Preface.
A girl with long blue hair and fragile looking physique effortlessly pushed open the large stone door that was just in front of her. It towered over her but was nothing grandiose like she had thought it would be. She stepped in and immediately saw a lady of the darkness that seemed to float in a manner that clearly displayed power and prestige. The lady simply gave a nod and floated further into the room.
As the blue haired girl walked in further. Two other figures began to appear through the dark as he got closer to them. One was short, sitting upon what seemed to be a decrepit throne. It was stone, with carvings of an unknown language all over it. A small male sat upon this throne. He was short, no larger than 5'4", with fox-like ears and a tail. Long claws were displayed on both hands and red lines along his cheek. His yellow eyes seemed to glow as they cut through the dark.
The other male was tall, stoic and almost stiff. He had kind brown eyes, and was clearly neither a deity nor divine in nature. In fact, she new exactly that he was a human but could not tell why he seemed so old or so powerful. Clearly, he was changed in some way, Far beyond that of a natural human being.
She came to a stop as the lady of the dark also had. The lady turned back to talk. "This is Shiyoko, the Fox of Death. He is the one that asked to see you. The other is Kratos, the one who suggested that you be summoned here."
The girl shook her head a bit, biting her lip for a second before speaking. "I had wished we could meet somewhere not so dark. These types of places are not pleasant..."
Shiyoko placed his elbow on the edge of the throne, using his arm to prop up his face. He looked at her, his tail swishing back and fourth a bit. "Kratos?"
The other male stepped forward a bit. "Nayru... You are the Goddess of Wisdom among Hyrule. I have asked you here in order that you might agree with me on what to do on the plight that is now plunging a vast many of worlds into darkness. I have asked these two, Nocturnal and Shiyoko, to help intervene in this affair before it comes beyond our control to deal with. You know the danger of these... Things. Maybe you could give us an idea?"
The Goddess of Wisdom thought to herself carefully for a minute, thinking of an appropriate response.
"You were right to suggest her, Kratos. She is indeed wise, even making sure to carefully craft her words to make sure we understand what we are dealing with here..." Shiyoko said, rather impressed by both Nayru and Kratos.
She smiled softly at the compliment. "Well, I am not sure how much you already know." Nayru began to pace back and fourth across the room, as she started to continue. "The Heartless have a method of extracting Hearts from their victims. These Hearts are not the same as souls or spirits... They are things hidden and encoded in every beings life, even those of us who are immortal. Without them, we become trapped in Kingdom Hearts, which is meant to be a safe place for Hearts."
Shiyoko's tails began to flicker about in interest. "That must explain why I cannot form a contract to bring back the lives of those who have entered my realm.. Curious.. Does this problem effect your realm as well, Nocturnal?"
Nocturnal turned to Shiyoko with a nod. "Yes. Even those who have died as a Nightingale cannot join me when they are killed by a Heartless. It seems as if there lives are trapped and sent to a place beyond my grasp."
"Indeed..." Nayru continued, "These Heartless are a unique form of darkness. I never learned if they were directly connected to Kingdom Hearts, of if they simply have a unique nature to send Hearts to it, but one thing is for sure.. These creatures do not act of there own consciousness. They are guided by those with dark hearts and ill-intent."
Kratos nodded to her. "I was approached by one such person, I believe. He was trying to get me to join him in this charade of his. When I refused him, he summoned Heartless to fight with me while he left. While I defeated them, I don't think I was doing any good..."
Nocturnal interjected quickly, "No, every time one seems to defeated, they simply become displaced. Either they move back to the summoner, or back to wherever they come from. Even weapons of Light don't completely dispel them."
"The warrior that I observed who stopped them so long ago, was unique. He wielded a weapon called a Keyblade, which released a captive Heart within the Heartless. This would cause the Heartless to dissolve, as it had nothing to anchor itself." Nayru said after she recalled her experience with the matter some time ago.
"We should find Keyblades, then." Kratos said, turning to Shiyoko. "We should do something about this and end it, before everything becomes threatened."
Shiyoko shook his head. "Kratos, this may very well be a natural occurrence in the universe. It would be foolish to intervene in something that may have its own solution. Doing anything without more knowledge may only serve to worsen the problem, or even make it a permanent one. What would you do then?"
Nayru looked to Kratos. "Keyblades are not a weapon that we can wield naturally. They are summoned by people who have powerful Hearts and are somehow connected to Kingdom Hearts itself. Of course, the Lady in the Lake is the one who unlocks this potential for them. No doubt, if the menace is as bad as you say, then she has already begun seeking heros for this. That is, after all, what she does."
Shiyoko stood up. "For now, let us gather information. Keep on the look out for those who may be chosen wielders of the Keyblade. Watch them, see what they do. Find out what influences them. But do not.." He looked directly at Kratos, "You are going to ignore this one, I am sure... But do not interact with them. This is for them to solve on their own. That is how heros are born."
Kratos gave him a frustrated look, then quickly turned and left. Nocturnal nodded to both Shiyoko and then Nayru, before floating off through the large door.
"Nayru, I thank you for coming here to the Hereafter. I know this is not a place you enjoy, but I currently cannot leave Hereafter." He said.
Nayru tilted her head. "Why can you not leave? Are you not some form of deity or immortal?"
"My true self exists in this realm. I do my work for the most part, unconsciously here. If I were to leave myself, this place would fall into complete disarray. To leave, I must created a physical form in the Mortal plane to which my waking consciousness resides. If I am killed in that mortal form, then I come back here and it takes time to create a new form I can link to." He explained to her. "Each form has essentially a massive form of energy put into it."
"What happened to your last form in the mortal plane, then?" She asked once more curiously.
"I was killed by a Dragon who approached me, who wielded the power of the Heartless.."
Nayru looked in shock. "That piece of you was taken by the Heartless..."
"Yes. That is why I am giving consideration to the idea of us intervening. They have the Heart of that particular Mortal form, which will no doubt become a powerful weapon for the Heartless..."
