Chapter 15 - A Deadly Message

Roxas examined his newly released form, astonished by the transformation his whole body had undertaken. He then caught sight of the various Heartless and Nobodies backing away from him, cowering from the immense pressure.
“This power ... is SO COOL!!!” He shouted out excitedly, feeling this new freedom rush through his body.
He had never felt such strength and power before, this whole new experience was unreal to him. The fact that he was defying gravity and able to command his floating Keyblades to execute unbelievable techniques was like a pleasant dream. He then gazed around to the many Heartless and Nobodies before him, backing off and hesitating on what to do now. Roxas then switched his sights over to Riku, who was gasping in shock at the new transformation. Roxas realised that he doesn’t know the limits to this new power, meaning he could do more harm than good if he wasn’t careful.
“Riku, you’re going to have to stay back for a while.” Roxas told Riku, his tone of voice had become serious. “I don’t know how this’ll end, so I’ll deal with these enemies by myself.”
Riku nodded, not wanting to complain, but still was wide-eyed by what he is watching. Roxas switched back to the large amount of Heartless and Nobodies before him, still cowering on the spot. Roxas clenched his fist and tensed his muscles; the two Keyblades around him increasing in spinning speed, ready to strike. In one fell swoop of his right arm, the Keyblades swiftly launched themselves towards the enemies. Huge numbers of the enemies were vanishing in an instant by the speed and force of the two Keyblades as they struck through them with ease. Roxas then launched himself towards the enemies, the aura of energy flowing behind him like a tail. The Keyblades flew back to their master and span around him at a ferocious speed. Roxas then unexpectedly switched course and shot upwards towards the ceiling, confusing the enemies. Then, like an eagle, dived down to the ground like a missile. Within a second, he collided with the ground; all around him had suddenly been filled with countless beams of light that shot towards the ceiling. All the Heartless and Nobodies could not do a thing; hundreds of them disappearing instantly as beams of light exterminated them like they were bugs.
Finally, it all ended. Roxas appeared from the dense smoke taking up a one-handed handstand position, direction of sight towards the ground. He then swiftly released his palm and resumed floating in mid-air. He gazed round; not one enemy was left after the explosive attack. The area was empty once more. He then switched to Riku and flew casually over to him. Riku just stood there, staring aimless into space.
“Riku, are you alright?” Roxas wondered curiously, as though nothing happened in the first place.
Riku snapped out of his daze, “Oh! Y-yeah, never better.” He answered in surprise, rubbing his head.
“That’s good to hear. Come on; let’s get out of this place. I’ve had enough of this room.” He laughed; relieved to hear he’s safe.
He turned his sight towards the Throne Room entrance, just about to glide in that direction.
“Wait!” Riku suddenly halted him.
“What is it?” Roxas replied, whirling back around wonderingly.
“I know that transformation is powerful, but I feel you shouldn’t stay in it for too long.” Riku explained, his voice in a serious manner. “You should only use it when it’s necessary to do so.”
Riku was correct about that; Final Form takes up a lot of energy when transformed, and it would be a vital cost if this power disappears in the middle of battle. A part of Roxas was persuading him to revert back to his normal Form, but another part was saying to stay in transformation and feel the freedom flow through his body. After a moment of thinking, Roxas made his decision. He reluctantly transformed back within a flash and dropped to his feet on the floor, his cloak was back to the normal black colour and his Keyblades disappeared from sight. Although disappointed, he knew it was best to save the energy for another time. Hopefully, the next time would be when he duels against Xaphire and Sora’s Heartless once again.
“Right, so ... where we off to now?” Riku wondered curiously, gazing about.
“Hopefully, out of this horrible world.” Roxas answered spitefully.
Then, a thought suddenly clicked into his head. What about summoning a dark path? He was able to do so while in the Organization, so he should be able to do it now! Roxas held out his arm, tensing up his muscles, and thought of the one place he desired to go to. First he thought of travelling to Destiny Islands, but instantly remembered that he needed to bring Riku to Naminé, and so had Castle Oblivion in his mind.
Nothing happened.
He tried again, this time Castle Oblivion deep in his mind. He tensed his muscles once again and eyes fixed straight ahead.
No luck.
I don’t understand, this castle was owned by Organization XIII so surely I should be able to open a path! Roxas thought, confused and close to frustration. So why can’t I!?
“Something wrong Roxas?” Riku curiously asked him. “Why are you holding your arm out?”
“What? ... oh, it’s nothing.” Roxas answered, dropping his arm by his side. “We’re going to have to find some way out of this place. Have you got any ideas?”
“Nope,” Riku shrugged reluctantly, but then caught sight towards the Throne. “That Throne has been bugging ever since I woke up.”
“What do you mean? It’s an ordinary ‘Throne’, I see nothing wrong.” Roxas replied, gazing at the Throne oddly.
“Well, it’s just that there is some engraved writing on it. With that, there are some symbols that I’m not at all familiar with.” Riku stated out, pointing towards the Throne.
“Symbols? Do you know what they look like? Or have you got any idea what the writing said?” Roxas questioned, crossing his arms with curiosity.
“I was only able to gain a quick glance before you woke up. So I wasn’t able to read it properly.” Riku answered, shaking his head.
Roxas began to advance over to the Throne, curious of these strange symbols and engraved writing that Riku had just pointed out. Riku followed from behind. Once Roxas reached the top of the steps, he examined the Throne thoroughly, from the floor to the seat to the peak. He made sure he examined every section of the Throne. He wasn’t able to notice anything eye catching on the Throne at all. So what was Riku talking about?
“Riku, I don’t see anything.” Roxas called out to him, “Where on the Throne did you see these symbols?”
“On the back of it,” Riku answered from behind.
You could have said that before I looked! It might have helped! What gave you the idea anyway to examine this Throne!? Roxas shouted out in his head, frustration beginning to rise.
Roxas began to shuffle his way behind the Throne; this was fairly spacious but Roxas still had to have his back against the wall. He examined from top to bottom for it but there was no writing or symbols in sight. He glanced behind in case the symbols were on the wall itself, but there wasn’t any sign of it at all. Roxas put his hand against the back of the Throne and closed his eyes, thinking.
What is he talking about, could he of imagined it? I haven’t got time for this!
He opened his eyes again. Just at that moment, he suddenly jumped out of his skin. He caught sight of the writing Riku was talking about, right in front of his very eyes. Shocked by the sudden appearance, Roxas had a closer glance. Riku was right; there were 4 strange symbols engraved on the Throne’s back, with writing that had been engraved below the symbols. Thankfully it was plain English and readable:

The Bond has been broken.
The Blade has been shattered.
The Protection has been weakened.
The Core has been scarred.
The Future has been set.
Death by Sunrise, Oblivion by Sundown.

Roxas was surprised by the last quote “Death by Sunrise, Oblivion by Sundown” he has heard that statement before when he caught a glimpse of Sora during a past dream, yet he still doesn’t know what it meant. This whole message had been confusing for Roxas; nothing at all made sense to him. He then examined the symbols; Hidden within these symbols, Roxas caught sight of object outlines. Although, this was hard to make out through the scribbles: He was able to recognise a Chain, a Sword, a Shield and a Heart. Roxas realised instantly from that point that the symbols were linked to the first 4 lines of the engraved message. But what has this got to do with anything? Roxas closed his eyes and went deep into thought, working out the message from his experience.
“So, have you got any ideas about the symbols and writing?” A loud voice suddenly wondered.
Roxas jumped so quickly, he left the floor. Roxas opened his eyes and switched around. Riku was poking his head through the gap of the Throne.
“Riku!? If I had a heart, I would have had a heart attack!!!”Roxas bellowed at him, shaking. But then remembered what Naminé told him, about the heart he does have.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” Riku innocently apologised.
“(Sigh…) Never mind. Anyway, I’ve worked out that the symbols are linked to the message etched on here, and that it has something to with the future.” Roxas began to explain, sharing what he was able to figure out. “But I’m still confused about the whole message itself.”
Riku examined the message and symbols more carefully.
“I see, but what does the line at the bottom mean?” Riku then wondered, pointing towards the final line of the message.
Roxas sadly shrugged, “I don’t know. All I can say is that I have heard this quote before.” He sighed, “Well, it would be best for us head back.”
Riku stepped back to give Roxas enough room as he shuffled himself out though the gap behind the Throne. Roxas stretched out, easing his joints and muscles. He felt slightly cramped positioned behind there and his body began to ache after a while.
“Let’s get going.” Roxas calmly instructed, nodding to Riku.
Roxas lead the way to the entrance of the room, feeling relieved of finally leaving this horrid room. After all the painful battles and the loss of Sora’s life, the only feeling this wretched place gave was dread and darkness. Once there, Roxas and Riku both gave a strong push through the doors and passed through the opening, leaving the Throne Room for good. They had returned to the Dome Room, nothing seemed to have changed. The water was as still as glass apart from a few ripples from the waterfalls. Roxas dipped his foot to make sure the water was still walkable; thankfully it was. Roxas took a step forward and continued to stroll across to the other end of the Dome. Riku hesitated because of the water but then followed Roxas with the sign of relief of being able to cross the water with ease. Roxas then suddenly halted in the direct centre of the Dome, realising something was wrong about this Room. The door on the other end of the room that Roxas was trying to reach had unexpectedly vanished. Roxas gazed around the Dome for any sign of an entrance, but soon realised not only that door was gone, but the large door to the Throne Room had suddenly disappeared as well. Roxas began to panic; they were stuck in this Dome with no way out in sight. He examined the whole area but there was no sign of a way out. He then noticed Riku, who was staring straight up towards the circular ceiling. Roxas followed his eyes to see what he was gazing at. There, in the middle of the Dome’s ceiling, was a small, golden keyhole. The Oblivion Keyblade instantly appeared in Roxas’s right hand. Roxas felt puzzled for a moment of what was happening, but he knew there was no other way of proceeding. He lifted the Keyblade towards the ceiling, pointing in line towards the keyhole. He heard a loud click from inside the Keyhole even though it was fairly far away.
Suddenly, at that moment, the Dome completely shook. It was difficult for both Roxas and Riku to keep balance, but something was preventing them from losing their footing. Roxas noticed why; they were sinking into the water. Roxas and Riku tried to budge their legs but they won’t move, the water felt more like quicksand rather than water itself. The water was now up to their waist and rising swiftly.
“Riku! Hold your breath when we go under!” Roxas instructed him in a load, echoing voice.
“What good will that do!? We’re going to drown either way!” Riku argued, showing that he was panicking.
“Just do it!” Roxas bellowed back.
The water was neck high now. Roxas took in a few deep breaths and noticed Riku doing the same, then took in one long, lasting breath as he ducked under. Underneath the water now, Roxas banged his fist against the water’s surface. It was as if a sheet of glass was placed across the whole of the water, he couldn’t get through it. Everything was blurred due to the water, Roxas could see barely anything. Something caught his eye though; there was a golden light right at the bottom of the Dome. With Keyblade still in hand and oxygen in his lungs wasting away fast, he could only hope that was another Keyhole. He quickly pointed the Keyblade towards the golden light and grasped on its hilt as strong as he could. To his relief, he heard a loud click echo all around the Dome water. Then, the water instantly switched to the opposite end of the Dome, as though the whole Dome was rolled like a ball, and Roxas hit the watery floor with a hard knock. He gasped for air to return to his lungs, relief returning to him. Panting, his steadily got to his feet, trying to gain back his balance. The Room was now visible to him, yet it was as dim as when the place was submerged in water. Roxas noticed that he was standing on the water just like he had done on the other section of the Dome. It was strange, technically he was upside down yet he felt absolutely fine. It felt as though gravity was shafted the opposite direction. Roxas switched his head round and caught sight of Riku a small distance away from his own position, rising up to his feet as well.
“Now that ... was close.” Roxas sighed, relieved, completely soaked and still gasping for air.
“Yeah, what made you decide to do that?” Riku curiously asked him, also completely soaked and gasping in air.
“I felt luck was on my side.” Roxas jokingly answered, chuckling.
Roxas then suddenly caught sight of something in front of him; 4 large double-doors appeared at the end of the Dome, each one had a bright golden Symbol above them. The Symbols showed a Chain, a Sword, a Shield and a Heart.
“Is this ... what the message meant?” Riku asked, also examining the Symbols with wonder.
“By the looks of things ... I guess so.” Roxas answered him.
They jogged over to the various double-doors for a closer insight. They then halted to a stop; both Roxas and Riku switched their gaze to each other.
“So, which one first?” Riku asked curiously.
“It would be best for us to do it in order, so I’m guessing the Chain should be first.” Roxas replied back to him, making up his mind.
They nodded to each other, and turned to the doors with the Chain Symbol gleaming above it. They strolled over and both grasped hold of a handle and pushed. The doors stiffly and slowly opened apart, causing Roxas and Riku to put much of their strength into the push. Once open, Roxas and Riku went through into the next Room. The room was completely pitch-black; nothing could be seen past the double-doors. The Large doors suddenly slammed behind them, giving them a fright. Then lamps were lit around the room, showing what the room contained. It was a corridor, similar to the one Riku and Sora first woke up in. Another door was on the other side of the corridor, yet it felt like a mile away to get to. Roxas and Riku shrugged towards each other. Roxas took a step forward but stopped instantly. At that point, a Dark portal opened and a mysterious cloaked figure hidden within an Organization cloak appeared before them; this person was fairly tall and sleek. Roxas swiftly summoned his Keyblades ready for battle; Riku did the same and summoned his Keyblade. But the figure did nothing in retaliation and just stood there, motionless. Roxas was hesitant; he knew the figure standing before them was not Xaphire, as Xaphire was more buff and his power could be felt from a very large distance. The figure before them was significantly weaker and showed no sign of power within him. This was what made Roxas cautious; either this person was generally weak or was clever in covering up his power.
“Show yourself!” Roxas demanded to the cloaked figure, pointing his Keyblade in the Figure’s direction.
The cloaked figure then chuckled, the voice sounded very familiar. He then drew back his hood and revealed his identity. This caused Roxas to gasp and take a step back upon seeing the identity.
“Well now, Roxas! There is no need to get edgy!” The cloaked figure innocently gestured, “What did poor old Demyx do to you?”

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