The music stopped as one of the spectators screamed and pointed at the incoming large shadow.
What had been a brilliant symphony of voices and light dissolved in an instant. Sea creatures scattered. Notes collapsed into panic. The vibrant rhythm of Atlantica's harmony drowned beneath the weight of a silent, unnatural pressure.
From the surface, a dark shape breached the water's boundary.
A pirate ship—blackened and veined with shadows—emerged. Cannons lined its hull, glowing faintly with corrupted magic. On its deck, the crew staggered forward, their yellow eyes gleaming with the unmistakable signature of Heartless possession.
Heartless flooded from the shadows of the ship and the depths below.
Sea Neons poured in first, their gelatinous bodies pulsing with malevolent light. Their front tentacles lashed through the water as they twisted, their twisted grins visible behind translucent domes.
Screwdivers followed, sleek and deadly. Their jagged tridents shimmered with anticipation as they launched forward in spiraling bursts, fins rotating behind them like propellers.
Trailing behind them, like an omen, came the Aquatank. A massive, balloon-like Heartless with bright yellow eyes, a jagged-toothed jaw, and three Screwdivers latched to its stomach. Its glowing lure flickered ominously.
Thalen shuddered due to the overwhelming darkness.
"The... there are too many."
Helios immediately reacted. "Thalen, go over there and hide with the queen and her daughters. Kurai—you're with me."
Kurai's expression remained cool. She nodded once and moved beside him as Heartless surged around them.
Thalen retreated quickly, swimming behind coral formations near Queen Athena. Athena saw the young boy swimming over clumsily and said, "Hurry, come here!"
Helios summoned his keyblade.
Equilibrium blazed to life in his grasp, a keyblade of dual color—one half black as night, the other silver as starlight. Its teeth were a black sun cradling a silver moon.
He darted toward the oncoming wave, his tail propelling him through the water. A Screwdiver charged first. Helios flipped through its trident strike, slamming his Keyblade across its helmet. The Heartless shattered in a burst of black mist.
More followed.
Kurai raised her hands, forming three spheres of dark flame—Dark Firagas. They twisted and churned like black suns. She launched them in quick succession.
As they impacted, massive clouds of scalding steam burst through the water, temporarily blinding the advancing Heartless and forcing them back. Their tentacles flailed, and a few Sea Neons detonated in bursts of light.
Helios followed the shockwave, calling out, "Aero!"
A spinning sphere of wind formed around him, and he blasted forward, slamming into a school of Sea Neons. Their tentacles snapped as they were flung away.
He raised his free hand. "Firaga!"
A massive orb of fire ignited from his palm. It shot into the mass, exploding in a torrent of flame and steam.
Sensing an opportunity, he combined his next spells—a technique he had never attempted.
"Blizzaga... Aerora..."
Cold spirals formed in his left hand while wind spun in his right. As they merged, the spell took form—a swirling tempest of freezing air and sharp ice shards.
"Freezing Gale."
The storm erupted forward.
The Aquatank swam toward him slowly, its massive jaws opening. Its lure glowed yellow.
Too late.
The Freezing Gale enveloped the creature, slowing its massive bulk. Icicles cut into its thick hide. The Aquatank groaned, its Screwdivers screaming as they were frozen solid and dislodged.
Helios pressed forward.
"Earth... Breaker."
A sharp, stone-like spike formed from the ground in front of him. He summoned Aero around it, spinning it like a drill.
He launched it.
The spike ripped through the Aquatank's frozen form, impaling the Heartless. The creature shattered into a thousand ice shards, drifting like snow.
Below, Kurai faced the last of the Screwdivers.
She moved through them like a phantom, her tail trailing behind in twisting spirals of darkness. Another Dark Firaga burst from her hand. The resulting steam obscured her movement until she reappeared directly behind one, her claws slicing through its core.
Back near the queen, Thalen floated in front of the queen and her daughter, maybe wanting to protect them.
Queen Athena's voice quivered. "Who are they?"
Thalen replied softly. "They… will help."
Above, Ursula watched from the trench shadows. Her arms were crossed in fury.
"This wasn't supposed to be a real fight. Just a message... but those fools interfered. Who are they? Does Triton have allies? No, that stubborn and decrepit old man couldn't possibly have any allies. Very well, we'll try again another time."
Her smile faded.
She watched Helios—how the Keyblade glowed. Something was wrong.
Helios swung his weapon to block another Screwdiver, but something strange happened. The keyblade vibrated.
Light flared.
Equilibrium cracked with power—then split.
Helios gasped as the blade separated into two. One radiated silver light, shaped like a crescent moon, elegant and refined. The other crackled with dark energy, jagged and raw, a shadowy twin to the first.
He held one in each hand. "What... is this? I didn't channel any light or darkness into my blades, so why did they split? Now's not the time, I'll figure it out later."
He swung both.
Power surged.
The remaining Heartless exploded from the shockwave.
Kurai paused. Her expression tightened, just slightly.
"Took you long enough."
Helios floated in place, blades at his side, stunned. He then will the blades to combine again, which they did.
The Heartless forces were shattered. Only wisps of darkness remained.
Helios breathed heavily, fighting underwater had been more difficult than he imagined. He'd definitely need to practice swimming in this new form more, or his life might be in danger.
And above them, in the shadows, Ursula narrowed her eyes. " Interesting... very interesting. Two energies that should be at war but are in harmony. The dark dominates... but there's light. And if I prod that balance, it might yield something interesting."