Chapter 179

Jamestown had been built with an air of desperation. The settlers, driven by hunger, exhaustion, and Ratcliffe's endless demands, worked tirelessly to dig, cut, and fortify their wooden outpost. But no gold had been found.

Governor Ratcliffe sat in his lavishly decorated tent, his fingers gripping a golden goblet filled with wine. His once regal red coat now bore signs of dust and sweat, yet he remained obsessed with his goal.

"No gold… no fortune… nothing but trees and these savages!" he muttered, slamming the goblet onto the table.

His anger festered in the air, unseen but tangible. Outside, the settlers moved stiffly, wary of his temper, yet too fearful to stop working. The deeper his frustration grew, the more the shadows in his tent flickered unnaturally.

Candles dimmed without reason. The air grew unnaturally heavy. And in the dark corners of the forest, something watched.

A young settler, Thomas, peered into the woods uneasily. He had always been braver than most, but tonight, the trees themselves felt… wrong.

He spotted movement—a shape shifting between the trunks, flickering like smoke but with glowing, yellow eyes.

" Governor Ratcliffe! Sir!" Thomas turned, rushing back to camp. "Something's out there!"

Ratcliffe barely glanced up. "The savages, obviously. Keep your head, boy. Soon enough, we'll drive them out, and all this land will be ours."

Thomas hesitated. That wasn't what he saw.

Helios and Skuld moved through the dense underbrush of the Spirit Woods, moonlight filtering through the canopy above. Fireflies blinked softly in the distance, and the rhythmic sounds of crickets and rustling leaves filled the air.

Skuld walked ahead, her excitement palpable. "Everything here feels so... alive. It's so different from the other places we've been to."

Helios followed behind, scanning the trees, watching the way the shadows stretched unnaturally.

It was subtle—but the land was already starting to change.

"Pocahontas is special," Helios mused aloud. "She's connected to the land in a way most people aren't."

Skuld glanced back at him, curious. "You keep talking about her like she's different. Is it because she's a Princess of Heart?"

Helios smiled. "That's part of it. But it's not just her title—it's who she is. People like her, with hearts so full of light, can feel things others don't."

Skuld nodded, then frowned. The air felt... off.

She stopped walking. The forest was too quiet now. The birds had stopped chirping. The rustling in the bushes had ceased.

Helios smirked but didn't speak.

The darkness was beginning to stir, soon the heartless would come to this world.

As Skuild and Helios walked ahead Aqua and Pocahontas walked side by side, the distant sound of the river murmuring alongside them. The night air was crisp, and a soft wind stirred the trees.

"You and your friends are different," Pocahontas said, glancing at Aqua. "Not just because of your clothes... but because of your hearts."

Aqua nodded slowly. "We've traveled far. We protect people from things that lurk in the darkness."

Pocahontas tilted her head. "Darkness? Like my dream?"

Aqua hesitated. How much could she say?

"The land is changing," Pocahontas murmured before Aqua could answer. "Something is coming."

Aqua looked at her closely. "You've sensed it, too?"

Pocahontas nodded. "I've seen it in my dreams—a storm in the sky, fire spreading across the land. A battle between a blinding light and an endless darkness… and three lights standing in the middle of it."

Aqua's breath caught. "Three lights?"

Pocahontas continued, "An old friend told me once—dreams and visions show things our eyes cannot see. I believe my heart is telling me something."

Aqua smiled faintly. "Then trust it."

For the first time, Pocahontas smiled back.

Then, a terrible sound split the air.

The night was supposed to be peaceful.

A cool wind swept through the Powhatan village, rustling the leaves in the trees and whispering through the huts. The soft glow of torches flickered, casting long shadows over the wooden structures. But something was wrong.

The animals had gone silent.

Not a single cricket chirped, no owls hooted, and the usual rustling of small creatures in the underbrush had completely ceased. It was as if the land itself was holding its breath.

And then—

A terrible, guttural sound rumbled from the dark treeline.

The first of the heartless draw to this world by the darkness in Ratcliffe's heart had arrived.

Out of the shadows, creatures twisted and shaped by the fears of the land emerged. These were unlike the Pureblood Heartless Helios, Aqua, and Skuld had encountered before. These Emblem Heartless born from the darkness within human hearts, adapted to the land they were in.

Twisted Hare – A large, hunched Heartless shaped like a corrupted rabbit, its elongated ears flopped like blades, crackling with dark energy. It moved erratically, zigzagging unpredictably, and its glowing yellow eyes darted in all directions before vanishing and reappearing somewhere else.

Thornback Bristle – Resembling a porcupine, this Heartless had dark quills coated in a thick, shifting darkness. Every time it bristled, the quills shot out like arrows, embedding themselves in the ground and corrupting whatever they touched. Once a quill is embedded in your shadow you lose the ability to move temporarily.

Spearfang Stalker – A towering, humanoid figure wielding a spear with native Powhatan patterns twisted by darkness. It moved with calculated grace, its weapon crackling with unnatural energy as it spun it effortlessly lauch it's spear that exploded in dark energy.

The village erupted in chaos as the first Twisted Hare leaped forward, slashing a hut with its bladed ears, leaving deep, glowing gashes in the wood.

A scream rang out.

Chief Powhatan stepped forward, his warriors readying their weapons, but they hesitated—what were these monsters? They had never seen anything like them before.

Helios, standing at the edge of the village, grinned. "Looks like we've got our first real challenge in this world."

He didn't move.

Not yet.

Instead, he glanced toward Pocahontas, watching. Would she awaken the power in her heart?

Aqua and Skuld didn't hesitate.

Aqua surged forward, Stormfall flashing into her grip as she moved with fluid, graceful strikes. She cartwheeled past a lunging Twisted Hare, slashing mid-motion and sending a shockwave of water magic rippling through its body.

"Skuld!" she called.

Skuld was already in action, her Zephyr Talons gleaming. She lunged forward, vanishing into a blur of motion, claws slashing at the Thornback Bristle before it could fire its dark quills.

Shing!

A strike landed, cutting deep, but the porcupine-like Heartless retaliated. Its quills erupted outward, forcing Skuld to flip backward, narrowly avoiding the dark spikes.

"These things are fast," she muttered.

A sudden whirl of wind.

Pocahontas raised her bow, drawing an arrow with practiced precision. The wind around her seemed to hum in response.

She fired.

The arrow glowed faintly, catching the wind and accelerating unnaturally. It struck a Twisted Hare mid-leap, sending it tumbling across the dirt.

Aqua's eyes widened. Did she just use magic?

Helios, still standing back, smirked. "So she does have it in her."

But then—

The Spearfang Stalker made its move.

The tall Heartless lunged, its spear twirling with unnatural speed. It struck the ground, sending a shockwave of darkness rippling outward.

Pocahontas was caught in the edge of the blast, thrown off her feet.

"Enough of that."

Helios stepped forward.

With a flash, Bríon na Lú appeared in his hands, glowing with golden luminescence.

"Skuld," he called.

She grinned. "Got it!"

With practiced ease, she vanished in a gust of wind, appearing above the Thornback Bristle, claws flashing as she sliced downward, carving through the Heartless' hide.

Aqua, still engaging the Twisted Hares, lifted her keyblade transforming it into the Tidal Sceptar.

A brilliant flash of blue light.

With a surge of magic, three floating water orbs materialized around her, orbiting rapidly.

She hurled them forward.

They twisted mid-air, striking one Heartless after another, freezing them solid before shattering them into shards of ice.

Pocahontas, breathing heavily, slowly stood back up.

She watched the warriors around her—fighting creatures of darkness with impossible abilities.

Then—her vision blurred.

She saw something—the wind moving, whispering.

She heard Grandmother Willow's voice in her heart. "Trust yourself, child. Trust the land, the sky, the spirits that guide you."

She lifted her bow again.

The wind surged around her, swirling like a protective barrier.

Pocahontas drew another arrow—but this time, it glowed faintly green.

She fired.

The arrow curved mid-air, wrapping around a Twisted Hare and exploding in a burst of wind that sent it crashing into a hut.

Aqua's eyes widened. She really was using magic.

Helios grinned. "Not bad, princess."

With one final coordinated attack, the warriors finished off the remaining Heartless.

Aqua having already changed the Tidal Sceptar into the Glacial Empress's Grace loosed a final freezing arrow that pinned the last Twisted Hare to the ground before shattering it.

Skuld, breathing heavily, flicked her claws. The last Thornback Bristle collapsed into dust.

Helios plunged Bríon na Lú into the final Spearfang Stalker, the weapon glowing as the creature disintegrated into darkness.

The battlefield went silent.

The villagers slowly emerged from their huts, wide-eyed and afraid.

Chief Powhatan stepped forward. "What… were those things?"

Aqua turned to answer, but Helios spoke first. "Creatures of darkness. And they'll be back."

Pocahontas lowered her bow, heart still racing. She looked at Helios, then at Aqua and Skuld. "You… you've fought them before?"

Aqua nodded. "We've each come across them in our travels. I've spent our lives fighting them."

Helios turned toward the woods.

His eyes narrowed. The darkness was still lingering.

"This was just the beginning. This world might end up being more interesting than I originally thought," he muttered under his breath.