Kingdom Hearts: Consumed by Darkness

Smoke and fire curled along the edges of the throne room, dancing like restless spirits beneath the ceiling of the Underworld's sanctum. The darkness here was thicker—alive. It clawed at the senses, sapping light from spells and suffocating even the sound of footsteps. Yet Kurai and Skuld stepped forward, untouched, defiant.

At the center of the room sat Hades, legs draped lazily over the other, fingers steepled under his chin as he watched them with that familiar condescending grin.

"Well, well," he drawled again, theatrically rising from his throne. "Look who decided to gatecrash my little domain. I was wondering when you'd crawl back, Miss Doom and Gloom. But bringing a friend?" He whistled, mock-impressed. "Cute."

Skuld's grip tightened on her blades, wind energy pulsing through the Phantom Wings. Her eyes swept the chamber, noting the twisted chains looped along the far wall, and the faint shimmer of a containment field at its heart.

Her breath caught.

Within the barrier, slumped against the stone, was Helios.

He looked barely conscious—clothes torn, body covered in bruises, cuts, burns, and dried blood, blood covered most of his body, so it was hard to even assess the amount of damage that he had suffered.

"Helios!" Skuld cried out, surging forward—

But Kurai's arm blocked her path.

"Not yet. Hades won't let us reach him easily," she said sharply, eyes never leaving Hades.

"Still playing bodyguard?" Hades said, chuckling. "You should've known better, sweetheart. You really think you're just gonna walk out of here with him? After I went through the trouble of torturing him just right? Besides, little maggot still hasn't answered my questions yet."

He snapped his fingers.

Instantly, the throne room trembled.

Chains along the ceiling uncoiled like serpents, spectral flames igniting as hundreds of Heartless emerged from the walls—twisted, elite forms born from darkness deeper than even the Underworld itself. Many bore the marks of Hades' personal magic—blue hellfire in their veins, skeletal armor fused to their skin, eyes glowing with infernal light.

Skuld's face paled.

Kurai didn't flinch.

"You talk too much."

Then she moved.

Like a scythe through mist, Kurai blurred into the horde, her war fan gleaming with an eerie dark glow. She cut through the first wave with a single sweep, blades detaching mid-motion and spiraling into the air before arcing back under her control.

The shadows surged around her and rippled as she moved.

Each twist of her fan infused the air with darkness, sending slicing currents across the battlefield that tore through armor and stone alike. Skuld launched into motion beside her, cutting down flaming Wraiths and flying ghouls mid-air, her momentum carrying her in dazzling arcs of motion.

"Back to back!" she shouted.

Kurai obliged as more and more heartless kept surging out.

For every blow Skuld landed, Kurai answered with one tenfold. At one point, a massive horned behemoth dove toward them—Kurai caught it mid-lunge, forced her fan through its chest, and hurled the writhing body into another cluster of Heartless, detonating it in a blast of shadow fire.

They fought with synergy born not of training—but necessity. One carved a path; the other kept it open.

But it wasn't enough.

The tide never stopped.

Kurai cursed under her breath. They were wasting too much time here.

The longer Helios was kept bound the higher the chances of Hades breaking his mind. Helios had no chance of dying due to the fact that the chains holding him down drained his power and used it to keep him alive.

She narrowed her eyes at the throne, where Hades still watched with an amused tilt of his head.

"Fine," she growled. "Then let's clear the board."

Raising her fan high, Kurai poured her power into the air. Her shadow erupted outward—covering the floor, walls, and ceiling. Purple energy bloomed across her body and weapon, and the room dimmed as if eclipsed.

"Dark Sovereign Art: Black Convergence."

The air collapsed.

A dome of absolute darkness consumed the horde—and from within came the sound of tearing, shrieking, and silence.

When the veil lifted, only Kurai and Skuld remained standing.

Everything else was ash and shadow.

Even Hades had stopped smiling.

"Well now," he muttered, brushing his robe as the smoke cleared. "That was dramatic. Even I can't command darkness to that level, and I'm a god. I'm getting more and more interested in figuring out what makes you tick, sweetheart."

Kurai turned to Skuld. "Stay back. He's mine. Focus on making your way over to Helios and heal him as best as you can."

Skuld nodded, panting but resolute.

Kurai marched toward Hades, fan folding.

"Move."

Hades sighed. "Fine, fine. I'm nothing if not a gentleman."

He waved his hand.

The barrier around Helios vanished.

But the instant Kurai stepped forward, Hades raised his other hand—and the floor beneath her cracked.

A trap.

Cursed chains erupted, aiming for her limbs and throat—but she twirled midair and slashed through them before they could bind.

She reached out to Helios, but more chains attacked, and she was pushed back.

His eyes fluttered open.

"Kurai…?"

Her expression softened for just a moment before returning to its normal cold look. "I'm here."

Then her gaze hardened again as she turned to Skuld.

"Get over to him. Time to pay for making me fail Hades."

The room trembled.

And Hades laughed.

"Oh no. No, no, no. You don't get to just walk out. That's not how the Underworld works."

He raised both arms—and from the shadows beyond, a massive silhouette stirred.

The true guardian of his domain.

Cerberus.