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sanctuary-kingdomhearts · 2 years

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Sanctuary Chapter V - Child’s Heart

CONTENT WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER - This chapter contains blood, gore and a near death of a minor. If you are uncomfortable reading this please go to these markers [꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂] And we will catch you up with the important things you missed at the bottom. Thank you.

"Why?" I asked him, looking up at the scariest thing I'd ever seen. He made me scared of the darkness for a reason, one I knew. His eyes, predatory and too similar to Clouds, watched my every movement. I'd made no attempt to run, instead choosing to sit down and still like he had told me to do. It wasn't what most children would do in this situation, which probably had him on guard.

But, as I watched the massive katana glimmer in the moonlight, I knew staying still and waiting was the best course of action. I'm small, only five, and very short for my age group. Outclassed in terms of strength, width, and judging by how he moves, speed also. It would be foolish to try attacking him or run. One false move and I don't doubt for a moment I'd be hanging off the end of his long sword.

"To make Cloud fall into the deepest darkness," The silver-haired man answered me, eyes trailing from me to the drop below, Radiant Garden's square not too far away. His eyes looked over it quickly, calculatingly.

I furrowed my eyebrows, a frown forming on my face. Again, I asked him, "Why?"

He didn't turn back to me, "I won't ever be just a memory." A smile quirked on his lips, a sinister smile that was one twitch away from being a smirk.

I exhaled slowly, shakily. This man, what was he to Cloud? He smelled too much of darkness to be anything good, but I already knew that. He also smelled like Cloud's darkness, which he had a little too much of for a normal person, it was been dissipating though, subsiding, so I thought he was working through his problems, that the darkness was from his trauma or he was going through a tough period. Now, I don't know what I'm supposed to think.

"Why me?" It escaped like a whisper out of my lips, one he didn't answer. He stood tall and watched the horizon as if Cloud would pop out from underneath the cliff face and attack him head-on.

"Sephiroth!" A familiar voice shouted angrily. We both turned to look at the blond man rushing onto the cliffside with us, buster sword in hand. I also noted the fact he'd changed clothes, from the star-covered t-shirt and jeans to more suitable combat gear. I'm impressed by how fast he got here.

"Cloud," Sephiroth said, his tone taunting and something else, laced with a word I didn't know.

"Give her back, Sephiroth," He spat the one-winged angel's name like it was poison.

The scary man laughed, "Why would I ever do that?" His grip on his sword tightened, I saw Cloud's battle stance widen, shifting for a powerful lunge, just waiting for the right moment.

I could feel the tingle of my keyblade, the air morphed around me and tiny sparks of light appeared, I pressed it down, not yet. If I'm lucky, not at all.

"I want to quell this awful thought plaguing your mind, slowly but surely, Cloud, you belong in the darkness. Playing the hero full of light was never for you." Sephiroth's wing spasmed, like the very idea of it was appalling, to him it probably was. If he did all this it had to be.

"Let. Her. Go." Cloud demanded. "We can settle this ourselves." Even though I was feet away from him I saw his eyeline shift from Sephiroth to my still sitting form.

"You derive your fragile light from other people, Cloud, if we wish to create a flower with only thorns we must first get rid of the petals."

Cloud charged at the taller male, buster sword hitting the thin blade of Sepiroths katana. The silver-haired man didn't even look phased, keeping the same pressure as Cloud as they locked in a stalemate, even as Cloud pushed his footing.

Sparks looked like they would have appeared from the interlocked blades, and it looked as if there were dents in the blades, same shape and size as the other in those blades, clean fits.

And then Cloud's buster sword was hurled straight at me, I only barely managed to dodge to the side, rolling roughly on the ground. Standing up I found Cloud removing his sword from its impact point on the ground, looking at me with guilt. Distracted.

"Cloud!" I tried to warn him as Sepiroth went to swipe at the blond, his bigger sword almost missing their collision. I don't know how Cloud had managed to move that fast, but I was thankful he was.

They continued their fight. Meanwhile, I knew I needed to get out of here, go find Squall and Denzel, and be safe so Cloud wouldn't have to worry. But the overwhelming darkness here, I almost puked, it's suffocating.

Shakily, I tried getting up again. Adrenaline ran dry as my life wasn't in danger at the moment, the darkness felt like it was physically pushing me down and I shrugged to fully stand. It was awful, this darkness, it looked and smelled different.

It didn't feel like Clouds, and yet, it did. It had a different consistency and stench than the masked boys from so long ago too but didn't share the same attributes. It was a third, new type of darkness I'd never encountered before. I hoped to never encounter it again.

Their fight was getting closer. I needed to run. Standing up in this darkness, that was hard enough, but trying to place one foot in front of the other and walk was almost impossible, trying to run probably was. I coughed, I felt it invading my lungs.

Again, Cloud's sword struck near me, only barely saving me was Cloud himself, who managed to use the push off from Sephiroth's attack and avoid me. I stumbled back and fell, that's twice now. What was Sephiroth doing?

I got up again, trying to make my way to the right to avoid them, and though the darkness was overwhelmingly powerful, I managed to run, not very fast, but I did it.

This was terrifying, almost being cut open twice, along with the darkness around us. I shivered, if any heartless appeared, would I be able to handle it?

No, I wouldn't be. I just have to be grateful this darkness wasn't clouded into an enclosed space, otherwise I'd be completely immobile.

Their fight turned my way, and I noticed the way Sepiroth moved, not like they were fighting, but like he was herding Cloud in this direction, the way he parried his sword was like he wanted it to go flying.

I gasped, rushing away as they got closer. That was his plan, he was herding Cloud, and his target was me. Why?

This time Cloud's sword flew into the air, and if I hadn't stepped back I would have been cut down the middle. How does a katana even parry a buster sword like that? Master swordsmen truly have to know their blades well. Otherwise, how could someone do something like that?

"(Y/n)!" Cloud looked back, having been unhanded to see me and the sword an inch from my face, he looked back to Sephiroth, having guessed what he was up to as well, "I told you to leave her out of this, what's your game, Sephiroth?"

The dark angel exhaled slowly, "I told you, if one wishes to make a bramble of thorns, they first have to get rid of the flowers around it." Suddenly he was gone, and I felt the darkness shift behind me. I barely had time to think before I was at length with Sephiroth's sword.

Cloud looked back, seeing the long sword an inch away from me. I was too scared to move, a lump in my throat, spine straight.

Cloud unlodged his sword from the ground, looking fiercely ahead at the taller, smirking male. "Don't move." I don't know if he was talking to me or Sephiroth, but neither of us did.

"I had planned for you to execute her yourself, but if you already know that was my plan then it would impact you as badly as it needs to. So I'll take it upon myself, just this once."

I didn't even feel it, as the sword found itself into the middle of my ribcage, just under my chest. It looked as if it went in slow motion as the thin blade stabbed clearly into me, it didn't pierce the other side, it couldn't have, because I didn't feel the second rush of pain. But the first rush came straight after the numbing feeling of it coming out subsided. Burning hot agony rushed throughout my veins, finding myself numb with pain up to my fingers. I couldn't scream, or cry, or anything, while the fire raged in my body I was left completely frozen, still and in shock.

I felt hot, gooey stuff rushes down my dress, feeling it through all the fabric. I couldn't move my hands to check, but at my side felt my keyblade summon itself in my hand. I looked up at Sephiroth, the person who had stabbed me, I wanted to know, to see anything. Something, any emotion.

But I didn't see Sephiroth when I raised my gaze, instead, the scene shifted. In a dark room with another blade stabbed through me in that exact spot, the structure reminding me of a keyblade. My attacker was covered in darkness but my hand reaches up to his face anyway, caressing it, I heard something similar to my voice whispering praises and sweet nothings.

And then it was gone, the blade still Sephiroths as one of my hands clutched it, blood running along the cuts, my abdomen still stabbed through, and my gold and silver keyblade clutched in my other hand.

It's a whisper that grows inside of me, one that quickly turns into a yell for me to live. A will to live not my own rushes into me, it gives me strength, power to do what I have to, to live.

"Thunder," It was just a mumble, one I didn't think I'd be able to do, and the bolts from the sky that came after was something I never dreamed I would be able to conjure at the moment. But I felt like I could, and I did, voices screamed out to me to live.

The dark-winged angel pulled his sword out, jumping back to avoid my attack as I fell to the ground, blood falling out of my mouth and staining the dirt below, there was a lot of it. Too much, I felt lightheaded. Black dots invaded my vision and my limbs felt numb, I couldn't even feel the keyblade in my hands. Green energy flowed all around me, a flower appearing over my head, causing my wounds to disappear and pain to cease, I smiled at the relief.

Cloud caught me, bringing me into his arm, worried mako eyes stared into mine, scanning my face to see if I was dead. As if to check he brought a hand to my face, feeling the warmth still there. tears fell from his eyes and he hugged me as gently as he could manage, telling me I would be okay, that he would get help.

"It's not worth trying to kill you, anymore," Sephiroth spoke up, "If I had known you were a keyblade wielder, I wouldn't have tried. It's no use trying to kill the immortal, I'll leave you to be your own downfall."

He flapped his wing, and soon he was flying away into the sky. Cloud picked me up, and I was too tired to do anything but dangle. He told me not to shut my eyes, to stay awake, but I couldn't, all my mana had been completely used up and I needed to sleep, I wanted to stay awake, for Cloud, but I couldn't. My eyes shut and I drifted away.

꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂

Aerith trailed over my ribcage, looking at the darker skin where Sephiroth had 'punctured' me. She frowned, "Whoever used cure did a very good job of healing your wounds, but I'm afraid there'll still be some scarring."

She looked up to me, "I'm sorry, honey."

I looked down at the darker skin, shaking my head, "That's always been there."

Cloud and Aerith looked confused, turning to each other then back to me, questions not escaping them.

"A long time ago I asked mom what it was," I pointed at it, "She called it a birthmark."

They looked at the strange shape closely, before Aerith did a second take. It was a peculiar shape, a smaller circle-like shape at the bottom with three more circular ones a centimeter away. It didn't look anything like the smooth edge of Sephiroth's blade. Though Aerith wouldn't know that, we didn't exactly tell her what happened. She didn't need to know, to worry.

As far as I knew, not even Denzel knew. Cloud told me something, about how he found me, that he sensed Sepiroth, even when no one else saw the winged man at the festival. I guess the darkness cloaked him, it could do that if he truly were part of the dark.

Thinking back to Denzel, he must feel terrible. He was supposed to look after me and he tried his best, then he turns away for one second and I was gone. That had to have made him guilty.

All of a sudden, I want to hug Denzel. The sensation in me wants to hug my brother and not let go until I know he's okay. It hurts not to be able to do so.

Aerith hesitated, "Then I guess there's nothing else?" She looked between me and Cloud before getting up, "I'll go talk to Tifa about what to do, I'll be back."

She left and Cloud and I were left alone, I worried Cloud might blame himself as Sephiroth said, but he just watched me silently.

"You were so brave," He hugged me and I hugged him back, shaking my head. "Most kids, they wouldn't have been as brave as you. You did a good job today, and, and I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Something in me broke like a dam as water started to flow out of my eyes little by little, and I felt repressed emotions come back up to the surface. I wanted to tell him how I was feeling. I wanted to feel and it came out.

"I wasn't," I confessed as we separated, he rubbed my back awkwardly and let me cry, the tears increasing as I talked. "The darkness around there was so scary, and when he, he did that, I felt nothing but calm. Why am I always calm, Cloud?!" I exclaimed. The tears turned to sobs.

"Don't you see I'm different from other children?! I'm not like them, I want to be like them but I'm not. It's just so, so hard. Like something is stopping me from being me," I stopped, curling in on myself. "And then it felt like it wasn't even me who wanted to live when I attacked him, it felt as if I was on autopilot. Like it wasn't me."

"I just, what am I supposed to do, Dad? Tell me how I'm supposed to feel." I looked up at him, pleadingly.

He paused, looking down at me before hesitantly hugging me again. It seems the first hug was one of mindless relief, this one was thought out.

"I can't tell you how to feel, but I promised we'd work on this together. And that's what we're going to do. Just know, whatever emotion you have, anger, sadness, happiness, we'll work through it, okay? I'm sorry you had to feel this way, no five-year-old should have to." He hugged me harder. I felt safe, which made me cry more.

I spilled everything out to him, and when I was finally done crying. Puffy-eyed and ready for a nap. Curling up in the blanket Aerith brought for me when she came back, she put me in something she called a blanket burrito, I snuggled up to her, who was now holding me.

"I want Zach, Denzel, and Papa," I mumbled. Behind me, Aerith tensed for a second before relaxing again. Giving me to Cloud she got up, "I'll go get them, okay?"

I cuddled into him next, and he wrapped his arms around me and swayed me side to side. "Acting like a child now?"

I nodded as well as I could with the blanket swaddled around me. "I feel sad without my family here, and I would feel happy if they were here."

Cloud nodded, even though I wasn't looking at him I could tell he did by the way he shifted, and the sound of his hair swaying.

"My second act as a child is to remind you that Aerith's going to kill you after she finds out what happened to her dress."

"I think she'd be more upset about the stabbing when we get around to telling her that story." Cloud joked, amused, but I felt his tensing up.

"Papal's definitely going to kill you."

"In more ways than one," Cloud mumbled.

"Huh?"

"Nevermind," Cloud shook his head.

"'M sad I missed the rest of the festival too."

"There's always next year, kid." Cloud ruffled my hair before Aerith, Squall, and Denzel came back, holding Zach Henry Claudstine Featherflump the First.

We spent the afternoon together with Aerith, Tifa joining later, as a family. And for the first time, I felt like I could be, no, that I was, a kid. A child.

Cannon fact - (Y/n)'s birthmark was there when she was born, Sora posses no birthmarks.

Recap for those who skipped the CW section of this chapter -

Sorry, it's still CW but this is actually important to the story, so if you wanna understand the coming chapters you have to know this.

News!

Sanctuary Side Story! Every five chapters you'll get a special or a side story, side stories are cannon specials are not. For Wattpad readers this'll be a separate book, for readers on other sites this'll be part of the same book/blog.

Alright, that's it, bye!

#kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts x reader #sanctuary #heart #keyblade #darkness #if you squint the mystery is already revealed #kingdom hearts union x #light #child!reader #cloud strife #squall leonhart #sephiroth #soft gore #triggering content

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scottymcgeesterwrites · 3 years

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Final Fantasy VI Review

Year: 1994

Original Platform: Super Nintendo (originally released as Final Fantasy III in the West)

Also available on: Playstation One (Final Fantasy Anthology), Game Boy Advance, Android, iOS, Steam

Version I Played: Game Boy Advance

Synopsis:

Terra is a slave used by the Gestahl Empire because of her magic powers. The Gestahl Empire seeks to hunt down espers (summons) and harness their powers too, effectively killing them. Terra escapes their clutches and falls into the hands of the Returners – a small band of rebels hoping to return freedom to the world.

Gameplay:

Final Fantasy VI doesn’t exactly add anything super-new to the gameplay unlike its predecessors. That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong or boring with it. It has an ATB system and each character, like in Final Fantasy IV, specialize in certain jobs. Therefore, each character has a special unique ability that no other character can perform.

I find the style of the game unique for its time because you can easily split the game into two parts. There's a pivotal point in the story that changes everything. The first half is a typical story-driven RPG. The second half is actually more open world. With a huge cast of characters, you are not actually required to end the game with all of them. The second half of the game offers a unique style where you can take on the final boss with what you’ve got, or hunt down the rest of the cast members and then take on the final boss.

Graphics:

This is the SNES in its prime. Character sprites are much bigger, and the world looks so much more detailed and vibrant. Shadow looked weird though. Sometimes you had to squint to discern what his face actually looked like. Other than that, the game looks great! It’s notable for utilizing more graphics power from the SNES in some cutscenes, and also when you fly an airship.

The PlayStation One version again has a FMV sequence that hasn’t aged well at all. Okay, maybe it’s a tad bit better, but that’s not saying much.

Story:

One of the biggest debates in recent Final Fantasy fandom is asking whether Final Fantasy VI or Final Fantasy VII is better. While I won’t get into Final Fantasy VII much now, it was always the most popular game in the series. It seems that in recent years, gamers have retroactively judged Final Fantasy VI as the best Final Fantasy game of all time.

I wish I had appreciated more when I was a kid. When I first played it then, I actually despised it. I was much more critical about stories back then. For whatever reason, I didn't think the world building was coherent. I also wasn’t used to Final Fantasy games by then.

I finished Final Fantasy VI about four years ago, and that time I was taken by it. I became enlightened and completely changed my opinion of it from sour to sweet. I wish I could erase my memory on playing it only so that I could experience it for the first time and appreciate it for the first time. I had already known most about what happened in the story, so I really wish I could experience the shock and awe of it brand new. Final Fantasy VI does things with its story that no other Final Fantasy game has done. It has drama, it has brevity, it has an amazing cast of heroes and villains. To date, it has the most playable characters in a Final Fantasy game.

The plot even incorporates a little opera that you sit through.

At first glance, Final Fantasy VI seems derivative. There is once again an evil empire seeking to control the world, and there is once again a rebellion. People often make the parallel to Star Wars, much like Final Fantasy II. The name “Returners” doesn’t quite stick with me personally as the name of an epic rebellion. Final Fantasy VI also created the recurring characters Biggs and Wedge, a further nod to Star Wars.

But you have to look past the simple setup of a ragtag rebellion fighting an evil empire. First of all, the steampunk setting is one of the most original in a Final Fantasy game to date, and hasn’t really been revisited. The world dabbles in late 19th century architecture, with fine arts and opera. The empire is only beginning to realize the ancient power of magic, and combines it with technology to make “Magitek”, starting a sort of “industrial revolution”. The opening scene to this game is one of the most memorable. Terra, under the empire’s mind control device, in her magitek armor with Biggs and Wedge, trudging through the snow as the opening credits roll by, comes off as a real live-action movie.

While the official creators say that there isn’t a main character, I still say it’s Terra. If not, she’s at least the most important. She propels the plot forward. She’s one of those rare great female protagonists in a video game RPG. She’s more than just “a strong female character”. She has depth as she tries to find her place in the world, and other characters, such as the thief Locke, try to help her.

Also, just like Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI has its own villainous goofball - Ultros.

He’s not quite as charming as Gilgamesh, but he acts in the same manner regardless.

Each character has their own story – no matter how small or big. They’ve all lost loved ones, or suffered hardships, and the central theme about the entire game is really about grief and dealing with it even in the face of nihilism.

Nihilism comes in the form of Kefka - Emperor Gestahl's court mage. Kefka did the whole nihilistic evil clown thing before Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight. Kefka retroactively rose to popularity, rivaling longtime favorite villain Sepiroth from Final Fantasy VII as the best Final Fantasy villain.

Final Fantasy VI deals with heavy topics. I was shocked that it even dared to show a scene of attempted suicide. Things get dark. Really dark. But Final Fantasy VI deals the darkness with such elegance. I admire its ability to treat such heavy plots for basically children.

The ending to this game is probably the most epic out of any Final Fantasy game. I can gush with details but this is meant to be a spoiler - free review. I just have to say – E P I C. But the most admirable thing I just have to say is that it treats Terra’s journey with the utmost respect and tact. It doesn’t try to define her by having some hokey romantic subplot.

Music:

Another legendary score. Given the tone and atmosphere of the story, the score reflects something darker. Right away, the opening titles before you begin is accompanied by foreboding music. With the exception of battle themes, the story demanded that Uematsu put away most of his drumming and rock undertones for a more conventional, instrumental score with pathos. It sounds most like the score to an actual fantasy movie, very operatic and Wagner-like.

Shadow’s theme sounds inspired by typical Western movie fare, being that he is a drifter. In fact, Final Fantasy VI’s score is diverse in tones with its character themes, which is obvious once you think about where all the characters come from. Cyan’s theme has Asian influences. The theme for the Veldt, a stretch of wilderness, has a jungle beat. Then of course there’s the opera music. Many Final Fantasy concerts, such as Distant Worlds, play the opera about the fictional characters Draco and Maria. Kekfa, the villain, has a jovial but sinister theme scattered throughout. Terra’s theme is practically the main theme of the game, and it too is referenced throughout.

The end credits song is a whopping 21 minutes and 36 seconds. It goes through every single character’s theme and more. The entire soundtrack is 3 hours long. I don’t think any other game at the time had a soundtrack that long.

Notable Theme:

“Dancing Mad”

To me, Dancing Mad is Nobuo Uematsu's magnum opus. It is a sprawling 8-minute epic for the final battle.

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Verdict:

A must-play. Any RPG fan will love this game. Any RPG fan SHOULD play this game. There’s nothing obnoxious or vainglorious here. Every subsequent Final Fantasy game tried to live up to its drama and scope, but with all of them falling short ever so slightly.

Direct Sequel?

No. Thank God.

#final fantasy #final fantasy vi #final fantasy kefka #kefka #kefka palazzo #square enix #fantasy rpg #rpg #video games #video game rpg #onvideogames #terra branford #terra

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