Helios chuckled, pying along with Cid's light-heartedness. "Of course, Cid. Merlin might have found me first, but your work seems just as iing. Besides, I'm always up for learning more about teology and, well, just about anything in this world."

  Even gave a brief nod, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Curiosity is a powerful tool, young man. Pruidance lead to great things. But be mindful,” he added with a touch of gravity, “curiosity also lead you down paths from which there is urn.”

  Helios met Even's gaze, he almost couldn’t stop himself from ughing due to his foreknowledge about Even doing just that. "I uand, and I'll keep that in mind," he replied, feigning innoce. Even who would bee Vexen iure a man obsessed with experiments and uanding till the day he was destroyed.

  Cid stretched and gave the mae a satisfied pat. “Well, now that this thing’s ba a, I say it’s time to hit the road, kid. Let’s get you back before Merlin starts sending out search parties.”

  As they turo leave, Helios caught a glimpse of someoering the room from the er of his eye. It was Xehanort who had theerra’s body, his white and yellow eyes signature remihat he beloo darkness. He wore the b coat and posed expression he always carried, a mask hiding his dark iions. Helios knew better than to stare, but although subtle and nearly ent he could feel the darkhat seemed to emanate from the man’s presence, even from across the room.

  Xehanort aowledged Cid with a brief nod before turning his attention to Even. "Is the sole operational now?" His voice was smooth, almost soothing, yet Helios only felt a chill up his spine.

  Even nodded. “Yes, Xehanort. Cid and his nerentice have restored it.”

  "Good," Xehanort replied, his eyes flig briefly toward Helios, studying him with a curious iy. The look was brief, yet sharp enough that Helios felt it pierce right through him.

  Helios forced himself to remain calm under Xehanort’s scrutiny, giving a polite nod before looking away. Uhe weight of Xehanort's Helios’ mind began to wonder if this Xehanort had regained his memories as Master Xehanort yet or was his amnesia still in effect.

  “Let’s go, kid,” Cid muttered, nudging Helios toward the exit. Helios didn’t o be told twice.

  As they walked away from the castle, Cid gnced back, making sure they were out of earshot before he let out a sigh. “That Xehanort’s an odd one, isn’t he? Gives me the creeps every time I’m around him.”

  Helios feigned a casual shrug, though inside he agreed pletely. "Yeah, something about him seems… off," he replied carefully.

  odded in agreement. “You’re n there. Always talking about stuff way over everyone’s head, and he’s got a way of looking at people that makes your skin crawl. Like he’s not really looking at the guy in front of him but a toy he do with as he pleases.” He paused, gng at Helios. “Merlin’s been looking out for yht? So take my advice, kid. Keep your head low when you’re hat one. Oh and don’t head to the castle with me or Merlin tagging along.”

  "I’ll keep that in mind," Helios responded, fully uanding the caution in Cid’s voice.

  Back at Merlin’s cottage, Helios took a moment to pose himself, letting the familiar fort of the warm, book-filled space wash over him. Now calm he immediately began his magic practitil Merliuro the house.

  The flickering lights cast long shadows as Xehanort and Even desded into the cold, dimly lit corridors of the castle's undergrouion. Their footsteps echoed against the stone walls, apanied only by the distant hum of maery reverberating through the sealed-off tunnels.

  As they walked, Xehanort’s gaze turned inward, yet his tone was versational. “So, Even, what do you make of the boy? Helios, was it?”

  Even adjusted his b coat, a casual gesture, though his mind was undoubtedly disseg every detail of Helios. “Iing, certainly. Though, hardly surprising that he should bear such darkness. It’s hardly unusual for those ear here to carry remnants of the darkhat separate our worlds. You, too, remember, arrived in Radiant Garden much the same way,” Even noted, gng briefly at Xehanort. “Though, in your case, any remnants of darkness have long since been purged.”

  Xehanort offered a slight smile, ohat never quite reached his eyes. “Purged, you say?”

  Even didn’t seem to notice the cryptic edge in Xehanort’s tone. He tinued, “Indeed. And while the darkness in Helios is intriguing, there’s little o dwell on it. Cid would hardly allow me to study him, regardless. Besides, I doubt it would yield results we haven’t already seen before.”

  Xehanort remained silent for a few paces, his gaze fixed ahead, but his mind clearly elsewhere. “I could have sworn…” he said, almost to himself, “that the boy’s darkness was different. It wasn’t simply the residue of a troubled heart; it felt… alive.”

  Even raised an eyebrow, gng at Xehanort with mild curiosity. “Alive, you say?” he mused, though his tone held a hint of skepticism. “I saw no sudication. Perhaps you mistook it. Darkakes on strange forms in those newly arrived.”

  “Perhaps,” Xehanort murmured, his voice thoughtful. But his expression suggested he remained unvihe notion of “alive” darkness simmering in his mind.

  They walked in sileneither breaking the tension as they desded deeper into the byrinthine passageways. Eventually, they reached a rge, reinforced door, rusted around the edges from disuse and age. Even withdrew a small key from his coat and ied it into a barely visible slot he handle. With a low hiss, the door unlocked, and they stepped inside, sealing it carefully behind them.

  The room they entered was lined with strange devices, their designs alien and imposing, with monitors and trol panels scattered about, coated in a fine yer of dust. The cold air was thick with a faint, almost metallic st—a ghost of past experiments. In the ter of the room, gss chambers lihe walls, each rge enough to hold a human subjeow empty and filled with an eerie silence.

  Xehanort moved slowly through the space, trailing his fingers along one of the gss chambers, his eyes distant. "Do you remember when we first began?” he asked quietly, his tone almost reverent.

  Even nodded, eyes flig between the monitors as he recalled those early days. “I do. Back then, we were vinced of the noble cause—to unlock the secrets of the huma and discover the true nature of darkness and light.” He paused, almost smiling to himself. “Yet, our master Ansem would have us halt it all. He fears what we might uhough I’m certain we’ve only just begun to glimpse the potential that lies within the heart.”

  “Fear,” Xehanort repeated softly, as though tasting the word. He turo face Even, a gleam of something dangerous in his eyes. “He cks the vi necessary to see this through. To uand true darkness, we must be willing to go further than he ever imagined.” He gestured to the empty chambers surrounding them. “These were meant for that purpose. To explore the heart’s potential, to see how far one could push the boundaries between light and dark.”

  Even nodded slowly, his fingers skimming over a trol panel, his own fasation stirring. “You’re right. Ansem… he limits himself by his own morals. He fears the potential he was so eager to tap into, a here we are, holding back at the cusp of something greater than he could ever prehend.”

  Xehanort’s gaze darkened, a flicker of disdain crossing his face. “Indeed. His so-called morals are but s. This hesitation, his reluce—it only serves to hinder progress. He told us to stop, to abandon our work, but as you know, Even… I have no iion of stopping.”

  Even offered a half-smile, caught between resped the thrill of discovery. “Nor do I, Xehanort. Our teacher cks the necessary vision. But we..., we see beyond the limitatios. If he were to discover what lies within the heart without fear…” He trailed off, gng at Xehanort with a glint in his eye. “We would be in possession of untold knowledge.”

  Xehanort’s smile turned cold, a dangerous fire gleaming behind his gaze. He stepped back from the gss chamber, his eyes taking in the room with a sense of triumph. “Precisely. The heart holds secrets yet to be revealed, an endless potential that has only begun to be tapped. And we shall be the oo u all, to wield it as it was meant to be.”

  Together, they stood in the ter of the room, the silent apparatus around them bearing wito their dark iions. Even’s hand hovered over the trol panel, his eyes flig to Xehanort. "Shall we proceed, then? The experiments have only been paused. With yuidance, we tinue.”

  Xehanort nodded slowly, his smile never wavering. “Yes. Our work here is far from over, Eve us delve deeper into the heart’s mysteries. For it is only through the shadows that we shall find the light of true knowledge.”