Kingdom Hearts hovered in the sky.

This was the badlands, not far from the Keyblade Graveyard. Terra readied his Keyblade against Master Xehanort. His breaths were ragged, and impatience showed in his expression.

“Admirably done. I knew this was a journey you could make—over the unseen wall that divides darkness and light. And I was not wrong, Terra!”

From the beginning, Master Xehanort had held but one goal: to discard his aged body, and take Terra's as his new vessel.

At the Mark of Mastery exam, he had once said to Terra: “Yes… You are indeed strong. The darkness is nothing to fear.” He was merely planting a seed. Even so, that seed was now taking root.

Terra rushed at Master Xehanort, Keyblade in hand. Vanitas moved to block his way, their Keyblades clashing together.

“You see how powerless you are to save them? Savor that rage and despair. Let it empower you!” Master Xehanort boomed. He was even smiling.

Yes, almost there—just a little longer. It was happening.

“Let your whole heart blacken with anger!”

Master Xehanort pushed his Keyblade into his own chest, and light began to pour out.

“At last, our moment is here. Out with the old and brittle vessel, and in with a younger, stronger new one! I swore I would survive… and be there to see what awaited beyond the Keyblade War! And now it is your darkness that shall be the ark that sustains me!”

Terra fell to his knees, summoning his armor—perhaps in an attempt to protect himself. But, it was too late. The armor crumbled to the ground, and the body within looked up.

His hair was dyed silver, his eyes glittering gold. That was the moment that Master Xehanort took Terra's body under his control.

“This heart belongs again to darkness. All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it—it grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came.”

Terra-Xehanort started walking—only to find himself caged in by a barrier. He turned to find the suit of armor, whose owner should have been long gone, standing tall and wielding a Keyblade.

“What?" Terra-Xehanort yelled. "Your body submits, your heart succumbs—so why does your mind resist?”

The armor—the Lingering Will—put up a fierce resistance, and an intense battle began. Finally, the Lingering Will slew Terra-Xehanort. In that instant, a torrent of light and darkness exploded out, engulfing them both. When it faded, that armor was the only thing that remained in the badlands.

And so, Terra-Xehanort stood alone in Radiant Garden.

Who am I…?

“Terra?”

The one calling out to him was Aqua. Ironically, it was her voice that awakened Xehanort.

“Terra's heart has been extinguished—smothered by the darkness within him.”

Terra-Xehanort's golden eyes glittered.