Chapter 1

Prologue It was a strange town, full of buildings rising out of the clear, blue water like some form of aquatic plant. And it was one of many—each little town was made of many small, white homes stacked up on one another to form a large cone. They were all connected by ropeways over the water that separated them, though it was difficult to tell whether that water was a lake or a vast ocean. There were windmills here and there, and waterfowl soared freely through the air beneath an endless sky. If you looked more closely, you could see older dwellings beneath the surface, perhaps submerged there since long, long ago. At the top of an especially tall town stood what appeared to be a clocktower. Inside, two boys sat facing each other over a game board while soft light and a gentle breeze came in through the window. One of the boys had black hair and was dressed in white, while his silver-haired companion wore black. “Have you heard of the ancient Keyblade War?” asked the boy in black as he moved one of his pieces to take one of his opponent’s. “Of course I have,” replied the boy in white before moving his piece to capture another. “Long ago, Keyblade wielders waged a war over the ownership of light,” the boy in black clarified. He took his turn. “Yeah, the Master’s favorite story,” answered the boy in white. The boy in black mused, “I wonder what they planned on doing with Kingdom Hearts after making it appear.” The game still continued as they conversed. “Who knows? I don’t get why anyone would initiate a war,” replied the boy in white, and his friend put a hand to his mouth and smiled faintly. “So…you know the Lost Masters?” “Who?” the white-robed boy asked back straight away. “They’re the ones who started the Keyblade War.” “Never heard of ’em. Where’d you hear about that?” The boy in white regarded the game board thoughtfully for a moment. “Or…they’re the ones for whom the war started,” the boy in black added meaningfully. “I’m not following you.” “You can drop the facade.” “Facade?” The white-robed boy’s fingers hesitated over the board. “‘On that land shall darkness prevail and light expire.’ A prospective Keyblade Master should know this.” “If you say so,” the boy in white said indifferently. It was hard to tell if he truly didn’t know, or if he was simply faking it. “The Gazing Eye sees the fate of the world. The future—it’s already been written.” The boy in black looked over at the wall where a special Keyblade with a single eye was hanging on display. “Really? I’m not so sure about that,” said the boy in white as he moved a piece forward on the board. “Besides, who’s to say I can’t change it? And maybe light will prevail.” He claimed another of his opponent’s pieces. “Pretty confident. But things aren’t in your favor.” The boy in black took a piece, too. “Perhaps. But unlike darkness, there is more to light than meets the eye. You might be surprised.” The boy in white lifted his eyes from the board and regarded his friend. “Oh, I hope so,” the boy in black replied, meeting his gaze. The silver-haired boy in black was Xehanort, and the dark-haired boy in white was Eraqus. The name of this town was Scala ad Caelum, the stairway to the sky. Warm sunlight shone upon the two boys.