Helios sat upright as the sharp, insistent ping of the puter jarred him from his restless sleep. Instinctively, he reached over, turning on the monitor to assess the alert. His stomach sank as the s dispyed a bnk feed. The camera system had beeirely disabled. He ched his jaw, knowing immediately what had happened: Xehanort had found his backdoram and, cautious of its purpose, shut dowire security system.

  Helios sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. He had always known this day would e. Xehanort wasn’t someone who overlooked such things, and it was only a matter of time before his infiltration was discovered. Still, Helios had hoped to stretch out the surveilnce just a little longer—long enough to better prepare.

  The implications were clear. Cid, the only person who had beeo pnt the backdoor, was now a liability. Xehanort would almost certainly assume that Cid had something to do with it. And if Cid had been interrogated—or even just observed—then his role in Helios’s pn might already have e to light. Helios couldn’t leave loose ends. To ensure his safety and the timeline’s iy, he’d have to act.

  Kurai’s voice echoed in his mind, a mix of amusement and dark encement. “You know what must be done. Are you ready to take that final step? No half-measures this time, Helios.”

  Helios rubbed his eyes as he stood. “I don’t have a choice.”

  Helios moved swiftly, opening a dark corridor to the wastend where he had previously fought Sephiroth. The familiar ndscape of scorched earth and jagged craters stretched out before him. The remnants of their intetle lingered, but Helios had no time for refle. He needed a distra—something overwhelming enough to set Xehanort and his apprentices into motion.

  “Kurai,” Helios said, his tone cold and anding, “release the seal. Let the darkness flow.”

  Kurai, always eager to stoke the chaos, obliged. A low hum resonated in Helios’s chest as the orb within him looses grip on the darkness. Slowly, an ominous miasma seeped from Helios’s form, snaking across the ground like living tendrils. The air grew heavier, oppressive, and the earth trembled faintly as patches of darkness began to pool.

  From the shadows, the first forms began to emerge: Shadows, their simple, dark forms skittering like is, and Neoshadows, their sleek, predatory figures standing taller and more menag. Helios raised his hand, eling his dark energy outward, and more Heartless began to spawn. Dozens turned into hundreds, and soon the wastend was teeming with creatures of pure darkness, their golden eyes gleaming hungrily in the dim light.

  Helios allowed himself a grim smile. “That should be enough.”

  But he wasn’t done. He activated his dark form, his silhouette being a void-like figure with pierg amber eyes. The surge of energy attracted even more Heartless, who swarmed toward him like moths to a fme. Their numbers became overwhelming, a ing sea of bck bodies and gleaming eyes. Helios moved with precision, dodging and weaving through the onsught, eling their focus without letting them overtake him.

  With a flick of his wrist, Helios opened a dark corridor leading directly to Ansem’s castle. He stepped through, leaving the portal open behind him. The Heartless followed, their numbers seemingly endless as they poured into the corridor like water through a broken dam. The sight was both terrifying and mesmerizing—a tide of darkness unleashed upon Radiant Garden.

  Emerging oskirts of Ansem’s castle, Helios stood in the shadows, watg as the Heartless began to spill into the city. The creatures moved with purpose, their instincts driving them to seek out hearts. Screams erupted in the distance as the first wave reached the unsuspeg citizens of Radiant Garden. Panic spread like wildfire, and the air filled with the chaotic cacophony of battle and terror.

  Helios khe apprentices would respond quickly. They had been experimenting with Heartless for months, and their research would pel them to act. If they truly believed they could trol the Heartless, now was the time for them to prove it. Helios smirked, knowing full well they would fail. This was the beginning of Radiant Garden’s fall.

  In the castle, Xehanort and his apprentices scrambled to respond to the sudden attack. Xehanort’s eyes narrowed as he observed the Heartless flooding the city through the castle’s now-enabled security cameras. Even barked orders to the others, his usually calm demeaniving way to frustration as they attempted to rally their defenses.

  “This ’t be random!” Even shouted, his voice tinged with panic. “Something’s orchestrating this!”

  “Of course, it’s not random,” Xehanort said coolly, though his mind was rag. His gaze lingered on the s showing the dark corridor. He couldn’t ighe calcuted nature of the attaor the way the Heartless seemed to pour through a single, deliberate entry point. Whoever was behind this was directly attag them.

  Helios stayed hidden, his dark form blending seamlessly with the shadows as he observed the chaos unfolding. The apprentices, despite their best efforts, were struggling to tain the Heartless. Their experimental creations escaped their tai and turned against them, adding to the age.

  Kurai’s voice slithered into his thoughts once more, its tone ced with amusement. “Look at them, scrambling like ants. All their ambition, all their experiments—none of it prepared them for this. You’ve outpyed them, Helios. They would never imagiheir heart would be targeted by their very owions.”

  Helios’s smirk was grim. “This is just the beginning. They’ll have no choice but to accelerate their pns now.”

  The Heartless tiheir relentless advance, overwhelming the city’s defehe apprentices were forced to retreat deeper into the castle, their fidence shaken. Xehanort, however, remained calm, his calg mind already f a rategy. Helios khis attack would force Xehanort to adapt, to take bolder risks in his pursuit of power. It was a dangerous gamble, but one Helios was willing to make.

  As the chaed on, Helios retreated to a safe distance, his dark form dissolving as he slipped away. He had done what he came to do. Radiant Garden was falling, and with it, the apprentices’ illusions of trol. Helios’s hand had guided the darkness, but it was their own hubris that would seal the city’s fate.

  For now, Helios would watd wait. The pieces were in motion, and the game was far from over.

  As the su over Radiant Garden, the city was engulfed in chaos. Helios slipped back to his hidden sanctuary within Merlin’s cottage, his body weary from eling so much darkness. He took a deep breath. The Heartless were wreaking havod the eown was now caught iorm.

  Looking out the window Helios saw the chaos unfolding iy. The streets were alive with flickering shadows and the golden glow of Heartless eyes. Citizens fled, their cries of terror punctuating the night, while the faint sound of battle and screams echoed throughout the city.

  Skuld ehe room quietly, her face pale as she saw Helios staring out the window. "What’s happening out there?" she asked, her voice trembling.

  Helios g her briefly before turning back to the window. "The Heartless are attag. It’s the apprentices’ fault—they’ve lost trol of their experiments."

  Skuld’s eyes widened in shock. "But… why? Why would they do this?"

  Helios sighed, his tone measured but cold. "They’ve been pying with forces they don’t uand. They thought they could trol the darkness, but it always slips through their fingers. This… was iable."

  Skuld’s gaze shifted between Helios and the window, a mixture of fear and fusioched on her face. "And you’re just watg? ’t we do something to help?"

  Helios’s expression hardened. "No. There are too many and we ’t stop this. If we go out now, we risk exposing ourselves—and I ’t afford that right now. I o keep you safe. I’ve got to keep you safe. I’ve already taken care of the other like Lea and Isa so please don’t do anything rash."

  Skuld opened her mouth to protest but stopped when she saw the determination in his eyes. Relutly, she nodded areated from the room, leaving Helios alone once more.

  In the castle, Xehanort stood at the ter of the chaos, his mind sharp as he directed the apprehe Heartless were p into the stronghold, their numbers overwhelming even the most prepared defehe experimental Nobodies they had created proved iive against the releide.

  "We o retreat!" Even shouted, his voice ced with panic. "We ’t hold them off like this!"

  Xehanort’s golden eyes glimmered in the dim light as he assessed the situation. "No," he said calmly. "We will not retreat. This is an attack—if we retreat our opposition will have won. Braig, take the front lines. Din, Aeleus, guard the entrao the bs. Even, stabilize the systems. Ienzo, follow me."