“Kurai!” Helios excimed suddenly as they walked through the endless shadows of the forest.

  The figure turs ethereal head toward him. “Hmm? Kurai?”

  “I told you I’d e up with a name for you, and I decided on Kurai,” Helios replied, a hint of pride in his voice.

  The figure, now named Kurai, seemed to pause in thought. Its dark energy swirled around it, pulsing with subtle intrigue. It had wahrough tless years without a name or identity, yet here Helios was, giving it one.

  “Kurai,” the figure repeated, testing the name as though it were fn. “Does it carry any meaning?”

  Helios nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Yes. In Japanese, 'Kurai' mean 'dark,' 'gloomy,' or 'shadow,' which feels appropriate given your nature and this pce. But it also mean 'to e' or 'to arrive'—which could signify a new beginning."

  Kurai’s energy rippled faintly, as if pting something buried deep within its being. For a brief moment, a faint warmth flickered inside, a distant memory it couldn’t quite grasp. But the feeling quickly faded, repced by its usual indifference.

  “If you wish to call me Kurai, so be it,” the figure replied, its tone as cold as ever. “But enough with se. I sehe Heartless growiless again. We should find a more opeo front them.”

  Helios and Kurai pressed on, their footsteps eg through the dense, oppressive darkness of the forest. The atmosphere thied with the looming presence of Heartless, their energy palpable in the air. Helios braced himself, ready to summon his dark shield at a moment's notice.

  They soon emerged into a small clearing, bathed in the eerie blue glow of the Realm of Darkness. The shadows around them shifted, and the telltale glow of yellow eyes began to appear from the gloom. The Heartless, drawn by the st of Helios’s darkness, gathered and verged upon them.

  Helios didn’t hesitate. He summoned his dark energy, weaving it into a shimmering shield. The Heartless swarmed, their cws and tendrils sshing at him from all angles. His shield deflected their attacks, while Kurai moved with fluid grace, slipping into the shadows and striking with deadly precision.

  The two fought in syn unspoken uandiween them as they cut through the endless waves of Heartless. Helios unleashed bursts of Dark Firaga, the fmes ing his enemies in searing darkness, while Kurai dispatched them with cold, surgical efficy. Their battle was a symphony of light and shadow, eaent honed by the dangers of the world they now inhabited.

  But just as they began to thin the Heartless ranks, a rger shadow loomed over them—a t Darkside Heartless emerged from the shadows, its jagged spikes protruding from its massive body. Its aura was suffused with malevolent energy, and its glowing eyes fixed on Helios with a huhat made his skin crawl.

  Helios gritted his teeth and summoned his dark shield again, defleg the Darkside’s crushing blows as it unleashed shockwaves of dark energy. Kurai circled the Darkside, slipping through the chaos with unnerving ease, striking at its vulnerable points with precise blows.

  But even as they fought in tahe Darkside's raas overwhelming. Its strength dwarfed the smaller Heartless, and its attacks grew fiercer with each passing moment.

  Mid-battle, Kurai’s voice echoed in Helios’s mind. “I’ve expended muy energy. You will o hahis one on your own.” With that, Kurai vanished into the shadows, leaving Helios aloo face the t foe.

  Helios took a deep breath, tapping into the well of darkness within himself. He let it surge through him, amplifying his strength, as he prepared for the final csh. His Dark Firaga attacks intensified, each strike hammering the Darkside’s shadowy form with greater precision and force. The ground trembled beh their battle, shockwaves rippling through the clearing as they cshed.

  In a blur of motion, Helios evaded the Darkside’s massive fists, anticipating its moves with growing fidehen, with one final surge of power, he unleashed a devastating orb of dark fire, striking the Darkside in the chest. The massive Heartless staggered, its form disiing into a cloud of darkness.

  But even as it faded, the Darkside released o desperate attack. A bst of dark energy struck Helios, catg him off guard. A searing pain shot through his side, aumbled, blood staining his dark clothing. He clutched his wound, struggling to remain standing.

  Kurai reappeared at his side, unbothered by Helios’s injury. “You’re wouhat attack would have ied you with darkness, but thanks to the orb I gave you, you’re protected. However, we should tend to the wound before it worsens.”

  Helios groaned, his hand pressed tightly against his side. “Unless you know healing magic, this is going to take a while.”

  Kurai’s tone remained as detached as ever. “Let me hahat. You’ll pass out soon if you lose too much blood, and I ’t carry you.”

  Despite the dire situation, Helios couldn’t help but chuckle through the pain. “Good to know you have your priorities straight.”

  They stumbled through the forest, Kurai guiding Helios as they searched for shelter. Before long, they came across a small, weathered hidden within the dark woods. Helios’s steps grew heavier as he approached the familiar sight, a vague sense nition dawning on him.

  “This pce... it looks like the Dwarf Woodnds,” Helios muttered, memories of Snow White’s world flickering in his mind. “This must be after Birth by Sleep... when the world was ed by darkness.”

  With great effort, Helios staggered to the , his strength fading fast. As he crossed the threshold, his vision blurred, and darkness overtook him.

  When Helios colpsed, Kurai acted swiftly. Dark energy surged around them as Kurai iwiself with Helios, merging their forms temporarily. Helios’s eyes flickered yellow as Kurai assumed trol, animating his body with dark energy. Helios’s movements were no longer sluggish, no longer weighed down by pain.

  Though blood still trickled from his wound, Kurai propelled him fuiding him into the and ying him down on the bed. The dark energy shielded Helios from feeling the worst of the pain, dulling the sensation while keeping him alert.

  Kurai spoke through Helios, their voices blending into ohe wound was worse than I thought. I’ll have to watch over him until he recovers.”

  As Kurai relinquished trol, Helios’s eyes returo their normal blue. He y on the bed, his body finally succumbing to the exhaustion and blood loss. The dark energy that had sustained him faded away, leaving him unscious, his body weak but stable. But the wound on his side remained, now staining the bed sheets with his blood.

  The battle was over, but as Helios drifted into a deep sleep, the uainty of their journey loomed heavier thahe darkness within him had grown stronger, and Kurai’s influence was undeniable.