It had been three days sihe fateful battle with Sephiroth, and the city of Radiant Garde like a shadow of its former self. Once a lively hub filled with ughter, chatter, and the warmth of a close-knit unity, it had now desded into a state of fear aion. Under Xehanort's leadership, the kidnappings had escated dramatically, with more and more people disappearing without a trace. The streets, once bustling with activity, were now nearly empty. Parents kept their children locked indoors, unwilling to risk losing them, and the once vibrant marketpce had turned into a ghost town.

  In the midst of this somber atmosphere, Helios found himself struggling to keep his growing group of allies and depes afloat. Between feeding the refugees who had flocked to Merlin’s house, training with Sephiroth, receiving magic lessons from Malefit, and tut Skuld in magic, Helios's life had bee a whirlwind of responsibilities. His resources were dwindling, and the pressure of keeping everyone fed weighed on him.

  To make ends meet, Helios had added another routio his already packed schedule: he and Skuld began taking on odd jobs for the Moogles. The fluffy, etric creatures always had work to be done, from delivering packages to repairing broken equipment, and they paid in munny—enough to keep Helios and his group afloat for another week or two at a time. Skuld often apanied him on these jobs, her lighthearted attitude a stark trast to the grim reality of their surroundings.

  As the two walked through the eerily quiet streets after finishing their most ret task, Skuld gnced around, her face etched with . "This city feels... dead," she said softly. "It's nht. It feels like everyone's just waiting for something terrible to happen."

  Helios didn’t immediately respond. He g her, his dark eyes unreadable, before speaking in a low, even tone. "Don’t mind it, Skuld. W won’t do us any good. We’ve earned enough munny for now. Let’s focus oing back."

  Skuld nodded relutly, though her worry didn’t fade. They turned into a secluded alley, where Helios summoned a dark corridor, its swirling bd purple energy casting ominous shadows against the walls. Skuld stepped through without hesitation, but as Helios prepared to follow, a faint noise caught his attention. It was soft—barely more than a whisper—but it was enough to make him pause.

  Frowning, Helios closed the dark corridor, its energy vanishing in an instant. He adopted his dark form, his body enveloped in shadows that seemed to writhe and flicker like living fmes. With practiced ease, he leaped onto the rooftop, his movements silent and fluid. From there, he began moving from rooftop to rooftop, his senses heightened as he sought the source of the noise.

  It didn’t take long for him to find it. From his vantage point, Helios looked down to see Braig, one of Xehanort’s most trusted subordinates, ering two young boys in a narrow street below. Helihem immediately: Lea and Isa, two local boys known for their mischievous antid close friendship. They were clearly outmatched, their backs against the wall as Braig leveled his arrowguns at them.

  "You boys picked the wrong night to py heroes," Braig said with a smirk, his voice dripping with mockery. "Too bad. You might’ve lived a carefree life if you hadn’t gotten in my way."

  Helios’s eyes narrowed as he assessed the situation. The air was thick with tension, and he could see Lea and Isa’s c as Braig prepared to fire. Without hesitation, Helios dropped down from the roof, ndiween Braig and the boys just as the shot was fired. A fra of a sed ter, Helios deflected the bullet with a wave of dark energy, the projectile whizzing harmlessly past his ear. He then cast Sleep owo boys causing them to colpse.

  Braig’s smirk faltered, repced by a look of annoyance. "Well, well. Look who decided to join the party," he drawled, raising his on again. "It’s a bad habit to spy on people, you know. Didn’t the grown-ups teach you? Kids should behave."

  Helios remained unfazed, his tone calm and measured. "I wasn’t spying. I heard something and came to see what it was. But don’t worry—I have no pns on interfering with whatever it is you’re doing."

  Braig raised an eyebrow, clearly unvinced. "Oh? Is that so? Because it sure looks like you’re interfering to me."

  Helios crossed his arms, his dark aura crag faintly around him. "If I wao interfere, you’d know it. I couldn’t care less what you do with these two. My only is that you refrain from interfering with me. You obviously came here trag my dark signatures over the st few days. Were you looking to uncover my identity?"

  Braig studied him for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then he lowered his on slightly, though he kept it trained on Helios. "You’re sharper than you look," he said with a smirk. "Yeah, this is part of the pn. The boss has big ideas, and he’d like to know more about you. That a problem for you?"

  Helios shrugged. "Not my . All he o know is that I won’t stop anything he does. You tell him I even gift-ed these kids for him."

  Braig’s smirk widehough there was no warmth in it. "As if, kid. I know you would have acted unless I was close to unc something."

  With that, Braig turned his attention back to Lea and Isa, who were still frozen in pce. "Regardless I don’t have the option to care at the moment, time to go boys," he said, as Braig slung one of the boys over his shoulder and dragged the other by the arm. Helios didn’t move to stop him, watg with calm eyes. As Braig disappeared into the shadows, Helios turned and leaped bato the rooftops.

  By the time Helios returo the alley where he’d split from Skuld, the dark corridor was long gone. Opening another corridor to the same pce a worried Skuld emerged, her arms crossed as she muttered to herself. When she saw him, she ran up to him, her worry evident. "Helios! What happened? You just never came through! I was so worried!"

  "Something came up," he said curtly, brushing past her. "Let’s go home."

  Skuld frowned but didn’t press the issue. She followed him through a newly summoned dark corridor, the swirling energy enveloping them as they stepped through. When they emerged oher side, they were back at the cottage that served as their base of operations.

  Helios said nothing as he walked to his room, the weight of what he’d witnessed pying in his mind. ‘It seemed that Xehanort was ready or very nearly to begin his superior nobody experiment. I wonder if that would mean that Axel and Sa?x are the oldest nobodies sihey would probably be test subjects to ehe process is safe.’