The battlefield lay in smoldering silence. The lava hissed in the distance, occasionally belching up waves of scorching air that shimmered over the stone. The ground was cracked, platforms half-melted or entirely collapsed into the bubbling inferno below. Shadows danced over the jagged rock walls as faint embers drifted lazily through the air.
Helios stood at the heart of the devastation, motionless.
The Neoshadows he had summoned were long gone. Only their memory remained in the scorched stone and the scattered remains of fallen Assassins. His whip-sword, Slánú na nDoimhneacht, hung loosely in his hand, its segments twitching slightly, as if the weapon was still ready for battle. Wisps of darkness curled around his fingertips, unwilling to fully disperse.
Axel's final words echoed relentlessly in his ears:
"That's the Helios I remember. You've always been a monster deep down, right?"
Helios ran a gloved hand through his dark blue hair, sweat and soot matting the strands against his scalp. He stepped toward a jagged piece of obsidian embedded in the earth, peering into its glassy reflection.
Due to the medium, all that stared back at him was a distorted face.
Was this the face of a monster?
He remembered the hooded man who had commanded Heartless against his home, Nightfall. That man had unleashed a Darkside that obliterated everything Helios loved. That man had taken his parents from him.
And now, Helios could summon those same creatures. Command them.
Worse—he didn't fear it.
When the Neoshadows poured from his shadow, it had felt natural. Powerful. Almost exhilarating.
And when he fought Axel… part of him had wanted to kill Axel. Not just defeat him or survive. Not even just to prove something. But to crush him. To dominate and then obliterate him.
He had destroyed Radiant Garden. Whether directly or indirectly, he had played a major part in its downfall. People had lost their homes. Most had lost their hearts.
And he would go on to commit more atrocities. That, too, felt inevitable.
A memory flickered across his thoughts—a brighter one.
Lea, Isa, Skuld, and himself sitting beneath the arching trees of Radiant Garden. Laughing. A stolen moment of peace.
What would Skuld think if she saw him now? Probably some touchy-feely crap, but Helios felt it would be nice to hear something like that now.
What would his parents think, if they could see what he had become?
A villain.
A dark corridor spiraled open behind him.
Helios didn't turn. He didn't need to. He could sense who had arrived.
Kurai stepped through with quiet poise, the edges of her cloak fluttering as the corridor vanished behind her. She crossed her arms as she observed the battlefield.
"So," she began, voice low and sharp. "Did you and your old friend have a good conversation?"
Helios didn't answer.
She walked closer, her boots crunching on blackened stone. "Guess not. Should've taken my advice back in the day. If you'd just killed those two boys, they wouldn't be bothering us now."
"I didn't want to kill him," Helios muttered, finally.
"Then you summoned Heartless instead?" Kurai raised a brow. "Subtle. I don't think you know how they work if that's the case. Had one of them gotten him, he'd be dead."
"I just wanted him to leave."
Kurai tilted her head, inspecting him with an unreadable look. "You're still afraid of crossing that final line."
He turned to face her. The darkness still clung to his body like an aroma.
"It's a part of you now," she said, gesturing to the whirling wisps. "Don't let others' opinions trap you. You command the light and dark. Use them."
"Easy for you to say," Helios said. "You were born in the dark."
She smiled. Not kindly, but not cruelly either. "You keep calling me a Princess of Darkness."
She stepped closer, placing one hand lightly over his chest.
"But from what I've seen, every princess needs a knight. So don't let this get to you, Helios… Knight of the Twilight."
He looked away.
"As much as I don't like it," she added, tapping his chest, "there's still something beating in there. So keep focused. Don't let the words of others sway you from what you need to do."
A gust of wind carried the scent of ash and sea.
Another presence approached.
Skuld.
She came barreling through on her glider and jumped down onto the rocks, voice bright. "Helios! We felt the tremors from across the—"
She stopped.
Her eyes scanned the battlefield. The lingering traces of darkness. The broken stone. The weariness carved into Helios' expression.
Her cheerful demeanor crumbled.
"I'll let the annoying girl snap you out of his mood," Kurai backed away silently, slipping into a shadow like a ghost. Skuld barely noticed.
She rushed to Helios, placing a gentle hand on his arm.
"Are you alright?" she asked softly.
He flinched slightly at her touch, but didn't pull away.
"Skuld," he said. "What would you do… if I wasn't what you thought I was?"
Her brows knit. "What are you talking about?"
He hesitated. Then:
"Do you think I'm like the ones who steal hearts?"
Silence stretched between them.
Skuld's eyes shimmered—not with tears, but something far more painful.
She didn't speak for several seconds.
When she did, her voice trembled.
"I'm not hurt because I believe it. I'm hurt because you do."
She stepped forward, arms wrapping around him in a soft, protective embrace.
"You've never taken a heart, Helios," she whispered. "Everyone we've met—they still have their hearts. We didn't take them. We touched them."
He closed his eyes.
"Because of the time we shared… because we got to know one another… our hearts connected. We became part of each other."
She looked up at him, resolute.
"That's enough for me. I hope one day it'll be enough for you too."