I felt the scorching heat about my body before the spell even flickered into Haru’s thoughts. Her magical energy was strong, yet predictable. I’d had my fun, however. “Firaja!” she shouted, and I lapsed in my control as the spell hit. In this second, Haru shouted “Teleport!” and disappeared from sight. I focused my energy for less than a second, and the fire disappeared. “Cure.” My slight burns healed, I walked back to my throne and sat down. Now, where had she gone?

I searched my mind. She wouldn’t have gone back to Riku, so not Destiny Islands. Lindblum was gone, not there. Balamb Garden was a wreck. The only place that remained was Twilight Town… So she must have teleported there. Now my question was, where exactly? I searched my powers. If she was feeling anything, I’d be able to see what it was as clear as the sky. Racking my brain, I searched Twilight Town for any signs of her… and came up empty. No sign whatsoever. Therefore, I broadened my search. Knowing it would cause me to lose every ounce of my energy, and thereby my defences, I searched the entire world, continent by continent, for traces of Haru. And guess what? Nothing. Haru was gone.

I had quite enjoyed floating along in the black corners of unconsciousness, but it didn’t take too long to be snapped back to reality in an almost brutal way. My head pounding rhythmically, I pulled my heavy body up to a sitting position. After a few deep breaths, the room around me blared into painfully sharp focus. It was bright, dazzling white; the sort of white that seared a tattoo into your eyelids so there was no refuge from its cruelty. Instantly I knew where I was: Castle Oblivion. Once I had blinked a few thousand times, I gave up and cast a mild Blind on myself. I had never used it this way, but now it acted as sunglasses would. Then I tugged myself up to my feet. Looking around, I knew that I needed to move quickly, before some Organization member appeared to prey on me. I could still feel my rucksack, heavier than before, pressing down on my back, and I could feel a long, thin shape in the inner folds of my cloak that I knew was my Magic Rod, but that didn’t make me safe.

I set off down the pointlessly long corridor, my eyes darting restlessly from door to door to behind me to ahead to ceiling to floor repeatedly in a vicious cycle. Without a set destination, my footsteps seemed heavy, and in the empty hallway they bounced off the walls, echoing impatiently and reverberating through me. At the end of the hallway, I paused at the door before I would descend the marble steps, looking back. A haunting feeling had just swooped over me, giving me the feeling that someone was close by. It chilled me, but I stepped surely down the large staircase anyway, dismissing the feeling as paranoia. This place always managed to mess with my head.

I woke up, noticing the sphere around me had vanished, and replaced it instantly. Haru was gone… and, thinking back, she wasn’t anywhere. But she had to be… she couldn’t have just disappeared, and she wasn’t dead. The question was where… Hang on. Why bother with Haru anymore? I knew where Riku was… but I’d need them both to exact my revenge. She had to see his death up close. What should I focus on instead?

I thought back. What had my plans been before Haru appeared? And… oh no. I flicked my hair out of my eyes, noticing the lighter, more purple-ish tone. Conjuring a mirror in the side of the sphere, I noticed (in the foggy, unclear surface) that my tattoos were fading slightly. The essence was wearing thin… I’d have to expend less power. I’d have to conserve it for the final blow… which meant no more killing for now. No more destruction… I’d have to wait patiently. One last charm ought to do the trick… I flicked my hand, and a foghorn appeared in front of me. As soon as Haru’s emotions could be registered, this foghorn could wake me from my slumbers. Until then… why, I’d have to wait. And rest.

I kept climbing downstairs until my head swam in circles. By then, I was nearing the end of the staircase, so I jumped down to the bottom. I hit the ground harder than I expected, and crashed down painfully. A booming laugh echoed around me loudly, and I flew back to my feet, looking around wildly for the source of the crazy chuckle. It petered out slowly, and it didn’t take long for my breathing to slow again. Eventually I straightened up properly and continued walking. I couldn’t worry about an enemy I couldn’t see.

I pushed open a door right in front of me and was enveloped in a warm grey colour. After the blaring white, the monotonous setting of the basement was comforting and calm. The room I was in now was empty, so I stepped forward some more, and peered down at a desk in front of me with a mild curiosity. Some papers lay shuffled on the top, and they were covered in a tiny, cramped handwriting. As a header on the top of every page I saw a very familiar name that registered with shock. I flicked through the pages, my interest peaking. And then I had to sink down into the leather chair conveniently sat there…This was a diary, but not just anyone’s diary…I was holding the memories of a dark, heartless Zexion. Much like the way he was now, except back then…I hated to admit it, but back then he had morals, beliefs. Now, he was barely human. In the silence and the gloom, I began to read of Zexion’s life here, wondering if he had sat in this very spot to write them.

I opened my eyes. A long rest had done my body and mind good, and, looking into the mirror, my darkness, too. The tattoos had regained their strength, my hair back to its crimson colour. The foghorn hadn’t gone off, and checking the wiring proved my suspicions, Haru wasn’t there. She couldn’t have travelled beyond the skies, nor could she have gone below the ground. She had to be here somewhere, but I could not sense her at all. My powers remained near-omnipotent, and yet she was out of reach. And I just couldn’t figure out why.

By the time I had finished the papers my hands were shaking so badly that I had to put the papers down. Once, a long time ago, Zexion had…Gildas hadn’t been the only one…and yet…I shuddered, and slowly got up. I was walking away when a horribly familiar fizzling noise behind me made me stop. Slowly, carefully, I turned around to see the traditional hole of darkness, as out of it stepped a figure cloaked in black. “What?” I asked aggressively. The person wagged one finger at me mockingly, and pulled down his hood. His blonde hair was cropped close to his head and two silver rings glinted at the top of one ear. A sadistic grin was stretched across his face. “This is the first time I’ve been inside Castle Oblivion, you know…” he sang sarcastically. I cocked my head. “Oh? Well then, I’m sorry to make it the last.” A look of confusion flickered over his light expression, before a jet of water knocked him off his feet. I stepped over to him and peered down as he cowered, dripping and shivering, clearly terrified of me.

I raised my eyebrows. “Don’t ever mock me,” I said in a carefree voice. He was just about to speak when I whipped my Magic Rod out, striking him hard across the face. His robes billowed as he flew back down to the floor, and I finally used the secret weapon in my Rod. I had only bought it as a precaution, but now I was – at last – about to use it. The silver blade slid up, glittering menacingly as it reflected his intent eyes. I smiled a little, and slashed it across his throat smoothly, just once. As blood spilled out over the floor, I turned my back on his lifeless body and walked away, humming happily, my Rod balanced on my shoulder. I strolled out through the main doors of Castle Oblivion, fading to invisible as I did so – one of many useful tips Zexion’s old diaries had provided. Perhaps I should set off for Destiny Islands now that I could not be detected, I decided, a brutal smile still playing on my lips.