***Busy yet again tomorrow***
The air was thick with the scent of ozone and shadow. The echo of Skuld's last spell still shimmered in the cavernous depths of the Underworld, the residual glow of Reflega fading like dying stars. Around her, the first wave of Heartless lay scattered—disintegrating into motes of black smoke that spiraled upward before vanishing into the gloom.
Aqua knelt nearby, braced against her keyblade Stormfall, her face pale, drenched in sweat. The curse of the Underworld had leeched most of her strength—her light and magic dimmed to a flicker.
Skuld exhaled through clenched teeth, Ravenveil Whisper humming faintly in her grip. Her keyblade's feathered design pulsed with soft blue light, responding to her heartbeat.
"I told you to stay back," she muttered, glancing toward Aqua.
Aqua tried to smile, but her lips barely twitched. "You think I'd just… watch you fight alone?"
Before Skuld could answer, the ground beneath them trembled. From the cracks in the dark stone, new shadows spilled forth like ink — a crawling mass that twisted and warped into shape.
Dozens of Neoshadows emerged first, their glowing yellow eyes flaring as they slithered out of the ground, claws flexing. Overhead, Hook Bats swooped in flocks, their metallic chains clinking as their red hooks gleamed in the dim light.
And from the far end of the corridor, a pack of Bad Dogs crawled forward, snarling, jaws snapping. Their howls reverberated through the dark, sending a pulse of sickly magic through the air.
Skuld's expression hardened. "Of course," she whispered, raising Ravenveil Whisper. "Round two."
The Hook Bats dived first, hooks spinning in deadly arcs. Skuld spun her keyblade in her hand, light gathering at her feet. She vanished in a blur of silver and blue light—her body splitting into a dozen afterimages. The nearest bat screeched as a streak of wind carved through it, shattering its form into motes of darkness.
Another swooped low, its chain whipping toward her. Skuld deflected the strike with a twist of her keyblade, her movements precise and almost impossibly fast. She used a flicker of light beneath her feet—Areial Step—to redirect mid-air, then pivoted off a conjured platform of solid wind. The blade of Ravenveil Whisper caught the bat square in the chest, slicing it clean in half before she somersaulted away.
Below her, Neoshadows lunged. Their forms stretched unnaturally, arms lengthening into black whips. Skuld landed hard, driving her keyblade into the ground. "Thundaga!"
Bolts of lightning erupted from the ceiling like falling stars, striking the Neoshadows in crackling succession. The air filled with the sound of their shrieks as their bodies dissolved, but more climbed out from the darkness to replace them.
"Aqua!" Skuld shouted, barely blocking a Bad Dog's bite. The creature's teeth sank into the barrier of wind she hastily conjured, sparks flying. "Can you cast?"
Aqua tried to summon her keyblade again, but it flickered and vanished from her grasp. She grimaced. "The curse… it's draining me too fast."
"Then stay down. I'll handle this."
She pressed her palm to the ground. Aeroga swirled around her, forming a dome of raging wind. The barrier erupted outward, scattering the Neoshadows that had encircled her. The spell's backlash lifted her hair and cloak in a wild gale.
"Come on, then!" she shouted.
The Bad Dogs charged first, their grotesque maws snapping open. Shockwaves burst from their jaws. Skuld braced herself, crossed her keyblade in front of her, and cast Reflectga. The air shimmered as translucent light spheres formed around her, each wave rebounding off the shields with violent explosions that sent the Heartless flying.
Before they could recover, Skuld lunged forward—each step powered by a burst of light that flared beneath her feet. Her blade moved like a storm—every swing followed by an echo of wind.
One Bad Dog leapt at her. She ducked low, spun, and drove Ravenveil Whisper upward in a thrust that released a spiral of compressed air. The Heartless split apart mid-air, dissolving into motes.
Three Neoshadows rushed in from her left. Skuld pivoted her wrist, firing a Firaga shot from her off-hand. The orb detonated mid-air, igniting their forms in an inferno of red flame. Before they could reform, she followed with Blizzaga, freezing the molten remnants mid-fall, and shattered them with a sweeping strike.
But they kept coming. Every destroyed Heartless seemed to summon another dozen.
Her breathing grew sharp, labored. Her armor shimmered, cracked. The Underworld's oppressive air clawed at her lungs.
"Damn it," she hissed. "They just keep reforming."
Above her, a Gargoyle roared—a dark blur diving down. Skuld's instincts screamed, and she threw herself sideways as its claws ripped through the ground where she'd stood. It flapped its leathery wings once, sending dust spiraling. Its mouth opened wide—blue fire gathering in its throat.
She raised her keyblade just in time. "Reflectga!"
The fireball struck the shield, detonating outward in a ring of flame that illuminated the entire battlefield. The Gargoyle reeled backward—wings smoldering.
Skuld didn't hesitate. She launched upward in a burst of wind, spinning in mid-air. "Aero Spiral!"
Her body became a blur of motion—an arc of wind and light as she slammed into the Gargoyle's chest, carving through it in a single, powerful strike. The creature's body split apart and dissolved, raining black ash.
When she landed, her knees buckled. She caught herself on Ravenveil Whisper, panting.
Her magic reserves were dropping fast. She could feel it — her light straining to keep the fervor going.
A flicker of movement to her right — a Search Ghost emerged from the wall, its single dangling eye swinging on its chain. It lunged, claws stretching unnaturally long.
"Persistent, aren't you?" Skuld muttered.
The ghost's glowing eye flashed red. Light gathered around it, siphoning her strength. For a moment, her vision dimmed—her heart skipping. She snarled, forcing herself to move. Wind Step—she vanished in a flash of light and reappeared behind it. "Not today."
Her blade flared bright white. She slashed once—twice—thrice—each strike leaving afterimages of light. The final blow cleaved the ghost in half, its stolen energy snapping back into her body in a rush.
Silence fell.
For a few seconds, Skuld just stood there, surrounded by drifting ash and the faint hum of her Keyblade. Her body trembled from the strain. Her armor flickered once before collapsing into fragments of light that dissolved into the air.
She turned—Aqua was watching her, awe and concern warring on her face.
"Skuld… you—"
"I'm okay," Skuld said, forcing a grin. "Barely."
Aqua gave a weary chuckle, pressing a hand over her heart. "You're incredible. I thought for sure—"
"Don't finish that sentence." Skuld raised a hand, smiling faintly. "We're not done yet."
The ground rumbled again.
From the fissures ahead, more shadows began to crawl—hundreds this time, their yellow eyes flickering like stars in the abyss.
Aqua struggled to her feet. "Skuld… we can't take them all."
Skuld turned her head slightly, light building faintly around her again despite her exhaustion. "We don't have to." She pointed Ravenveil Whisper toward the encroaching swarm, her eyes glowing with defiance.
"We just have to remind them whose world they're standing in."
She drove her keyblade into the ground—light erupting upward in a massive wave. A cyclone of wind and radiance spiraled outward, sweeping across the battlefield. The shockwave tore through the nearest shadows, scattering them like dust in the storm.
When the light faded, Skuld stood in the center, panting but unbroken, her silhouette framed by the faint glow of the Underworld's distant fire.
Even Hecate, watching from her distant throne of flame, leaned forward with a crooked smile.
"Well," she murmured, her voice echoing across the void. "Maybe the little key-wielder isn't such a disappointment after all."