The Lanes Between greeted them like a yawning void—an endless expanse of shifting darkness streaked with ethereal rivers of light. Stars burned faintly in the distance, cold and unwelcoming. The air—or what passed for it—hummed with oppressive silence.
Helios gripped the handles of his glider, the twin crescent blades of Eclipsera slicing through the emptiness with a faint ripple of light and shadow. Behind him, Kurai's Umbra Serpentis coiled sinuously, moving like a living thing as the segmented body twisted and turned with her every motion. Skuld brought up the rear, her avian-shaped glider shimmering with cerulean light as metallic wings adjusted for stability.
"Stay close," Helios called over the roar of their passage. "The Lanes Between has a mind of its own, and if you get lost, it'll waste too much time."
"I'm aware," Kurai replied coldly, her voice faintly distorted through her helmet.
"Right. Just don't fall behind, little hadow." Helios smirked beneath his visor.
Kurai didn't bother responding, but her glider surged forward slightly, overtaking him for a moment as if to prove a point.
Skuld's voice crackled nervously in their comm link. "Helios, this… this place feels stranger than normal. Like something's watching us."
"You're not wrong." Helios' tone grew serious. "Keep your senses sharp. More and more heartless seem to being invading the Realm Between Worlds. That and there's always something worse out there."
As if summoned by his words, a ripple shuddered through the void ahead. Shapes emerged from the darkness—Heartless ships, their jagged forms glowing faintly with sinister yellow eyes. The swarm fanned out like vultures encircling prey.
"Contact!" Helios barked. "Skuld, defensive position. Kurai, with me!"
Umbra Serpentis hissed, its segmented body snapping taut as Kurai accelerated. "Finally… something worth cutting down."
The first wave of Heartless dove straight at them, firing crackling bolts of dark energy. Helios spun Eclipsera in a tight barrel roll, silver and black contrails streaking behind him as the blasts tore through empty space.
Kurai's glider flexed, splitting its segments midair to weave through the attacks. With a flick of her wrist, the serpent-head prow snapped open, releasing a volley of Shadow Flares that detonated in the swarm, ripping apart two ships instantly.
Skuld pulled her wings tight and dove under an incoming blast, then retaliated with a spread of glowing Blizzard Arrows that froze a pursuing Heartless in place before it shattered.
"They're flanking us!" Skuld shouted.
Helios clicked his tongue. "Stay calm! Kurai, cut the left wing—I'll handle the right!"
"Try not to fall apart while I do your work," Kurai muttered, her glider twisting like a predator in the void. She dove straight into the swarm, the Umbra Serpentis' tail segments detaching briefly and spinning like deadly saw blades, cutting through three more ships with surgical precision.
The second wave came harder. Massive, whale-sized Heartless ships surged from the depths, their gaping maws pulling in debris—and the trio—like a black hole.
"Helios, we're being pulled in!" Skuld warned.
"Engage boost!" Helios barked.
Eclipsera's twin wings flared with light and shadow as he rocketed upward, narrowly avoiding the crushing jaws of the beast. Behind him, Kurai darted left, her glider's serpent body coiling around the monster's head and slicing deep gouges into its carapace.
"Pathetic," she growled, hurling a Shadow Firaga directly into its mouth. The explosion rippled through the creature, forcing it to release its pull.
Skuld zipped past them, her glider's wings flaring out as she deployed a Gale Barrier, the spinning wind blades deflecting a barrage of enemy fire.
"Thanks, Skuld," Helios said, moving into formation beside her. "Let's clean this up."
The trio reformed into a tight delta formation, tearing through the Heartless ranks.
Helios flicked his wrist, sending Light Lances spiraling outward. They skewered multiple small Heartless at once, their bodies disintegrating into motes of darkness.
Kurai's glider extended sharp "scythe fins," and she sliced through enemies in brutal arcs, leaving streaks of amethyst energy in her wake.
"Don't fall behind, Skuld," Kurai intoned coldly.
"I'm not the one missing shots!" Skuld shot back, her glider's wings glowing brightly. She unleashed a powerful Thundaga Volley, lightning bolts chaining through a cluster of Heartless and sending them spinning into oblivion.
The void ahead rippled again—this time, not with enemies but with fragmented debris fields. Shattered fragments of broken worlds floated aimlessly, colliding and shattering with deafening booms.
Helios' visor flashed warning signs. "Obstacle field ahead! Watch your speed!"
The three darted through the maze of drifting debris, dodging massive chunks of stone and globs of unstable energy that threatened to detonate on impact.
Kurai's glider coiled elegantly around a floating ruin, the tail segments snapping back into place as she moved like liquid shadow.
Helios barrel-rolled Eclipsera between two massive slabs, narrowly avoiding a burst of dark energy.
Skuld's smaller, more agile glider flitted between gaps, her breathing steady despite her quick movements.
"Stay sharp!" Helios barked as another swarm of Heartless emerged from behind the debris.
"Enough of this," Kurai growled, her glider flaring with amethyst light. She activated Void Dominion, a massive sphere of darkness blooming around her glider. Heartless caught within were torn apart in seconds as she sped through like a predator shredding its prey.
Helios surged forward with a roar, Eclipsera's crescent wings glowing bright. He unleashed Balance Surge, a spiraling blast of light and shadow that ripped through the Heartless ahead like a drill.
Skuld swept the perimeter, firing rapid volleys of Blizzard Lances and freezing any stragglers in their path.
Finally, the void fell silent. No more Heartless emerged. The oppressive darkness receded slightly as the trio regrouped.
"You held up better than I expected, little," Kurai said, though her tone was still cold.
"I don't think that's a compliment… but thanks, I guess?" Skuld replied, unsure if it was praise or mockery.
Helios let out a breath and smirked. "Good work, both of you. That's what I call teamwork."
"Spare me," Kurai muttered.
"Lighten up, Kurai. That was fun." Helios chuckled, tightening his grip on Eclipsera's handles. "But stay sharp. This isn't over yet."
Ahead, the Lanes Between rippled ominously, the faint outline of another portal beginning to form in the distance.
"A wormhole," Helios said quietly. "Interesting."