of her right now. " Yen Sid replied. "Don't worry, Princess of Eternia, she is no longer a threat to your world."
Edea had some doubts about whether to feel relief or bewilderment at the wizard's words.
"Either way, Kairi's situation is compromising," Rena said. "After what happened in the tower, we realized that the mark that Adira's agent put on her neck had disappeared."
"Yes, I remember how that happened," Terra responded, remembering that incident. "When she got here, I could see that what that woman did disappear from her neck."
"If that mark has disappeared, that means Death can strike again." Roxas reasoned.
"But how did it vanish itself?" Xion asked. "If I'm not mistaken, you said that seal was difficult to remove."
"When Kairi contacted the core of power that was within her, releasing her power from her, her flames burned the seal, as it was no longer necessary due to her condition of Esper. " Yen Sid.
"Esper?" Edea asked, looking quickly at Nina.
"I don't know that name, sorry." The winged woman replied.
"It is normal because it is a very little used term. The word Esper is used when a certain person is a direct descendant between a human or a being of another race, and an Eidolon. Due to the few cases of relationships between mortals and Eidolons, not much is known about the Espers." Yen Sid explained.
Everyone kept looking at the wizard in silence.
"The Espers, from a certain point in their lives, can channel the power of their Eidolon blood, which causes part of their body to acquire characteristics of the progenitor Eidolon, and in some cases cause aging or rejuvenation according to the age of the Esper. "
"Similar to the theme of their Forms?" Axel asked. "Isa mentioned something about when she was in Twilight Town."
"That is very different, Lea." Yen Sid replied. "Those Forms are nothing more than mere representations of the Eidolons who lent Kairi their power. It follows the same pattern as the summoning magics, only that what they do is grant her body that power, represented in each of the outfits that she wears when she transforms. But this specific change is very different. "
"How exactly?" Rena asked.
"It means that when the power of an Eidolon has nothing to do with the Esper, he acquires the armor, but if they share blood, then he will transform into a hybrid version of himself and the Eidolon." Eve clarified.
"Sure, that explains why Kairi looked like a harpy at that time," Edea said. "Of the Six Eidolons that Kairi encountered, the only one that had wings was Diabolos, and her Diabolos Form showed no wings."
"It's true. But if the Phoenix is her father, it is plausible that she will end up transforming into something similar to a fiery bird." Nina said.
"Can we put biology class aside for now? My head is already exploding with so much physical change and so much bloodline." Axel said, one hand on his head.
"He's right. Now we have to talk about something more urgent, for now, Death can attack at any moment." Roxas said.
"And what do we do? We have no idea where he can hide."
Yen Sin noticed that Namine was thoughtful at the time.
"Is something wrong, child?"
"No, it's just that I'm thinking of something, considering all this," Namine replied.
"What exactly?" Priere asked
"Let's think about it. During all these years, no one knew about the Fallen after that incident, did they?"
"True. That was because, after the annihilation of the Order of the Phoenix, Dracula's world was attacked and sealed to contain him forever, although now we can see that the Fallen can act under his command. The fog that some worlds have when invaded by the Fallen is proof of this." Yen Sid explained.
"What does this have to do with everything else?" Roxas asked.
"Do you remember that, a year ago, when Sora disappeared, we divided to find him?" Namine asked. "Didn't we notice throughout the following year about the rumors of monster sightings on some worlds, other than the Heartless or the Nobodies?"
"Now that you mention it, some of those rumors were more prevalent on the neighboring worlds of Radiant Garden and Destiny Islands," Axel said.
"And they both have in common that Kairi lived in both places until she decided to sleep at Ansem's lab," Roxas said.
Aqua was startled as she came to a conclusion. "Namine, you aren't thinking about what I believe, are you?"
"What's going on?" Edea asked the others, confused.
"Perhaps the Fallen began to move and track Kairi, just as Sora disappeared. Doesn't it seem strange to you that a month after Riku left to search for Sora, the Fallen became more active?" Namine asked.
"Sure, it all makes sense!" Ventus exclaimed.
"Can you share your conclusions with us?" Edea asked.
"It is mere logic. The Fallen have been secretly moving after the Keyblade War after Sora disappeared, and they began to act when Riku left." Xion said.
"To them, Sora and Riku were the most dangerous of us all. After all, they wiped out the first Organization XIII, and the past versions of Xehanort and himself were defeated. For the Fallen, the Keyblade War was the pinnacle of both Sora and Riku's power, making it clear that they could not carry out their actions if only one of them were present." Yen Sid explained, falling to the same conclusion as the others.
"That's why they didn't attack Kairi while she was sleeping. They assumed they were no match for Riku, and waited for the moment he left." Aqua said.
"That shows how dangerous Dracula's servants can be to fulfill his purpose." Yen Sid said.
"So, what can we do now?" Rena asked.
"The only thing we can do now is to wait and resist." Yen Sid said.
"Resist?!" Everyone in the room asked.
"But have you lost your mind, old man?!" Priere asked Yen Sid's answer.
"Yes. We face an evil that is willing to do anything to destroy Kairi since she is connected to Dracula by the Gulgan's prophecy. All we can do is resist any bid from the Fallen, and wait for Riku to find Sora and bring him back. Perhaps then we can mount a counterattack against the Fallen." Yen Sid explained.
Then the door to the next room opened, letting Kairi into the room.
"I don't think so," Kairi said, catching everyone's attention.
"Kairi?" Aqua asked.
"You are right about one thing, Master Yen Sid. Dracula and I are connected by that prophecy. Not Sora, not Riku, not anyone. This is something I must do." Kairi said.
"But Kairi!" Axel exclaimed.
"Listen to me, please!" Kairi exclaimed, causing everyone to shut up. "We have all seen what the Fallen are capable of. And it is clear that they are not only trying to kill me. They also try to plunge all worlds into darkness. You have already seen what they are capable of. "
Everyone fell silent after those words, while Kairi continued speaking.
"But I'm not going to fight just for myself. But for all those who have suffered because of Dracula's acolytes, including both the Order of the Phoenix and my mother. And for them, I intend to put an end to this sick game of cat and mouse. I swear on my Keyblade. " Kairi said, raising the Keyblade to her face's height.
Yen Sid's eyes widened upon seeing said Keyblade. "That Keyblade, where did you get it from?" The wizard asked with a tone of surprise in his voice.
The Keyblade that Kairi was holding was very different from the one she used to use, as it seemed to be made up of hardened reddish bird feathers with purple ornaments that gave the sensation of being on fire, while the keychain of this one looked like a red bird with outstretched wings.
"I don't know," Kairi replied. "It appeared when all that happened in the tower. For some reason, when I hold her I feel a certain warmth, like when your parents hug you. "
"Master Yen Sid, do you know that Keyblade?" Aqua asked.
"That weapon is Phoenix's Heritage, forged from the feathers of the Phoenix." Yen Sid replied. "A weapon that only someone linked to the Phoenix could use, despite being recently created. Considering where this weapon came from, it was most likely created for you, Kairi."
Kairi stared at her Keyblade in surprise for a moment, until she closed her eyes and placed the guard on her forehead for a while. Following this, Kairi turned her gaze to her current travel companions.
"This is something I have to do alone. I'll understand if you want to leave it here. " Kairi said to them.
After several seconds of silence and looking at each other, Edea, Rena, Eve, Nina, and Priere put their hands on their waists, with annoyed faces, which caught Kairi by surprise.
"Do you think that after all this, we're going to let you go alone?" Edea asked. "Have you lost your mind or what?"
"Do you think we'll abandon you now that you're going to get in trouble?" Rena asked.
"You are going to need all the help possible to carry out your objective, no matter how dangerous it is," Eve said.
"I doubt it's fair for you to go into this mission without having my support for it," Nina said.
"Look, miss. It is clear that this is too big for you, but you shouldn't worry, because you have a Demon Overlord on your side to make your way." Priere said winking with a smile.
Kairi looked at the five girls in surprise, seeing that they were willing to stay with her, despite having a near-suicidal goal. That made Kairi smile and nod her head.
"Thanks! To everyone!" The five girls smiled upon seeing Kairi's happy face. "Come on, let's go!" Kairi exclaimed, starting to run to the exit.
"Wait a minute, Kairi." Yen Sid said, causing Kairi to stop in front of the table. "Do you have the slightest idea where to go now?"
Kairi thought about the question for a moment, although in the end, she made a goofy face as she put her hand behind her head. "No, the truth is no." They all groaned negatively upon hearing such a response.
Yen Sid sighed for a moment. "I wanted to wait for Riku and Sora to return for this mission, but if you are willing to carry out this task, you will need more than courage."
Kairi wondered what she was talking about until Yen Sid moved her hand, and from a flash, a black cube of at least half a cubic meter appeared.
"What's that?" Edea asked.
"When Dracula's world was sealed, they used a special lock so that no Keyblade could open it. This lock requires five artifacts that were separated into five different worlds. It may not look like it, but this cube is a map that indicates the location of the five shards needed to open the lock. Only when you collect the five shards and lock them, will you be able to access the world of the Fallen, where Dracula is located."
"Do we really have to do all that?" Edea asked upon hearing Yen Sid's explanation.
"And are you sure it's a map?" Rena asked, looking at the cube.
"We may need something to open it." Eve reasoned, inspecting the cube.
"Well, the first thing is to activate this cube," Kairi said.
"Hey, what about us?" Axel asked.
"I must give you the mission to protect whatever worlds you can, for when the Fallen discover what we are up to, they will try to distract Kairi in any way possible." Yen Sid said. "Your mission will be to stop them if they attack any major world."
"Understood," Aqua replied while the other Keyblade users nodded their heads.
"Okay, does anyone know how to open this thing?" Priere asked.
"The person who gave me this cube years ago told me of a location where I could find out how to activate the map, as well as a cryptic message that hints at how to find that mode." Yen Sid said.
"Well, what is that message?" Kairi asked.
After that question, Yen Sid closed his eyes, while Kairi and the others stared at him, waiting for an answer.
"Are you afraid of the ghosts?"
