Diz waited patiently outside the doors of Castle Oblivion at the crossroads of light and darkness. A sad, twisted remain of a world, unknown to this man, but still, he stood waiting for his heroes to emerge as planned. A long time passed, and the mysterious figure started to lose his patience as two figures in black approached. Alas, his heroes have arrived. Now to see for himself which road this young man will choose. The boy appeared clearly agitated; spat out at Diz for making him choose again. However, Diz calmly stated, "To see which you choose... The road to light... Or the road to darkness." Seeing the hooded boy, he thought it clear that the boy would choose darkness. However the boy chose neither, with a face clear of doubt, he proudly announced he would walk the middle ground to the way of dawn. Shocked and amused, Diz let the boy pass. Only once before, had he seen a young man choose this path... An old friend from before the disaster of his apprentices.
As his old, friend Mickey, and his companion began to walk down this path, a hole to darkness opened up swallowing up the young man. The portal slammed shut as quickly as it had opened, startling both Diz and Mickey. Mickey quickly took out his blade, pointing it at Diz and demanding to know what he did. Diz in his vast knowledge could only surmise one answer, "It's a rare sight to see a young boy embracing his shadow and finding harmony. HE must of took interest in the boy." King Mickey clearly understood, curious as to how Diz knew of this man. However, Diz would not give away his identity yet, and the King could still be of use to him. Thus, started Mickey's journey under Diz to find the young man, Riku.
Riku however, was about to be enlightened with a new power he just wasn't aware of quite yet. As he stepped through the gate, he immediately prepped for the fight ahead. He stood upon a pillar surrounded in darkness, confused as to how he got separated from the King. He decided to take the steps forward to see where this path would take him. After a quick scan of the area he surmised this was a test created by Diz. So with Soul Eater in hand, he set off. That is when the heartless appeared. He fought endlessly upon one station after another; with each heartless he slayed his resolve in his new path deepened. That is when he heard it. A voice. "This boy is the one..."
Riku yelled out, "Are you the one who brought me here?!" No answer came out, instead a voice in his head slowly grew louder.
"Show me your light, your shadow, and become one with me, my choosen. Show me your true self and I will be yours" Riku puzzled, did not know what to make of it, however the enemy had finally appeared from the depths of the shadows. He was a hooded figure in a semi-long trench jacket wearing a gauntlet on his left arm, and boots with metallic plates, which his pants were tucked into. Through the coat, Riku could make out his long hair, an armor style neck guard protruding from the zipped up jacket, and his piercing black eyes. The worst part was, what this man held; a black and gold keyblade that he held backwards, as if he had a sheathed blade in hand. He took a step forward...
"You hear it, don't you? The call..."
"Answer me!" Riku quickly stated.
The hooded figure shook his head. "No, you were brought here by your own heart. It seeks another." He steadied his keyblade, cupping his hands at its hilt. "Show me your resolve, and perhaps you will gain what you lost."
Riku was lost but he knew if he didn't fight, he would likely die here. So he drew Soul eater and lunged at him. To his surprise the man drew another keyblade from the hilt; a gold keyblade with a simple clover design for the guard and at the end of the shaft, a pointed end for piercing. He deflected Riku with ease, kicking him clear across the pillar. Riku rolled to his feet, shocked to see the man was a dual wielder. They continued to exchange blows, it was clear that Riku's first impression was not wrong. The man used the black keyblade as one would hold as a sheath, but used it for defense and strikes, leading into bigger attacks with the other blade and kicks. Even knowing this, Riku could tell as he was he was no match for him. That's when he heard the voice again.
"Show me your strength, your love, your anger to free your true self."
That's when the man backed off, waiting for Riku to make a move. Riku wasted no time and entered his heartless form, he would not be defeated that easily. However, when he looked over, the hooded man looked disappointed, "Is only drawing on your darkness your only answer? You are not worthy of power if you rely on your inner shadows." Riku understood the thought, however power is not what drove the young man anymore. "This darkness is a symbol... whatever the cost, I'll pay it to protect my friends. Even if it means dragging myself to the deepest darkness, I can pay it." With that he readied his blade. "They are my light, and my power!" This left the hooded figure silent before he spoke again.
"I see in that case I will respect you and show you my light. I sincerely hope you can pass." With that the keyblades sparked and a light flowed from the man and into the blades before they split, and the lights flowed onto the man, forming many new keyblades. Two formed at his waist one, one horizontal to his back, and two more massive blades crossed behind his back floating up from behind him. All the blades giving off enormous power. He then swapped the black keyblade for another that resembled Soul Eater. It contained a black eye in its center, however its design was crude with elements of what looked like the Kingdom Key and Soul Eater smashed together. " This blade is what's left of the battle of two souls. It has yet to take on its own shape, and it is calling for you. Show it you are worthy and lay your true self bare here."
He charged with a speed Riku had never seen before. Riku was quickly overpowered but never gave up, even after Soul Eater was thrown from his hands. He laid defeated on the ground, this new form was like nothing he had ever faced. It was over. He was going to be lost here forever. Even with that frustration, his love for his friends never faltered and before the man could finish him off with the keyblade it vanished from his hand. Confused, Riku stood to his feet as the man backed off waiting. The keyblade reappeared in front of Riku and as he drew it, he felt the rage of its creation as it flowed through his mind. The final battle of the two pieces of the same soul... The shadow it left would gradually be known as the blade of dawn. The blade then shattered in his hands, becoming absorbed into Soul Eater. Confused, He asked what happened, and the hooded figure gladly answered. "This keyblade was forcefully forged together, although powerful it can't maintain itself... The blade you carry is an imitation of thus keyblade from its previous war, so it must find a suitable host for its blade." Riku was obviously lost, he knew nothing about Soul Eater except it was from Maleficent. "Don't worry about those details, your story is about to begin, my apprentice."
"I'm no ones apprentice, I don't even know who you are!"
The hooded figure answered, "I am Gale, the Keyblade Keeper. I am a master tasked with lost blades. They all need a new wielder before their lights dim out, lost to time and you will be too."
Riku and Gale discussed the meaning of the keeper, what a keyblade master was, and many other things. Before coming to a conclusion... This man could be of use. He decided to learn from Gale, however Gale had other plans. "You are not yet ready to be trained. First control the darkness from within, otherwise your keyblade will forever be sealed away within Soul Eater." With that he pulled out a blind fold, tying it to Riku's eyes.
"I can't see anything, what am I suppose to learn from this?!"
"Search for the light, let it guide you through the darkness, and one day you will find that answer." With that, Gale handed him another keyblade, with a floral pattern. "This blade belongs to a very dear friend. One day I want you to pass this on, and find it a proper master. When that time comes you'll be ready to become my apprentice." Lost by his words, Riku absently agreed before Gale opened up another door to the darkness, shoving the helpless Riku through it.
Gale starred off in silence, a sad expression engulfed his face as he remembered a time before he was a keyblade wielder. To a time when he stared after the light, chasing her before the light faded and a cruel twist of fate led them to this. It's a sad tale, but one Gale had grown quite fond of."Was this the right thing, Lave?" He began to walk away, heading back to the home he created, Traverse Town, and his mind trails off to the tale, a tale of darkness.