***I'll be busy tomorrow, so here's tomorrow's chapter.***
The air was still, eerily still. Thalen stood frozen, eyes locked on the place where Axel had vanished into shadow. The aura of clashing Nobodies lingered like smoke. His chest heaved.
And then a dark corridor unfurled behind him, spilling a cold violet glow onto the stone. From it stepped a tall figure draped in darkness, yellow eyes gleaming with inhuman detachment. His presence alone bent the atmosphere, the twilight air suddenly heavier, like gravity itself had doubled.
Baldr.
The man's gaze swept over Thalen as though inspecting a defective tool. His voice was quiet but carried easily, smooth and chilling.
"Another failed vessel. You're saturated in emptiness but lack the frame to bear it. Sooner or later, boy, you'll collapse into nothing. Still…" His lips curved into something cruel. "You are a fascinating existence. I think I'll take you with me. Study you. Tear you apart. Perhaps devour you afterward."
Thalen stumbled back, summoning his Harlequin reflexively. The Nobody twitched at his side, chain clinking, but Baldr's aura alone made it quiver like a leaf in storm. The man reached forward, one gloved hand extended, a predator plucking at a wounded rabbit.
And then light split the air.
A silver spear, trailing moonlight, whistled toward Baldr's chest. He pivoted with supernatural grace, twisting away as the weapon smashed into the earth where he stood, bursting stone into shards. His golden eyes snapped to the side, narrowing.
Helios stood there.
He was breathing heavy, blood still drying along his jacket from the battles earlier. His expression was cold, a smirk nowhere to be found. In his eyes burned a sharp gleam, not of playfulness, not even of anger alone, but something older—vengeance crystallized over silence.
"Stay away from him," Helios said, voice low and edged like the spear he summoned back to his hand.
For a heartbeat Baldr simply stared, tilting his head. Then recognition flashed.
"Ah… the vessel candidate I lost before," Baldr murmured. "So you survived the collapse of Nightfall after all. Interesting. You've adapted to darkness far better than I expected."
Helios' knuckles whitened on his spear. He didn't need to hear the name. He knew. This was the same man—the one who had stepped through shadows on that night, the one who had unleashed Heartless, who had torn his parents' hearts from their bodies and shattered them.
"You," Helios breathed, his voice trembling despite his effort to steady it.
Baldr smiled thinly. "Those two pests who resisted… they threw their lives away for nothing. And yet, here you stand—proof that sacrifice achieves nothing but delay."
The word "pests" cracked through Helios like a blade. Something inside him, locked down for years, split open.
In a single motion he turned to Thalen. "You're done here." He swept Thalen's legs, kicking him back. A dark corridor opened beneath the boy, swallowing him whole. The last thing Thalen saw was Helios' face—harder, colder than he'd ever seen—before the darkness sealed shut.
Helios and Baldr were alone.
The silver spear shimmered in Helios' grip, Bríon na Lú blazing as he lifted it to the ready. His breaths came sharp, fast, fury pushing his wounded body past reason.
Baldr tilted his head, amused. "So it's vengeance, then. You mean to claim my life to soothe your own emptiness? Will it quell the self-hatred and rage?"
"No," Helios spat, his voice cracking like thunder. "I mean to end you because you don't deserve to breathe."
And he lunged.
Bríon na Lú thrust forward in a line of silver light, a comet cutting through twilight. Baldr hardly flinched. The No Name keyblade materialized in his hand, its gnarled form blotting out Helios' brilliance as steel met steel. The clash detonated in a flare of light and darkness, a shockwave ripping outward.
Helios pressed harder, teeth gritted, spear trembling with his force. Baldr's golden eyes met his with cold disdain, barely straining as he parried.
"You've grown," Baldr said conversationally. "But you're still ruled by emotion. Hearts do indeed make one reckless. Don't worry, I'll soon save you from such a fate."
Helios wrenched his weapon free, spinning into a sweeping arc. Bríon na Lú sang as moonlight carved across the battlefield. Baldr stepped back, pivoting with practiced calm, letting the blade scrape sparks from his keyblade. Helios struck again, faster, stabbing, spinning, striking like a storm of silver.
But Baldr's defense was impenetrable. Every thrust met wood and iron. Every slash was guided aside, like water deflected from stone.
Still Helios drove forward, refusing to relent. His voice cut through each strike, louder with each breath.
"You took everything from me!" Clash.
"You called my parents pests!" Clash.
"You destroyed my home!" Clash.
Sparks erupted with every impact, the air thick with the sound of screeching steel.
Baldr barely shifted. Only his eyes showed flickers of interest. "They were weak. You should thank me. Their deaths gave you strength. It freed you to become the intriguing being before my eyes. Such a thing should be celebrated."
Helios roared, spinning his spear in a blinding arc. Baldr ducked, sliding forward, and their weapons locked crossguard to haft. They strained, light and darkness boiling between them.
"They gave me more strength in their sacrifice than you'll ever understand!" Helios spat, blood from his earlier wound trickling down his side. His muscles screamed, but he ignored them as his wounds opened up.
Baldr tilted his head, as if observing a specimen. "Strength from sacrifice seems pointless in my opinion." He pushed—and Helios staggered back, barely planting his spear to keep upright.
But his eyes never faltered. His grin returned, twisted with rage. "Then let me show it to you before you die."
He surged again, spear flashing in rapid thrusts, feints turning into sweeps, stabs turning into arcs. His movements were less polished now, more raw—but every strike carried the weight of years of pain.
Baldr met him blow for blow. His counters were precise, elegant, almost effortless. Yet for the first time, a flicker of effort touched his brow.
Helios drove him back a step.
Baldr's smirk widened. "So this is what their sacrifice bought you. How small and pathetic this display is."
Helios' voice rose to a shout, spear blazing white. "It bought me the strength to kill you!"
They collided again. Spear and keyblade locked. The explosion of light and shadow shook the twilight realm, fissures cracking the stone beneath their feet. Dust rose, carried by the raw pressure of their locked wills.
Neither yielded.
For Helios, this was not a tournament match. Not a lesson. Not a survival fight. This was his vow made flesh. The night of Nightfall lived again in his blood, in his bones, and only Baldr's death could silence it.