//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Dark Half of Him... // Story: Broken Barriers: Secret Reports // by BioQuillFiction //------------------------------// Time is said to heal all wounds, yet non can heal a split heart, Drezke was half of a being, now, possibly forever to remain this way. As such, he made home in the place where beings like him belong. The Realm of Darkness. A cave, lit by lantern, decorated with only a sleeping mat and magic burning stove. Frustratingly enough though, sleep escaped Drezke. He didn’t know it if was the Realm of Darkness’s doing, or what he was. You should do some scouting. Discord said. Somehow, in this state, all other Keyblades voices were no longer audible to him, save for Discord. Somehow. “Sure.” Drezke said, getting up off his mat and summoning the Kingdom Key D. Stepping outside his cave, pushing aside the ragged cloth that was used as a door. Outside was black sand, crystals or unknown origin, and bizarre rocks that had blue glowing cracks. He picked a random direction, finding himself some hours later in a swallowed world. Dark age buildings scattered about. Before him, a stone archway, with fog blocking it. “Huh. What’s behind you?” Drezke stepped into the fog, and once on the other side, stood a tall creature. Not a heartless, an inhabitant from the world that was swallowed. It stood ten or more feet tall, held two large swords, and had some sort of armored goat head. Drezke whistled. “Wow, you are ugly.” It roared, charging at him as he side stepps it’s attack. It rammed into the wall and he jumped, slashing off it’s head. It’s body phasing out as an orb of light floated where it was killed. “What the?” Drezke said, walking over to it. “Huh...wonder what you do?” ”It’s just souls.” Drezke didn’t even bother with a reaction. Psychopath had been paying him regular visits for a while. “Looks weird.” He replied, looking over to Psychopath. “So, what are you here for?” ”Bypass a rather difficult plan. It’s simple, this half and you reunite, the host is whole, and this kingdom hearts will be under our control, and we can make every compatible body in this pathetic realm into one of us.” “You want to make an army?” ”An army we already are, but numbers are always fun to raise, especially if it’s body counts.” “You know I’ll refuse.” ”For how much longer? You and I both know you crave to be whole again. You are nothing but darkness. That ‘conscience’ you are pretending to have will die off sooner or later, and you’ll find yourself listening and acting on what comes naturally to darkness like you.” “Then I hope who ever kills me makes it quick.” ”Ah, there it is, that pride in dying for what’s right, shared by many a grand fools that have faced us in our time, but never has it been so present in any than in Cript and all his reflections. Heh, too bad he is the only one of his reflections to break away from us.” “How is that?” ”How? ...We don’t know. Everything was going smoothly, a quick test run, wiped out an entire plant that earth managed to colonize, next thing we knew we were headed back to earth, and we lost connection. We tried time and time again, but we could not regain full connection to his body...then, one fight against him… he was using our own power against us.” hmmm. Strange. Perhaps there is a way… “What are the requirements to being one of you?” ”A mind that can kill without consideration, that can find enjoyment and even pleasure in the death of others, and a body that can handle the raw energy and pain.” “Pain?” ”We are the physical embodiments of Murder. We fell, for all eternity, the pain of every kill of every sentient being from the very first to any and all we kill and others kill to the nanosecond.” “If that’s true, then why keep killing?” ”...” “...You only want to end everything to end your own pain.” Psychopath was now in front of Drezke, choking him to the ground. ”Our entire existence it the pain of the deaths caused by all you sentient pieces of thilth! So long as there is life intelligence will keep coming back and out pain will NEVER end. Not as long as even the tiniest atom exists!” Drezke spit into Psycho’s face. He grunted, letting go. ”Help us make our pain end.” Drezke coughed. “You should be asking that help from Cript. Not me.” He said roughly When he looked up Psycho was gone. “Damn you.” He grunted, standing up. “Ugh...Where?” Drezke wondered. After that ’chat’ with Psychopath Drezke wandered around for awhile before blacking out. For some reason. As he got up, his head pounded like thunder playing the drums. When he looked at his surroundings...his eye’s widened. He was inside some sort of metal structure. Blood covered the walls and floors...and him. “No, nonononononononono! DAMN IT!” He yelled, slamming his fist onto the ground, tearing through the rather thick metal that made up the floor. Psychopath was right. He was starting to lose it. The whispers and thoughts that came with being dark like he was, added to the Pure Darkness he took in when Zeke fought Core, he was on a timer. He forced himself up, walking along where he could, finding little. A firefight was obvious, but the marks were from a mix of Keyblades and heartless. It...was massacre. You didn’t try to snap me out of it? Your madness infected us all! If it wasn’t for me already being mad I wouldn’t have remembered any of it...and frankly...I wish I didn’t. “Damn it…” Drezke grumbled. “We’re low on options…” “*Sniff. Hic*.” “Shh!” Drezke looked up. Those were the voices of someone young. Two people...survivors. He ran, the source not being far as he pushed a button and opened a door. Inside were...a small grey filly, unicorn, crying while being held by an older charcoal grey unicorn filly with white and red mane and tail. She had a cutie mark. A yellow bird singing. “S-Stay away!” The charcoal filly said. “...You saw…” “I-I heard it all, Monsters. Gunfire. W-why?!” “...I’m broken. Half of who I was...my other half is possibly gone… Things like this will keep happening to me…” “C-can’t anypony cure you? Fix you?” “...I don’t know, but I doubt they can.” Drezke said, looking at the two foals. “What’s your name?” “I’m Velvet. Velvet Remedy, and this is Littlepip.” So young. Such strong light in her, and Littlepip, such a great light and darkness. Balanced but not unified like I was. A hard life is ahead of her. Drezke thought. “Come on. This place isn't fit for you two anymore.” He said, Velvet hesitate in her following as she carried Littlepip in tow. The found the entrance to the bunker, and as Drezke stepped out, Velvet stopped at the entrance. “What's wrong?” He asked. “It's just that...after the war, stories were told about a pony who came out of our stand, and she died, because there was nothing outside. Just darkness.” A war? Just Darkness outside? Drezke calmed himself, feeling the energy through the world flow. Such strong darkness. It's tainted this world down to it's heart. “Wait here. I’ll be back.” He said, walking to the backmost of the...cellar, he realized. He found a stairway up, and when he opened the door, two things met him. An ever expanding layer of clouds that covered the sky...and a pungent, foul darkness that radiated from the very soil. “So this world gave into its own darkness…” Drezke signed, snapping his fingers as horde after horde of heartless and unversed appeared before him. “Listen closely. Find every being on this planet that is lost to their own darkness...and end them, take the heart of you wish but put an end to the lost inhabitants. And find whatever is doing that!” He yelled, pointing at the cloud layer above them. “And put a stop to it! That’s unnatural, I can tell that much. Any who have not given into their darkness bring them to me, this world is dying and I will fix it. If I can’t do at least that, then I might as well let the darkness take what’s left of Zeke that I have. Now go!” With that order, they scattered, and across the face of this post-apocalyptic Equis, genocide began. Death was Drezke’s gift to this world, darkness consuming the darkness, and sparing the little light that was there. Drezke, had his second part to play in this, summoning the Kingdom Key D, he found the Keyhole to this world, it above the very cellar he had come out of, and it pulsated with the darkness that infested it. Summoning Discord, he flew up to it...and reached into it. “Consume Darkness.” He cast, all the world's darkness that had dripped into its heart began to absorb into Drezke, the pain caused him to scream in agony, as the pain the world suffered all these years in darkness was now becoming his. Death, war, selfishness, anger, rage...evil. This world went through hell, and Drezke took it all, till only the light remained. Finally, with all it’s darkness inside him, he pulled his hand out of the Keyhole, it disappearing as he did, and he fell to the ground. He now possessed an aura of darkness, and his skin paired to an ash grey. Calming his new darkness, his dark aura settled, but his skin did not return to it’s normal hue. “Damn, even being only darkness, it still can have...side effects on me.” He muttered, getting back up. The Heartless and Unversed bringing those Drezke said to. As he expected, most were children...and a...Zombie pony? He shook it off, heading back into the cellar and finding Velvet still standing at the entrance, Littlepip now sleeping on her back. “Ah! What happened?” She asked, scared. “Relax. It’s my consequence.” “Consequence? For what?” “You said all that was out there was darkness...you were right.” “Th-there was just darkness!?” “Mostly, very little light...I took away the darkness...And left only light.” He said. He motioned for Velvet to follow, and she did, he lead her up the stairs, and when he lifted the door above them, rather than a layer of clouds, bright, burning sunlight greeted them. Velvet needed a moment for her eyes to adjust, but when she gazed upon the ever blue sky, the sun...she cried. “We...we all, none of us have.” “It’s okay.” He said, patting her head. “Take it in. Your world, is being reborn.” Zeke saved his world...I have to keep that part of him alive at least.