The End of The Beginning

"Yo, Sora." Leo said. I was suddenly placed right in front of Leo's face as he gave me a grim and serious look, staring deep into my soul with green glowing eyes.

"How much longer must I endure this pain!?" I screamed mentally, lifting my shaking fists up towards his neck, then dropped my hands back down defeated, collapsing onto my knees as I wept uncontrollably, barely able to breathe.

"Sora, what the hell happened?" He questioned with concern as he patted my shoulder.

"What happened...? THE VOIDWALKER SENT HIS GRUNTS TO KILL ME! NOT ONLY DID I ALMOST DIE ONCE AGAIN IT TOOK EVERYTHING TO KILL HIM!" I yelled as hot angry tears spilled from my eyes down my cheeks, onto my chin, dripping to the floor like raindrops. "He- He even killed his own people. How could he possibly kill his own people?" I whimpered softly.

"Stop. Just stop Sora." Leo instructed calmly as his aura swirled around him dangerously, making my knees tremble slightly in fear of what might happen next, not to mention the intense pressure weighing heavily upon my shoulders forcing me lower, pushing down, constricting.

I remained motionless as he walked closer, his heavy footsteps echoing loudly against the wooden floor, causing my ears to ring slightly. I averted my eyes away from his face, looking towards the ground, staring blankly into space as his shadow stretched out across my body. I didn't dare raise my head up, knowing full well what awaited me if I did.

"Sora... Look up." The figure said.

The moment I looked up all The Voidwalker was standing right there, I could tell he was grinning under his mask. I swallowed dryly, opening and closing my mouth a few times but nothing came out, the words stuck in my throat like glue as the reality sank in that this man wanted me dead.

"SORA!" Leo said as he profusely shook me. It was just a hallucination, The Voidwalker... he's gonna kill me soon.

My hands were shaking uncontrollably and my teeth chattering in cold sweats as the sweat drenched my forehead in cold sweat and my breathing became irregular, but the only thing worse was the fear creeping up within my mind and eating at the insides of me as I watched helplessly at the horror unfolding right before my very eyes and there wasn't a thing I could do to save myself.

"I know you probably want to help, but right now is not a time for you to intervene, all you'll do is endanger yourself even more," Enzo's voice came as the thought of him being there briefly crossed through my mind before disappearing without leaving anything behind, nothing, emptiness.

It seems I've fallen into a state of shock because when I came to reality Enzo was staring at me intently. My head was pounding terribly while everything around me spun slowly, turning circles while blurry images flickered around me in an endless loop; yet somehow my hearing was sharp and clear.

"You've fallen far away into your thoughts. Your body has shut down completely." Leo stated as he had a look of worry on his face.

My body was shaking, no doubt my adrenaline had finally run out after everything that has happened today, but not in the way one would expect. I felt nothing, no pain, no joy or sorrow... no emotion... only emptiness.

"...Sora, this isn't right. Come on snap out of it buddy!" Leo urged as he smacked me on the cheek, however, he quickly recoiled back with his eyes wide as dinner plates staring at me incredulously, confused.

"I'm the only one that can take him down. Leo, I think it's time for you to leave me alone for now because I need to prepare myself." I instructed sternly.

Enzo stared at us quizzically, but eventually backed off since his curiosity wasn't greater than his loyalty and that was a fact he couldn't deny for much longer.

"What are you thinking Sora?" Enzo whispered to me as he glanced towards Leo, "And no. I refuse to abandon you after all that we've been through together, and besides, there isn't really anything we can do against the likes of The Voidwalker is there, right?"

We're just children. So what do we honestly expect ourselves to be able to achieve anyway?

"Maybe this is what our life is meant to be? Fighting battles, searching for treasures, helping other people and exploring different places. Hell, maybe if we found more treasure chests then maybe someday our wish of traveling the galaxy will actually come true... If the elders agree though." I smiled.

I could sense the mana of The Voidwalker, I didn't want anyone to get hurt, the only one who can defeat him is me. Even I know that, "But I don't plan on letting you die. Especially not without seeing our dream fulfilled first."

His green eyes widened when I spoke those words. However, I didn't give him any time to process them as I quickly flash stepped away and decided to go pursue The Voidwalker.

The fact that Leo let me go without question either means that he's smart enough not to argue with my decision and knows that he would most likely get beaten up by Enzo in retaliation. But really, Leo isn't all that much weaker than us, he just likes acting weak since it makes him feel stronger somehow. I really wish he wouldn't think so negatively of himself and would trust us more, but his problems are beyond our capabilities at this stage, so I'm not sure how else I can help him.

Maybe if I survive then I'll have enough power to aid him once again... But really, can a small fish even hope to achieve that goal?

"Enough already! I know you've got this, you were taught better than this Sora."

"Let's see..." I whispered. "Looks like we're gonna be heading towards the Forest of Shadow tonight after all." I mused, tilting my head skywards whilst walking towards the entrance gate. The sky is darkened completely by clouds which makes it difficult to tell the time; however, judging from the lack of sunlight peeking through the thick layer, there must be around about two hours left before sunrise.

With that thought in mind, I continued heading onwards until I came to an abrupt halt a couple hundred meters ahead where I spotted him... There's absolutely no way I could mistake that purple magic armor, or those two swords attached to his hips, or his strange eyes filled with darkness. It was The Voidwalker.

I cautiously eyed him carefully while doing my best to keep as much distance between me and him as possible. He didn't notice, however, which surprised me somewhat.

It's likely that he wasn't focused solely on what is around him. But, he'd have sensed something moving toward him by this point. Unless... Is he able to mask his presence entirely somehow?

My eyes narrowed dangerously, narrowed further than a normal person could possibly do without hurting their eyes, and I realized that was exactly what had been happening right in front of me all along.

He threw one of his blades straight at me, narrowly missing the top of my head, but knocking out several strands of hairs instead. I glared hard in his direction and teleported behind him, firing off an ice bolt straight into his back. It collided harshly into his side, eliciting a grunt of pain.

Blood oozed out of the wound as he turned around slowly, his body glistening unnaturally beneath his armor. A black liquid dripped out of his mouth as he snarled, swinging his sword wildly. His arm blurred through the air with surprising strength behind the attack.