Kingdom Hearts: Consumed by Darkness

Helios spent the day immersed in the depths of dark magic under Maleficent's relentless guidance, followed by hours of poring over Merlin's tomes to strengthen his grasp on traditional magic. His body ached, and his mind was heavy with exhaustion. It was well past midnight, and although his two houseguests had retreated to their commandeered rooms, Helios knew he couldn't rest yet.

He had something more pressing to attend to.

Summoning a dark corridor, Helios stepped through and found himself within the sterile confines of Ansem's lab. The room was dimly lit, the soft hum of machinery a constant presence as he moved toward the central computer. His gaze flicked briefly to the Heartless in their containment fields, dark creatures lurking within their transparent barriers, their yellow eyes tracking him with a predatory gleam. But he ignored them, his focus on the computer. This night, he wasn't here for them.

Logging into Xehanort's account, Helios navigated the system, scrolling through countless files on Heartless and the budding "Nobody" project. Though it was labeled as a "heart study," he knew better. Xehanort and his apprentices were crafting more than simple research—they were pioneering a twisted science to manipulate the very essence of hearts. Although Xehanort's true goal in the end is to become a heart and a nobody. But among these unsettling files, he finally found the one he had been seeking.

Subject X.

It had taken him multiple visits to track down this elusive file, hidden within the labyrinthine system of the lab's database. Helios opened it, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the details. Ansem the Wise's notes were careful, even humane, detailing basic observations and simple tests. The girl had been studied, not tortured; Ansem had treated her with a measure of dignity. But then Xehanort's notes appeared, and Helios felt a chill as he read the planned experiments.

Xehanort's proposed methods were invasive, bordering on sadistic, with no regard for the girl or the consequences such acts might cause. If she were lucky, the worst outcome would be the loss of her heart. Helios's stomach twisted as he found a note instructing researchers to correlate data from her experiments with data from the "Helios' experiment."

The realization hit him with a cold, hard clarity—these bastards had plans to experiment on him too.

Helios clenched his fists, a surge of anger rising within him. These people saw him as nothing more than a tool, a subject to be studied and dissected. For a moment, he felt the overwhelming urge to destroy the entire lab, to raze it to the ground. But he forced himself to stay calm. He couldn't let emotions cloud his judgment, not when he was so close to his first goal.

Setting aside his anger, Helios continued scanning the file until he found exactly what he needed: video footage and layout data of the girl's holding cell in the underground dungeon. He didn't need to use Lea and Isa's method of sneaking in through access tunnels; instead, he required a visual of the room itself. The dark corridor required a destination that was known and visualized, and now, he had all the details necessary to pinpoint her location.

Before he left, Helios took a few final precautions. He cleared the computer logs, ensuring that no trace of his presence remained. Then, he installed a virus—a simple program he had designed that would loop the lab's surveillance footage from midnight to six in the morning every day. Satisfied that his tracks were covered, he powered down the computer, opened a dark corridor, and focused on the image of the cell he had just seen.

In a swirl of darkness, Helios stepped into the sterile white room. The space was sparse, clinical, with a single bed against the wall and a small table beside it. A faint, almost oppressive silence hung in the air. His gaze quickly found the room's only occupant—a girl with long black hair, wearing a plain white shirt and shorts, her eyes closed in restless sleep. A pair of pink star earrings caught the dim light, a tiny touch of color in the otherwise colorless room.

The girl stirred as the shadows from Helios's entrance shifted across the room. Her eyes snapped open, and upon seeing him, she let out a startled shriek, scrambling to the far side of the bed in fright. Helios immediately raised his hands, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.

"Shh! Please," he whispered urgently. "I'm not here to harm you. I'm a friend… a friend of Isa and Lea."

The mention of her friends seemed to calm her somewhat, though she still watched him warily, clutching the sheets close as if they could protect her. Helios let out a sigh of relief, glancing back at the door to listen for any sounds of approaching guards. The silence held, and he turned his attention back to the girl, speaking in a softer tone.

"My name is Helios," he said, giving her a reassuring smile. "What's your name?"

She hesitated, her expression troubled. "I… I don't know," she admitted quietly, her voice laced with confusion. "They just call me 'Subject X' here. I don't remember much else."

Helios nodded, understanding flashing in his eyes. He knew her real name, but he couldn't reveal too much too quickly. Instead, he offered a gentle smile. "Your name… is Skuld," he said softly.

The girl's eyes widened in surprise, her voice a hushed whisper. "You… you know me?"

"Shh," he cautioned, glancing at the door again, ensuring no one had heard. "Yes, I know a little about you, but I can't explain everything right now. I don't have much time."

Skuld looked at him with a mixture of awe and desperation, her eyes pleading for answers. Helios felt a pang of guilt, knowing he would have to leave her with more questions than answers. "Listen, Skuld, I promise I'll come back tomorrow. Just stay quiet about my visit—don't tell anyone, not even Isa and Lea. I'll explain everything soon. Also, don't let them know your name."

She nodded, still bewildered but clearly eager for more, her hands clutching the bed sheets. "You'll really come back?"

"I will," he assured her, his voice steady. "Be patient. I'll answer some of your questions tomorrow."

With a final reassuring smile, Helios turned and opened a dark corridor, vanishing into the shadows before anyone could detect his presence.

Back in the quiet confines of Merlin's cottage, Helios reappeared, exhaling a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. His mind was racing, replaying the brief encounter with Skuld, he seriously thought he would be caught once she screamed.

Exhausted, Helios leaned against the wall, letting his head rest against the cool wood. Sleep pulled at him, but his mind was too restless, too full of plans and fears. Skuld was the first piece of the age of fairytales that he had managed to connect with, a link to a world he barely knew of.

Yet, an uncomfortable feeling gnawed at him. Skuld disappeared in the storyline and he planned to take her before the world fell to darkness making it look as if she disappeared. Cloud and Sephiroth were separate by the time they met Sora but he had been the one to separate them. He was the one who gave Maleficent the plan to take over Radiant Garden. Kurai had summoned Shadows that the apprentices captured and used to start making emblems heartless. One was a coincidence but four times was a pattern things were moving along the storyline perfectly as if his actions were necessary.

There were only two possibility one that the storyline of this world could not be changed and every step would lead to the ending he knew of regardless. The other was that the storyline he knew included his actions although hidden in the background and the games he had played while focused on Sora's POV played out in a world where he had already enacted most of his plan. The first possibility wasn't worth considering since he couldn't influence that one too much but if the second were true that meant he wouldn't be able to access Kingdom Hearts before Master Xehanort. So that meant he had an extra 2 years and might need to rethink his plan.