Kingdom Hearts: Consumed by Darkness

The cave was silent. Only the distant echoes of the Realm of Darkness filled the air—a low, almost imperceptible hum of shifting shadows.

Helios sat at the cave's entrance, his back against the cool rock. His gaze flickered toward Skuld, who was curled up against the cave wall, sleeping deeply after her memories returned. After asking questions an overwhelming fatigue came over her and within a second she was out like a light.

Her breathing was slow and steady, but the occasional twitch in her brow told him her dreams weren't empty.

She was remembering more and Helios knew exactly why.

It wasn't a coincidence nor was it random.

Skuld's memories were returning because something was triggering them.

Aqua or, more specifically—Aqua's keyblade 'The Master's Defender'. This was Eraqus' keyblade before his untimely death at the hand of Master Xehanort. Like Xehanort's keyblade No Name is was passed down through the generations. A weapon wielded by a Keyblade Master, steeped in history, legacy, and connections.

And more importantly—it used to belong to someone else before being passed down. The Master's Defender was originally Brain's.

This Keyblade had once belonged to one of Skuld's closest friends. And not just her.

Lauriam.

Elrena.

Ventus.

They had all stood beside Brain, back in the Age of Fairy Tales.

Helios exhaled, resting his forearm on his knee.

He wasn't entirely sure how it worked, but he had a theory.

Lauriam and Elrena had regained pieces of their memories in the Keyblade Graveyard, right before their nobody's demise during the final battle in the new Keyblade War.

And what had changed?

Aqua was there.

Specifically Aqua, with Brain's Keyblade.

Helios closed his eyes briefly, piecing it all together.

Time traveling far into the future where a version of you no longer exists will leave you without a body unless one uses a lifeboat. Without a lifeboat, you'll be like a ghost. However, with a medium and someone who has memories of you, your body will reconstruct itself allowing you to remain in that time indefinitely. However, even with a lifeboat, you'll still have amnesia when you arrive in the future. You will be unable to recall anything about your past until something from your original timeless helps you remember.

Brain's keyblade had become a medium—a conduit to the past. A lingering connection that still tied them to their lost history. That's why Skuld was remembering now.

She was getting closer to Aqua—closer to the Keyblade that had been wielded by the friend she had forgotten.

And through that bond, the memories buried in her heart were stirring once again.

Helios leaned his head back against the cave wall, staring at the ceiling.

There was one odd factor in all of this.

Ventus.

If Lauriam and Elrena had their memories triggered, why hadn't Ventus during the final battle though he fought next to Aqua?

Ventus had been standing next to Aqua before the final battle and throughout the entire battle, Master's Defender in hand.

And yet—nothing.

Ventus had shown no recognition of his past.

Why?

Helios already knew the answer Ventus' bond to Brain was weak unlike the others.

Lauriam had been one of Brain's closest friends—his bond with him had been strong.

Elrena had spent enough time with their group that her connection was deep enough for the Keyblade to react.

But Ventus…Ventus had been different. He had been manipulated and used.

And in the end—

He had been the one who killed Strelitzia.

Helios' fingers tapped against his knee.

Ventus had been played by a True Darkness back in the Age of Fairy Tales. He had been controlled like a pawn and in that moment, he had stolen the future from Lauriam's sister. He was used to replace her as Union Leader and infiltrate the Dandelions.

The realization of what he had done had shattered him. It had broken him so completely that he had done the unthinkable.

He absorbed a True Darkness into himself. Not to gain power or to become stronger, but to protect Lauriam and the others.

Ventus had given up part of himself to cage a True Darkness within his heart—binding it to his heart forever. That was the truth of Vanitas. Vanitas was not just a dark half of Ventus or a being of hatred and negativity, but a living fragment of a True Darkness, merged with a piece of Ventus' fractured heart.

And as long as Ventus existed—Vanitas could never truly be destroyed.

Because to destroy Vanitas… Ventus would have to die.

Helios exhaled slowly.

It was ironic, in a way.

Ventus had become a vessel for a True Darkness—and so had he.

Kurai stirred within him, a presence that had long since become a part of him.

But unlike Ventus—Helios had made his choice with open eyes and willingly. He hadn't done it out of desperation. He had done it because he needed the power of darkness because it was the only way to escape.

He wasn't like Ventus who was never meant to become a carrier of True Darkness. Helios had embraced it willingly and that was the difference between them. To Helios Kurai was a means to an end and Kurai saw him in the same way. Helios was also sure this was why his light refused to grow. Well, that and the fact that he hides most of himself from others never making any true bonds.

Helios glanced at Skuld, watching as she shifted slightly in her sleep. There was no need to tell her any of this.

Why would he?

It wasn't important Ventus' past or his situation had nothing to do with their current goal.

What mattered now was finding Aqua.

That was all.

Skuld didn't need to know about Brain's Keyblade acting as a medium.

She didn't need to know about why Ventus couldn't remember.

And she certainly didn't need to know the truth about Vanitas.

There was no point in burdening her with secrets that didn't concern her.

And so, as Helios sat in the dimly lit cave, he simply let those truths stay where they belonged.

Buried.