Annora sat down on the fountain that she hung around so often she had memorized every detail about it. She let out a heavy breath looking at Chirithy. Chirithy looked up at her with an expectant look, which Annora suspected meant she still had more missions to complete that day.

She had already gone to Beasts Castle and Dwarves Woodlands that day. She had to have taken out at least fifty Heartless and gathered more materials for the Moogles in town than they could possibly need. She didn't have a clue as to how much lux she had collected, but she knew it had to have been a lot.

"I'm tired," Annora stated simply. Chirithy chuckled a little at her statement. Annora guessed being tired wasn't enough to get her out of any more missions. Maybe she'd have to break her arm on the next one.

"I know, I know. But if you give up now the other unions will get ahead." Chirithy said. Annora frowned in thought. Before she could object herself a sound of a portal of some kind opening caught her attention.

"But why does that matter?" A girl asked as she came through the portal. She had long dark hair and bangs across her forehead. Her eyes were an amber brown that Annora hadn't seen on many. She wore a white shirt that zipped up with a black short-sleeved jacket and black gloves. She had a black skirt with two belts and a chain of stars on her left side. "It's not a competition. Or at least it shouldn't be. Our goal of protecting the light is the same. There's no need for us to fight." The girl continued. Annora had no clue who she was, but she was liking her already.

"Who are you?" Chirithy asked, tipping its head to the side.

"The name's Skuld. You're Annora, right?" The girl said, sitting on the fountain beside Annora. Annora nodded in shock, she didn't know this girl, how did she know her. "Nice to meet you," Skuld said cheerfully.

"How did you know my name?" Annora asked. Skuld smiled leaning back, using her arms to keep her from falling into the fountain.

"Ephemer told me all about you." Skuld explained calmly. Her amber eyes focused on Annora in interest. Annora guessed that meant she was exaggerating and Ephemer had just mentioned her, but she didn't say as much.

"What?" Annora asked. Skuld laughed at Annora's shocked question. She leaned forward looking at Annora closely.

"Don't look so surprised! He used to be in my party, you know." Skuld said. Annora blinked a few times in surprise. She didn't really think Ephemer would ever join a party. He seemed too carefree for that.

"No, I did not know." Annora replied. Her Chirithy jumped up onto the fountain beside her, listening to Skuld in interest. Annora guessed her Chirithy wanted to know more about the friend that drove Annora to break any and all rules.

"We met not long after I became a keyblade wielder. There was never a dull moment with him around! But then one day he just quit. I was really upset about it for a while. But then he showed up in my dream the other night and told me to find you." Skuld explained. Annora continued to look at Skuld in shock.

"Why?" Annora asked. Skuld shrugged.

"Good question. I was actually hoping you could tell me. See I don't really understand why he was in my dream, to begin with. But he asked me to go with you. So here I am." Skuld said motioning to her surroundings. Annora crossed her arms, frowning in thought.

"Ephemer seems to have a habit of showing up in peoples dreams," Annora said, mostly to herself. Skuld looked at her curiously.

"He was in your dream too? What'd he say?" She asked. Annora looked at Skuld, still thinking. She wasn't sure if she could trust Skuld with this information. Normally she wouldn't say anything. But if Ephemer trusted Skuld, Annora could too.

"That I wasn't quite ready, and he was waiting for me." Annora said. Skuld looked up at the sky in thought.

"Hm, if he's waiting for you then," Skuld began. She trailed off, losing her words in thought. She had been thinking out loud, but quickly began to hide her thoughts. After a moment Skuld turned to Annora. "Why don't we go to the place you're supposed to meet him?" She asked. Annora nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, su-" She began only to be cut off by her Chirithy that jumped up quickly.

"No way! Master Ava told us to stay away from there." Chirithy objected. Annora turned to her Chirithy with a thoughtful expression. This probably wasn't a good conversation to be having with the dream eater present. Chirithy never reacted well to the idea of breaking a rule.

"What Master Ava doesn't know won't hurt her," Annora said. Master Ava wasn't likely to still be patrolling the halls, it had been months since Annora last snuck in. Skuld chuckled beside her, though Chirithy still didn't look convinced.

"Well, there has to be a reason she said that. And I have a feeling it's the same reason Ephemer asked me to go with you." Skuld said. Annora nodded in agreement. Ephemer had to know what was in that tower. Perhaps it was dangerous.

A loud sound that sounded like metal on metal caught the attention of the three sitting on the fountain, and probably everyone else in Daybreak Town. The group jumped to their feet quickly, looking towards the sound. A shockwave followed the sound, rippling out across the city. No novice wielder could do anything remotely that strong. And Annora was yet to see a Heartless capable of that.

"What was that?!" Skuld asked, sounding frantic.

"It came from nearby!" Chirithy replied, panic just as clear in its voice. Annora glanced at Skuld out of the corner of her eye. The dark-haired girl was looking off towards the direction of the sound.

"Let's check it out!" Annora said. Skuld nodded in agreement, only glancing at Annora for a second. The two girls took off running, leaving Chirithy behind.

"H-hey! Where are you going?!" Chirithy called after them. Hearing no reply the Chirithy sighed and began chasing after them.

The three ran only a short distance into the town when they found what they were looking for. And the sight made all three stop in their tracks. Annora felt her blood run cold as horror filled her mind. She couldn't believe this.

Master Invi stood on the rooftops, panting heavily as she looked to the sky. She brought her keyblade up suddenly, just as Master Aced attacked her. Another shockwave rippled out from where the Foretellers keyblades met. Annora noticed Master Invi's knees bend, and the Anguis master jumped away, casting magic towards Master Aced. Master Aced blocked the magic and jumped after his once comrade, taking the fight elsewhere in the city.

"The Foretellers!" Skuld said in shock, her eyes still on where the foretellers had been fighting. Annora's gaze was yet to move as well, her mind was reeling trying to understand. The foretellers were supposed to work together. Not tear the world apart.

"Oh no," Chirithy muttered.

"What's going on?" Annora asked, her voice shaking.

"Why are they fighting?" Skuld asked. She finally looked away from the rooftops, her hand reaching up to run through her hair. "Ephemer was right." She said in shock. Annora turned to Skuld in confusion.

"Right about what?" Annora asked. Skuld looked up at her, fear shining in her eyes.

"It's what I was trying to tell you earlier. Just before I woke up he told me, the end of the world is near." Skuld said softly. Annora stepped back, her eyes widening in shock.

"What?!" She demanded. Beside her, Chirithy jumped up in shock.

"The end?!" Chirithy asked. Skuld nodded and looked at the Foretellers tower. Her eyes softened to hold a bit of wistfulness. Like she was already missing the world that hadn't been destroyed yet.

"After what we just saw, I can't help thinking it's true. This world will disappear just like Ephemer did." Skuld said softly. Annora frowned looking to the Foretellers tower herself. There was no way she was going to let that happen. This was her world, and it wouldn't end. Not if she could help it.

"Let's go," Annora said taking a step towards the tower.

"What?" Chirithy asked in confusion, looking between Annora and Skuld. Skuld turned to Annora and smiled softly.

"Lead the way," Skuld said.

"Wait, what?" Chirithy asked yet again. Annora and Skuld didn't answer. Instead, they ran towards the tower, both knowing there was no time left to lose. Chirithy remained behind watching in confusion. "What just happened?"

Annora ran as quickly as she could, almost forgetting Skuld was with her. Fortunately, Skuld had no trouble keeping up with her. Annora wasn't sure what the rush was. Sure, there were foretellers tearing up most of the town, but that didn't affect their goal. Except it would probably be easier to sneak into the tower while the Foretellers were out.

On the bridge in front of the Foretellers tower, Annora and Skuld skidded to a stop. They were faced with something Annora wasn't quite sure how she was supposed to explain it. They were Heartless, but they looked oddly human, only slightly shorter than Annora.

"Ux," One of the creatures forced out. Its voice was harsh and raspy.

"Lux," Another one said. On the rail of the bridge, Annora saw her Chirithy appear in a puff a smoke. The dream eater looked shocked by the creatures, just like Annora was.

"Give lux." The last of the three demanded.

"Not a chance!" Skuld snapped, taking the words out of Annora's mouth as the two drew their keyblades. The Heartless visibly grew aggravated at the sight of the keys. The one that stood in the center stepped forward.

"Give me lux!" The Heartless demanded before jumping forward and attacking the two wielders.

Annora was surprised by the strength of the Heartless. It was more like fighting another keyblade wielder than fighting a Heartless. Every trick she tried, dodging, certain movements, even magic, the Heartless seemed to know it was coming. It took everything Annora had to defeat them, even with Skuld's help.

After the fight, another puff of smoke appeared. At first, Annora thought it was Skuld's Chirithy, but quickly decided it couldn't be. It was dark purple with black stripes. Its eyes were red. Something was wrong with that Chirithy.

"Who are you?" Annora's Chirithy demanded. The dark Chirithy ignored the question entirely.

"Hey." It greeted. Annora glanced over to Skuld. Her face had paled quite a bit.

"You're," Annora's Chirithy said in disbelief. Annora looked to her dream eater in concern. Did it know the dark Chirithy?

"In the end, lux is the reason for all this fighting. So I think you'd better just give it to us." The dark Chirithy said. It sounded so unconcerned like everything would go its way no matter what. Annora already hated the thing.

"No way!" Annora snapped. The dark Chirithy laughed.

"Oh well. You can hang onto it a little longer if you like." It said.

"Those colors." Annora's Chirithy said softly. The dark Chirithy turned its attention to Annora's spirit.

"How do you like my new form?" It asked proudly. Annora's Chirithy shook its head sadly.

"The darkness has completely tainted you, hasn't it?" It asked. Annora looked at the dark Chirithy unsurprised. That made sense. Did that mean it belonged to someone who had fallen into darkness? Or did it belong to the traitor?

"Why do you hate the darkness so much? Just like there's night and day you all have light and darkness inside of you. What are you afraid of?" The dark Chirithy replied, brushing off the other Chirithy's accusations.

"Those three just now. They used to be human, didn't they?" Chirithy asked. The dark Chirithy laughed.

"Yep." It said. Annora gasped and stepped back in shock.

"What?" Annora asked. Those three used to be human. Just humans who fell into the darkness. Like Lyra. What if one of them had been Lyra? What then?

"Keyblade wielders like us?" Skuld asked, sounding just as shocked as Annora felt.

"Weak hearted people fear the darkness and get swallowed by it. But if you accept the darkness, control it, you can gain true strength. They don't have to rely on the Foretellers power like you do. That was their own power you know." The dark Chirithy said. It seemed so calm like it was enjoying itself.

"This isn't the Master's teachings." Chirithy objected. The dark Chirithy laughed again.

"Teaching?" It asked in disbelief. "That's got nothing to do with it, the truth about the world isn't something you can be taught by someone. It's something you learn for yourself." The dark Chirithy insisted. Annora frowned. She didn't like this creature, but it wasn't wrong. She quickly dismissed the thought. Right or wrong, she couldn't trust this creature.

"Who is your wielder?!" Chirithy demanded. Once again, the dark Chirithy answered the question with a laugh. This one, however, was far more sinister than the others.

"They're closer than you think." It said and vanished just as it came. Annora looked at her Chirithy in confusion. The entire event didn't seem right. And the dark Chirithy's last words were concerning. She saw her own Chirithy looking to the ground, almost like it was afraid.

"Chirithy?" Annora asked. She didn't get a reply right away. Chirithy just stared off into the distance thinking.

"I don't know what's going on anymore," Chirithy said softly. Annora frowned and went to the railing her Chirithy sat on. She gently placed a hand on the cat-like dream eaters head and smiled softly.

"We should keep going." Skuld suggested. Annora turned to her and nodded. They had wasted a lot of time.

"Right." Annora agreed. She picked up Chirithy and held it close to her chest, before leading Skuld to the tower. Chirithy seemed a little too upset to be walking on its own. Annora figured it would be better to carry the poor thing.

Annora led the way to the underground tunnels that led to the tower. She was surprised that the channel was yet again empty. It seemed convenient that every time they needed to sneak into the water dried up.

Inside the tunnels, Annora stopped at the furthest in the tower she had been. Skuld stopped beside her, looking around in awe.

"This is where you last saw Ephemer?" Skuld asked. Annora nodded and held Chirithy a little tighter.

"Yeah." She said. Something felt off. Annora couldn't put her finger on it, but she felt something had changed.

"There's something secret up ahead, I can feel it," Skuld said, stepping forward. She sounded excited. Annora felt Chirithy squirm in her arms gaining her attention.

"Are you really going to keep going? With the darklings and the dark Chirithy just now, I have an awful feeling about this." Chirithy said. Annora smiled sadly. She understood that. She had a very similar feeling, but she needed to know what happened to Ephemer. If anyone knew what was going on, it was him.

"It'll be ok Chirithy," Annora said, trying to calm the dream eater.

"You know the way through the tower, right?" Skuld asked, looking at Chirithy. Chirithy looked away from her gaze, looking to the ground instead.

"Y-yeah," Chirithy admitted reluctantly. Annora swore she felt the spirit tremble in her arms. Annora gave Chirithy a reassuring squeeze.

"Then take us through. It'll take less time and we're less likely to get caught." Annora said. Chirithy nodded reluctantly.

"Alright. But going in there is really forbidden. So we're coming right back out after a quick look." Chirithy agreed. Annora nodded, looking up at Skuld. Skuld nodded in agreement.

"We promise we will," Annora said.

With Chirithy's help, they made it through tower easily. Sure there were Heartless everywhere, but they were only a minor problem. The final room they reached looked like the room Annora had seen in her dream before she had met Ephemer. There was a desk at one side covered in papers, and bookcases on the walls. Gears moved slowly, filling the room with noise.

"What is this place?" Skuld asked looking around.

"This is the final room. The Foretellers chamber." Chirithy answered. Skuld paced a little farther into the room, stopping by a bookcase.

"Do you think Ephemer was here?" Skuld asked, looking to Annora. Annora frowned looking around. The room was empty. Which was a surprise, Annora expected at least one Foreteller to be present.

"If he was, he's not now," Annora said, sounding disappointed. Chirithy wiggled in her arms.

"Can we go now?" Chirithy asked impatiently. Skuld looked at Chirithy and nodded.

"I guess I was just expecting more. It's kinda a letdown really." Skuld said softly. Annora sighed, putting Chirithy on the floor. Chirithy quickly went to the doorway, waiting for the other two to follow.

"I feel you there," Annora said sadly, looking at the gears on the wall. She didn't understand why they were moving. There was nothing to be controlling, the clock only told time, and there was an excess of gears to control that.

"I wonder what's so important about this place." Skuld said in wonder. Annora laughed bitterly.

"Besides that the Foretellers live here, probably nothing." She said.

"What are you doing here?" A voice asked. Annora tensed up as she tried to place it, it wasn't something she had heard often. That information made it clear it couldn't be good.

"Crap," Annora said.

"Master Ira!" Chirithy cried out in shock. Annora groaned in frustration.

"Double crap." She said.

"We're sorry! We were just looking for someone!" Chirithy said quickly, trying to defend them. Master Ira walked past them, further into the room, going to the desk on the other side.

"Chirithy, I expected more from you. You know this area is off limits." Master Ira said condescendingly. Chirithy hung its head in shame.

"I'm sorry," Chirithy said. Annora glared at Master Ira. No one should talk to a Chirithy like that. They never did anything but help.

"I caught another wielder here just the other day. A friend of yours?" Master Ira asked. Annora nodded.

"Yeah." She said.

"So he was here," Skuld said, smiling a little. She lost the smile seeing Annora's face. Annora was frowning.

"Did you talk to him?" Annora asked. Master Ira nodded.

"Yes. But you must know his union gathers lux for a reason that contradicts ours. He befriended you to get information, nothing more. But he is a threat no longer." Master Ira said. Annora and Skuld gasped.

"Did you-?" Skuld asked, but stopped mid-sentence unable to continue.

"Is Ephemer-?" Annora began, but stopped, unable to bear the thought. She couldn't lose another friend. Not like she had lost Lyra.

"He's gone." Master Ira confirmed calmly. Annora stared blankly at Master Ira. Beside her Chirithy stepped forward, resting a paw on her leg.

"Annora," Chirithy said sadly. Annora guessed it could feel her pain and sadness.

"How could you?!" Skuld demanded angrily.

"What are you going to do?" Master Ira challenged. Before either of the girls were given a chance to reply, Chirithy jumped forward.

"Nothing! Master Ira, this is all my fault. All of it! They didn't do anything wrong." Chirithy said quickly. Annora smiled a little. She was surprised Chirithy was defending them since it had insisted this was a bad idea. She couldn't let Chirithy take the fall though. She stepped in front of Chirithy, earning a surprised look from the dream eater. "Annora," Chirithy said softly.

"Thanks, Chirithy. But I won't lie." Annora said smiling down at the Chirithy. She turned her attention back to Master Ira. "This whole thing was my idea, I was the one who wanted to look for Ephemer. And for good reason. I've gone to different worlds to gather lux; a lot of effort has gone into helping our union. I've had to fight those I considered a friend and lost my best friend. I've done everything expected out of me without a second thought. And then I met Ephemer. I didn't know him for very long. But he left a lasting impression. Not all our memories are good ones; he even broke our promise. But I know no matter what we're still friends. And you took that from me. I feel sad, I feel angry, I feel hurt. Maybe that means I have darkness in my heart, but I don't care. But I can't let you get away with what you did to my friend. Even if I have to fight you, even if I don't stand a chance, even if I may disappear. I will because in my heart I know Ephemer would do the same if he were here. Master Ira, I mean no disrespect, but this is something I must do." Annora drew her keyblade and pointed it at Master Ira. She heard surprised gasps behind her, but she didn't react. In front of her, Master Ira summoned his own keyblade.

"So be it." He said calmly.

"Annora!" Skuld said in warning. But the warning went unheard as the master and novice clashed blades.