Helios walked along the endless shore, the black water reflecting violet fragments of ruined skies. Every wave whispered like an unfinished thought. His boots left faint prints in the dark sand, glowing dimly before fading again. Each step carried a weight that didn't come from exhaustion but from awareness—the feeling of being watched by something that had no face, no form, only hunger.
He muttered under his breath, "Still following me, huh?"
No reply came. Only the gentle hiss of the surf. But the air felt charged, humming like a drawn bow.
Helios summoned Equilibrium in his right hand. The twin-colored blade shimmered faintly, silver and black spiraling together in perfect opposition. "Alright," he sighed, tilting his head. "Let's get this over with."
A tremor shook the ground. The still ocean rippled, and something vast stirred beneath the surface.
A skull broke the waves first—a massive, head made of ink and shadow. Its jaw unhinged, letting out a guttural roar that reverberated through the sand. The Demon Hide.
Helios narrowed his eyes. "We've done this dance before."
He spun Equilibrium, entering it's dark mode and it unraveled into its whip-sword form, Slánú na nDoimhneacht, chains glowing with dark radiance. The blade lashed out, cracking against the creature's hide and tearing a streak of shadow from its flank. Black fluid hissed on the sand, sizzling like acid.
Then, the sky behind it split.
Two spiraling towers of darkness erupted from the waves, coiling around each other like serpents—Demon Towers. Their tendrils lashed outward, merging into the Demon Hide's body. Its roar deepened, distorted, as its form swelled and warped. The towers fused with its spine, sprouting hundreds of crimson eyes that blinked in unison.
The fusion twisted itself into something greater—a grotesque, many-limbed abomination of shadow and flame.
Helios watched it rise, the sand trembling underfoot. "…Of course, you can still evolve. Hell, you might even evolve again."
The creature's form stabilized, dripping molten darkness that ate through the ground wherever it fell. A new roar shattered the air. The Abyssal Hide was born—taller than the Demon Towers, wider than the Demon Hide, its torso lined with snapping maws and coiling arms of tar. Each step it took crushed the earth into glowing ash.
Helios raised his hand. "Guess I'll need this after all."
Light erupted around him, sharp and radiant. His Keyblade Armor materialized piece by piece—black plates forming over his limbs, silver lining threading through the edges, a purple glow running down his visor as the helm locked into place. His tattered cape flared in the windless dark, faintly glowing violet at the trim.
The visor flashed once. "Let's see how you handle round two."
The Abyssal Hide lunged.
Helios moved on instinct—rolling beneath its sweeping claws and countering with Twilight Lash. Waves of darkness spiraled outward, slicing through shadow limbs and detonating across the creature's chest. For a moment, the world darkened.
Then came the retaliation.
Abyssal Hide's body rippled. Hundreds of tendrils shot from its sides like spears. Helios blocked one, then two, then was flung backward by the third. His armor sparked from impact, one pauldron half-shattered.
He landed hard, dragging his blade through the ground to anchor himself. The earth steamed where his boots touched. "Stronger than before," he muttered. "That's… fantastic."
He launched forward again, switching Equilibrium to Bríon na Lú, the spear of light. The weapon pulsed with radiance as he blinked between points of light—teleporting around the creature, slashing in a storm of precision. Each strike burst into flares of gold that painted the darkness like falling stars.
The monster roared, its body shifting. The towers in its spine opened, firing concentrated beams of dark energy that collided with Helios mid-air. The explosion sent him spiraling through a column of black smoke. He landed, half-buried in sand.
The whispers returned—thousands of overlapping voices, pressing in against his thoughts.
'You can't win.
You never could without them.
This is where your story ends.'
Helios clenched his jaw. "You all sound the same."
He raised his weapon, summoning light through sheer will. His armor flared with golden veins as he thrust the spear skyward. "Halo Bloom!"
The ground erupted. Dozens of radiant spears burst from the sand, impaling the creature's limbs and momentarily halting its advance. The Abyssal Hide screamed—an earthquake in sound. The realm shuddered with it. For one heartbeat, Helios thought he might have a chance as golden chains locked down the creature.
Then the chains of light shattered.
A claw the size of a building slammed into the ground. Helios dodged, the force alone throwing him across the terrain. He crashed into a ridge of black stone, the impact cracking his visor. Darkness leaked through the fracture like smoke.
His breathing was ragged. His armor was scorched, the purple glow flickering. Every nerve in his body screamed from the heat and pressure.
"Yeah," he groaned, "I'm not winning this one."
The Abyssal Hide rose again, taller, angrier, its many eyes converging on him. The world around them quaked, waves climbing the shore in reverse motion like the realm itself was recoiling.
Helios changed the whip sword back into keyblade form. He then slammed his keyblade into the ground, opening his free hand. A circle of darkness began to form, but the energy fluctuated—unstable. The creature's aura was interfering with not only the portal, but all forms of dark power.
He focused harder, pouring light into the area around the corridor to balance the darkness. The air split, a swirling violet corridor opening in front of him.
The Abyssal Hide lunged.
Helios didn't hesitate. "Later."
He jumped, vanishing into the corridor just as the creature's claws tore through where he'd stood. The gate snapped shut behind him with a thunderous crack.
Helios hit the ground on another stretch of the Realm—a different land, quieter, the ruins glowing faintly with silver reflections. He staggered to his feet, his armor hissing and peeling away in fragments of light until only his burned coat remained. His chest rose and fell rapidly, every breath burning.
"That… went about as well as expected. I didn't die so that's a plus," he muttered.
He looked back toward the distance where the battle had been. The horizon was empty, but the ocean moved unnaturally—waves rising in slow pulses, like breathing.
Then came the howl.
It wasn't a roar. It was lower, deeper, resonant enough to shake the sand under his boots. The Realm itself seemed to pulse with the sound. The black sea convulsed; the sky flickered like a dying star.
Helios froze. The sound crawled under his skin. It wasn't just rage—it was recognition.
He looked toward the horizon again and exhaled slowly. "So it's hunting me."
A grin ghosted across his face—half defiance, half fatigue. "Good. I'd hate to be forgotten."
He summoned Equilibrium again, the blade glowing faintly in the dark. "Guess we're not done yet."
He opened another corridor—a sliver of violet light that cut through the gloom—and stepped into it. The gate sealed behind him, leaving only rippling black sand and the echo of distant, inhuman fury.