Chapter 5

YOU WERE DREAMING AGAIN.

This time, you were in the Fountain Square, waiting for your friend to arrive.

“Sorry!”

Ephemer, the silver-haired boy who you thought wasn’t going to show, came running up.

“I’m sorry. I really am! There was something important I had to take care of. I hope you can forgive me,” he said, smiling as he placed his hands together and ducked his head apologetically. “Are you still up for our adventure?”

You accepted his invitation with a grin and a nod. Your destination was, of course, the underground waterway leading to the clocktower, which you hadn’t been able to visit that day.

Though the two of you didn’t speak much as you forged a path through the Heartless, the bond between you was plain to see.

You slipped between the houses along the steps up from the Fountain Square, then descended the stairs to the waterway and took the ladder down to the sewer. As before, the air there was chilly and damp. You pressed onward and reached the big gears right in front of the clocktower.

“It’s up ahead. Are you with me?”

You looked up at the enormous interlocking wheels. Behind them were secrets to be discovered.

“Ah, you’re not ready yet. I had a feeling that might be the case,” he said behind you.

You turned to look at him.

“I’ll be waiting,” he said, and with those parting words, he vanished, leaving behind only a fuzzy dandelion seed floating off on the breeze amid a glimmering light. You just stood there in shock.

Ephemer would be waiting? But where?

“Did you have another dream?” I asked as you woke up.

Sitting up in bed, you hung your head in disappointment. It really was just a dream.

“It was about your friend, wasn’t it?”

You nodded and told me about what you saw. Then you told me what you’d decided to do next.

“You want to go search for him in the tower? No way!”

You simply got out of bed and headed for the door.

“Only the Foretellers are allowed there. Besides…now’s not a good time.”

My point about the timing gave you some pause.

“I can’t go into detail, but the Foretellers… Well, lately, they’ve been disagreeing on a few things. Let’s just say you should steer clear of that tower for the time being.”

Trouble between the Foretellers? You thought about it for a while—and maybe you thought Ephemer’s disappearance was connected to it all.

You dashed from the room.

You headed for the front of the clocktower. I was standing right beside you, extremely worried.

“I don’t think this is a good idea…,” I said, but you continued to carefully search the area.

Just as you when you checked with Ephemer previously, there didn’t appear to be a way in from the front.

“Are you even listening?”

You broke into a run.

“Wait! Where are you going?!”

I hurried after you. You were going to the place you saw Ephemer in your dream—the underground waterway, which was also where you last split up with him.

You were fighting through the swaths of Heartless when you encountered another Keyblade wielder, a boy with short hair and somewhat sharp eyes. He was busy thinning out the Heartless of Daybreak Town to gather Lux, much like you did.

“What’s the big hurry?” he asked with concern, and you asked if he had seen Ephemer.

“Ephemer? No, I don’t know anyone by that name… But people have definitely been going missing.”

That was true—you’d seen it yourself. Ephemer wasn’t the first to break a promise to you.

“I may not know your friend, but I have seen people gathering in the square lately. Beats me what they’re up to.”

That was news to you. Elsewhere in Daybreak Town, things were changing. Maybe it had something to do with what I was telling you earlier, about the discord between the Foretellers.

You said good-bye to the Keyblade wielder and started back along the path from the waterway to the Fountain Square. On the stairs up from Waterfront Park, you encountered another wielder, a girl with pink hair and a kind face. You tried asking her about what the other boy had told you.

“I don’t know anything about a meeting in the Fountain Square, but I have heard rumors that one of the Foretellers is assembling some of the best Keyblade wielders, even if they’re from a different Union.” More new intel. She continued, “I believe it’s Master Ava, the one in the fox mask. These days, I see her around the square all the time…”

You tried asking her about Ephemer.

“What? A boy with silver hair? I think I saw him talking to Master Ava the other day.”

Ava—you knew the Foreteller’s name, but you had never spoken to her before.

You thanked the girl and then kept moving. What was making you so nervous? You hurriedly dispatched the packs of Heartless on your way back toward the sewer.

And awaiting you there was—

“Master Ava…?!” I exclaimed as I appeared beside you. The woman before us was the fox-masked Foreteller the girl had mentioned.

This was your first time meeting a Foreteller who wasn’t Master Invi. When you explained the rumors that had brought you here, Master Ava answered with a question of her own: “Why were you trying to find me?”

You replied honestly—that you were looking for Ephemer.

“Ephemer? Yes, I know him, but you still haven’t answered my question,” the Foreteller stated curiously. You filled her in on the details, including what you heard from the Keyblade wielders you met earlier. “You came to find me because of some rumor?” she said in slight disbelief.

That’s when you told her about your dream from that morning.

“You had a dream? I see. Ephemer said he was waiting for you here in your dream, but this place is restricted. So you thought that he may have gotten caught up in the problems that we Foretellers have been having lately. And because someone saw us talking the other day, you thought that maybe I had something to do with it.”

You nodded, and Master Ava smiled at you.

“You’re honest. I like you. You’re not too far off base, but I can’t tell you much else right now,” she said, then summoned her Keyblade to her hand.

“Master Ava?!” I yelped.

She pointed her Keyblade in your direction. “Show me what you can do.”

With that, she sprang into action, swinging her Keyblade down toward you. You barely managed to summon your own Keyblade in time to block the blow.

“Very nice.”

Master Ava was still smiling beneath her fox mask. You struggled mightily to push back her Keyblade, but she only hopped back lightly with a twirl of her robe as if it were nothing at all.

“Let’s see how you handle this.”

Then she brandished her Keyblade and fired off a barrage of glowing projectiles, which you desperately dodged as you moved out of range. They were coming down so thick that you didn’t have a chance of deflecting them all. You took a moment to catch your breath, dripping sweat.

“Okay, now it’s your turn.”

You responded to Master Ava’s challenge by charging at her head-on. Your Keyblades clashed together. While you were trying your hardest, Master Ava still had a grin on her face as she parried your attack and sent you crashing to the floor.

“Look out!” I cried.

Just when I thought all was lost, Master Ava’s Keyblade vanished from her hand.

“Not bad. I see a lot of potential in you,” she said before extending her hand. You took it and slowly got to your feet. “But I also see sadness in your heart. Hanging on to it will eventually lead to darkness. You need to somehow let it go.”

Sadness? What kind of sadness was in your heart?

Next Master Ava looked over at me. “With this little one helping you, you’ll be fine. Now, go home. And I’m sorry, but this area is strictly off-limits, all right?”

You got to your feet and bowed in response, realizing this was some sort of test. I followed your lead and bowed as well. I hurried over to you, and then we took our leave.

“So it’s you. You’re the friend he told me about…,” Master Ava murmured once she was alone in the underground waterway.

It was night, and you were asleep.

“That was one doozy of a day. Betcha didn’t think you’d end up having to fight a Foreteller,” I said to you from the window.

Suddenly, the curtains rippled.

“I’m sorry. But it wasn’t fun for me either, you know.”

I spun toward the voice and leaped in surprise—Master Ava was sitting on the windowsill.

“Master Ava?! What are you doing here?”

“Please, call me ‘Ava.’” She stood up and came over by me to watch you sleep for a moment. Then she returned her gaze to me. “Did you show him the dream of Ephemer?”

“No. That wasn’t me.” I shook my head.

Ava looked at you again. “Then perhaps it was Ephemer himself.”

“Huh? How is that possible?”

I was puzzled over the idea, but then Ava quietly explained. “Ephemer’s getting very close to the truth. He’s fallen into an unchained state and now finds himself in a different realm. From that realm, I believe he tried reaching out to him,” she said, placing a hand on your forehead. “If they connected, even in a dream, that means he’s getting closer to that realm, too. Whether he continues down that path is up to his own heart.”

Ava then removed her hand. It was as if she had cast some kind of spell.

“Chirithy, you have to protect them from the nightmares, so the wind can carry them far away from here.”

Ava graced me with a smile, and then began to walk away, eventually vanishing as if she had been a dream herself.

Once she was gone, I snapped out of my daze and looked over at you. I got the feeling I knew the meaning of what she had said.

“Me…?”

As far as I knew, your sleep that night was dreamless.

—Right around then, Invi arrived back at the clocktower, where Ira was reading the Book of Prophecies.

“Invi? Have you learned something?” Ira asked as he turned the pages of the tome.

“It seems Aced and Gula’s Unions are now allied.”

Ira’s hand paused at the report. “So Aced is the traitor after all,” he declared, but Invi quickly rejected the notion.

“No, I don’t believe he is.”

Ira looked up at his fellow Foreteller. “Why’s that?”

“To Aced, unification is a means of gathering strength to oppose the darkness. So I believe his heart still belongs to the light.”

“Even so, forming alliances was strictly forbidden by the Master,” Ira said sharply, placing a hand on the Book. He wasn’t convinced by Invi’s interpretation.

Her reply was firm as well. “Yes, and his teachings are absolute. That’s why I will try and persuade Gula to dissolve their alliance.”

“Then, I’ll do it.”

As Ira got to his feet, Invi stopped him. “No. Please, let me do the talking. Your intervention would do nothing more than spur Aced’s anger.”

Her calm resolve was enough for Ira. He returned to his seat and said, “All right. I’ll leave it to you.”

Invi nodded. “And one more thing,” she said. “Aced has begun to question the two of us. As a precaution, my reports will be less frequent. I don’t want him to get the wrong idea. Please understand.”

“Yes, I do.”

Once Ira was in agreement, Invi left. Ira turned back to the desk, reopened his Book of Prophecies, and began poring over it again.

And some time passed.

One day, Aced entered a warehouse in Daybreak Town with Gula close behind him.

“I think I’m done,” the smaller Foreteller in the leopard mask murmured, half to himself.

Aced turned back. “Done with what?”

“The alliance. I think it’s time to call it quits.”

At that, the bear-masked Foreteller gave Gula a long look. “For what reason?”

“To put it simply, I entered this alliance thinking we were preparing to fight some impending darkness, but it hasn’t come. In fact, there haven’t been any suspicious incidents recently, and you haven’t rallied anyone else to your cause.”

Gula looked up at his much taller comrade. Aced’s eyes darted this way and that, searching for something to say, and Gula sighed. It was hard to tell if he was disappointed with the current situation or with Aced himself.

“This alliance is meaningless. Even Invi agrees.”

“Invi?!” Aced shouted.

Gula deflated a little. “Uh-oh, you weren’t supposed to find out.”

“Is Invi the one who told you to break our alliance?”

Despite Aced’s mounting anger, Gula was still relatively relaxed.

“Maybe. But I’m the one who decided to do it, and I’ve already told you why.”

“But we don’t even know who the traitor is yet!”

Aced stepped forward, towering over Gula as he pressed his argument, but the smaller Foreteller was not to be swayed.

“And that’s exactly why. I just can’t trust anyone but myself.”

“Don’t you realize you won’t stand a chance against the darkness on your own?” Aced cried furiously, but Gula was already turning away.

“Sorry, my mind’s made up.”

Without a second glance, he was gone.

Now alone, Aced clenched his fists.

“Invi, you will regret this!” he hissed with loathing.

You arrived before a large mansion in a new world, the Castle of Dreams, where Heartless were chasing something around the sprawling garden. Closer inspection revealed their quarry to be a brown mouse.

“Let’s help him out!” I called, and you hurried after the Heartless and took them down.

After you had dealt with the last of the Heartless and paused to catch your breath, the little mouse came running up to you.

“You save Jaq! Thanks!” he squeaked with relief.

You replied with a gesture that said he was very welcome.

The mouse was about to run back to the mansion when he skidded to a halt, suddenly realizing something.

“Huh?!” He turned to face you. “You know what Jaq say?”

You nodded happily.

“Just like Cinderelly! I’m Jaq. Nice to meet ya.”

You introduced yourself as well. Who was this “Cinderelly,” though?

Jaq noticed my curiosity. “Cinderelly? She’s our friend. She’s nice, very nice,” he explained. “I show you. This way!”

We accepted Jaq’s invitation into the residence…except that we took the back entrance instead of the front door. We eventually came to an attic room at the top of some not-so-tidy steps.

Inside was a girl staring at a mannequin with a dress on it. She was beautiful, even in her rags.

“Oh. Hello, Jaq. I see you’ve brought a guest,” the girl said. So this was Cinderelly.

“This is Jaq’s friend. Good friend,” the little mouse declared proudly.

“Why, that’s wonderful. I’m Cinderella. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Cinderella smiled brightly, then returned her attention to the dress. “There’s going to be ball at the palace! And by royal command, every eligible maiden is to attend. But of course, I’ll need something to wear.”

In that dress, Cinderella would certainly be even lovelier than she was now.

But—

“Cinderella!” three women’s voices called from downstairs.

Cinderella sighed. “All right, all right, I’m coming!” she replied, hurrying out of the room.

“Poor Cinderelly… She not go to the ball,” Jaq said sadly after he watched her leave. “You’ll see. They’ll fix her. Work, work, work! She’ll never get her dress done.”

Jaq circled the dress and looked it over—until an idea came to him. “Say, I got an idea! We finish her dress for her! First, we need some trimmings!”

You nodded with a grin to let him know you were happy to help.

“But look out for Lucifer. Him a meanie, sneaky cat… Follow me!”

The first thing you needed to find was a necklace.

Apparently, Cinderella’s stepmother Lady Tremaine had a nice one hidden away somewhere.

We snuck into her room only to find Heartless there waiting.

“So many monsters! Where they all come from?” Jaq exclaimed. You shook your head with chagrin and prepared for another fight.

Heartless were drawn to the darkness in people’s hearts, so Lady Tremaine and her cruelty to Cinderella would’ve been the main source.

Funny, though… Haven’t there been lots of Heartless in Daybreak Town recently, too? Does that mean something in our home is calling them there?

While I was mulling this over, you finished off the last of the Heartless, and Jaq snatched up the gorgeous string of pearls. “Let’s get outta here!”

We left the room, but then—

“Whoa!”

Before us sat a large cat. Jaq dropped the necklace. “Oh no! Lucifer!”

The cat glared at you and growled before snatching up the necklace from the floor in his jaws and running off.

“Him a meanie cat, but us need pretty necklace for Cinderelly’s dress! But all okay! Jaq got a new friend. Time to get necklace back!” Jaq cried bravely, and then the two of you went after the archnemesis of the mice. There were Heartless in the hallway as well, but you defeated them one by one and finally cornered the cat.

You cautiously edged closer to Lucifer, but then Heartless appeared around him. He leaped into the air in surprise, tail bristled, and dropped the necklace.

“Got it!”

Jaq came running over. Now all we had to do was get rid of those Heartless.

“You stay here?”

You replied with a glance, then turned to face them.

“Good! I’ll go make Cinderelly’s dress real pretty!” Jaq squeaked, then picked up the necklace and ran off.

“Oh well. What’s a royal ball? After all, I supposed it would be frightfully dull…and boring…and completely…completely wonderful,” Cinderella whispered to herself, climbing the last stairs to the attic. She had given up on the idea of going to the ball. She entered the dark room, closed the door with her back, and let out a long sigh.

Then Jaq lit a lamp.

“Oh, it’s my…!”

The light revealed her dress, now completed.

“Surprise! It’s you dress!” Jaq exclaimed reverently, bringing a smile to our faces.

I’m so glad we made it in time.

“I never dreamed— It’s such a surprise!”

“Hurry, Cinderelly! Hurry! The ball!” Jaq sprang up to her shoulder, and Cinderella beamed at him.

“Oh, thank you so much!”

Now she would be able to go to the ball.

“I’m so glad,” I said with true relief, while you watched Cinderella and Jaq celebrate.

A few months had passed since your encounter with Master Ava.

You had just returned to Daybreak Town after a mission to collect Lux and took a seat on the edge of the fountain. It was almost dusk. You had put in a good day’s work.

“You did great out there, champ!” I said as I arrived. You looked a bit worn out. “I know it’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it… I know, I know. But if you give up now, the other Unions will get ahead.”

The praise only seemed to dampen your spirits. There was no denying that Keyblade wielders had become more competitive when it came to dealing with the Heartless these days.

Just then, you heard a girl’s voice. “But why does that matter?” You and I looked up to see a young woman with long, straight black hair coming this way. She had pretty eyes with long lashes, and she was evidently a Keybearer herself. “It’s not a competition. Or at least it shouldn’t be. Our goal of protecting the light is the same. There’s no need for us to fight.”

The black-haired girl stopped in front of you.

“Who’re you?” I asked.

She sat down beside us, then smiled at you. “The name’s Skuld, from Anguis.” Same Union as you. She offered her hand in greeting. “Nice to meet you!”

You clasped her hand and shook it as you made your introductions. Her gaze was cool and even. “Ephemer told me all about you.”

You and I shared a startled glance.

“Don’t look so surprised! He used to be in my party, you know. We met not long after I became a Keyblade wielder. There was never a dull moment with him around! But then one day, he just quit.”

It was easy to see why, since Ephemer was a part of a different Union, after all.

“I was really upset about it for a while… But then he showed up in my dream the other night and told me to find you!”

You and I looked at each other again.

“Why?” I asked, but Skuld just shrugged.

“Good question. I was actually hoping you could tell me. See, I don’t really understand why he was in my dream to begin with.” She smiled awkwardly, then added, “But he asked me to go with you. So here I am.”

You told Skuld that you had dreamed about Ephemer yourself.

“He was in your dream, too? What’d he say?”

You explained the dream in detail, how Ephemer had told you that he would be waiting down in the underground waterway.

“Hmm…” Skuld crossed her arms in thought. “If he’s waiting for you, then—” After a moment of contemplation, she looked up. “Why don’t we go to the place you’re supposed to meet him?”

You started to agree, so I had to step in.

“No way! Master Ava told us to stay away from there!”

“Well, there has to be a reason she said that. And I have a feeling it’s the same reason Ephemer asked me to go with you. So let’s get moving—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Skuld was interrupted by a tremendous noise that sounded like something big getting smashed, or maybe like two large objects crashing together.

“What was that?!” I jumped up in surprise.

“It came from nearby!”

You and Skuld looked in the direction where the racket had originated.

“Let’s go!”

Skuld ran off toward the noise with you in tow.

“H-hey! Where’re you going?!”

Flustered, I hurried after the two of you.

Aced was alone, catching his breath in a back alley of Daybreak Town.

It’s been over a year since the Master left. It’s time for me to fulfill my true role, he thought with his hand clenched against his chest. He burst out onto the main avenue with a downward swing of his Keyblade. The one he was attacking was Invi.

Aced’s Keyblade whistled through the air toward her, but the serpent-masked Foreteller parried the blow. His next attack was a powerful swing through empty space, creating a cutting wave of force that surged toward Invi, but she lithely leaped away.

Their Keyblades clashed again as they fought.

“Why do you get in my way?” shouted Aced, already out of breath.

Invi was panting as well, but she quickly exhaled a single breath to regain her composure. “Don’t be so conceited!” she cried. “I’m protecting the balance, just like the Master told us to! You need to come to your senses!”

Neither of them noticed Gula crouched in the shadow of a building, observing their confrontation.

“If we don’t do something, the light will expire! Then we won’t be able to avoid the grim future that awaits. We need to defy the Master’s teaching to protect the world!” Aced bellowed.

It was true; the Book of Prophecies did foretell the defeat of the light.

“You’re saying he was wrong?!”

“He’s not here anymore. I won’t let his prophecy come true. I won’t let the world fall into darkness!”

He meant to save the worlds himself.

Above all else, Invi cared for fairness and justice. To her, this declaration was sheer arrogance, and she could not let it pass.

“You fool!” she exclaimed at last, while Gula rose to his feet in the shadows.

Aced must be the traitor…

Just then, Ava and someone’s Chirithy came running into his field of view. Gula circled around to meet them so that the other two Foretellers wouldn’t realize he had been watching.

“Ava, over here!” he yelled, joining her and rushing back over to where Aced and Invi faced off.

“Invi, Aced! What’s going on?!” cried the Foreteller in the fox mask. She sounded pained.

“I found out who the traitor is, regrettably,” Invi explained, her Keyblade still pointed at Aced.

“No, that’s not true!” Ava looked about in confusion before focusing on Gula. He was ready to fight, too.

“Ava, there’s no time to lose!” he urged.

Though hesitant, Ava called her own Keyblade, and she joined Invi and Gula against Aced.

“May my heart be my guiding key,” he said in a voice perhaps too quiet for the other three to hear.

How had it come to this? How?

Was this truly the future that had been foreseen?

You came upon Master Invi, the leader of your Union, and Aced, the unfamiliar bear-masked Union Master, locked in combat.

Their struggle was fierce, so fierce that you realized how much Master Ava had been holding back during your battle with her.

“The Foretellers! Why are they fighting?” Skuld lamented, biting her lip in trepidation. “Ephemer was right…,” she said softly, then looked over at you. “It’s what I was trying to tell you earlier. Just before I woke up, he told me…the end of the world is near.”

You and I both swallowed nervously.

“The end?!” I asked in alarm.

Skuld just nodded her head. “Yeah. After what we just saw, I can’t help thinking it’s true. The world will disappear, just like Ephemer did.”

Your head lowered for a moment, but you quickly pulled yourself together. You beckoned for Skuld and me to follow you. “Let’s go.”

I could hear mournful determination in your voice.

“What?” I asked, startled, but Skuld simply nodded.

“Lead the way.”

You started off with Skuld behind you.

“Wait, what? What just happened?”

I scurried after the two of you, still perplexed.

It seemed the Master of Masters hadn’t noticed Gula enter.

“Master,” he called, but his teacher was completely focused on the Book of Prophecies.

Gula quietly peeked over the Master’s shoulder. “Um…Master? If you’re busy, I can always come back later.”

Finally noticing his pupil, the Master murmured, “Sure. Oh! No, no, no, stay! Now where— Ah, here it is!” He tore out a page of the Book and handed it to Gula as he got to his feet.

“What’s this?”

“Go on, read it.”

Gula skimmed the page the Master handed him—and then he realized something. “This is from the Book of Prophecies. But—”

“Yup. It’s a page that’s not in any of your Books.”

This page had been removed from the copies of the Book that belonged to the other four Foretellers. And yes, it recorded events that none of them knew—except for Gula.

“And what’s written here is…”

“Your role. You must find the traitor hidden among you and stop them before it’s too late. And in order to help you find the traitor—”

Gula immediately deduced the Master’s plan and raised his head. “I get it. That’s why you gave us all different roles, isn’t it?” he answered before the Master had even finished speaking. “If anyone deviates from the job they were given, we can easily conclude that they are the traitor. It’s brilliant.”

Despite Gula’s praise, the Master turned away with a pout. “Way to steal my thunder, show-off!”

“Huh?”

Gula stared at the Master, puzzled.

“It’s not fair. My plan was supposed to blow your mind with its grandeur. Your jaw should’ve hit the floor at my sheer genius!” the Master declared, dramatically pretending to get struck by lightning himself.

It still wasn’t enough to faze Gula. “I’m…sorry? But was my logic flawed?”

“No, you’re right. So, I guess now you’ve earned your time in the limelight,” the Master replied with resignation, focusing on Gula again. His voice turned low and serious. “Even though there is a traitor, act normal and keep focused,” he ordered. “Trust no one but yourself.”

A little nervous, Gula nodded to show his understanding.