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The Underworld is a grim, dingy place, but with all the Heartless escaping out into the world above, it's at least not as glutted with monsters as the path to it had been. Eden and the other keybearers sprint down its cold tunnels, find ways across its rivers, take what seems like an endless amount of stairs downwards.
Even with the Olympus Medal protecting him, Eden can still feel the darkness of the Underworld clawing at him, like it’s trying to eat away at him and, if his Medal were to fail, would overtake him completely. That registers as -- wrong, somehow. Other people have been down here, after all, right? They can’t all have had Olympus Medals.
“There!” Clare yells, as they reach the lowest chamber of the Underworld, pointing at a swirling Corridor of Darkness beneath them. “That’s the Corridor. If we shut it, we’ll cut off the supply of Darkball Heartless.”
“On it,” Eden replies, darting ahead of the group, the emblem of a lion flaring beneath his feet before he brings his keyblade down onto the Corridor. It ripples, then collapses in on itself, swirling into a single point and finally vanishing.
“Mission complete,” Thancred says, landing next to Eden. “We can return to Daybreak Town.”
“I don’t plan on allowing that.”
A Chirithy? That’s definitely a Chirithy’s voice.
There’s a puff of smoke on one of the rock pillars, and a Chirithy that Eden … doesn’t recognise at all appears. Every Chirithy he’s seen so far has had grey fur, and eyes made of blue yarn. This one is jet black, with two buttons sewn on to make up its eyes.
“A Chirithy?” Clare asks. “What is -- where is your keybearer, Chirithy?”
The Black Chirithy regards her for a moment, then lifts its shoulders in a shrug. “My keybearer is close enough, no need to worry about that,” he says.
Eden frowns, taking a step forward. “You’re the one who released the Heartless, right? Who’s controlling them? And you’re the one who opened the Corridor here, sent the Darkballs out to other worlds.”
“I am,” the Black Chirithy says. “With special thanks to Hades for permitting me to use his Underworld for that purpose.”
“Why?”
“Of course, let me just explain my entire plan to you,” the Black Chirithy replies wryly. “Perhaps you should worry less about me and more about yourselves.”
Thancred snorts, shaking his head. “Why? Our mission is done, the Foretellers are waiting for us on the surface, and all we need to do is clean up the Heartless. Doesn’t seem like we’ve got much cause to worry.”
Strelitzia’s mouth twists into a grimace. “... I think … I think this might have been what he planned on all along.”
The Black Chirithy smiles. “Ah, one of you has some brains, I see. Although I admit, freeing the Titans was Hades’ idea, a non-negotiable condition for his help. Nor did I plan for the other Foretellers arriving. In truth, this trap I’ve set isn’t for them, or even for most of you. It’s for Eden.”
… What?
Eden blinks, cocking his head to one side. “Me? I don’t remember even meeting you before, let alone getting on your bad side.”
The Black Chirithy gives him a weary glance. “It’s started, though, hasn’t it? The pain in your eye, the visions of the future, the slow realisation that you’re not like the other keybearers. In time, you’ll awaken even more, see more of the future. So before you see how this cycle ends, before the future is observed and set, I’ll erase you entirely.”
“Your plan to release a ton of Heartless hasn’t exactly worked. I’m still here, after all.”
“It’s really only one Heartless that I care about. Ifrit, crafted specifically for this task,” the Black Chirithy says. “And any moment now, he’ll be opening the door to the heart of this world and corrupting it.”
There’s a low rumble from up above them. A storm? An earthquake? Eden doesn’t have time to wonder, because the cavern starts to shake, dust and rocks falling from the ceiling.
“You’d destroy an entire world just to take out one person?!” Clare asks.
“No,” the Black Chirithy says mildly. “I’d destroy every world to take out one person.”
---
The Underworld is nearly collapsing by the time they barrel out of the gates, but outside is even worse.
The sky is pitch black, filled with roiling clouds circling around the now corrupted heart of the world, a black and orange sphere crackling with lightning. Most of Thebes is already gone, dragged up into the heart, and Eden can see where the ground has split and fractured, leaving only void below.
What few people are left are clutching their chests, screaming as darkness bubbles out of their mouths and ears, their bodies fading as their hearts are twisted into Heartless.
“It’s really happening,” Clare murmurs. “This world is being destroyed.”
Thancred whirls on Eden, grabbing him by the front of his jacket. “What’d he mean?! This is all a trap for you? Why is that Chirithy out to get you?!”
“How should I know?!”
“Enough!” Clare snaps. “We have company.”
A small crowd of new Heartless are gathering around them, drawn, Eden guesses, to their keyblades. Thancred lets go of him, giving him a shove.
They barely get a chance to summon their keyblades to their hand, before a wave of glittering swords crashes down over the Heartless, eviscerating them, and Ardyn lands neatly in front of them, one hand steadying his hat.
“Our dear Foretellers are preparing us a way out of this mess,” Ardyn says smoothly. “Shall we?”
There’s no argument. Thebes, Olympus, the Underworld, this entire world is beyond saving. All they can do is flee.
---
True to Ardyn’s word, the Foretellers have a Corridor open for them. Gula and Invi appear to have already gone through, leaving Aced and Ava behind to guard it.
Clare goes through first, then Strelitzia, Thancred, and Ardyn. Taking up the rear of the group, Eden moves to dash towards it, only for the ground to split beneath his feet, the chunk of rock he’s on dragged backwards and into the air before he can get close to the Corridor.
Eden curses, setting his feet and bounding off the rock, bouncing off another floating piece of debris to try to get back down to the Corridor. The pull of the world’s heart, now a veritable vortex of shadow, catches him before he can, tugging him up through the air towards it.
He hears Ava yell something, before he’s pulled into the vortex, and the darkness flows over him from all sides.
Even with the Olympus Medal protecting him, Eden can still feel the darkness of the Underworld clawing at him, like it’s trying to eat away at him and, if his Medal were to fail, would overtake him completely. That registers as -- wrong, somehow. Other people have been down here, after all, right? They can’t all have had Olympus Medals.
“There!” Clare yells, as they reach the lowest chamber of the Underworld, pointing at a swirling Corridor of Darkness beneath them. “That’s the Corridor. If we shut it, we’ll cut off the supply of Darkball Heartless.”
“On it,” Eden replies, darting ahead of the group, the emblem of a lion flaring beneath his feet before he brings his keyblade down onto the Corridor. It ripples, then collapses in on itself, swirling into a single point and finally vanishing.
“Mission complete,” Thancred says, landing next to Eden. “We can return to Daybreak Town.”
“I don’t plan on allowing that.”
A Chirithy? That’s definitely a Chirithy’s voice.
There’s a puff of smoke on one of the rock pillars, and a Chirithy that Eden … doesn’t recognise at all appears. Every Chirithy he’s seen so far has had grey fur, and eyes made of blue yarn. This one is jet black, with two buttons sewn on to make up its eyes.
“A Chirithy?” Clare asks. “What is -- where is your keybearer, Chirithy?”
The Black Chirithy regards her for a moment, then lifts its shoulders in a shrug. “My keybearer is close enough, no need to worry about that,” he says.
Eden frowns, taking a step forward. “You’re the one who released the Heartless, right? Who’s controlling them? And you’re the one who opened the Corridor here, sent the Darkballs out to other worlds.”
“I am,” the Black Chirithy says. “With special thanks to Hades for permitting me to use his Underworld for that purpose.”
“Why?”
“Of course, let me just explain my entire plan to you,” the Black Chirithy replies wryly. “Perhaps you should worry less about me and more about yourselves.”
Thancred snorts, shaking his head. “Why? Our mission is done, the Foretellers are waiting for us on the surface, and all we need to do is clean up the Heartless. Doesn’t seem like we’ve got much cause to worry.”
Strelitzia’s mouth twists into a grimace. “... I think … I think this might have been what he planned on all along.”
The Black Chirithy smiles. “Ah, one of you has some brains, I see. Although I admit, freeing the Titans was Hades’ idea, a non-negotiable condition for his help. Nor did I plan for the other Foretellers arriving. In truth, this trap I’ve set isn’t for them, or even for most of you. It’s for Eden.”
… What?
Eden blinks, cocking his head to one side. “Me? I don’t remember even meeting you before, let alone getting on your bad side.”
The Black Chirithy gives him a weary glance. “It’s started, though, hasn’t it? The pain in your eye, the visions of the future, the slow realisation that you’re not like the other keybearers. In time, you’ll awaken even more, see more of the future. So before you see how this cycle ends, before the future is observed and set, I’ll erase you entirely.”
“Your plan to release a ton of Heartless hasn’t exactly worked. I’m still here, after all.”
“It’s really only one Heartless that I care about. Ifrit, crafted specifically for this task,” the Black Chirithy says. “And any moment now, he’ll be opening the door to the heart of this world and corrupting it.”
There’s a low rumble from up above them. A storm? An earthquake? Eden doesn’t have time to wonder, because the cavern starts to shake, dust and rocks falling from the ceiling.
“You’d destroy an entire world just to take out one person?!” Clare asks.
“No,” the Black Chirithy says mildly. “I’d destroy every world to take out one person.”
The Underworld is nearly collapsing by the time they barrel out of the gates, but outside is even worse.
The sky is pitch black, filled with roiling clouds circling around the now corrupted heart of the world, a black and orange sphere crackling with lightning. Most of Thebes is already gone, dragged up into the heart, and Eden can see where the ground has split and fractured, leaving only void below.
What few people are left are clutching their chests, screaming as darkness bubbles out of their mouths and ears, their bodies fading as their hearts are twisted into Heartless.
“It’s really happening,” Clare murmurs. “This world is being destroyed.”
Thancred whirls on Eden, grabbing him by the front of his jacket. “What’d he mean?! This is all a trap for you? Why is that Chirithy out to get you?!”
“How should I know?!”
“Enough!” Clare snaps. “We have company.”
A small crowd of new Heartless are gathering around them, drawn, Eden guesses, to their keyblades. Thancred lets go of him, giving him a shove.
They barely get a chance to summon their keyblades to their hand, before a wave of glittering swords crashes down over the Heartless, eviscerating them, and Ardyn lands neatly in front of them, one hand steadying his hat.
“Our dear Foretellers are preparing us a way out of this mess,” Ardyn says smoothly. “Shall we?”
There’s no argument. Thebes, Olympus, the Underworld, this entire world is beyond saving. All they can do is flee.
True to Ardyn’s word, the Foretellers have a Corridor open for them. Gula and Invi appear to have already gone through, leaving Aced and Ava behind to guard it.
Clare goes through first, then Strelitzia, Thancred, and Ardyn. Taking up the rear of the group, Eden moves to dash towards it, only for the ground to split beneath his feet, the chunk of rock he’s on dragged backwards and into the air before he can get close to the Corridor.
Eden curses, setting his feet and bounding off the rock, bouncing off another floating piece of debris to try to get back down to the Corridor. The pull of the world’s heart, now a veritable vortex of shadow, catches him before he can, tugging him up through the air towards it.
He hears Ava yell something, before he’s pulled into the vortex, and the darkness flows over him from all sides.