The crumbling bridge beneath their feet groaned and cracked, the magic that had briefly restored it already beginning to unravel.
Helios sprinted forward, his boots pounding against the unstable stones, Skuld just behind him. Fragments of the bridge broke away, vanishing into the abyss below.
The darkness beneath them yawned like a predator's maw, waiting to swallow them whole.
The instant they set foot on the other side—
The bridge collapsed.
The stones shattered and fell, the pathway dissolving back into the endless void.
Skuld, still catching her breath, glanced back and let out a low whistle. "Wow. It really didn't last long."
She turned to Helios. "So… what happens if we fall into that?"
Helios' gaze darkened. "We don't want to find out. The abyss doesn't just kill you. It... strips everything away. Until there's nothing left. No body. No heart. Not even your memory. Just... gone."
A chill ran down Skuld's spine. "Good to know. Definitely not falling then."
Before them stood the once-grand Castle of Dreams, now twisted and forgotten.
The towering gates, covered in cracks and half-swallowed by creeping thorns, stood ajar, opening into an entry hall that time had long abandoned.
The duo walked up the staircase and entered the castle. The hallway beyond the entrance stretched long and desolate.
Chunks of the ground had crumbled away, leaving gaping holes filled with swirling darkness.
The air hummed with an unsettling energy. Within each hole, the darkness moved, not like a void but like... a portal.
The darkness twisted and flickered, showing brief glimpses of other places—shattered towers, endless deserts, glowing oceans, and even... starless skies.
Skuld slowed her pace. "What are those?"
Helios' voice was calm but firm. "Unstable portals. I saw a few in the Pride Lands, but I had us avoid them."
Skuld frowned, sidestepping one carefully. "Where do they lead?"
Helios' eyes narrowed. "Anywhere. Nowhere. You could end up in another world... or lost forever in a void between realms, or even end up back at the beginning where we started. Best to avoid them if we can. If we can't then we hope for the best and jump in."
But something tugged at Helios' mind. He had seen distortions like these before, but...
A thought struck him, and he thought to himself. "Ansem the Wise is supposed to also be here… he might be using these to travel around this world."
Kurai's voice rang in Helios' mind. "Ansem? Oh right, that man who Xehanort banished here? We sent him here."
Helios looked around as he replied in his mind. "Yeah. He should been at the Dark Margin... I was surprised we didn't run across him. Well, he might be walking around on foot unless he's trying to escape using these."
Helios and Kurai had... interfered. When Xehanort had tried to cast Ansem the Wise into the Realm of Darkness— Helios and Kurai had disrupted the unstable dark corridor. Instead of sending Ansem to god knows where they caused him to go directly to the Dark Margin.
Helios hadn't seen a trace of the old scientist since their arrival in the Realm of Darkness.
He was out there, somewhere.
Researching. Studying. Preparing for his revenge against his apprentices.
At the end of the long, treacherous hallway, they emerged into a massive, decayed chamber.
Even in ruin, its identity was unmistakable to Helios. This was the Ballroom where Cinderella once danced with the Prince under the gaze of many guests.
The domed ceiling had collapsed, and rays of pale, false light streamed through the broken roof.
The polished floors were cracked and littered with debris, but traces of elegance still lingered—fractured chandeliers, the golden remains of an ornate stage, and shattered stained-glass windows depicting scenes now lost to time.
But in the center of the ballroom—
A white crystal, glowing brilliantly, floated above a massive swirling portal of pure darkness.
The crystal pulsed softly, casting rays of pure light that clashed against the portal's edges.
It was protecting itself.
Helios thought to himself. "Kurai... is that what I think it is?"
A cold, ancient voice, laced with amusement, echoed back:
"Yes. It's the radiant heart of someone who's body perished. One that fell into the darkness and crystallized to protect itself. Rare. Beautiful. And powerful. I believe you called them summon crystals in the game."
Helios' eyes flicked toward Skuld but his lips never moved. "Do you think that portal will lead us to Aqua?"
Kurai's voice purred. "It could. Or it could lead to something worse. But what fun would it be if you didn't find out?"
Helios' expression never changed. "...Thanks for nothing, as usual."
Skuld, oblivious to the conversation in Helios' mind, stepped forward. "It seems to be doing something to that portal. Should we break it?"
Helios shook his head immediately. "No. We'll grab it."
He turned to Skuld, his voice steady. "That portal... it's the only way forward. So we'll grab the crystal. And fall together."
Skuld's brow furrowed. "Fall—into that?!"
Helios' lips curled into a half-smile. "Don't worry even if we get lost I can bring us back to this city. So long as I have seen the place I can take us there. Hopefully, it'll take us closer to where Aqua is."
Helios pointed to the decayed columns and broken arches. "You're faster than me. More agile. You grab it. I'll be right behind you."
Skuld tensed—then sprinted forward, her armor glinting as she leapt—
The wind roared past her ears—
The dark portal churned like a whirlpool of nightmares—
And in the heart of it—the crystal's light called to her.
Her fingers brushed the radiant surface managing to clutch the crystal.
As she did light enveloped her as she fell into the dark swirling abyss and the world twisted.
Not a second later Helios jumped in after her.
The darkness swallowed him whole and the sensation was more hectic than he imagined as the wind screamed around them as they tumbled. The world around them blurred as if being ripped apart and then they were gone.