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“Nox! On your left!”
Nox’s fist instinctively snaked out to his left as he pivoted on the stone floor, the squeak of his boots was the only sound that escaped him, and his fist sunk into the face of a shadow before sending it flying into a wall. The Shadow exploded, but two more appeared in its place, for every vicious blow that he landed, five more would be countered.
His boxing wasn’t meant for an entire mob of enemies.
In short, he had finally met his counter.
Two years of fighting world-ending threats, two years of wondering when he was finally going to die, and this is how he was going to go out?
To a bunch of low-level shadows that shouldn’t even be able to scratch him?
A claw swept over Nox's face, followed by another, followed by flames searing his body, and lightning arcing across his skin like a vicious wave of power. His ears were filled only with the beat of his own heart and a cacophony of thunder beside it.
He went down to one knee, briefly aware of the way his fellow Phantom Thieves battled their own hoards without help from each other, something that they weren’t used to.
But he was, if he could just get to Null, they could turn the tide… they could…
A scream pierced his ears, and the first thief went down, he couldn’t see it, but he could feel it. The light of a heart dimming, not quite dead, but not in a safe position either. Hovering between the light and the dark of this world.
Stand ; his mind said, but he could not.
He took more blows, he had taken more, and harder ones at that, but keeping his true power hidden was killing him.
On a literal scale.
His light was never meant to be contained within himself, and it was burning him up from the inside out because of it.
He couldn’t stand, not as the onslaught grew, not as his friends toppled like dominoes.
They were going to die here.
Now, now kid, what kind of hero are you with an attitude like that?
Nox gasped, from both the blows and from shock, feeling the familiar, if uncommon, sense of being pulled d o w n. . .
His eyes snapped open in a place that was all too familiar, and all too painful for his liking.
The Station of Awakening.
“Why do you forsake your power?”
Sora turned away from the edge of the abyss that he had been facing, and met eyes with the spirit of his blade:
Achilles, one of the Greek's greatest heroes.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nox said, but despite the lack of hesitation, it still came out like a lie.
“See, I would believe that if, well, you weren’t dying ,” Achilles said, not harshly, but definitely firmly, “I was Xehanort’s blade before becoming your’s, and another before him, but you were always meant to be my wielder, my companion.”
“So I’ll ask again, why do you forsake my power?”
“I-”
“Are you ashamed?”
“No…”
“Are you scared?”
“No.”
“Ah, I see, you’re afraid of your friends judging you for wielding ultimate power?”
“No!”
“You would let them die instead of waving it all away?!”
“Never!”
“The fight! Fight like your life depends on it!”
Nox hesitated, shoulders hunching as the yelling faded to a quiet whisper in his ear, he clenched his fists, “I– If I fight, I’ll get angry… I can’t do that again, I can’t lose myself in a fight again.”
Achilles walked forward, sandals thumping gently on the stained glass, and lowered his hand to rest on Nox’s shoulder, “You have had many teachers in your life, intentional ones or not, and they have all done their best to impart something. But they have never understood the deepest part of you.”
“Your greatest asset is your love, it encompasses you like a force of nature, but love comes with anger, with rage, with fury. You have been told time, and time, and time again that your rage has no place in battle. This is false , your anger is a spear, an arrow aimed at the heart of your enemies. You must learn to use it.”
Nox looked down at his hands, remembering the blood that had covered them not even a year ago. He was no stranger to killing, had done it on multiple occasions, and he found that it didn’t bother him much… no, that was wrong. He had done his best to shut out the feelings that came with guilt. Keeping his rage, sadness, and hesitance under a lock and key that could never be broken.
Because he was a hero, everyone was depending on him, he was the pillar that held hope. He had been told this for years, he had lived through it, so he couldn’t falter, he would do whatever it took to make sure that he came out on top, and smiling as he did it.
“I know what you feel,” Achilles continued, pointing at his heart, “I know you are loath to release that power, but if you don’t they will die, and you’ll never find that peace you dream of. And you will never know true rest.”
“Take it from me, it’s not an existence worth living,” Achilles finished, standing at his full height as he began to dissipate into wisps of smoke and steam.
‘Wait,” Nox said, looking up, “Wait! What should I do? How do I win?”
Achilles shook his head, “You’ve never fought with your all, kid. Keeping your power chained up like a wild beast, all because you were afraid of what it could do when it ran wild.”
“So break those chains, and aim that beast .”
—
Nox found himself back in the Metaverse, still being pounded by the onslaught of Shadows. He had been summoned by the spirit of his blade, and he had listened, but he was still so unsure of how to win.
Break these chains.
His thoughts were muffled by his overwhelmed senses, but he could feel it, deep within him, the rattling of something intense.
Break these chains.
It reminded him, the rattling, of all the times he had run himself ragged. The sound of his heart bouncing in his chest, running on zero.
Break these chains.
Of all the times he had fought, and of all the times he had bled, and of every. single. time. that he had gone back to war.
Break these chains.
Of every time he was thrown into conflict.
Break these chains.
Of every time he was lied to.
Break these chains.
Of every time he had felt that rage in his chest, burning with the intensity of a thousand suns.
Break these chains.
Of the time when his mother had looked at him with such gentle eyes, and said that she too had felt this rage and pain.
BREAK THESE CHAINS.
And just like that, something within Nox snapped.
A wellspring of power burst forth, sending a column of black and gold energy high into the sky, piercing the ceiling of the palace and rising ever higher. Every single shadow was blown back, killing some of them, and uncovering the Phantom Thieves. They were run ragged, but they could still move, and they could certainly see and feel the power that rose within the room.
Only Null and Genesis had an idea of what was going on though.
A roar suddenly came from within the column, full of rage, full of regret, and full of pain long held within. Suddenly, a hand reached through the column, slicing through it with a single swipe, and dispelling it in its entirety.
And standing there, was Nox, not much about him had changed, his Metaverse outfit was still the same, but there were two very glaring differences.
The X-Blade was now in his hand, for them all to see in full view. The Phantom Thieves had no idea what it was, and they wouldn’t until it was explained to them, but Null and Genesis, well…
The second, and possibly most glaring, difference was the scarf of gold feathers that now adorned his neck. A terrible piece of clothing for someone who fought with their fists, but just fine for someone fighting with a blade– No, fighting with The Blade.
Where he could only hear rattling before, Nox now heard only the roaring of his own heat within his ears. The tidal wave of power that sat behind his hands, waiting to be unleashed, and the grief that would topple him later.
But for now, he had one job.
His eyes scanned the large room, eyeing the number of what had to be at least one-hundred Shadows.
He only smirked, feeling freer than he had in ages, and moved with the speed of a trained fighter. Which he was, and thought of how he had taken out one-thousand heartless just a year previously.
This is going to be fun.
As he ripped and tore with his blade, gigantic as it was, he thought of the words his mother had told him when he was young.
“Sora, our family name is Ikari, as in anger, rage, or wrath. I have chosen to interpret it as ‘rage against’ because for all of our families rage, that’s what we do best. We fight back.”
In this moment, Nox knew two things:
First was that his mother had been completely correct this entire time.
And second…
He knew that he had no equal.