The dark corridor split open like a jagged wound in reality, its edges whispering with the hum of abyssal energy. Skuld stepped through first, her boots hitting solid stone. The world beyond was a twilight sky — purple and gold streaked with endless clouds — and before her stretched the crooked stairway of the Mysterious Tower. Its impossible angles clawed toward the heavens, its peak faintly glowing with light.
Behind her, Kurai emerged in silence, the corridor snapping closed at her back.
For a moment, neither spoke. Only the wind howled, tugging at their clothes, carrying with it the faint chime of unseen bells.
Skuld's fists clenched. She remembered this tower — the place where Aqua had taken her, a place of warmth and safety. But those memories collided with others, darker ones: of Kurai's hands dragging her into the shadows, Aqua screaming her name, helpless to rescue her.
"Again, I think you should apologize to Aqua. You really expect her to trust this? If you apologize, her guard will be down and she'll listen." Skuld muttered bitterly, eyes fixed on the tower.
Kurai tilted her head, silver eyes catching the dim light. "That is irrelevant. You asked me to bring you here. I did. Whether you crumble under your fear or move forward is your choice. So choose the right words."
Skuld bit down on her lip, forcing herself not to snap. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you. I want to know why you're even helping. Why you're helping him?" She glanced back, anger and worry in her face. "Do you… do you care for Helios?"
For the first time, Kurai's cold expression shifted, though not in the way Skuld expected. Her eyes narrowed, irritation flickering like a blade.
"Care?" Kurai repeated, the word leaving her lips like it tasted bitter. "A shallow human word. You think that explains what binds me to him and him to me?" She stepped forward, the air chilling as she passed Skuld. "No. What we are… goes beyond your understanding. It isn't care. It isn't love. It is inevitability. He and I are the only things that matter. Everything else — including you — is a temporary distraction."
Skuld froze, struck silent. A part of her wanted to scream and argue with Kurai, but another part knew she was telling the truth as she saw it. That strange bond between her and Helios was something Skuld could never pierce. Maybe because it was something she couldn't understand.
Still, she shook her head and followed up the stairs. "Fine. Call it what you want. But if you really mean what you said, then do everything to help me save him. Because without Aqua, he won't last."
The climb was long, the stairway twisting through the endless sky. With each step, Skuld's thoughts drifted back — to Aqua's face, her voice, her hand holding hers.
Aqua's smile, soft but tired, as she promised: "I'll protect you. I won't let you be alone again."
The memory made Skuld's chest ache. Aqua had given so much, had put her life on the line, and still she had failed to stop Kurai that day. Skuld remembered the look in Aqua's eyes when Kurai dragged her into the darkness — a mix of fury and despair.
Now she was bringing that very Kurai back to her.
Skuld tightened her grip on her keyblade. 'Please, Aqua. Please don't hate me for this. Please listen.'
High above, inside the chamber of the Mysterious Tower, light and shadow clashed. Aqua stood alone, her breaths ragged, sweat dripping down her face. Her keyblade sang as it cut through phantasmal Heartless conjured by Yen Sid's trials, bursts of blue light shattering illusions into sparks.
But she didn't stop. Even as her body trembled, even as her magic burned low, she pressed forward — Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga — her spells chaining together into brilliant storms of destruction.
Yen Sid sat in silence, his eyes narrowed beneath his great hat, watching her. He could see it in every desperate strike: her guilt, her anger, her obsession with becoming stronger.
'Aqua,' he thought, 'your strength is commendable. But strength without balance leads only to ruin and darkness.'
Aqua landed heavily, keyblade still raised, her chest rising and falling like a drumbeat. In her mind, she still saw it — Kurai dragging Skuld away, her helplessness, her failure. The memory burned brighter than any spell.
Never again, she vowed. Never again will I let someone be taken from me.
The air shifted. A ripple of shadow spread across the chamber floor as a dark corridor opened, its whispering void spilling into the light of the tower.
Aqua's body reacted before her mind did. Her keyblade was in her hand, raised in defense.
From the darkness stepped two figures. One was slight, nervous, her face filled with determination — Skuld.
The other was taller, colder, her silver eyes gleaming with disdain — Kurai.
Aqua's breath caught. Her grip tightened. "You—"
Kurai smirked, not even raising a hand. "Did you miss me, little keyblade Master?"
Aqua's heart pounded, fury flooding through her veins. She remembered every moment of failure, every scream. Her aura flared as light gathered at her blade.
But before she could act, Skuld rushed forward, her voice breaking. "Aqua! Please wait! Don't—don't fight! Just listen!"
Aqua froze mid-step, torn. Her eyes darted from Kurai — the enemy who had stolen her friend away — to Skuld, whose voice was trembling with desperation.
Yen Sid's hand struck the table once, the sound reverberating through the chamber. "There will be no battle in this tower. Skuld has returned. Speak with her first, Aqua."
The command broke through Aqua's haze of anger. Her eyes, still locked on Kurai, narrowed. She slowly lowered her blade but didn't dismiss it.
"Explain," she said sharply, her voice cold. "Why are you here? Skuld, why are you with her?"
Skuld turned to Aqua, nearly pleading. "It's Helios. He's dying. Kurai took me before to save him, but… something happened, and now we can't heal him. I can't do it alone; I need another healer to help me. You're the only one I could think of. Please, Aqua. You're the only one who can save him."
The words struck Aqua harder than any blade. She blinked, her anger faltering into confusion. Helios. The boy who had once trained under Sephiroth, the boy who fought with reckless defiance… dying.
Her gaze shifted back to Kurai, who stood in silence, her smirk faint but sharp. Aqua's teeth clenched.
"What game are you playing?" she hissed. "You brought Skuld here to force me to help you, right? Skuld might not see it but I can. You and Helios are working together to do something right? You expect me to heal your little partner in crime so you can both continue your plan."
Kurai tilted her head, unbothered. "Believe what you want. The boy's condition doesn't lie. Whether he lives or dies is in your hands, 'Master' Aqua."
The silence between them was suffocating.
Finally, Aqua's keyblade lowered completely. She turned back to Skuld, her voice trembling with hurt. "You trust her? After everything she's done to you?"
Skuld nodded firmly, even as her eyes glistened. "I don't trust her. I trust Helios. And I trust you. So trust me, please."
Aqua inhaled sharply, the words cutting through her anger. She looked once more at Kurai, whose eyes reflected nothing but calm inevitability, and then at Yen Sid, whose silent nod told her this was her choice to make.
The tension held like a drawn bowstring.
Kurai leaned lazily against the wall, her arms crossed, her smirk never fading. "So, what will it be, 'Master' Aqua? Will you cling to your anger… or save him?"
Aqua's heart thundered. Memories of failure, guilt, and fury twisted inside her, but Skuld's voice lingered above them all.
Finally, Aqua closed her eyes and whispered, "Take me to him."