Kingdom Hearts: Consumed by Darkness

Braig's sharp eyes never left Helios, his grip tightening slightly on his arrowguns. The air between them was thick with tension, each moment stretching longer than the last. Finally, Helios broke the silence, his voice calm but edged with curiosity.

"So, what are you going to tell them?" Helios gestured toward the unconscious forms of Dilan and Aeleus, his shadowy form rippling faintly. "You know, when they wake up and ask what happened here."

Braig's smirk returned, though his eyes remained hard. "Really? That's your first question?" he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Helios tilted his head, the faint glow of his amber eyes in his dark form catching the light of the crystals around them. "Call me curious. Go on, I'm listening."

Braig chuckled, though there was no humor in it. "Fine," he said, his tone casual but laced with menace. "I'll spin a little story for them. Something about you having an accomplice who ambushed us, maybe even tried to take them out. Keeps the heat off me and puts it all on you. Sound good?"

Helios shrugged nonchalantly. "Works for me," he replied. "Now, your turn. What does 'Luxu' wish to know?"

At the mention of the name, Braig's playful smirk vanished, replaced by a dangerous intensity. The air around him seemed to grow heavier as a threatening aura radiated from his body. His voice dropped, low and cold. "Who are you?" he demanded. "And how do you know that name?"

Helios smirked, crossing his arms as he leaned against a nearby crystal formation. "Aww, sorry," he said mockingly. "Questions about my identity are off the menu. You'll have to settle for the second one."

Braig raised one of his arrowguns, aiming it squarely at Helios. "Don't play coy with me," he growled. "I remember everyone who survived and should be walking around in this era. You're not one of them."

Helios let out a soft chuckle, the sound echoing faintly in the cavern. "And yet, here I am," he said, his tone light but carrying an undertone of menace. "I know the events from back then because I saw them with my own eyes. How else do you think I'd know the name 'Luxu'?"

Braig's grip tightened on his arrowguns, his gaze narrowing as he studied Helios. "That's impossible," he said sharply. "If you were there, I'd know you. So, either you're lying, or there's something seriously wrong with this picture. Unless you've taken another's body to survive throughout the ages."

"Take your pick," Helios said with a shrug. "But I think we both know the truth doesn't change the fact that I'm here now."

Braig didn't lower his weapons, but his smirk returned, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Alright, shadow boy. Let's move on to the next question. What do you want?"

Helios straightened, his glowing eyes meeting Braig's unflinchingly. "Simple," he said. "I don't want to be bothered while I'm here."

Braig raised an eyebrow, his smirk widening. "That's a pretty vague request. Care to elaborate?"

Helios's voice grew colder, his tone steady and deliberate. "I know what Xehanort is planning. I have no intention of interfering with him or his grand scheme. All I want is to do what I came here to do and leave. So, Luxu," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he used the name again, "I'm hoping you'll return the favor and ignore me."

Braig's smirk faded slightly, replaced by a look of measured contemplation. He lowered one of his arrowguns, though the other remained trained on Helios. "You expect me to just trust you?" he asked, his tone skeptical.

"I don't care if you trust me," Helios replied bluntly. "I'm not your enemy, but I'm also not your ally. Call it… parallel paths. Yours leads to Xehanort, mine leads somewhere else. That's all you need to know."

Braig tilted his head, his sharp eyes glinting with something between curiosity and suspicion. "And what if our paths cross again? What then?"

Helios smirked, his shadowy form rippling faintly as he stepped closer. "We'll cross that bridge when the time comes. If does we'll see if I can keep avoiding those fancy little guns of yours," he said, his tone almost playful.

Braig let out a low chuckle, holstering one arrowgun while keeping the other at his side. "You're a piece of work, shadow boy," he said, shaking his head. "Fine. You stay out of our way, and I'll think about staying out of yours. But don't push your luck."

Helios nodded, his smirk fading into a more serious expression. "Good enough," he said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got better things to do than trade barbs with an old Keyblade wielder playing at being a sniper."

Braig's eyes narrowed at the jab, but he didn't rise to the bait. He stepped aside, gesturing toward the exit. "Go on, then. Just don't forget—if you make trouble, I'll be there."

Helios inclined his head, his amber eyes gleaming faintly as he turned toward the shadows. "Duly noted," he said over his shoulder.

With that, he vanished into a swirling dark corridor, leaving Braig alone with the unconscious Dilan and Aeleus. Braig stared after him for a moment, his sharp eyes thoughtful as he muttered under his breath.

"Just what are you up to, shadow boy?"

Helios emerged from the dark corridor into the quiet interior of Leon's house. The warm, rustic space felt oddly peaceful compared to the tense encounters he'd just left behind. His eyes immediately fell on Aerith, seated beside a comatose Cloud. Her soft hands rested on his arm, and her serene face was etched with concern.

The sight confirmed Helios's worst fears. Cloud's condition was dire, his eyes were hollow and his body unnaturally still. The telltale signs of a fractured heart loomed over him like a dark cloud, eerily similar to what had happened to Ventus when Master Xehanort had split his heart to create Vanitas.

Aerith's wide, startled eyes met Helios's as he stepped into the room, his dark presence unsettling in the otherwise serene space. "You—" she began, but before she could say more, Helios raised a hand and cast a sleep spell.

The magic shimmered softly in the air, and Aerith's resistance melted almost immediately. Her eyelids fluttered shut, and she slumped forward. Helios quickly moved to catch her, cradling her gently before laying her down on the bed after moving Cloud aside.

"Sorry, Aerith," he murmured under his breath. "But I don't have time to explain."

Turning his attention fully to Cloud, Helios knelt beside him and placed a hand on the man's chest. He closed his eyes, summoning the dark power within him to probe the state of Cloud's heart. As he feared, it was fragile—splintered and unstable, teetering on the edge of collapse. The separation of darkness within him, personified as Sephiroth, had left Cloud's heart deeply wounded. Without intervention, it would shatter completely given time.

The memory of his parents' hearts breaking flickered in Helios's mind. Their final moments, their faces, their sacrifices—it was a pain he could never forget, one he refused to let happen again. Shaking the thoughts away, he focused on Cloud. There was no room for sentiment now. Action was needed.

Helios reached down and lifted Cloud's limp body, his Keyblade summoning a dark corridor before him. "I know whose heart can help you," he muttered under his breath. "But they're in another world."

He stepped into the swirling shadows, the portal closing behind him with a soft hum.