The narrow passage of the Cave of the Dead stretched out before Helios, its jagged walls slick with an eerie, dark mist. Wisps of pale light floated zily in the air, their faint glow illuminating the uerrain just enough to guide his steps. The oppressive atmosphere pressed down on him, sapping his strength with every breath he took. This was no ordinary cavern—it was alive with the essence of death, a realm that rejected the living even the gods.

  Helios summoned his keybde, the f hum of its energy providing a brief moment of soce. Yet, no sooner had he moved forward than the darkness around him began to stir. Shadows lengthened, writhing and twisting into humanoid forms. Shadows, Neoshadows, and even Soldiers emerged, their golden eyes glowing hungrily as they swarmed toward him.

  "Of course," Helios muttered, gripping his keybde tightly. " I should’ve known the weling ittee would be heartless. In this world heartless are sidered deceased. Hmm, how did Soldiers appear here? Is Malefit sending out emblem heartless to scout worlds?"

  With a practiced motion, he shed out, the keybde’s arc slig through the closest Shadow, dispersing it into a dark mist. But there were too many, and his strength was already waning due to the oppressive air of the Underworld. He needed a different approach.

  Helios strue of the floating wisps, and to his relief, a burst of mana energy surged around him. Grinning, he switched tactics. Raising his keybde, he eled his dwindling magic reserves.

  "Firaga!" he shouted, and a massive ball of fire erupted from the tip of his on, engulfing a cluster of heartless. The fmes ed them in an instant, their howls e eg through the cavern.

  Without pausing, Helios transitioned into his spell. "Blizzaga!" he cried, sending a wave of icy shards to freeze a group of Soldiers in mid-charge. The frozeless shattered with a sharp crack, their remnants dissipating into the ether.

  But more kept ing. Neoshadows leapt from the walls, their lithe forms darting toward him with uling speed. Helios dodged, rolling to the side and tering with a swift ssh that sent one spiraling into a wisp. As it struck, the wisp burst into another surge of mana.

  "Not bad," Helios muttered, his voice strained but determined. "Thundaga!"

  A storm of lightning bolts rained down, striking multiple targets with precision. The crag energy lit up the cavern, casting monstrous shadows on the walls as the heartless fell one by oill, the relentless assault wore on him. His spells grew weaker, and his movements slowed as the oppressive atmosphere drained his stamina more.

  After what felt like ay, the final heartless dissolved into the shadows, leaving the passage eerily silent. Helios staggered slightly, catg his breath as he pressed onward. The faint glow of the wisps provided a haunting backdrop as he desded deeper into the cavern.

  The chamber was a small reprieve from the onsught. The walls were smoother here, almost polished, and the faint sound of trig water echoed iill air. Helios leaned against a rock, letting his breathing steady. He sed his surroundings cautiously, his keybde at the ready.

  The wisps here floated more serenely, their glow casting an almost ethereal beauty over the chamber. Helios strue cautiously, abs the mana it released. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to restore a small portion of his strength.

  “This pce is relentless,” he muttered to himself. “I ’t afford to waste time here.”

  After a few moments of rest, he pushed forward, his fatigue growing.

  The path of the area wound upward in steep, jagged ines, the walls of the cavern seeming to close in as the oppressive darkhied. The faint glow of the wisps arse here, little fort as Helios climbed.

  The air grew colder, and the familiar sound of shifting shadows reached his ears. He barely had time to react before the heartless attacked again.

  This time, they were stronger. Large Bodies stomped forward, their massive forms blog his path as smaller Shadows darted around them. In the air, Air Soldiers and Hook Bats swooped down, their shrill cries adding to the chaos.

  Helios gritted his teeth. “You just ’t give me a break, you?”

  The Large Bodies lumbered toward him, their heavy fists smashing into the ground with enough force to send shockwaves rippling outward. Helios leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding one of the blows. He tered with a quick strike, but the creature’s front was too solid to pierce.

  Cirg behind it, he sshed at its unprotected back. The Large Body roared in pain, staggering forward before colpsing into a mist of darkness.

  Above him, the Air Soldiers dived in unison. Helios raised his keybde and cast Reflect, summoning a shimmering barrier that deflected their attacks ahem spiraling away. He followed up with Firaga, the explosion lighting up the valley as the airborless disied.

  The Hook Bats were . They swarmed him, their screeches grating on his ears as they cwed at his defenses. Helios spun in a wide arc, his keybde slig through their fragile forms. He cast Aero, the defensive wind spell f a barrier around him that pushed the remaining bats away.

  But the heartless kept ing. Waves of Soldiers, Neoshadows, and even Defenders surged forward. Helios fought relentlessly, his movements a blur as he bined magid physical strikes to hold them off. His spells grew weaker with each cast, his mana reserves dwindlie the wisps he struck for replenishment.

  “This isn’t sustainable,” he thought grimly, sweat dripping down his face. “I o reach Hades’ Chamber before I colpse.”

  With a final burst of energy, Helios cast Thundaga, the lightning bolts tearing through the heartless and clearing a path forward. He sprinted up the ine, his breaths ragged and his body ag.

  At st, the path leveled out, and Helios found himself standing before the imposing doors of Hades’ Chamber. The massive, ironbound gates were etched with fiery patterns that seemed to glow faintly, pulsating with the dark energy of the Underworld.

  Helios leaned against the wall, catg his breath. His body was battered, his magic reserves nearly depleted, but he had made it. He allowed himself a small, weary smile.

  “Well, Hades,” he muttered, “you’d better be in a bargaining mood. For both our sakes.”

  Straightening up, he pushed the doors open, stepping into the chamber beyond. The heat hit him immediately, the air thick with the st of sulfur and ash. The sound of flickering fmes echoed through the vast hall, casting eerie shadows on the walls.