Traversing The Darkness Inside (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories) in Gamer's Gaming

The Road So Far…

As the events of Sora’s story unfold in Castle Oblivion many floors above his head, Riku’s own journey through the castle has begun as well. Taken out of his sleep within the darkness by a mysterious voice, Riku found himself in the sublevels of the castle. As with Sora, Riku was taken through a journey of his memories, starting with Hollow Bastion. The one thing that Riku noted while walking through the hallways of this other castle was that there were no people. The voice told him that it was because he had cast off people when he embraced the darkness inside. Riku did manage to find one person inside the castle: the evil witch, Maleficent. Seeing her solidified Riku’s desire to destroy the darkness inside of himself and he defeated the witch before leaving Hollow Bastion behind. Back in the hallways of Castle Oblivion, Riku was confronted by something that appeared to him as Ansem, the Heartless being who had possessed him and nearly destroyed all worlds by opening the door to the darkness. However, this Ansem was just an embodiment of the darkness still residing within Riku’s own heart. Ansem told Riku that he would never be rid of the darkness within him and it would eventually consume him, but as that prophecy seemed set to consume him, King Mickey managed to send a bit of his power to Riku to help protect the boy. Mickey said that he was trying to find a way to get into the castle to help Riku, but he would do all that he could to protect him until then. Meanwhile, in another part of the sub-basement, three members of the Organization met in secret. Zexion, the youngest member, who has an uncanny ability to sense and identify darkness. Lexaeus, the giant and stoic muscle of the group. And, back by popular demand, Vexen, prior to his adventures on the upper floors. Zexion told the other two how he had sensed two presences in the lower floors. One had been a shadow of Maleficent, but one seemed very similar to the Master, the leader of the Organization. This information seemed to interest and excite Vexen, who came up with a plan on the spot. Meanwhile, Riku was poised to enter the next world from his memories, Traverse Town. What will Riku find? What does Vexen and the Organization have planned? Can Riku defeat the darkness in his heart? The journey resumes…

Now…

Riku returned to his memories of Traverse Town and was given the Key of Beginnings card at once. Riku fought his way through the first room, practicing the Duel ability he had learned during the fight with Ansem. After beating up the assorted Soldiers, Shadows, and Red Nocturnes, Riku moved on to the next room to the north using a Black Room card. Riku defeated the Black Fungii plaguing the room, once again moving north and entering the next room using a Roulette Room card. Once again doing away with the Heartless wandering around, Riku moved on next to the east, using another Roulette Room card. Riku disposed of the Heartless here and headed south, once again using a Roulette Room card (yeah, I have alot of them). In the eastern part of the room, Riku found the Key to Beginnings door and used the card to head on inside.

With absolutely no warning, Riku found himself in battle with the giant Guard Armor Heartless. Riku did his best to wear down the different pieces of the Guard Armor and found himself in Dark Mode. Riku took advantage of his new power and used as many dark sleights, like Dark Break and Dark Firaga, to finally beat the beast back. After a long battle, Riku stood victorious and earned the Guard Armor enemy card for winning. With his win in place, Riku found himself back in the previous Roulette Room. He retreated first north, than east to find a new door leading north into the Conqueror’s Respite room. Riku prepared himself for whatever lay outside the door leading back into Castle Oblivion before walking back into the castle’s halls.

As Riku made his way up to basement sublevel 10, the three members of the Organization met in their sub-basement lair. Vexen paced back and forth, thoughts reeling through his head. Finally, Zexion spoke up, saying that he had identified the scent that was so similar to their Master. It was Riku! Vexen was surprised that Riku had managed to emerged from the realm of darkness. Zexion explained that Riku’s existence had once been doubled in the darkness. Vexen found that fascinating, figuring that explained why Zexion has mistaken Riku for the Superior. Vexen continued, saying that the dark power given to Riku had facilitated his escape from its realm. Zexion wanted to know why it was that Riku had appeared in Castle Oblivion. Vexen figured the answer to that was quite simple. Riku’s existence resonated with that of another hero. Zexion and Lexaeus both started. Zexion asked if that meant Sora was in the castle. Vexen explained that Sora had arrived earlier and Marluxia was already using Namine to meddle with Sora’s heart. Zexion seemed upset that they hadn’t even been consulted. Vexen noted that Marluxia seemed to want the Keyblade wielder to himself. Vexen considered that a foolish plan. He said that Sora’s existence was not so interesting. The entity that held true value was Riku, the Hero of Darkness. Back on sublevel 10, Riku had made his was to the world door and used the Agrabah card to open the door to yet another world from his memories.