Blood and steam drifted together in the silent aftermath of battle. The cavern's violent echoes had faded, leaving only the occasional groan of shifting stone or a quiet exhalation from one of the unconscious soldiers scattered across the broken battlefield.
Helios pressed a trembling hand against his side, where a jagged spear had left a deep wound. He winced, biting down a grunt of pain. Kurai floated beside him, slumped and pale, her left arm bloodied and nearly useless. The cuts on her torso were deep, layered with the blackened markings of corrupted strikes. Her breathing was steady, but thin—too thin.
"We need to stabilize," Helios murmured.
He raised his Keyblade, casting Curaga.
A faint green light washed over them—but it sputtered like a dying torch. The spell faltered mid-cast, flickering dimly as the healing barely mended even the outermost gashes. Helios's eyes narrowed, frustration biting his nerves. The balance within him—his fusion of light and darkness—was still too unstable. It didn't matter how powerful the spell should've been; without harmony, even his highest-tier healing was weaker than basic Cure.
He switched to that instead. Slower. More primitive. But at least it responded.
The third time, Kurai's deepest wound began to close. Helios's ribs realigned painfully, but not completely. It was like patching up a sinking ship with a teacup, but it would do—for now.
"You good?" he asked without looking.
"This body is breathing," Kurai muttered, her voice low and dry. "For now."
Helios looked around the battlefield again, his gaze finally falling on Triton and his unconscious soldiers, strewn across the cavern like broken statues.
"We should leave," he said finally. "This place reeks of defeat."
But his eyes lingered on the fallen. There were too many to carry. The King and the kingdom's elite guard—all out cold, helpless. He frowned, mind ticking over options, but even at full strength, he couldn't open a dark corridor big enough to move even ten of them, let alone hundreds.
He opened his mouth to speak again—only for a wave of pressure to slam through the chamber like a silent roar.
A void swirled open beside Kurai, black and vast like the ocean floor in a starless night. Her one good hand was raised, fingers extended. The darkness spiraled outward, consuming the cavern gently and completely. Soldier after soldier was swallowed without a sound, floating into the corridor as if drawn by unseen tides.
Triton vanished last.
The corridor sealed like a massive mouth closing, leaving only silence in its wake.
Kurai swayed where she floated, shoulders slumping. Her eyes flickered, lips pressed tightly together to hide the exhaustion creeping in.
Helios stared at her. "...I've never seen anyone do that."
Kurai didn't respond immediately. She just steadied her breathing, controlling the tremble in her hands.
"You realize even I couldn't manage that—not with full power, not with both sides of my power balanced," Helios continued, his voice more thoughtful than surprised. "And yet, here you are. My creation. Stronger than I am."
Kurai didn't look at him. "Maybe you were aiming too low."
Helios chuckled dryly. "Fair. Though I have to admit, I didn't think you'd bother lending a hand."
"They were in the way," Kurai answered coolly. "The faster we deal with this mess, the sooner I can kill that parasite-witch."
Helios tilted his head, watching her. "So… you're feeling something after all?"
Kurai's eyes flicked toward him, not cold—focused. "Yes. I feel the desire to tear that creature apart."
"Revenge, huh?" Helios smirked faintly, despite the ache still gripping his ribs. "That… I can actually work with."
The brief silence that followed wasn't awkward. It was heavy—an unspoken agreement shared between two tired, dangerous beings with far too many memories behind them and one clear objective ahead.
Helios turned toward the distant currents leading back to the city. "We'll leave Triton and his soldiers just outside the city walls. They'll wake soon. With the parasite or whatever you call it control gone, they'll need time to remember what's real."
Kurai floated beside him. "And the city?"
Helios's expression darkened. "We're evacuating it."
He clenched his hand slowly, Equilibrium fading from his grasp for now.
"Whatever Ursula does next—she'll do it with the full power of the trident. The seas are hers now. Currents, tides, storms… death. Atlantica won't survive her wrath."
"And you think Queen Athena will listen?" Kurai asked.
Helios gave a dry smile. "She's one of the few rulers who still sees people before power. She'll understand. She won't like it—but she'll evacuate."
"And if she doesn't?"
"Then we make her. Simple enough right?"
Kurai nodded once. "Good."
They drifted in silence a moment longer, watching the last blood trails fade from the water around them. Even here, far below the palace, far from light or warmth, Helios felt the sea shiver with change.
The trident's theft had shifted something elemental to this world.
This was now a war for survival and if he lost the future could change in a way he'd like to avoid.
And the enemy now had a kingdom's might behind her.
Darkness split the space before the palace gates. Kurai stepped through first, pale but composed, followed by Helios, limping slightly. The royal guards flinched at the sight of them—but relaxed once they saw who it was. A moment later, the unconscious forms of King Triton and his soldiers spilled forth behind them, neatly deposited just outside the coral perimeter.
One of the guards gasped and rushed forward. "The King—! He's—!"
"He's alive," Helios cut in. "They all are. But Ursula has taken the trident."
The other guards paled visibly.
Helios turned to Kurai. "Stay here. Make sure no one touches them until they wake."
Kurai rolled her eyes. "I'm not a nursemaid."
"You're the only one strong enough to stop them all if something has gone wrong," Helios replied flatly. "So yes—you are."
She gave a reluctant sigh of acceptance.
Helios turned and headed toward the palace entrance, urgency pressing behind every motion. Queen Athena needed to know. The citizens needed to move. And fast.
There were storms coming.
And none of them were going to have to wait long to see it.