#like he just has no clue ok he is BEREFT

[slavonicrhapsody]

WHO IS THIS SAULTRY LITTLE BINCH

ok this is my extremely unpolished breakdown of MESSMER THE IMPALER from the shadow of the erdtree trailer

The first thing that stands out about this dude is that he’s wearing EVERY possible symbol of treason against the Erdtree: SNAKES and FLAME

Messmer has snakes on his sigil, helm, and 2 snake friends who have dragon wings. Volcano Manor is known for its statues of winged serpents, but the wings are feathered, not dragonlike. these snakes are bright red-orange and are very unlike the Great Serpent we all know and love, who has a heavier build and is blue-grey in color. 

Regarding snakes as symbolism, the Duelist Helm description reads,

“Bronze helm decorated with innumerable snakes. Worn by gladiators who were driven from the colosseum. The wearer becomes a slightly easier target for foes. The snake is viewed as a traitor to the Erdtree, and the audience delighted in seeing these bronze effigies beaten and battered.”

We can bet that whoever is associating themselves with snakes is a confirmed Erdtree hater (Rykard, hello!!!) or perhaps, this dude could even be part of the reason why snakes are considered traitorous in the first place?

In addition to us seeing Messmer wield fire, this line from the trailer (which I think is spoken about Messmer but not by Messmer) implies that he’s known for his fire: “Those stripped of the Grace of Gold shall all meet death. In the embrace of Messmer’s flame.” 

It’s well known that flame is in many ways a taboo power; particularly the flame of the Fell God, which has the power to burn the Erdtree (the cardinal sin). Messmer’s fire is weird, in some ways it reminds me of the Rune of Death since it starts out black and turns red, but it’s also far too orange to simply be the Rune of Death’s power. 

There’s also this description of the DLC: “The Land of Shadow. A place obscured by the Erdtree. Where the goddess Marika first set foot. A land purged in an unsung battle. Set ablaze by Messmer’s flame.”

I’d guess that the Land of Shadow was the place of Marika’s first conquest, and perhaps Messmer either aided her in razing it or that’s just something he did later? 

so WHO is this dude????

for starters, his name is Messmer the Impaler — M like Marika! Melina, Malenia, Miquella, Mogh, and Morgott. seems to be a pattern...

He says in the trailer, “Mother, wouldst thou truly Lordship sanction, in one so bereft of light?” 

Whoever Messmer’s mother is, she is in a position to “sanction lordship” meaning to give official permission for a lordship to take place. that screams Marika — she is THE goddess, and is responsible for guiding Tarnished to becoming Elden Lord. I can’t think of anyone else who might be called Mother who is in such a position as to allow someone to ascend to the position of Lord. He's also sitting in the same type of throne that the demigods sat in that we see in Morgott's cutscene.

theres 2 ways to interpret this line: 

Messmer could referring to himself when he says this; as if he’s saying, would my mother truly allow me to become Lord even though I’m so dark and edgy?? in a kind of sarcastic way. the flames he produces start out black, and he’s covered himself symbols treasonous to the Erdtree. OR, he’s referring to us, the Tarnished, when he says this; as if he’s saying, would you really let a person with such little light inside them become lord, mother?? (rude!) I’d say we need more context to determine exactly what he means

ALSO, interestingly, his left eye is sealed shut… you know who else has their left eye sealed shut? THAT’S RIGHT… OUR FRIENDS MELINA AND RANNI

The scarseal and soreseal items of Marika and Radagon are also carved into eyeballs… could eye trauma be an empyrean trait?? could Messmer also be an empyrean, one who the current demigods didn’t know the existence of??? 

with all that being said, I really doubt that this guy is Rykard or Rykard’s child as I’ve seen some people speculate… these other clues in the trailer point towards him being another, separate demigod. so what do we make of all the similar imagery?? I think that Messmer might be working against the Erdtree toward his own ends, and he’s embracing similar powers that Rykard did when he turned traitor. 

who is he then? I think he’s a demigod child of Marika, and possibly of Radagon because of the hair (unless his hair color comes elsewhere? a curse?). I think he got banished to the shadow realm for treason reasons, given the heretical symbols. perhaps he was an empyrean with his own agenda who was disposed of by Marika, like the Gloam Eyed Queen? perhaps he has ambitions to return to the real world and become Lord, destroying the Tarnished who might take his throne?

I did this instead of sleeping I hope you’re all happy

#elden ring #elden ring dlc #shadow of the erdtree #messmer the impaler #messmer #elden ring lore #ok now ive got that out of my system i can go about my day

[myrrheart]

(song)

Hi there! Thank you for sending something in ‪♡‬ I decided to try my hand at a possible reversed ending for his route, I hope that’s ok! Enjoy~

—

Muriel’s days are much the same as they had been before.

He rises with the sun. He feeds the ladies their breakfast. He makes sure Inanna’s hide is brushed and clean. He patrols the forest. He whittles.

If he embeds his existence deeply enough into these mundane tasks, it’s almost as if it is not he who exists, but an empty husk of his former self; a husk who’d never had to fight a day in his life; a husk who had parents and a home to speak of; a husk who had never crossed paths with you.

Of course, he’d always been burdened by the curse of remembering. To live in a world where you exist for none but know of all is a fate little would desire, and even fewer would be able to shoulder. It’s a good thing he’s always been exceptionally broad.

It wasn’t so bad at first. Asra was there, and so was Inanna, and the hens found his backyard one day and refused to settle anywhere else. So. That was his social circle. After a lifetime of being forced into senseless violence and gore, a gentle, quiet life spent in the company of a few animals and one (1) other person was exactly the kind of reprieve he’d needed. The addition of the memory loss charm was an added bonus.

For about ten years, that was all he knew: solitude and aloneness and confinement. Looking back, Muriel knows he wasn’t happy, not truly. He’d been relieved, sure, maybe even a little grateful for the blessed quiet of the forest — but not happy. Never happy. What an alien concept that was, happiness.

You had been quick to try and introduce it to him, however. He hadn’t had the damnedest clue why — why him? Why was it him you’d chosen to cling to? It could have been Asra, or the Countess, or even the strange, stupid doctor man that seemed to follow you around like a lovesick puppy. It didn’t make sense. He’d wasted so much time trying to convince you otherwise, steer you away.

Oh, if only he’d known. If only he’d known.

You’d taught him how to fight again; not for bloodshed, but for love. You’d taught him that affection was not something to be deserving of, but instead something bestowed upon him with no intentions other than to make him feel good. You’d made him feel good. Never before in his life had Muriel ever been able to grasp the concept of ‘goodness.’ Not until you.

And even though all of the goodness had been concurrent with the fighting, the wild goose chase for the Count, the danger, the relentless and repeated obliteration of his comfort zone... it was still good. You also taught him that goodness can exist within the bad. The two were not mutually exclusive, as he’d been lead to believe.

By the end of it, he’d come to appreciate your goodness. To desire it, even. Not just from you, but from himself, as well. For once in his life, Muriel wanted to be good. To do something good.

Even if that meant sacrificing everything.

If it meant guaranteeing your safety, he’d make a deal with the Devil. If it meant protecting these strange people he’d come to call his first-ever ‘friends,’ he’d resign himself to a damned fate. If it meant preserving the image of your goodness, the quality of it, the spirit of it... Muriel would do whatever it took.

And he had.

So. Muriel’s days are much the same as they had been before.

He rises with the sun. He feeds the ladies their breakfast. He makes sure Inanna’s hide is brushed and clean. He patrols the forest. He whittles.

The hooves are a new addition that took some time getting used to, but they weren’t nearly as cumbersome as the wings. He’d felt too-large all his life, like he’d taken up too much space simply by existing, but with the added features that were supposed to convey grace and beauty, yet instead hindered him and rendered him clumsy and off-kilter...

He’s never felt bigger.

The peryton had been a beautiful harbinger of life and fertility in the forest. Its soul has no business being intertwined with his own. He looks oafish, as though dressed in an ill-fitting costume in front of an audience pre-programmed to heckle and crow no matter what it is that he does.

He can’t possibly guard the forest as it had. He can’t do anything but exist as he always did, as what had served him best: alone.

All around him, the once-beautiful forest of Vesuvia wilts and brittles, rots and decays, dies off in a crude impersonation of his own internal reflection. And Muriel watches it all from the inside of his hut, stoking his fire and taking care to make sure no stray embers spark off into his wings, haunted by the strange feeling that someone, somewhere, is disappointed.

It follows him, sometimes, that feeling. The odd sensation of deja vu — not that he’s been here before, but that there is someone he knows out there, outside of the woods. They are never more than an idle itch in the back of his mind, but their memory still leaves him feeling bereft.

In a pouch at his waist, one of the last surviving blossoms of the forest lays pressed, dried. His fingers caress the forget-me-not and he allows himself to wonder, as he usually does in moments such as these, if he’s ever been loved.

One of the periwinkle petals crumbles to dust in his grasp. He supposes he’s found his answer.

#god i hope that read more works #the arcana game #muriel fic #muriel the arcana #muriel x you #the arcane muriel #muriel x apprentice #muriel x reader #muriel headcanons #the arcana writing #the arcana headcanons #muriel route #angst #reversed ending #my writing #mine

[arabian-bloodstream]

TROS: The Good, the Bad & the Huh?

So, I watched The Rise of Skywalker on Thursday. It met my expectations which were to not expect too much. I hadn't read the leaks, but I had still been spoiled. I didn't want to believe that Ben would actually die, but I knew it was a very real possibility so when it happened, I wasn't terribly surprised. Overall, I liked the movie, because, duh, it's Star Wars. However, I had a lot of problems with it because a lot of things didn't make sense.

I watched it a second time on Saturday and sadly, those things still didn't make sense, but I still liked it because, you know, Star Wars. So, here are my thoughts, first off with all of those things that don't make sense without having to rely on the SW visual dictionary or EU (because you should NOT have to rely on outside source to understand stuff) to explain them, then my biggest issues with the film, the things I did really like and my rankings of all the films as of now before it comes out and I can do a full rewatch:

Questions... So Many Questions

Where is Kylo in the beginning? Who is he mowing down? How does he find the wayfinder?

How did Palpatine come back?

Who has been taking care of him for the last 30-odd years?

Who are all of those hooded creatures in the stands?

Why are there a couple of Snoke puppets? Molds? What the fuck ever? In aquarium tanks?

Who is this General Pryde dude and why is he so high up and we've never heard of him before?

Who was Palpatine's girlfriend/wife/one-night stand that led to Rey's dad(?) mom(?)?

Where did this all come from!??!? Palpy having a child seems like a pretty fucking big deal to just OOPS! pop out of nowhere?

Some random THERE ARE ONLY TWO SUPER-SEKRIT-SITH wayfinder thingies to find Palpatine that Luke was on a SUPER-SEKRIT mission with Lando THAT WAS NEVER MENTIONED in between him training his Jedi students and his temple getting destroyed, having a split-second 'maybe I should murder my nephew' moment, 'nah!' and going into exile. Uhm, OK.

Leia was trained in the Force by Luke? Uhm... when? When she was pregnant with Ben? Because she got pregnant pretty much right after Endor. So... she learned enough from Luke--even though she didn't complete her training--to train Rey... enough that Rey became super-duper powerful. Because I highly doubt that Leia had time to train while pregnant and helping to start up a new government. OK, then.

So, Leia and Luke *knew* that Rey was the granddaughter of Sheev Palpatine--the most evil who ever eviled--and had no problem believing that there was good in her and she could be molded into an awesome Jedi... but didn't believe the same about their own son/nephew because he had too much "Vader" in him? Even though, Luke believed that Vader could be redeemed? Huh?! I mean... huh?

And on that note... so, all of the old Jedi decided to let the grandson of The Chosen One fall down a pit and crawl back up in agony with a shrug, but were like, 'yeah, we're gonna help the granddaughter of the man whose goal in life and in-between life and now life again after sucking out the life-force of the two remaining Jedi in the Galaxy.' OK, then.

So... how come, when Rey died she didn't just fade away? I mean, when Ben died he faded away right away. Why didn't Rey fade away right away?

So those horse-creature thingies... why were they on the ships to be on the destroyers? I mean, like... was there even room? And when that was destroyed, did like those horse-creature thingies all die? How sad... and no one cared.

The 'Rey, I need to tell you something' from Finn. I know now it was that he's Force-sensitive. AFTER watching the movie and hearing other people say it. Watching it the second time, I picked up on the clues, but those I watched it with the second time thought it was that he loved Rey. A lot of people thought it was that he loved Rey. I thought that the first time. It was clumsy, it was tacked-on. It was... stupid. Why would you leave a dangling thread, one of JJ's "mystery boxes" in the final chapter of the ninth-film saga? WHY?!

Also, more importantly, why were the Resistance celebrating at the end? Because "The Final Order" were taken out, but uhm, The First Order is still around. Unless I'm remembering it incorrectly (and I could be), it was the Final Order ships, General Pryde's destroyer and a bunch of First Order fighters, but not ALL of the First Order destroyers were there. They've got thousands of destroyers spread across the galaxy. They weren't all there. They took out the Emperor's fleet, not the Supreme Leader's fleet. And sure, the Supreme Leader is gone, and Pryde and Hux are gone... but there are other Generals who will step up. So, yeah, the First Order is still around. The First Order is the huge, massive enemy that our heroes are fighting the entire two films. And there is LITERALLY no mention of their defeat, of how THEY are brought down in this film. Instead, JJ brings in Palpatine and his thousands of somehow functioning Final Order fleet... and *that* fleet* is destroyed. YAY! Celebration ensues. WHAT ABOUT THE FIRST ORDER!?!? The one that we spent the last two films fighting?!? The ones that the rest of the galaxy had zero interest in helping to fight during the battle of Crait and ANYTIME in the interim before the Battle of Exogol. That's kind of huge.

Why did Rey go to Tatooine? Seriously? Why. Did. Rey. Go. To. Tatooine? Luke hated Tatooine. And besides, Rey spent at most a week with the guy and didn't have a very good relationship with him. Sure, they had a decent post-death conversation, but that was it. It really was like JJ intended (after TFA) for Rey to go to Luke and for Luke to train her in the ways of the Force and for there to be this great relationship, much like Luke and Yoda. I guess he expected for Rian Johnson to redo so much of TESB much as he had done with ANH. But Johnson didn't do that, and Abrams clearly didn't care. So he just ignored the relationship that Johnson *did* establish between Rey and Luke and pretended like the one that he envisioned had happened had, well, happened. (Psst, even though it didn't.) But it made no sense. Again, at most a week Rey spent with the grumpy old dude who wasn't very nice to her, whom she fought with and who told her--yeah, no, this ain't how it's gonna be, and so she took off and went her own way. Sure, Luke changed his mind, but she wasn't there for that.

Why did Rey have BB-8 with her? BB-8 is Poe's droid, not hers. Oh, right... it paralleled TFA--where it made sense that BB-8 was with her, when Poe was "dead" which he is not now. Mmhmm.

Why did Rey take the last name Skywalker? She didn't have the relationship with Luke that warranted it. You know who she DID have the relationship with? Han SOLO. Leia Organa-SOLO. Ben SOLO. Those are the people with whom she had that kind of relationship. The man who DID become like a father to her in a few short days. The woman who did become like a mother to her. The man who was literally the other half of her soul. If she was going to take a name... it should have been Solo. Rey Solo. Taking the name Skywalker, much like going to Tatooine was not in character for Rey, and it wasn't FOR Rey. It was nostalgia for the Original Trilogy fans (oh, like JJ Abrams). It wasn't true to the narrative, the character, of the story that has been told over *this* sequel trilogy.

Why was there no Force Ghost of Ben? There needs to be some specific training in order to be a Force Ghost, sure. Which Luke *probably* got from FG Yoda. And which Luke gave to Leia in cut footage. And this specific training was mentioned briefly in the Prequel Trilogy, and more extensively in The Clone Wars.... but unless you remember that one line from the PT or watched TCW and know about that cut footage, you have no clue. So, many are left wondering, again: Why was there no Force Ghost of Ben? If Luke *probably* got that training from Yoda, why didn't Luke train Ben in it? He's gotta know how tragic the lives of the Skywalkers are... ain't no way he didn't train that boy early on about that bit of info, right? So, yeah, why no Force Ghost of Ben?

So many questions, so many things that had me going: Wait? What? Huh? Why... I don't... huh? How did--? When? Huh? That should not happen this much in a film. Period. That is bad writing. That is bad directing. That is bad pacing. That is just bad film making.

The Big Four Issues

I. Ben Solo Dying.

Had he had not been the last Skywalker, I would have been OK with him dying. Not happy, but narratively, I would have been OK with it.

Had Han not sacrificed himself essentially which was then used as a narrative to build into a huge reason as to why Kylo was having such a hard time staying on the Dark path, I would have been OK with him dying. Not happy, but narratively, I would have been OK with it.

Had we not been given some hints that Ben had been manipulated his whole life by the Dark Side and abandoned by his family, I would have been OK with him dying. Not happy, but narratively, I would have been OK with it.

Had we not been told that he was literally sharing a soul with Rey (one soul-two bodies), meaning that she will be bereft and lost without him for the rest of her life because her literal soulmate is dead now, I would have been OK with him dying. Not happy, but narratively, I would have been OK with it.

However, because of all of the above, narratively speaking, no, I am not OK with it. I have always said in every fandom I have been a part of that if it makes sense from a narrative point of view--even if I'm not happy as a fangirl--I will be OK with it. From a narrative point of view, this did not make sense. So, yeah, I had an issue with Ben Solo dying.

II. Kylo Ren's Helmet and Rey's Hairstyle

I said when I first saw the triple-bun-hairstyle again and Kylo with the helmet that I was wary because I felt that JJ had fundamentally missed the symbolism of what Rian did with the progression for both characters. I hoped that I would be proven wrong and there would be a reason for the return of both things (beyond needing the hairstyle for scenes with Leia to match the footage). Alas, I was not.

Kylo without the mask was him no longer in Vader’s shadow. The mask was about him being the scared, little boy, hiding who he was. At the end of The Last Jedi, he supposedly got everything he wanted. He no longer needed to hide. By destroying the mask, he was doing his best to let go of the past. He let go of Snoke, let go of Vader. But, of course, that wasn't the story that JJ wanted to tell. He wanted to keep Kylo answering to someone else, holding onto Vader. So because Rian got rid of Snoke, JJ brought in Palpatine for Kylo to be submissive to, beholden to Vader still, no longer the leader and back came the helmet, undoing all of that great character progression that Rian had crafted.

As for Rey and those buns, sigh. Once she realized–as she did in the cave, even if she didn't admit it fully to herself until Kylo called her on it–that her parents weren't coming back, she let go of that hairstyle. Why? Because that hairstyle is the only way she could figure that her parents would still recognize her. It's the hairstyle she had when she last saw them. By letting her hair down and not putting it back up, she let go of the fantasy that they were coming back. JJ putting her back into that ridiculous style, like with Kylo, he erased that huge, beautiful character arc of Rey's. She was once more a girl in search of her identity, her self. That self, that woman that she had found at the end of TLJ was gone. *double sigh.*

III. Rose's Presence or Lack Thereof

The toxic bullying and horrible way that Kelly Marie Tran was treated was completely unjustified in every way, shape and form. JJ Abrams pretty much rewarded that treatment by sidelining the character of Rose and wrote her as a glorified extra. Period. There's pretty much nothing else to say about it. Anything else will just devolve into ranting. It--yeah, just gonna stop here.

IV. The Force Bond Scenes

Least "big" issue, but it bugged me. I noticed it the first time I watched the film and hoped that it would be more clear the second time I watched it. That second time, I watched it with my brother-in-law and nephews and asked them if they had the same issue. They did. I wasn't sure honestly when Rey and Kylo were actually together or were having Force Bond moments. One of my nephews didn't realize that Rey and Kylo were actually fighting in person on the Death Star until Kylo was talking to Han. That entire scene from when he showed up inside the Death Star remains, through the fight scene, through her stabbing, then healing him and her taking off... my nephew thought that it was a Force Bond scene. Both times, I didn't realize it wasn't a Force Bond scene UNTIL they moved outside of the Death Star remains. When they were talking inside, I thought it was a Force Bond scene.

Rian Johnson did such a wonderful job establishing they were having a Force Bond moment. It was like the air was being vacuumed out of the room. You could feel the tension. It was obvious, but in these Force Bond scenes unless the scenes were drastically different or there was dialogue establishing it, you just could NOT tell.

But, It's Not All Bad!

The Han/Ben scene gutted my very soul in all the best way possibles. I ADORED the callback to The Force Awakens scene. How the play on the dialogue worked in the opposite direction, with Han urging him that he could it, he did have the strength to turn to the light. How Ben held the lightsaber, and once again, Han reached out to touch his face. Oh, God, and when he said "Dad," his voice breaking and Han said, "I know." I died. I was just.... gah, a total mess. I teared up both times. That was just everything. SO. VERY. HARD!

Babu Frick may be my new spirit animal. No, I do not find him cuter than Baby Yoda (puhleeze!), but dear Lord, I loved him so. When C3P0 (who will forever remain in my heart, I love him so) had his memory wiped and was introducing himself, I laughed out loud both times when Babu immediately pipes up with, "I'm Babu Frick!" and then later on when whoever mentioned that Babu sent them a message, 3P0 pipes up, "Oh, I know Babu Frick, he's my oldest friend," I lost it. So good.

Speaking of C3P0, every moment with C3P0 was gold (hehehe, see what I did there?). I seriously do love Goldenrod. I liked the sentimental, the sweet, the serious and the funny with him. Outside of the Babu Frick moments, my favorite was when he mentioned something about the Passana Desert festival and they all looked at the annoyance that is 3P0 and he has no clue and turns around himself to see what they are looking at. Oh, I love him so.

When Finn told Rose that he was staying on the ship... JJ may have cut the Finn/Rose dead in the water that Rian set up, but damn did KMT give it her all. That moment where she looked after him, oh it was beautiful. You could see all of the worry, the love, the pride... everything on her face in that moment. So good.

I may have felt that Zorri Bliss was a completely useless and pointless character, but that final bit with her Poe was hilarious.

The lightsaber battle on the Death Star remains was AWESOME-SAUCE. Every moment of it. I especially loved: Kylo walking out of the rain/water. Kylo and Rey both so exhausted they can barely keep going. Kylo having the kill-shot like two or three times and just not able to do it. Ben hearing Leia say his name. Ben dropping his saber when he senses her end is near.

Chewie finally got his damn medal!

Chewie mourning over Leia. That was all of us.

Man, when Rey and Kylo were fighting over the destroyer and then lightning came out of her hands... it was like WHOAH!! SO FREAKING COOL! I loved that. I really totes did!

I loved every single, solitary moment of Ben Solo. From his running to save Rey. From his free-for-all jump to his "Ow." To his facing of the knights, knowing he was outnumbered, but still determined to take them all. From his 'We got this babe!' look to Rey to his shrug once he held that lightsaber in his hand and took on every one of those Knights and took them all down, Ben Solo was sassy, bad-ass and amazing all without saying an actual word.

Dear Lord. Crawling from the pit, forcing himself across that rocky floor on a broken leg, gathering the woman he loved in his arms. The relief of finally, finally, truly holding her in his arms, the devastation at knowing she was lost to him, and then the determination, the refusal to let her go, to lose her. He truly finished what his grandfather started. He would not let the woman he loved die. So be brought her back, pouring every ounce of his life, his love into her.

I loved that she told him that she wanted to take Ben's hand, and so she did. And she said his name, one last time. "Ben." And I loved that we got that beautiful, beautiful smile. So happy, so free, so full of light. And no pain.

*sigh* The kiss. I loved, loved, loved that we got our beautiful, epic space kiss. *double sigh* Because it was beautiful. And it was epic. And it's canon, bitches! Yeah, baby!

Overall, I liked the movie. I believe that when I watch all the films together, I will be satisfied. I just wish I loved it. I AM happy for all of those people who do love it though. I truly, truly am.

The Skywalker Saga Rankings

Yes, I consider Rogue One part of the Skywalker Saga since both Darth Vader and Leia appear in it.

The Empire Strikes Back

The Last Jedi

A New Hope

Rogue One

Attack of the Clones

The Force Awakens

Return of the Jedi

The Rise of Skywalker

Revenge of the Sith

The Phantom Menace

#star wars #tros spoilers #the rise of skywalker #reylo #ben solo #rey

[minijenn]

Keys to the Kingdom Chapter 9

AN - Hey a pretty short turnaround time for a pretty short chapter. Neat! Anyway I don’t got a ton to say about this one since its more or less a stepping stone chapter, but it still has some fun stuff in it all the same so enjoy!

Previous: https://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/185003790469/keys-to-the-kingdom-chapter-8

Chapter 9: At Dusk

You must be kidding me, Did you really think I could say no?

“I wanted to meet you… at least once.”

The myriad of bizarre happenings of the past several days had set out a path that had ultimately led him here. The old mansion was a place that Roxas was only vaguely familiar with from the countless rumors and myths spread around town about it that made it practically infamous. But those things couldn’t have been further from his mind as he stood before it now, awash in growing confusion, dread, perhaps even frustration as he desperately tried to reach out for answers he could never seem to grasp. It was like everything he thought he ever knew was steadily, rapidly crumbling apart at the seams all around him, the foundation he thought he should have been standing on shattering apart piece by piece.

And yet… the turbulent tide he was lost amidst slowly started to calm the moment he caught sight of her. Her simple white dress and slight frame practically blended into the spotless curtains she was standing in front of, a hand pressed against the glass window as she starred down at him silently, sadly from above. In many ways, she was almost like one of the ghosts rumored to be inhabiting the dusty halls of the otherwise abandoned mansion, but he knew better. He knew she was real, at least as real as he was anyway, he had seen her face, heard her voice, felt the connection between them that he couldn’t explain. A connection that couldn’t be broken, no matter what chains of memory came undone.

“Roxas…” she mouthed his name from beyond the glass, or at least she thought it was his. For all he knew, it could have been someone else’s name altogether. And by all accounts, it probably was.

“Naminé…?”

Naminé…

“Thank Naminé…” Sora whispered to himself as he found himself slowly slipping out of yet another one of Roxas’ memories. In a sense, it was like waking up from a distant, yet nostalgic dream, blurring the fine line between memory and reality just as much as his own image tended to blur between himself and his Nobody. Despite the fact that he had largely grown accustomed to this nearly constant flux in and out of a past that wasn’t even his, Sora couldn’t deny that it still felt rather disorienting, perhaps even a bit deceptive. For as he stole another glance up at the window of the stately, yet silent mansion before them, he found that, unlike what Roxas’ memories had shown him, Naminé was—unsurprisingly but still disappointingly—nowhere to be found.

“Did ya say somethin’, Sora?” Goofy asked, glancing back at the Keybearer.

“Hm?” Sora shook his head, finally fully grounding himself back into the present. “Uh… no. I was just… um…” He trailed off, finding himself at an odd loss for words. Something that had been happening more often than usual, he realized.

“Did you see another one of Roxas’ memories?” Donald inferred curiously.

“Y-yeah!” Sora nodded. “Well… at least that’s what it was this time…” he muttered to himself, briefly recalling the ominous voice that had pulled against his heart mere moments ago.

“What do you mean this time?” the magician asked, aptly suspicious as he happened to overhear the Keybearer.

“Oh, uh, nothing!” Sora said, forcing a calm laugh to allay his confused companions before quickly changing the subject back to the mansion before them. “So… what do you think, guys? This place is even creepier than I remember.”

“Well, they do say this mansion is haunted…” Goofy noted as Donald cringed with clear fear at the very thought.

“Haunted, huh…?” Sora repeated, largely to himself as he looked up to the large window once more. He was hardly superstitious in light of everything he’d seen and experienced, but as he thought back to that sinister voice and the frightening affect it had on him, he couldn’t help but wonder if those ghostly rumors maybe held some merit after all.

The already on-edge trio was even more set off the moment something happened to lightly skim the Keybearer’s shoulder from behind. Sora nearly summoned his Keyblade, Donald and Goofy likewise loudly panicking alongside him as they all quickly spun around, only to find an equally startled Hayner, Pence, and Olette standing behind them.

“Yeesh…” Sora huffed, suppressing a sigh of relief at seeing the trio of familiar faces as opposed to the alternative. “Thanks for the heart attack!”

“Oh what?” Hayner smirked. “Did we scare you guys?”

“Not a chance!” Donald retorted back, shaking his first admantly.

“Our bad,” Olette chuckled, aptly amused.

“So, how’d it go?” Sora asked the trio collectively. “Did you get any leads?”

Their otherwise playful manner fell into disappointment at this as they shook their heads truthfully. “Nope, ‘fraid not,” Pence admitted fretfully. “The asking around town thing was a total bust.”

“Yep, looks like this old mansion is our only hope,” Hayner added, looking to the mansion. The others all turned to do the same, each of them carrying the same resolve that the answers they were looking for could be held somewhere inside.

“You guys ready?” Olette asked, eager to continue their search.

“Another Twilight Town awaits!” Pence chimed in boldly.

“Yeah,” Sora readily agreed, already taking the first step towards the mansion. A small burst of warmth filled his heart as he did, one that unmistakably came from Roxas himself. Almost as if he somehow knew just how far they were all willing to go to find a way to bring him back to them. And it was that warmth, that feeling of bright, expanding hope that they both seemed to share, that prompted Sora onward further still, determined to do exactly that.

Since the collective group knew exactly where they needed to go, they didn’t waste too much time checking most of the mansion’s otherwise empty, dust-settled rooms. Instead, they all made a beeline for the basement, its clean metallic walls a far cry from the rest of the old mansion’s dilapidated state. Now bereft of its original purpose, the computer room was also just as quiet as the rest of the abandoned building, save for the occasional idle beep and blip from the several-screened machine tucked securely inside it. A machine that, at least as far as any of them knew, was just about their last resort to finding their first and possibly only clues to helping Roxas.

“Here we go!” Pence exclaimed excitedly, rushing to the computer the moment he saw it. Since the others knew full well this was his area of expertise, they all congregated around him as he took charge in operating the rather complex machine. “The password was… uh… ‘sea-salt ice cream’, right?” He tapped the phrase in, which, just as it had before, granted them access to whatever data the computer had stored. “Ok, I’m in. Now let’s get that transporter working…”

Since Pence was already largely familiar with the process, opening up the transporter that would lead the way to the alternate Twilight Town should have been easy. However, what none of them were expecting was for the computer to flash red, emitting a blaring warning alarm almost as soon as the attempt was made. “Oh man…” Pence frowned as the computer’s main screen was overtaken by an error message. “The transporter’s been protected….”

“Protected from what?” Sora asked, aptly confused.

“I guess from us?” Pence ventured a guess. “We can’t use it to get to the other Twilight Town.”

“Why not?” Hayner cut in, clearly annoyed by this sudden roadblocked. “It worked before! We sent Sora there!”

“Well, that was then and this is now,” Pence shrugged.

“And… there’s no other way?” Olette asked, frowning.

“…None that I know of…” Pence admitted, tapping a few more keys on the computer, though to no avail. A general sigh of clear disappointment rose up from several members of the group upon hearing this, all of them quite dejected to know that they had come all this way only to be met with nothing. In fact, they were all just about ready to turn around and head back to town, or at least they would have had the Gummiphone not happened to ring at that exact moment.

Still not entirely familiar with the device, Sora fumbled somewhat as he pulled it out of his pocket and answered it, only for Ienzo to pop up on the other end of the line. “Hello, Sora,” the researcher greeted amicably. “You wouldn’t happen to be standing in front of a computer, would you?”

“Huh?” Sora raised a surprised eyebrow. “Well… yeah. But how’d you know that?”

“I was tinkering with Ansem’s computer,” Ienzo explained. “You know, to decrypt the code that was left in it? And I noticed that someone had logged in from another terminal. I figured it might be you.”

“Oh, yeah! The log terminal!” Sora exclaimed, putting on a front of understanding, which of course, Donald was quick to call him out on.

“You don’t know what he said,” the magician correctly inferred, cross his arms.

“Oh, and what, you do?” the Keybearer retorted in a dry whisper.

All the same, Ienzo happened to overhear this bout of bickering from the other end of the line and let out a small, amused chuckle before posing the group another question. “So if it wasn’t you, then… who did log in?”

“Oh, hi there!” Pence chimed in as Sore handed the phone over to him. “This is Pence. I’m the one who logged into the computer.”

“Good,” Ienzo nodded, allayed. “As long as we know it’s a user that we know we can trust.”

“Yep. But… we’re kind of stuck here,” Pence said, glancing back over at the secured computer. “One of the programs is protected so… I can’t run it.”

“Which program?”

“Ugh! The transporter to the other Twilight Town!” Hayner snapped, frustrated at how slowly the conversation seemed to be going. “It’s the only way to find Roxas. You gotta help us!”

Ienzo seemed quite surprised to hear this news, the implications sending his scientific mind practically reeling as he mulled over it. “Another Twilight Town…? And a ‘transporter’? Okay… a virtual town inside the computer, made of data… Fascinating! Maybe I can do something to help… Pence, let’s get a network set up; that way we can try to look into this on both ends of the spectrum.”

Pence agreed and the two got to work on doing just that, exchanging information in order to connect the two computers together despite the span of worlds standing between them. Despite how well versed both Pence and Ienzo were when it came to the tech they were working with, it still took quite a bit of time to get everything completely set up on both ends. At least an hour had passed with very few updates given, which was why it wasn’t too surprising that in that amount of idle time, Sora had nodded off more than a few times, much to Goofy’s amusement and Donald’s annoyance. Still, it was something of a relief when, after what felt like ages to just about everyone else, Ienzo finally announced that the lengthy process was at last complete.

“Ok, sharing is enabled,” the researcher confirmed, effectively snapping Sora out of his most recent bout of standing slumber.

“Oh! Were you able to fix it?” the Keybearer asked, eager to hear any new developments.

Ienzo didn’t provide a clear cut answer at first as he instead opted to explain exactly what him and Pence had just accomplished. “Now that our two computers have been successfully networked together, I can take control of the terminal there and change the privileges. So in a sense… yes, we did fix it. Or at least allowed some form of progress to continue.”

“And Roxas?” Sora pressed, largely not caring about the specifics so long as it all could help his Nobody in some way.

“Yes. For the virtual world to be completely realized, Ansem the Wise would have included Roxas’ full data in the construction. Meaning, somewhere on your machine, there’s a log of that data that-” Ienzo stopped short, noticing that Sora looked more or less completely lost in all the technicalities on the other end of the line. Which was why he decided to finish explaining in a much more simpler route to grasp. “Uh… basically, we can decipher Ansem’s code more quickly and we can analyze the virtual Twilight Town while we’re at it.”

“Ohhh, ok! Great!” Sora smiled, more or less understanding, though he was still admittedly confused by how it all worked. Still, the researcher’s upbeat tone alone was more than enough to convince him that there was a chance that this could work after all. “I can’t computer so… do that.”

“Glad to know you’re following along,” Ienzo smirked knowingly. “Don’t worry. We’ll handle it. Chip and Dale will be helping me out here on this end. I’ll call you back as soon as we know anything more.”

“Thanks,” Sora nodded, genuinely grateful for the help all around. In a way, he did feel somewhat inadequate when it came to looking for answers in this way, given his relative lack of experience with computers and data and research and the like. But it was still a relief to know that there were so many others who had decided to join him in his cause to help Roxas, from Donald and Goofy, to the Twilight Town trio, to even Ienzo and his crew afar off in Radiant Garden. Certainly, Sora hoped, with so many people working together towards the same goal, there was no doubt that they’d find a way to bring Roxas back in no time at all.

“Oh, before I forget—a bit of troubling news,” Ienzo continued, his tone turning grave. “It’s about one of the Organization’s former members. You knew him as Vexen—but to us, he was Ansem’s apprentice, Even. He was recompleted like the rest of us, but hadn’t regained consciousness yet. Then, sometime after Lea left, Even vanished. Aeleus and Dilan—the two you knew as Lexaeus and Xaldin—went out to look for him, but… he’s just gone. And I’m starting to worry.”

“You think he’s on their side?” Sora asked, remembering Yen Sid’s warning that the Organization would likely be seeking to fill out the rest of their ranks in any way possible.

“I think it’s a real possibility,” Ienzo said earnestly. “He’s a devious researcher. You should be careful.”

“Got it. Thanks again!” Sora bid the researcher farewell as the call came to an end, making sure to keep his warning in mind for future reference.

“Oh no!” Hayner suddenly gasped in apparent alarm as he turned to Pence and Olette frantically. “We got work! I totally forgot!”

“Really?” Pence asked as Hayner already got a head start in hurrying out of the room. “But what about all this?”

“Hey, both are important! We’re gonna need some cash to go to the beach. Also, don’t forget the pretzels. Gotta buy four now,” Hayner grinned, especially as Pence began counting out, confused.

“Ooh, I get it!” he exclaimed in realization, knowing that Hayner had the idea of bringing Roxas along with them. An idea that both Pence and Olette readily agreed with for whenever their long-awaited day at the beach finally did arrive.

“He’s thinking ahead,” Olette chimed in with a wry smile of her own.

“Later, Sora!” Hayner said as he took his leave, Olette going to join him.

“Bye, Donald! Goofy!” she waved to the trio fondly as they all returned the farewell.

“See you guys!” Sora called out after the pair as Donald and Goofy also offered their own goodbyes.

“Oh, and since I’m manning the computer here,” Pence began, remaining in his seat as he glanced back at the duo. “You guys are in charge of earning my share!”

“No pretzel for Pence!” Hayner teased, sticking his tongue out as him and Olette ran out of the room.

“Hey!” Pence shouted after them, ignoring Sora, Donald, and Goofy’s shared amused laughter. All the same, he made sure to assure the trio that he’d continue working on digging up what he could glean from the computer, collaborating in tandem with Ienzo all the while. And with that, the trio was quick to realize there wasn’t really anything else they could do at this stage but wait for any new information to be uncovered that could help further their cause. It was somewhat disappointing, for Sora in particular, to know that there wasn’t much help any of them could provide right now, but at the very least, the effort to help Roxas had been kickstarted. The mission to bring him back into the existence he deserved to have was well on its way. And for now, simply keeping the comforting idea that this could soon be more than just a distance hope in mind would certainly suffice.

By the time they left the mansion, Sora had noticed that the usually steady tide of Roxas’ memories flowing in and out of his heart had gradually started to slow to a crawl. Even as they emerged from the derelict building, he found that he was met with essentially none of his Nobody’s memories whatsoever, to the point that even the light pull that had been more or less guiding his heart since they arrived seemed to have completely faded out. And yet, alarmingly enough, what wasn’t gone was the same dull, persistent pain that had sparked in his heart when he had been trapped under the influence of that still-unknown voice. A pain that only seemed to amplify tenfold when the trio was stopped in their tracks by the arrival of a figure they were all too familiar with.

“So, you think you can bring Roxas back?”

Sora practically choked on a gasp, his heart suddenly seizing up with so much sudden agony that it nearly knocked him to his knees. Donald and Goofy noticed his wavering swaying as he clutched at his chest in a weak, yet desperate attempt to stop the swelling pain. Neither of them had the faintest idea as to what could have possibly been afflicting their young companion, but all the same, they were quick to support him on both sides as they all turned to see exactly who was standing right outside the mansion gates behind them.

“Ansem!” the captain and magician exclaimed, largely since Sora was still far too breathless from the pain to do so himself. Yet that pain only seemed to spark once more as a dark corridor opened up right beside the seeker of darkness, making way for yet another one of the Organization’s leading members to arrive.

“Xemnas!” the trio shouted in unison this time, collectively startled and set off upon being met with two of their most dangerous adversaries at the same exact time.

“Roxas should have never existed in the first place,” Xemnas began coldly, cutting right to the chase. “What you seek is impossible.”

Sora jolted at this, filled with a sense of righteous anger at such a dismissive claim overtaking the pain still pounding through his heart. “Y-you’re wrong!” he retorted boldly, forcing himself to stand upright without Donald and Goofy’s help, as much of a struggle as it was for him. “Roxas does exist! His heart’s inside my heart!”

“His is far from the only one,” Ansem said vaguely, ominously even.

“And in the unlikely event that you do manage to separate the two,” Xemnas continued just as evenly. “Where is it you think you can put his heart?”

“W-well… Roxas used to live in the other Twilight Town , right? So, m-maybe… we can…” Sora trailed off, instantly regretting his knee-jerk idea before he could even say it out loud.

“So, you understand the shortcomings of your ‘brilliant’ plan,” Ansem assumed, arms crossed. “The other Twilight Town is just data. Any existence Roxas might have there would ultimately be an empty one.”

As much as Sora didn’t want to say it, he couldn’t deny that this claim was absolutely correct. Ienzo had said that Roxas’ data was likely contained within the digital Twilight Town, which meant that it would have very well been possible to find a way to set Roxas himself up within that world. And yet, as stable of an idea as it was, it was far from satisfying. Sora didn’t want to see Roxas stuck in a disconnected version of the world that was only barely real to begin with; he wanted to see Roxas brought back into the real world, to reunite with the real people who likewise wanted to see him return. He wanted to truly meet his Nobody, not just in dreams or data or distant memories, but face-to-face for the first time. And, simply put, just throwing Roxas into the alternate version of Twilight Town would accomplish anything but that.

“Hm… Ansem and Xemnas used to be part of the same person, right?” Goofy spoke up, seemingly going off on an entirely different tangent altogether. “But look, now they exist separately just fine. If they can do it, then I don’t see any reason why you and Roxas can’t find a way.”

“Oh, yeah!” Sora exclaimed, instantly allayed by this vote of confidence. Sure enough, it had to be true; if their foes could accomplish such a seemingly impossible feat, then certainly him and Roxas could too, right?

“Yeah! You tell ‘em Captain Goofy!” Donald chimed in his support as well. Ansem and Xemnas, however, were unphased by the trio’s newfound excitement.

“In that case, by all means,” Ansem nodded, surprisingly calm.

“Nothing would please us more than Roxas’ return,” Xemnas said, keeping his sights trained on Sora in particular. “After all, freeing him from the depths of your heart would at last allow us to fully lay claim to our thirteenth member.”

“You wish,” Sora scoffed harshly, still trying his best to ignore the persistent sting ringing through his heart. “Roxas will never answer to you again!”

“Still so blind,” Xemnas shook his head with almost something of a knowing smile. “We are no longer interested in having Roxas as a member. In fact, he is one of the only obstacles standing between and our true final vessel: you, Sora.”

The ripple of shock that struck the trio upon hearing this was sharp and swift. In fact, it might as well have pierced Sora clean through the heart for the amount of intense anguish that rushed through it, so immense and powerful that he could hardly bear it. And yet, instead of crumbling under the crippling strain, he remained standing, as if frozen in place by all of the frightening thoughts and feelings running through his heart and mind all at once. However, he wasn’t really pressed to provide much of a reaction to this disturbing claim, as Donald and Goofy did more than a suitable job doing so in his stead.

“No way!” Donald shouted fiercely as both him and Goofy stepped in front of Sora protectively. “Sora would never be a part of the Organization!”

“That’s right!” the captain admantly agreed. “And we would know! We were there to help save Sora from becomin’ one of Xehanort’s vessels!”

“A valiant effort, that was ultimately for nothing,” Ansem countered before addressing Sora directly. “You can feel it, can’t you? Already the darkness is starting to take a hold upon your heart. And through that darkness, soon you find yourself helpless to resist the master’s call to join our ranks as the vessel you are destined to be.”

“Call…” Sora repeated softly, his eyes widening with the dawning, horrific realization. “That voice… I-it was…”

“It very well could have been,” Xemnas interjected knowingly. “Or… perhaps it was the shadows of your own heart, urging you towards the proper path. Either way, you would do well to heed it; resisting its command will only delay the inevitable.”

At that very moment, the pain coursing through Sora’s heart spiked yet again, and this time, it was fully enough to send him collapsing to his knees, even despite Donald and Goofy rushing to fret over him worriedly. “N-no…” he began weakly, glaring up at Xemnas and Ansem with as much defiance as he could muster. “I don’t care what you try to do to me, I’m not about to lose myself to the darkness!” At this, the Keybearer began to stand, struggling somewhat, until Donald and Goofy helped him rise to boldly, brazenly face their foes once again. “So you can just go and tell Xehanort to find himself another vessel because it’s never going to be me!”

The captain and the magician smiled proudly to their young companion upon hearing his resilient proclamation, both of them glad to know that he hadn’t lost his verve against enemies as dangerous as these. And yet, even despite Sora’s courageous show of determination, Ansem and Xemnas hardly seemed to care.

“If that is what you believe, then you are free to struggle and suffer until your heart can no longer bear the weight of the freedom you’re so desperately trying to cling onto,” Ansem concluded, his tone disapproving and icy.

“But keep in mind that if you truly do want to bring Roxas back, the only way is for you to give your heart up for his,” Xemnas added, presenting a disparaging truth that Sora knew all too well. “Which means that try as you might to resist the darkness, calling upon its power is your only hope for releasing his heart from your own.”

By this point, Sora’s hands were clenched so tightly into fists that they were practically shaking, his anger towards this pair and their callous claims, especially when they came to Roxas, rising by the second. “You really think I buy any of that?” he asked challengingly. “I don’t need the darkness to help Roxas or anyone else. I’ll find another way instead, you’ll see.”

“Go on then,” Ansem remarked with the slightest of mocking grins. “But remember: the shadows are never out of reach if you need them.” At this, the seeker of darkness nodded to the space behind the trio, where, as if on cue, a sizable group of Heartless was arising from the grass, ready to attack. Xemnas swiftly added onto the monstrous horde, calling upon a swath of Nobodies and creating an aptly dangerous force that was already deadest on besetting the trio before them.

Sora stole a brief glance away from the creatures to the duo that had summoned them, noticing that they were getting ready to take their leave instead of confronting the trio in battle themselves. “Enjoy whatever fleeting time you have left to bask in the warmth of the light,” Xemnas began, already calling upon a dark corridor for their retreat.

“For soon enough, you will stand in the depths of darkness alongside the rest of us,” Ansem finished with a dark, goading grin.

“Now… set your heart free,” both of them proclaimed just as they disappeared into the darkness from whence they came.

“Wait!” Sora shouted after them, summoning his Keyblade in the hopes of catching them before they could get away. They still managed to, however, as the Keybearer’s attention was quickly diverted back to the horde of Heartless and Nobodies his companions had already started to engage in combat.

“Sora!” Donald called warningly, narrowly dodging a wide swing from one of the several rampaging Dusks.

Seeing that his companions could clearly use the help, Sora hurried over to join them, though even as the battle properly began, he couldn’t really shake his own immense desire to prove the malicious duo wrong. “It’s not darkness,” he muttered to himself as he entered the fray, feeling the pain in his heart finally, thankfully dissipate altogether. “Not if it helps him!”

And with that, the Keybearer threw himself into the fight alongside his companions, taking the force of Heartless and Nobodies head on. Despite their numbers, the creatures were a small obstacle at best, and hardly any of their main focus with their thoughts still unanimously on their alarming encounter with Xemnas and Ansem mere moments ago. The implications of their cryptic statements were discouraging, downright frightening in some instances, but of course, the trio only found time to properly discuss them once the monsters they had left behind were fully cleared out. And, once they did manage to successfully oust the Nobodies and the Heartless alike, that’s exactly what they did.

Donald and Goofy were the first to reconvene after the fight was through, though they were quick to turn their already fretful attention over to Sora instead. He stood apace away from them, his back turned and his expression unknown as he stared off into the twilit forest ahead, lost in thought over everything they’d just heard. As worrying as what Ansem and Xemnas had said concerning him had been, the Keybearer was far more focused on what they had said about Roxas. He refused to believe that the only way to help his Nobody would be to play right into the Organization’s hands. There had to be some other way, and even if he had no idea what that way might be, he was willing to do whatever he could to find it.

“Herc said…  ‘with all our hearts’…” the Keybearer muttered to himself, finding more meaning in the hero’s inspiring words now than ever before. “Okay. Then all my heart it is. I’m getting Roxas out.”

“B-but aren’t ya worried about what they said?” Goofy asked, aptly apprehensive. “About… y-ya know?”

“A-about you being a-a… a vessel?” Donald finished, just as worried.

Sora paused at this, glancing back at his companions to find their expressions awash in dread and concern solely for him. Concern that he couldn’t help but appreciate, especially given the circumstances. “N-no,” he shook his head, his hand lightly skimming over his now-calm heart. “No, I’m not. They probably only said all that stuff to try to psych me out or scare me, but its not gonna work. And besides, its like you guys said; you and Axel and Riku and the king all saved me, so there’s no way that whole ‘vessel’ thing could be true, right?”

Donald and Goofy exchanged an initially uncertain glance at this, neither of them entirely sure when they considered all of the odd happenings that had been going on since this new journey began, to Sora in particular. And yet, when they met their young companion’s bright, reassuring smile, their worries were quickly put to rest. After all, if Sora had begun to fall victim to the sway of darkness as Ansem and Xemnas had claimed, certainly he wouldn’t be able to maintain his usual upbeat resolve. His confident, carefree smile was proof enough for them that he was still himself, and that was something that both the captain and the magician hoped would never change.

“Well… ok…” Donald relented somewhat halfheartedly. “But still, you need to be careful, Sora. Especially if the Organization really does wanna force you onto their side.”

“Which is why, if ya start noticing that anything’s wrong or off, ya gotta promise to tell us about it,” Goofy asserted with a rare stern sincerity in his tone. “That way, we can help keep ya safe from anything the Organization might try to do to ya!”

“Oh, come on, you guys, nothing’s gonna happen,” Sora assured lightly, though he was quick to recant his casual manner upon seeing the gravely serious expressions his companions shared. “B-but… ok. I… I promise.” The Keybearer looked away as he said this, knowing that he had already largely broken this promise by not telling either of them about the voice or the pain that had both pressed so viciously upon his heart.

If their brief encounter with Xemnas and Ansem had confirmed anything for Sora, it was that the voice somehow taking complete control over him had been no random happenstance. The pair had hinted that it could have very well been Xehanort himself, but even then, the Keybearer wasn’t entirely convinced that was the case. As for what the voice had truly been, he still wasn’t sure, but he was resolved against the idea that the dark duo’s claims of him being the supposed thirteenth vessel were anywhere close to correct. True, he had nearly fallen victim to such an alarming fate during his and Riku’s exam, but in the end, Xehanort’s plans for him had ended in failure, or at least that’s what he’d heard since he had been largely lost to relentless slumber at the time. Still, Sora firmly believed that his friends’ courageous, selfless efforts to save him had been successful in the end. Any evidence or claims to the contrary were likely nothing worth worrying about whatsoever.

Or at least, he hoped they were nothing, because the alternative was absolutely unthinkable.

With Heartless and Nobodies and the like still out and about as they were, Sora, Donald, and Goofy had decided the best course of action would be to return to town to warn Hayner and Olette of the lurking danger. They did so, meeting up with the pair amidst their job of hanging posters up around town and urging them to stay on their toes against any lingering threats that may lie in wait around the area. And with that message relayed, the trio realized that their time in Twilight Town had just about come to an end. After all, they still had yet to begin their search for the Keys in earnest, and as far as any of them could tell, they weren’t going to find any of them here. Still, they all made sure to solidify their shared resolve one more time to continue working towards helping Roxas, even if all they could really do for now was wish and hope for his eventual return. And while it perhaps wasn’t the quickest or most direct way of bringing that return about, at the very least, it was something.

Still, as the group began exchanging their fond farewells and parting words, they were completely unaware of the fact that they were being closely watched from above. Ansem and Xemnas stood atop a nearby building, more or less unseen by any of the oblivious townsfolk below as they observed the Keybearer in particular with careful, confident scrutiny.

“He still believes that his heart is safe from the influence of darkness,” Ansem sneered, crossing his arms as he looked down at Sora condescendingly. “Pathetic.”

“His heart is strong, to be sure,” Xemnas mused more evenly. “But in the end, his naiveté is bound to be his downfall, if not his obvious weakness for those he cares for most.”

“Well, that should be an easy weakness to exploit, huh? Especially when you think about just how many ‘friends’ that kid seems to have.”

The pair turned at this, unsurprised to see a dark corridor open up on the same rooftop they were are as Xigbar stepped through it to join them. Neither Xemnas nor Ansem offered him much of a greeting as they instead turned their focus back to Sora, not noticing the freeshooter’s almost cocky smirk as he did the same. “Still, aren’t you making it a little too obvious?” he asked the pair, having witnessed their earlier encounter with the trio from afar.

“We were instructed to guide him,” Xemnas said simply. “To point him towards his proper place among our ranks, no matter how long his… ‘recruitment’ might take.”

“Oh, so it really is him, huh?” Xigbar asked, still smirking. “And I thought Xehanort was just pulling everyone’s leg by dropping all those hints. But I gotta say…” The freeshooter took on a faux thoughtful look as he kept his sights trained on the unwitting Keybearer. “He doesn’t really look the part…”

“He will,” Ansem assured. “In time.”

“Hmph, well, you two seem confident that he’ll just fall perfectly into place,” Xigbar mused dryly. “But let’s not forget how many times Sora still managed to rain on our parade. So what’s the plan for when he ends up slipping through the cracks and figures out some way to keep his heart out of Xehanort’s reach?”

“He won’t,” the seeker of darkness concluded. “And if he does find a way to waver from the path we lay, we destroy him.”

“But in that case… we’ll have to find ourselves another vessel,” Xigbar pointed out. “Oof, the old man would not like that. He seems pretty deadest on Sora in particular for some reason. Wonder why that is…?”

“The reason is not important,” Xemnas rebuffed succinctly. “What is important is that the process has begun. Try as he might to refuse or resist, there is nothing Sora can do to protect his heart from the tide of darkness already overtaking him.”

“And once that tide inevitably tears his heart apart,” Ansem added, as they all looked back down to Sora once more, their dark intentions for him clear. “Then we’ll be there, to pick up what’s left of the broken pieces…”

At this, the rooftop trio finally took their leave, allowing the still unaware group below to continue on their journey, wherever it might take them next. However, there was still yet another pair of eyes focused on them, this time from an even higher vantage point: the clock tower itself.

From this lofty height, one of the telltale black cloaks of Organization XIII had just been thrown, discarded by its most recent ex-member who was more than ready to cast off any sort of association to the group and to its leader in particular. Still, his newfound independence didn’t mean he didn’t have his own agenda in mind. For as he caught sight caught sight of the Keybearer leaving town far below him, he felt a spark of all too familiar warmth burn in his heart, a warmth that he hated and craved all at once. A warmth that would help him claim what was rightfully his, once and for all. “There you are…” he said darkly, not even having to question if he had picked out the right face in the crowd. After all, his was nearly exactly the same. “Looks like I’ve finally found you… Ventus…”

Next: 

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The robotics and AI revolution will, like local weather change, disrupt life as we all know it; what future will it herald for people?

http://tinyurl.com/y3m5qxv2 Joining the Dots is a weekly column by writer and journalist Samrat through which he connects occasions to concepts, typically via evaluation, however often via satire *** Final week, a video went viral on social media around the globe. It shows a robotic arm choosing up a bowling ball, spinning its arm round, and hurling the ball down the lane at velocity, sending all of the bowling pins flying. It quickly emerged that the very real-looking video was the truth is faux, the work of a movement graphics designer who had hash-tagged it with phrases akin to animation, rendering and CGI to point that it was computer-generated, earlier than sharing on social media. Nonetheless, from the reactions it was clear that not everybody picked up the clues; many if not most individuals thought it was actual. The impossibility of distinguishing between faux and actual in photos and movies is an on a regular basis incidence now, one thing we simply must dwell with. At the same time as we spend extra of our days gazing screens of assorted sizes, we more and more can not inform if what we’re taking a look at, whether or not phrase, picture, or video, is an outline of actuality or the creation of somebody’s creativeness. It’s going to get extra fascinating quickly. Final yr, in October, a portray titled “Portrait of Edmond de Belamy” created by an AI was sold by Christie’s in New York for $432,000 (near Rs three crore). Earlier this yr, Sotheby’s hosted an public sale of an AI art work. It didn’t get anyplace close to the worth of the primary Christie’s piece, fetching solely £40,000 (round Rs 35 lakh) — however that’s not the purpose. The purpose is that AI methods are creating artworks which are deemed ok and fascinating sufficient to be auctioned by Christie’s and Sotheby’s. It’s now not solely human imaginations we now have to deal with. Portrait of Edmond de Belamy auctioned by Christie’s. Picture by way of Wikimedia Commons This yr additionally noticed the publication (by tutorial writer Springer) of a analysis guide on lithium-ion batteries authored by a bot. And OpenAI, an organization backed by Elon Musk amongst others, launched a paper on a system that may generate what they referred to as “deepfakes for information”, or “high-quality faux information”. They didn’t launch the code as a result of they thought it could be too harmful to take action. Expertise appears already to be attending to the purpose the place it is ready to generate photos and textual content that no less than the overwhelming majority of people could be unable to differentiate from the work of different, professional people — artists and writers. Video will observe. Our notion of what’s actual and what’s not is clearly going to be challenged in years to come back. We could not wish to acknowledge this, however the indicators are clear sufficient. We additionally don’t wish to acknowledge that, like local weather change, the revolution in robotics and AI will the truth is disrupt life as we all know it. For starters, it’s apparent that if AI methods are sensible sufficient to create artwork and write books and information studies, beat the perfect on this planet in chess, win quiz exhibits akin to Jeopardy and the board sport Go, they’re additionally sensible sufficient to do a whole lot of much less difficult duties. Agriculture was the principal occupation of most individuals around the globe for hundreds of years. That started to alter with the Industrial Revolution, although the shift has been gradual. In line with World Financial institution knowledge, in 2018, in nations it classifies as Excessive Revenue, solely three p.c of whole employment was in agriculture. The corresponding determine for Center Revenue nations was 30 p.c, and for Low Revenue nations was 63 p.c. The concept has typically been that as economies develop, folks transfer out of agriculture into different sectors akin to manufacturing and providers. Within the developed world, employment in trade has additionally seen a reasonably regular downward development since 1990 no less than. The providers sector has been the expansion space; for example, within the European Union, in 2018, employment in providers accounted for 72 p.c of the overall. In North America the corresponding determine is 79 p.c. It is apparent that if AI methods are sensible sufficient to create artwork and write books and information studies, beat the perfect on this planet in chess, win quiz exhibits and board video games, they’re additionally sensible sufficient to do a whole lot of much less difficult duties. Nonetheless from the movie Ex-Machina. Picture for illustration solely Retail, transport, banking and telecom are necessary examples of industries within the service sector. All are seeing rising automation. As an illustration, in London, the massive retail chains akin to Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer’s have already got loads of self-checkout counters. There are that many fewer employees in every retailer. Self-driving vehicles are already a factor; the day when Uber taxis drive themselves, no less than in nations the place site visitors guidelines are adopted, isn’t far. Plenty of shopping for and promoting of shares within the inventory market is already being carried out by algorithms. They’ll come for banking jobs too, as they may come for routine customer support and name centre jobs in telecom. Additionally on Firstpost — The future according to Yuval Noah Harari: The historian on the 21st century’s biggest challenges, and how to face them The logic of corporations is lastly pushed by two phrases: effectivity and revenue. When tireless bots, algorithms and robots can do jobs with out errors, with out complaints, with out holidays and sick leaves, and most significantly, with out salaries, you may ensure that as quickly as prices and availability allow, the applied sciences can be adopted. A future through which automatons do most of labor as we all know it’s nigh. Since work is both bodily or psychological, and the automatons will more and more be able to each, will probably be troublesome if not unimaginable for many people to maneuver to the next area of interest within the job market. The query is who all of the work can be for. The difficulty with robots and algorithms is that they don’t want to purchase stuff; solely people do. An expert optimist would possibly conceive of a future the place the machines do a lot of the work whereas we people get a common fundamental earnings in our financial institution accounts in order that we are able to purchase issues and maintain the entire financial system operating. That is fantastic, nevertheless it leaves us with a good larger query. We’re lastly confronted with the concept of freedom, and that may be a horrifying thought for many. Our days and our lives at current are given construction by work. Individuals worth themselves and others by designations and salaries. They dwell eight hours a day, 5 days per week, most weeks of the yr, for many of their lives with work. Their youths are spent in preparation for this; schooling is motivated and directed in giant measure in direction of gainful employment. With gainful employment out of the image, would so many individuals be curious about learning for 16 or extra years of their lives, at appreciable expense? Maybe, as skilled optimist Karl Marx remarked, will probably be doable, lastly, for everybody “to do one factor right now and one other tomorrow, to hunt within the morning, fish within the afternoon, rear cattle within the night, criticise after dinner…with out ever changing into hunter, fisherman, herdsman or critic,” although the looking, fishing, and cattle-rearing could must be carried out just about, and the criticism could also be bereft of even the illusion of schooling now seen on social media and in feedback sections. The skilled pessimist model of this state of affairs is just too darkish to color. Samrat is an writer, journalist and former newspaper editor. He tweets as @mrsamratx Your information to the most recent cricket World Cup tales, evaluation, studies, opinions, dwell updates and scores on https://www.firstpost.com/firstcricket/series/icc-cricket-world-cup-2019.html. 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