The oppressive darkness of the Realm of Darkness clung to the air as Helios and Skuld pressed forward. Skuld's memories unlocked plus the constant battle seemed to exhaust the girl, but there was no time to dwell on it. The longer they took the more this world would start to affect her even with their Keyblade Armor's protection. After all Keyblade Armors were not created with the intention of the wielder traveling to the Realm of Darkness.
Helios, having rested briefly after her awakening, now led the way, his eyes scanning the landscape. Their path through the decayed Pride Lands had been long and arduous, but at last, they had reached a new and twisted realm.
Before them stretched a forest of shadows and thorns—a place Helios recognized immediately from the corrupted echoes of another world:
The Enchanted Dominion—Maleficent's old territory—but here, it was corrupted into something far worse than normal.
The air was heavy, filled with a dark, acrid scent, and the trees were jagged and claw-like, their bark twisted and gnarled.
Massive black thorns coiled and twisted throughout the forest, forming an almost impenetrable maze. The path forward was broken into three treacherous routes:
A path where shadows and illusions clouded the way.
A path with sharp cliffs and unstable footing.
Another path where the thorns became thickest, leading toward a towering mountain in the distance.
All the pathway seem to convene down the line and lead to a mountain, shrouded in malevolent energy at its peak.
Helios gripped Equilibrium tightly. "This place... is a beacon for Heartless."
As if on cue—the darkness stirred.
The first attack came swiftly.
Shadows—their inky forms slithering from the cracks between the thorns—hundreds of them.
Without hesitation, Helios teleported mid-air, unleashing a sweeping Dark Firaga, the explosion of blackened flame scattering a cluster of Shadows into nothingness.
Skuld responded with a flick of her Keyblade, summoning a pillar of light that lanced through several Heartless, leaving behind scorched silhouettes.
But for every one they felled—five more emerged.
"We're not winning this!" Skuld called out, slicing through another wave with a light-enhanced strike raid.
Helios grunted, slashing through three more Shadows before calling back—"Then we stop trying to!"
They shifted to a retreating strategy, carving a narrow path through the relentless hordes.
Helios led the way, using his Freezing Gale spell to chill the ground, causing pursuing Heartless to slip and falter as some Heartless froze and shattered.
Skuld followed close behind, her speed augmented by light, using rapid light dashes to blind and evade the enemies that managed to break through to the other side before throwing her Light Raid creating multiple light Keyblades to open a path for Helios.
But the Heartless—they kept coming.
Darkballs floated overhead, their grotesque spherical bodies vomiting orbs of pure darkness that rained from above.
Helios countered swiftly—"Reflect!"
The orbs collided with the shimmering barrier and exploded, taking out nearby Shadows in the blast.
Skuld called out, "Above you!"
Helios flicked his hand up—Thundaga!
A bolt of lightning tore through the air, frying a descending Neoshadow before it could pounce.
Just as they cleared the current wave—
The sky darkened further, and an ear-splitting, guttural roar shattered the air.
Helios' eyes narrowed as massive shapes began rising from the darkness.
The monstrous Heartless towered over them, their bodies massive and humanoid, each with a gaping heart-shaped hole in their chests.
In eerie synchrony, they raised their hands, and dark spheres of energy materialized above their palms.
Skuld's eyes widened. "This is—!"
Helios barked, "Move!"
The spheres shot into the air, and from them rained hundreds of smaller orbs, tearing into the forest with terrifying force.
Explosions erupted everywhere, ripping through trees, pulverizing thorns, and sending jagged shards of rock into the air.
Helios teleported mid-air, dodging a barrage, and slammed his Keyblade into a Darkside's arm, sending cracks through its shadowy limb.
Skuld dashed through the chaos, using her light dash ability to blur through the gaps between the falling orbs, leaving shimmering afterimages in her wake.
The onslaught was endless, and they were being herded—pushed back into a corner of the forest.
The thorns closed in behind them—no retreat.
Helios gritted his teeth. "Damn it—!"
The Darksides prepared another barrage.
There would be no surviving it.
Helios' eyes flashed, his connection with Kurai humming deep in his chest.
He inhaled sharply, extending his hand—
The darkness around him pulsed and answered.
In an instant, a sphere of pure darkness enveloped them, swallowing the battlefield in a deep, soundless void.
Inside, everything went silent.
The Darksides' attacks passed through the space harmlessly, as though they were shadows themselves.
They were hidden. Cloaked from detection.
Even the heartless—creatures of darkness—couldn't sense them.
It was as if Helios had carved out a piece of the Realm of Darkness itself and wrapped themselves with it. To the Heartless, they were now the same as the environment.
Skuld, catching her breath within the strange shelter, looked around in awe. "What… is this?"
Helios, his voice tight from the strain of maintaining the sphere, responded, "A small trick to hide us."
Skuld's eyes flicked toward him with concern but said nothing. The energy here was thick and heavy, but it wasn't crushing her.
No—Helios was holding it back.
Outside the sphere, the Darksides paused.
The storm of shadows halted.
And then—as if following some unseen command—
They retreated into the forest, their massive forms sinking into the earth, leaving only ruin in their wake.
The smaller Heartless dispersed, flowing back into the cracks and thorns from which they came.
The battlefield was left empty, but not silent.
A watching presence remained.
Helios finally released the spell, and the dark sphere dissipated, leaving them standing amid the devastation.
The forest was ruined, but their path forward—toward the Forbidden Mountain—was clear.
Helios staggered slightly, the exertion from channeling such pure darkness evident in his posture.
Skuld reached out to steady him, her brows furrowed. "You… shouldn't be able to do that."
Helios gave a strained smirk. "Yeah. I know. I'm surprised you do though. Seems like we're at least on the right path."
The distant peak of the Forbidden Mountain loomed ahead, wreathed in shadow.
A strange portal flickered at its summit, leading deeper still—to the Depths of Darkness.
Skuld stared ahead, her Keyblade tight in her grasp. "That was quite intense."
Helios wiped blood from his mouth, his expression grim. "Yeah, it was. Let's not stay here longer than we need to, or they'll be back."